Newsletter Week 2

Slowly but surely we are entering into routines in 3rd grade.  We have started talking about a big part of our reading time this year.  We often ask the question, “How do you get better at reading?” and the kids know that the only way is to READ.  We have talked about reading books that have a purpose, interest for the kids, that they can comprehend, and that they know most if not all the words.  If they are reading too far below or too far above their reading level then they are not getting much out of it.  Many nights in the planner you will see that reading for 15-20 minutes is a part or all of their homework.  Reading is a huge part of everything we do.  Thank you to all of you who have been reading with your child and signing the planner each night.  

Next week we will be starting a couple new things.  We will be giving each student a reading test to assess where they are so we can help them choose books that are a good fit for them.  

We will also be starting spelling.  Each week your child will have 20 spelling words.  18 of the words will come from our spelling curriculum and two will come from words tha they choose.  We believe it is important that students not only know how to spell the words on the list correctly but also become very familiar with the meanings and how to use the words correctly.  Many of the activities that we do here will have both parts.  You will see a list come home on Monday.  That list is for you to keep and practice during the week.  We will keep one here at school to practice.  The test will be on Friday.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you!

Ms. G and Mr. Melde

MAP Reading Test

Today Ms. G's class started taking their fall MAP reading test. Mr. Melde's class will be doing this on Thursday. Be sure to work hard and do your best. Good readers do a lot of reading!

Getting to Know You Bingo

Today we got together with both classes to play a fun game and get to know each other a little better. We played get to know you bingo. Kids walked around asking questions and getting to know each other better. It was a really great to get both classes together.

Newsletter

Thank you, for a great start to this school year. Thank you for getting all their school supplies, checking to see that they do their homework, signing their planners, and listening to their stories about school. We had a great first week of school. As always, let us know if you have questions.

Planners

Keep checking your child’s planner.  Each day you will see that your child will have homework.  Please check to see that they have it done and sign in the planner that they have it done.  This will really help with teaching responsibility and good work habits.

Cursive Writing

This year your child will learn to write in cursive. In year’s past they have been learning manuscript or printing. We ask students to keep doing their work in manuscript until much later in the year. After the students learn all their letters, then we will do some work in cursive. Most students find this to be very fun to learn.

Spelling/Word Work

In third grade we often call spelling word work because we want the students to learn how to read the words, spell the words, know the meanings of the words, and how to use them. The stronger students become with words, the better they will do in reading, writing, and speaking. Students will be given a list of words for the week on Monday and their test on spelling of the words is on Friday. Practicing how to spell the words is something that they should do a little bit each night for homework. All students will start with the basic list. As we get to know the students and their abilities, we will begin to create different lists for each student.

Class Agreements

Our district and school has three big ideas for how we are all to be: be responsible, be safe, and be respectful. In our classrooms the students worked hard to think and talk about these ideas to make our rooms places where each students can be themselves, be accepted and respected, and learn as much as they can each day.

iPods and iPads

You may have heard you child talking about using devices for learning like iPads and iPods.  We have access to these things here and use them almost daily in our learning.  We will be using them in all areas and for many projects this year.  Today your child signed a contract agreeing to use the iPad appropriately.

We also thought it would be a good idea to include some contact information.

(on the back)

Mr. Melde

meldej@invergrove.k12.mn.us

651-306-7346

Ms. Gustafson

gustafsl@invergrove.k12.mn.us

651-306-7336

We also have a news website for our third grade classrooms.  We will be posting lots of information including all news letters on the website.

www.mrmelde.blogspot.com

Thank you!