sImportant Dates:
12.19-1.2 Winter Break! 1.3 Teacher Work Day- No School 1.4 Return to school! :) 1.6 - House Day/Pep Rally Wear House Colors 1.16 MLK -NO School 1.17 Teacher Work Day- Remote Learning Day Reading This week we finished up our Unit 3 reading test. Those test will be entered into student's semester average. Tests will come home the first Thursday we are back in school in January. If students need to retake the test, their scores will not be updated until January when the retake is given so keep this in mind when you receive report cards in January. We will start Unit 4 when we return from break with fiction reading, focusing on character studies. Writing This week students worked to finish their second Opinion writing. These will be sent home in the New Year for you to celebrate your writer's growth. On the first day back students will take an On Demand Opinion writing assessment on the computer. This will not be taken as a grade but meant for students to practice what it is like to write a piece in one sitting (something they will have to do on Milestones). It will also give the teachers helpful feedback for how to support students next semester. Students will read 2 passages and use that to write an opinion piece based off of the prompt. Our hope is they apply all that they have learned in this opinion writing unit on this on demand piece. Our next writing genre will be informational writing. In this type of writing we will also focus on using text evidence in our writing. Phonics Next week in phonics we will work on the vowel team syllable pattern. Math On Level: This week we took our Unit 3 test and like the reading test will be scored in their semester average. It will come home in our first round of Thursday folders in January. If students have to retake, their grade will not be updated until January so keep this in mind when you receive your child's report card. Unit 4 will be Geometry focusing on quadrilaterals, area again and adding perimeter. Now that we have finished up unit 2, students should work towards memorizing their multiplication facts 0-12 by the end of the year. Advanced: This week we finished our last 3rd grade unit! We will start Unit 1 of 4th grade math in January. It will mirror 3rd grade's first unit (what students did a year ago) where we look at place value and addition and subtraction, and rounding. The only difference is in fourth grade we work with numbers up to the millions. It is expected and okay if this first fourth grade unit feels "easy" as it is just building on prior knowledge. Know it will continue to become more challenging with new concepts after this first unit. Social Studies: We have had a blast finishing up our social studies unit this week with our projects! Thank you for sending in supplies so students could have a meaningful learning experience. These projects will come home in January! Next up we are switching to science and will have a quick unit on Pollution. Student Success Skills When we return from break we will learn about character values and discuss what character values we have within our families! Young Georgia Authors Information (repeat): Once again, it’s time for the annual Young Georgia Author’s Writing Competition sponsored by the GA Department of Education. The purpose of this competition is to encourage our K-12 students to develop enthusiasm for and expertise in their writing, provide a context to celebrate their writing success, and recognize student achievement in the arts and academics. Encourage your student(s) to participate in this amazing opportunity and showcase their writing talents across our school, district and maybe even state! WHAT TO WRITE YGA does not provide a prompt to which students must respond or provide any other boundaries to their genre choice or creativity beyond a 1900-word limit. (if typed, double-spaced Times New Roman is preferred) Entries may include:
As a school we will select 1 winner to represent each grade level at the district level. If you have specific questions about the contest rules, please feel contact Diana Zarzour at [email protected]
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Important Dates: PTA Holiday Shop still open on 12.12-12.13!!! 12.15 Class Winter Party 12.14 Unit 3 Reading Assessment 12.15 On Level and Advanced Math Unit Tests 12.16 House Day 12.19-1.3 Winter Break! Next Week Dress Up Days for the week of 12.12-12.16 (see image above) Young Georgia Authors Information: Once again, it’s time for the annual Young Georgia Author’s Writing Competition sponsored by the GA Department of Education. The purpose of this competition is to encourage our K-12 students to develop enthusiasm for and expertise in their writing, provide a context to celebrate their writing success, and recognize student achievement in the arts and academics. Encourage your student(s) to participate in this amazing opportunity and showcase their writing talents across our school, district and maybe even state! WHAT TO WRITE YGA does not provide a prompt to which students must respond or provide any other boundaries to their genre choice or creativity beyond a 1900-word limit. (if typed, double-spaced Times New Roman is preferred) Entries may include:
