Plant Adaptations

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I came across an excellent video by Study Jams to supplement our discussion about plant adaptations. Take a moment to have your child watch the short video. There is even a quiz to “test yourself.” If your child watches it, please have them leave me a comment about something learned because I give them credit for doing some extra work.

Click on the picture below to go to the link:

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WALK-A-THON

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3099478.thmYour child brought home a WALK-A-THON packet earlier this week. We are very eager to earn our school goal of $15,000 so that we can see our male teachers participate in the Sumo wrestling challenge. Please return the forms by September 30th. We will walk from 10:45-11:30 on September 26th. Everyone who donates $25 will receive a blue cowbell with the Eagles logo in late October.

Your support is greatly appreciated. This money will help pay for computers, assemblies, field trips and equipment. Thank you!


Plant Unit

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The light unit test will be  coming home today and we have already moved on to plants. This unit is divided into two sections: plant parts and adaptations. They will complete an assessment on each section. We will move quickly through plant parts as the students had this unit in 2nd grade and many did very well on the pretest. Flashcards to study will be coming home today and I would like to have the test on Tuesday.

Here is a fun video for a review of the concepts:


Writer’s Workshop

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We have been focusing on personal narratives. Your child should be able to tell you that these stories are “absolutely true and all about you.” The children are learning to sustain their attention for longer periods of time (believe it or not they will be writing for an hour by the end of the year). When they can’t think of anything to write about, they can generate ideas by thinking about special people and places in their lives.

We had many entries in our composition book to choose from and have started a rough draft. The children developed timelines that included action, feelings and inner thoughts to include in their story. The focus today was replacing common verbs with stronger verbs. They enjoyed working with a partner to look up verbs  in the Thesaurus.

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Science Review: Light

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We will have a science test on Tuesday and a review sheet was sent home on Friday. If your child misplaced it, I have added the information below:

  • When light is reflected the light hits the object and it bounces off.
  • To make a shadow you need: a light source, an object, and a blocked path.
  • The shadow is shortest at noon.
  • Light travels in straight lines and some waves.
  • When light travels from air to water it slows down and looks like it bends (think about pencil experiment).
  • When a light source is blocked a shadow forms.
  • Man-made light: light bulb, lantern, lamp, flashlight
  • Natural light: sun, stars, firefly
  • Opaque: No light passes through (examples: rock, people, wood)
  • Translucent: Some light passes through (examples: tissue paper, waxed paper)
  • Transparent: Light passes through (examples: glass, overhead, glasses)
  • When light passes through a prism, it separates into colors.
  • Think about the best color shirt to wear on a hot day and why.

Click on the pictures below for an extra review:

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Body Mass Index

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The Ottawa County Department of Public Health will be conducting a Body Mass Index (BMI) Measurement study with 3rd grade students. There will be a brochure coming home with more information about this. Please read through the information and if you wish to opt your child out of the screening please complete the Opt-out form and return to me.