Report cards are on their way!

Report cards will be coming home on Tuesday, February 19th. Below you will find the rubric 3rd grade teachers use to help determine grades. 

Math- Last week, we worked on fractions that equal one half. We also used pattern blocks to mix and match 1/3, 1/6, and 1/2 combinations to make a whole. Students used these and turned them into equations. Today, we used fraction magnets to start our work on equivalent fractions.  

Reading-    This week we will read The Streets are Free by Kurusa. This story is based on a true story about hoe neighbors in a poor district in Caracas, Venezuela join together to build a much-needed playground. The children’s inspiration and the adult’s cooperation are equally important in coming up with a solution to the problem. 

Writing- Last week, we finished our note taking on our animals. We then turned this into a T-chart. This week we will work on number notes, and the rough draft of our rainforest animal report.

Science- This week we started our Physics of Sound science unit. Here is a quick break down. 
On Monday- We took our Social Studies assessment. 

On Tuesday-  We explored sound discrimination and the properties of sound with drop chambers. After getting accustomed to the sounds, students created codes for their partner to spell out words depending on what object was being dropped in the chamber. 

Drop Chamber

Drop Chamber with objects

Drop Chamber in action

Codes

Codes assigned to objects

On Wednesday- We started our discussions on tone and vibrations. We took a look at a bean on a tone generator and how a high pitch vibrates faster than a low pitch. We continued to explore using long gongs (a cup on a string tied to a metal clothes hanger) and tuning forks. 

Tuning fork and ping pong ball

Long Gong

Tuning fork on paper

Tuning fork with water

Long Gong

On Thursday and this morning- We looked at pitch and how pitch is determined by the amount of water in a waterphone or the length of the tube on an xylophone. The smaller the amount of water or shorter the tube, the higher the pitch. The more water or the longer the tube, the lower the pitch.

Arranging xylophone tubes

Creating a song

Arranging waterphones

 Just a reminder, Thursday, February 21 is the 3rd grade informance. Our class will perform at 7:30 pm. The informance will last approximately 45 minutes. 

Have a great week! 
Mrs. Jodie Yuska

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2012-2013 Third Grade Reading Rubric for Report Card	Resource for grading	Trimester 2
Vocabulary: Understands 3rd Grade Vocabulary	Basal Story Assessment & Text talk	90% and above 4 80%-89% 3 70%-79% 2 69% or below 1
Comprehension: Independently Comprehends 3rd Grade Reading Material	Basal Story Assessment	90% and above 4 80%-89% 3 70%-79% 2 69% or below 1
Fluency: Independently Reads a 3rd Grade Passage	Guided Reading Level and Dibels Passage	N or above 4 M 3 L 2 K or below 1 Also use the Fluency 5 Point Scale with Guided Reading lessons to assess fluency.

2012-2013 Third Grade Writing Rubric for Report Card	Resource for grading		Trimester 2
Develops and organizes effectively in written form	Write Tools Writing Samples		*  Writes a paragraph with a topic sentence, concluding sentence, a big idea, and a give me more (2 greens, one yellow and one pink) all 4 = 4 3 out of the 4 = 3 2 out of the 4 = 2 1 out of the 4 = 1
Word Usage	Write Tools Writing Samples		·      Uses correct grammar
Applies correct capitalization and punctuation in written work	Write Tools Writing Samples		·      Capitalizes days of the week, months of the year ·      Capitalizes salutations and closings of letter ·      Capitalize beginning of nouns
Spells correctly in written work	Write Tools Writing Samples		·      Spells frequently used words (tricky words) correctly
2012-2013 Third Grade Spelling Rubric for Report Card	Resource for grading		Trimester 2
Spelling	Words Their Way		List D: 4- above 90% 3- above 75% 2- above 65% 1-below 65% List C: 3- above 90% 2- above 65% 1- below 65%
Handwriting	Loops and Groups Daily Work		Students will be assessed on their cursive handwriting as well as their handwriting on daily assignments.
2011-2012 3rd grade Math rubric	Resources	Trimester 2
Number and Operation:
Demonstrates understanding of place value	Investigations and McGraw Hill textbooks	·      Compare and order numbers through 100’s ·      Ordinal numbers and estimation ·      Rounding to 10’s and 100’s ·      Skip count by 2, 3, 5, and 10 (starting at various numbers)
Demonstrates an understanding of fractions	Investigations and McGraw Hill textbooks	·      Read, write, and compare fractions >, <, and = to 1 ·      Knows ½, ¼, and 1/3
Uses problem solving strategies	Investigations, ADD Math, McGraw Hill textbooks	·      Can solve multiplication, subtraction, and addition story problems
Uses multiplication skills	Time tests	·      % 0n Assessment o   90% + = 4 o   80-89% = 3 o   70-79% = 2 o   78% or less = 1
Algebra
Solving for an unknown	Investigations and McGraw Hill textbooks	·      Solve patterns for 2, 3, 5, and 10 ·      Solve for an unknown in addition and subtraction (5+?= 8,  10-?= 2) ·      Quantitative change with one variable leads to a change in the second variable (Stacy is 10, her mom is 38. When Stacy is 12, will her mom be older, younger, or stay the same?