As a school we will select 1 winner to represent each grade level at the district level. If you have specific questions about the contest rules, please feel contact Diana Zarzour at [email protected] Academic Competition Information Does your child want to participate in and Academic Competitions for Geography, Science and or History? IAC holds regional competitions in the subjects of science, history, and geography. Last year in Georgia over 16,000 students took the free exams, and many of those attended the regionals at River Trail Middle School. This season there will be five regionals in Georgia. This can be for any K-5 student😊. Let’s show them what we’ve got Panthers! Flyer attached at the top of las week's blog, contact Amy Lemons if you have questions! Reading This week we focused on non fiction reading skills and took a check in on Friday. Next week our focus will be to review for the test which will be on Wednesday December 14th. Study guides went home this week for students to work through for practice. Flocabulary Text Structure Questions to ask while your child reads at home: Unit 1 -"What does the character SAY? What does the character DO? How does the character FEEL?" -"What does all this tell us about their traits?". -Can you summarize your story using "somebody, wanted, but, so, then? -What do you think is the main idea/central idea (main thing the author wants us to learn from reading this text) -What details support that? Unit 2 -What do you think the author's opinion about this topic is? -What text structure does the author use to teach us this information? -Is the author comparing anything in the text? -Is the author describing something? What is the central idea? -Does the author teach us information in sequence, or in order? -Does the author describe a why something has happened? -How did the characters actions contribute to the events that happen in the story? -What do you think the lesson is of this story? Unit 3 - What are some text features in this scientific text? -How does that text feature contribute to what you have learned so far in the text? -What is the central idea and details that support it? -What are some ways the author uses personification in this story? -What lesson do the characters in this story learn? How do they feel? -What structure (text structure) did the author use in this passage? Writing Students began to write a second opinion piece, choosing to be for or against self driving cars. Like the first, it is important for them to use text evidence to support their reasons and claim. This second writing will be due on Friday December 16th. They are being pushed to write this one quicker and with less support than the first, being that the goal by next semester, they can write essays of this structure in one 70 minute setting (how it will be structured on Milestones). Next week we will learn about adjectives and take a practice grade on adjectives on Friday 12/16. Phonics Next week in phonics we will work on open, complex multi syllable words. Math On Level: This week we took two check ins on 2 step word problems and area. We have begun reviewing graphs and will be getting students prepared for their Unit 3 assessment on Thursday December 15th. Study guides came home this week for students to work through leading up to the test. Now that we have finished up unit 2, students should work towards memorizing their multiplication facts 0-12 by the end of the year. Advanced: This week we focused on measuring capacity and mass. We took a check in and will start reviewing graphs as well as we prepare for Grade 3 Unit 6 test on Thursday December 12th. When we return from break we will start our 4th grade units, and it is very important students have their multiplication facts 0-12 fluently memorized before we begin Unit 2. Science We have completed learning about all the American Indian regions of North America : the Artic, North West, South West, North East, South East, and the Plains. So far we have learned about the culture, climate, food, shelter, and contributions of native tribes in the Artic, North West, South West, and Plains. Students have begun showing their knowledge of these regions with a check in on Thursday and maps check in on Friday. Next week students will start building their shelter for their projects and major grade. Thank you to parents who have sent in supplies for all of us to use! Student Success Skills This week we talked about time management and next week we will talk about self-awareness.
