News+1-16


 * January 16, 2009**

Important Reminder ** The third grade will be presenting a play, //Thanks and Giving All Year Long,// on Friday, January 30th, at 8:00 am. Please help your child practice his or her lines and songs at home. Students should be gathering their costumes and props at home.**


 * Reader’s Workshop:** We read the first four chapters of //Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing// by Judy Blume. We are working on responding to questions about the book in detail and in complete sentences. We have discussed how to rephrase a question so that it becomes part of the answer.

Example: The girl quivered. BECOMES The girl quivered at the sight of the ferris wheel because she was afraid of heights.
 * Writer’s Workshop:** We are working on responding to the literature we are reading. Students are also learning to write sentences for new vocabulary demonstrating they know the meaning of the word.

The class sketched a scale drawing of The Statue of Liberty. Each student worked on various grids and we combined them to create the statue.
 * Social Studies:** We have started a new unit about //People on the Move// and //Building New Communities.// This week students learned about why people moved west to build new communities in the 1800s, how Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, and Sacagawea contributed to the expansion of communities in our country, and how immigrants helped change communities over time.


 * Math: It is essential that all students be memorizing their math facts at home. This includes addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division**