Hello 3M families!
I can't believe that it's the end of September! Time flies when you're having fun. I would like to warn you in advance that this is a REALLY long blog post .... There's so much to share about 3rd grade!
The kids have been working hard on writing projects, Reading Menus, math concepts, spelling words, and social studies. The apple sauce we made last week was delicious! Thanks so much for sending in the apples to make it!
We'll be starting our first science unit - the water cycle and weather - this week.
Also, we are starting WIN (What I Need) time. This is a time when the students work on specific skills that were identified in their MAPS tests as areas that can use extra practice. There will be a focus on vocabulary during these WIN times.
Another thing to look for is the new Reading Log that will start October 1st. We are expecting students to read for at least 20 minutes a night, and now they will be logging that time and having an adult initial the Reading Log. Thanks so much for helping the students practice their reading at home! With regards to reading, we have also started our new Reading Menus, which are activities that the kids do in class as they are reading a book at school. The focus right now is non-fiction. Right now, the kids do all of this work in class. If you start seeing "Reading Menu" written in their assignment notebook, that means they need to work on the activities at home because they are falling behind in class. The next due date for Reading Menus is October 16th, so the kids still have plenty of time to work on them in class.
If your student needs to work on a classroom document at home, here are some helpful hints on how to start or find class documents on the Chromebook.
1. Make sure they open to Symbaloo - it's the screen that helps direct them to all of the Prairieview websites.
2. Next, they can click on Google Drive (it's a small triangle looking icon on the upper right hand area of the Sybaloo screen).
3. To start a new document, click on "New" and then "Google Doc". Documents that we are already working on can be found in "My Drive" or "Shared with Me".
4. If they need to share the document with me, make sure they click on the "Share" button at the top right corner, and then they type in my last name (Ikens) so the document can be sent to me.
We have gone over all of these steps many times in class, but sometimes a reminder helps!
A few quick notes ....
- Picture Day is next Tuesday, Oct. 6th during our Gym time. Make sure to send in the envelope and money for pictures that day.
- There is a Gym test this Friday for soccer concepts. A study guide was sent home to help review the concepts.
Please let me know if you have any questions after this monster-sized blog. It's really such a joy work with each student in this classroom!
Mrs. Ikens
Also, here is note from Mrs. Forsman .... it talks about grades so far. Her blog is http://taniaforsman.blogspot.com/, so please feel free to check it for more details!
I am writing this blog today to share with families that we are just starting out the year and to please not be concerned too much with grades at this point. There will be so many more grades coming that things tend to balance themselves out. If you see an alarming grade - of course feel free to reach out to the teacher, but also know that if we were concerned, we would reach out to you. It is natural for students to have one or two scores that aren't the best as they are learning classroom work habits/study skills, etc. A lot more independence is placed on third graders and they will be keeping record of their work and grades, setting goals, etc.
In the past, we might have not put poor grades in the gradebook but now those grades are even as important as the "good" ones. Those grades start conversations between students and teachers and motivate students to improve.
We will be going to Brunswick zone for bowling this week! If
your child would like to buy a snack that is great, however, please make sure
your child only brings about $5 since they are truly there to bowl, not just
eat! 