Important Dates:
12.5 and 12.7 I-ready Math Diagnostic Mid Year Assessment 12.7 Brain Building 12.7-12.9 PTA Holiday Shop 12.6 Remote Learning Day (election run off) - NO school, remote work coming home on Monday. 12.15 Class Winter Party 12.14 Unit 3 Reading Assessment 12.16 House Day - wear your colors 12.19-1.3 Winter Break! Young Georgia Authors Information: Once again, it’s time for the annual Young Georgia Author’s Writing Competition sponsored by the GA Department of Education. The purpose of this competition is to encourage our K-12 students to develop enthusiasm for and expertise in their writing, provide a context to celebrate their writing success, and recognize student achievement in the arts and academics. Encourage your student(s) to participate in this amazing opportunity and showcase their writing talents across our school, district and maybe even state! WHAT TO WRITE YGA does not provide a prompt to which students must respond or provide any other boundaries to their genre choice or creativity beyond a 1900-word limit. (if typed, double-spaced Times New Roman is preferred). Entries may include:
Entries must be submitted to Diana Zarzour by February 6th. Unfortunately, due to the state timeline, we cannot accept any entries submitted after this date. As a school we will select 1 winner to represent each grade level at the district level. If you have specific questions about the contest rules, please feel contact Diana Zarzour at [email protected] Academic Competition Information Does your child want to participate in and Academic Competitions for Geography, Science and or History? IAC holds regional competitions in the subjects of science, history, and geography. Last year in Georgia over 16,000 students took the free exams, and many of those attended the regionals at River Trail Middle School. This season there will be five regionals in Georgia. This can be for any K-5 student😊. Let’s show them what we’ve got Panthers! Flyer attached at the top of the blog, contact Amy Lemons if you have questions! I-ready Diagnostic Information Our grade level will be taking the iReady Mid-Year diagnostic assessment when we return from break. We will take the Diagnostic on the dates listed above. This assessment is not used for a grade, but is used for instructional purposes both within the classroom by us as teachers and to help aide in placement decisions. These diagnostic assessments help provide us with valuable information so that we can target instruction in both reading and math! Reading This week we worked on our diagnostics and started to read non fiction text again, paying close attention to text features and how they help us to understand the text better. We ended the week with a check in on Folktales and fiction skills and will take another check in next Friday (12/9) focusing on nonfiction skills. Next week for homework we will send a study guide for practice leading up to our Unit 3 test on 12/14. Flocabulary Text Structure Questions to ask while your child reads at home: Unit 1 -"What does the character SAY? What does the character DO? How does the character FEEL?" -"What does all this tell us about their traits?". -Can you summarize your story using "somebody, wanted, but, so, then? -What do you think is the main idea/central idea (main thing the author wants us to learn from reading this text) -What details support that? Unit 2 -What do you think the author's opinion about this topic is? -What text structure does the author use to teach us this information? -Is the author comparing anything in the text? -Is the author describing something? What is the central idea? -Does the author teach us information in sequence, or in order? -Does the author describe a why something has happened? -How did the characters actions contribute to the events that happen in the story? -What do you think the lesson is of this story? Unit 3 - What are some text features in this scientific text? -How does that text feature contribute to what you have learned so far in the text? -What is the central idea and details that support it? -What are some ways the author uses personification in this story? -What lesson do the characters in this story learn? How do they feel? Writing This week we worked to publish our first opinion essay, focusing on using text evidence to support our reasons. This was due today and is a practice grade. Next week students will start a second opinion essay and it will be due on 12/16 for a minor grade. Phonics Next week in phonics we will work on open, simple multisyllable words. Math On Level: This week we introduced finding the area using square units (tiled shapes). We took a check in (practice grade) finding the area of shapes that were tiled. We started to practice finding area by multiplying the length and width which we will review next week. We will also transition into learning the distributive property and how it can help us solve for area with very large shapes. Next week we will take another quiz on solving two step word problems (minor grade) on 12/7 and then another Area quiz (minor grade) on 12/9. Now that we have finished up unit 2, students should work towards memorizing their multiplication facts 0-12 by the end of the year. Advanced: This week we took an elapsed time quiz an began to learn about measuring volume and mass. The goal for students is that they are able to estimate volume if an object should be measured in liters and milliliters, and for mass grams and kilograms. Pointing out things in your household that are measured in L/mL, g/kg is a great way to support them in this! They should also be able to solve word problems involving these units of measurement. Science This week we started to learn about American Indians Cultures before European Exploration. Students will be able to identify 6 regions of North America : the Artic, North West, South West, North East, South East, and the Plains. So far we have learned about the culture, climate, food, shelter, and contributions of native tribes in the Artic, North West, South West, and Plains. We will continue the remaining regions next week and end the week with some practice grades. The last week of school students will be constructing one shelter from one of the regions - thank you to parents who have started to send in the supplies we need for this learning activity! Student Success Skills This week we talked about goal setting and connected it to our i-ready diagnostic goals. Next week we will learn about time management. |