What we have been up to in Gr. 3D!

We have been so busy in Grade 3 that February as come and gone so quickly!  Before we know it, it will soon be Spring.  It is amazing how quickly the time passes.  Over the last few weeks, Mother Nature has really given us a blast of Canadian Winter temperatures and snowfalls.

In Math, the students have been busy learning all about Polygons, Quadrilaterals and learning how to describe and compare 2D figures.  We are learning to describe 2D figures by their vertices (how many), by their sides (how many, length) and their angles (how many, right angles, acute angles (smaller than a right angle), obtuse angles (larger than a right angle).  We are also learning about 3D shapes and learning how to describe them by their angles, edges and vertices.  In addition to Geometry, the students will also continue to practice adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers. Number Sense is always an important math strand to practice regularly at home through Dreambox, Prodigy, Mathletics and various card games, math practice sheets etc.  If you find that your child finishes their homework for the week quickly, these are additional ideas for continued practice.

In Language, the students have been working on Question Answer Responses (QAR).  We are thinking about thick (vs thin) questions using our QMatrix and recording Before Reading (BR), During Reading (DR) and After Reading (AR) questions.  We are then looking at our questions and asking ourselves if these questions can be found 'right there on the page', 'searching questions' which answers are found throughout the book or if these questions are 'think about it questions' that might not be in the text.  We also continue to think about the Author's Message in the stories we read.  In writing, we are beginning Narrative Writing and using the Shape Go Map to help plan our writing (Beginning - Problem, Characters, Setting and Middle - 4 Events, End - Solution).
Another focus has been looking at the theme of Hope in the stories we read.  We are asking ourselves why hope is important?  How do the characters bring hope to others?  How can we bring hope to others?  Why is it important to persevere and have a growth mindset?  How do the characters demonstrate GRIT, resilience?

Some of the books we read this past week were 'No Shoes Petra' and 'Brave Irene'.  Ask your child about the Author's Message in these stories.

Our Science Unit on Stable Structures continues and over the next few weeks, the students will be creating a Google Slides presentation by choosing and researching on man-made structure and one structure found in nature and then sharing it out with their classmates.  We will also be looking at how forces such as wind act on structures.  Sometimes forces such as wind can be helpful (windmills) and sometimes they can be harmful (wind storms can be destructive).

In Religion, we continue our Lenten Journey and will be learning about Holy Week.  We have written our Lenten Promises and have been looking for kindness in our world.  The students have been learning that when we experience and witness kindness we are getting a visit from Jesus.  Be sure to scroll through our Twitter Feed on the Blog to see some of the beautiful recounts of "I had a visit from Jesus when..."

Reminder:  Our next and final skating excursion to Minto is this Wednesday at 10:00 am.  Thank you to all of our wonderful and helpful volunteers.  You have all been amazing and I know the children have thoroughly enjoyed each skating trip.

I wish everyone a wonderful start to the month of March!

Lenten Blessings,

Mrs. Caluori

Valentine's Day

We are aiming to hand out classroom Valentine's Day cards this Friday.  We are also still waiting to see if the weather will cooperate for our Winter Play Day on Friday. Stay tuned!

If your child wishes to participate in our Valentine's Day Card exchange, please ensure that a card is sent for each child in the class.  We have 19 students in our Grade 3 class.



Class List of Names:

Erina
Aliya
Rebecca
Avni
Miranda
Sophia
Dylan
Daniel
Moses
Quinton
Reid
Matthew M.
Matthew N.
Elly
Noah
Joshua
Averie
Hanushan
Adam


Happy Valentine's Day!!



Wishing everyone a wonderful long weekend and a fun Family Day,

Mrs. Caluori

Science Quiz (Show What You Know)

Soil Review
The students will be having a short quiz on Soil and a 'Show What You know' response to complete on Wednesday.  A review sheet was sent home last week.  

Here is an online copy if needed:

Science Review Sheet




The students have also been learning about Famous Artists and famous paintings.

Here is a great link to a site with some information and artists and their famous paintings!  Have fun!!

Famous Artists


In math we have been continuing our unit on time as well as reviewing addition and subtraction skills (2 and 3 digit numbers).  

We have finished our Descriptive Writing unit and our next unit of study in writing will be procedural writing (step-by-step instructions, board game instructions, recipes, etc. are some examples of procedural texts) and paragraph writing.  

The students are having fun with our Dance unit and are choreographing their own short routines in small groups to the music 'Fireflies'. Most groups are almost finished and excited to present their routine.

Cake Walk information went home today.  Please keep an eye out for the information sheet in your child's agenda.  The tickets will be on sale beginning tomorrow.  Our class will be participating in the Cake Walk on Thursday, Feb. 11th, 2016 at 10:15 a.m.  It is a wonderful event that helps support our school.  Thank you in advance for your help with this initiative.  

Our first skating trip to the Minto Rec. Center was a great success. The students demonstrated GRIT and perseverance skating and participating for the hour.  Our next trip will be February 8th at 1:00 p.m.  

Your Partner in Education,

Mrs. Caluori

Skating in the New Year!

*REPOSTED (Dec. 15th, 2015)*

Today a letter went home outlining our skating program in the New Year.  The Grade 3 classes will be going skating 3 times.  If you are able to volunteer for these outings, please send back the form indicating which days you are able to join us.  The more hands we have on these outings the better and the quicker the children can get on the ice for more skating time:).



Skating Dates:

Wednesday January 20th, 2016 - 10:00-11:00 am
Monday February 8th, 2016 - 1:00-2:00 pm
Wednesday March 2nd, 2016 - 10:00-11:00 am

What makes a house a home Padlet and Information Letter

What makes a house a home Padlet and Information Letter.


Information Letter

Padlet Link

It has been a great first week back!

It has been great getting back to school this week and getting back into our school and classroom routines.  I hope everyone had a wonderful first week back.

We have been very busy in 3D this week!

This week in Language we have been working on using apostrophes and have been continuing to discuss and find compound words in our WWWs, daily independent reading and shared readings. We have also been focusing on a final Descriptive Writing about something that happened over the Christmas holiday.  A big focus continues to be adding more detail, rereading work to see if there are any missing words, misspelled WWWs, adding juicy adjectives and ensuring there are capitals, periods, commas, etc. In reading, the students have been working on reading responses that include answering questions that can be found in the text, but also questions that involve inferring and using their own idea as well as providing an example from the text (proof).  Some great sentences prompts include "I know this because..." "In the text it says..."I think that...I know this because in the text...".

In Math, we have been learning about temperature and time.  Students need to be able to read a thermometer and know some benchmark temperatures such as freezing point, boiling point and room temperature.  They also need to know what temperatures belong in each season, appropriate clothing, outdoor activities etc. for a variety of temperatures.  In addition, students are also learning to read analog clocks to the nearest 5 min.  Students need to understand the relationship between minutes and hours.  For example, one hour is equal to four groups of 15 min. Example questions may include, 'Sam practices piano for 15 min. each day.  How many hours has she practiced in one week? or Has Sam practiced for more than 2 hours or less?  How do you know?'

The students have worked very hard on their Science Soil Presentations using Google Slides.  They will also be presenting their Science Inquiry early next week.  Ask your child to see their presentation in their Google Drive:).

In Religion this week, we learned about the Epiphany on the 6th and we learned about Jesus' baptism on the 10th.  The students reflected in their Religion books about their Goals for 2016 and how they would walk in Jesus' footsteps this year.  The students also completed an entry in their books about the Magi and their role in the Christmas Story/Epiphany.

Wishing everyone a relaxing and restful weekend.

Your Partner in Education,

Mrs. Caluori