A lot of work makes for one quick week!

This week seemed to fly by. I think that is partially because we just had so many things I was trying to get through to make up from kids and myself being sick and gone. We had some crazy schedules this week and I think the kids were very relieved when the bell rand at 3:15 today! :) 

 

*Book Orders due (2/12/12)! You can order online as well as bring your order in to school.

*Social Studies test next Monday, February 11th. A study guide will be posted below.

 
*No School Friday, February 15th. 

 

 * I will sent home names for Valentine's Monday in mailboxes (there is also be a list at the bottom of our blog). Students can start bringing Valentines to school on Monday, February 11th. Our class party will be on Thursday, February 14th. 

Math- This week we used different fractions to make a whole, or as our investigation book calls them cookie shares. It was a chance for us to get out the pattern blocks and make hexagon cookies broke down into thirds, halves, and sixths. Then we mixed and matched so we could write equations equaling one whole. For example, 3/6 +1/2 = 1 whole or 1/3 +1/3+1/6 +1/6 = 1 whole. We reviewed that if a fraction had the same number on the top and the bottom it would equal one whole as well as the larger the numerator (bottom number) the smaller the fraction. We used the example that if I get 1/2 of a brownie I would get a lot more than if I received 1/6 of a brownie. This would be like me sharing a brownie with one other person, versus sharing the same size brownie with five other people.  We will continue learning about fractions for the next few weeks. This will include equivalent fractions and mixed fractions. Time test went home this week, along with the letter below explaining report card expectations for multiplication. I will post report card rubrics next week.

Fluency on Multiplication time test

Reading-   We are well into our research. This is a project that is easy for some and more difficult for others, especially if you have to "hunt" for information. This is also a time when our class is a little less structured due to everyone at different places of research which resulted in a few class discussions. :) Anyway, most have research done, we are working on our posters which will be in the hall soon. After that we will start using our research in writing to create a T-chart, and take number notes before writing a multi-paragraph report. 

Writing- We have been working very hard on collecting information and creating ABC books. We have learned about copyright and dedication, as well as plagiarism of our information. The best part is we all have learned about some new animals we may have never heard of or seen before. We have a few letters to finish up before we will start our final copies with our best handwriting and illustrations.

Social Studies- We have completed our social studies unit. Yellow folders went home today that we have been working on since the beginning of the year. We also took some time to review for the test. The kids loved the big felt map and creating our own maps on plastic blue plates. Below you will also find the pages for the study guide for our test on Monday, in case one did not make it home. (On a side note, if your child goes to Mrs. Meth in the morning, they have not completed this unit and will not need to worry about studying or making up the test. Thank you!)

Plastic plate map

Felt map for review

First page of study guide- fill in the blank and multi-option lists

Second page of study guide- short answer

Third page of study guide- North America countries and oceans

Last page of study guide- continents and oceans

 

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Jodie Yuska
Valentines: We have 25 students in the class. As always, valentines are your choice to send to school. If you do choose to send valentines, please make sure you have one for each child. THANK YOU!    
Avrien, Dylan, Drake, Brylea, Declan, Keenan, Brayden, Julian G., Austin, Alyssa, Sidney, Colin,      Shelby, Aubry, Patience, Julian A., Maggie, Allison, Elise, Emily, Zander, Katie, Ray, Joy, and Tyler 
Adults in the room (optional): Mrs. Yuska, Deb (associate) , and Karla (associate)