Week of 12/3/12 - 12/7/12

Even though this was our first full week in a long time, we had a great one. We enjoyed 2 assemblies: Rockin Science and an assembly on quilting, which goes along with our reading story, The Keeping Quilt. Thank you to Mrs. Vanni who activated our schema with information on Downers Grove history and then presented her beautiful quilts.

Can you believe it's almost December?? Enjoy the beautiful weather that's been forecasted.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Pretest on Monday, Lesson 11. Cursive HW due Tuesday. “Write a story” and WB. p. 202 due Thursday. Students with challenge words will be doing 2 challenge activities instead, also due Thursday. Test on Friday (none for challenge students.)

English: We will start the next session of daily D.O.L. (Daily Oral Language) and it includes titles and introductory words. There will be a quiz at the end. We will also be starting unit 3 from our textbook on verbs, focusing this week on verbs in the present tense and past tense.

Reading: We will finish up The Keeping Quilt with an open book quiz on Tuesday. A new skill will be added to our repertoire: Evaluate & Visualize.

We will read Dogzilla from our reading basals.

Social Studies: Our final test on Downers Grove, both historical and modern day, will be Tuesday, December 4. A study guide went home earlier in the week. We will then link that unit to chapter 12 in our textbook which focuses on local government.

Science: Our next unit in science is chapter 11, Properties of Matter. We will start lesson 1 by reading and filling out our “quick study.”

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: This week we will start chapter 6 on data. This involves graphing and reading graphs. We will also start learning our multiplication facts with a program called “Multiplication Facts in Seven Weeks.” Each week, I will send some problems I would like you to help your child master. Only work on those particular facts. They should know these by the end of the week. Hopefully, you all have your multiplication flash cards at home so pull the appropriate cards out each week for practice. On Fridays, a timed test will be given and graded. More information will be coming home on Monday. Check those binders!

Important Dates:

12/17 - 3^rd graders go bowling (permission slip coming home on Monday)

12/21 – Winter break starts at the end of the day

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Weeks of 11/19/12 - 11/23/12 and 11/26/12 - 11/30/12

Since next week has only 2 school days in it, I am blogging for the next two weeks. I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving, full of good food, family, friends, and happiness. I am very thankful to be here in 3rd grade with your wonderful children and our terrific staff.  Enjoy the beautiful weather that's been forecasted.

On Tuesday, we will be going on our Downers Grove field trip. Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather. It looks like it will be in the 50's with a slight chance of rain. No lunch is needed on that day since we will be eating pizza. A maximum of $10.00 could be brought for shopping purposes after lunch. I am looking forward to this trip as much as the children!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: No spelling next week.

The week of 11/26: Pretest on Monday, Lesson 10. Cursive HW due Tuesday. “Write a story” and WB. p. 184 due Thursday. Students with challenge words will be doing 2 challenge activities instead, also due Thursday. Test on Friday (none for challenge students.)

English: There will be a quiz on plural nouns, unit 2 lessons 4-7, on Monday. The following week we will finish the nouns chapter. Unit 2 test on nouns will be Thursday, 11/29.

Reading: We will be starting our next reading skill, self-questioning. As readers, we need to be able to stop during our reading and ask ourselves pertinent questions which will help us gain a better understanding of the text. Our story will be from the basal. It is called The Keeping Quilt.

Social Studies: We have started studying modern day Downers Grove. We will continue reading and jotting notes in our learning logs. Tentative test date for this information will be Tuesday, December 4.

Science: We will be reading lesson 4 on Monday, How do Ecosystems Change? Open book graded review on this lesson will take place on Wednesday, 11/28. The science test on chapter 4 will be on Friday, 11/30.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We started our time unit today. If there is ever a question on how to tackle the homework, please ask your child to consult their math packets. They are always in the math pocket of your child's binder. Monday and Tuesday of next week we will be focusing on a.m./p.m. and elapsed time. The following week, we will work on the calendar. After reviewing on Tuesday, I think the students will be ready for a test on time on Wednesday, 11/28, but I will gauge that and make a final decision as it gets closer.

Important Dates:

11/20 – Mrs. Klacza's class DG field trip

11/21-11/23 – Thanksgiving holiday

11/29 – Picture retakes

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/12/12 - 11/16/12

Happy Veteran's Day everyone! Please make sure to thank a veteran for their service to our country, especially this weekend. Enjoy the 3-day weekend! Go Bears!!!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: We will have an unusual spelling week... There will be no pretest or test; however, there are Thanksgiving words that will be given out on Tuesday and a homework assignment which goes along with the words.

English: There will be a Nouns quiz on lessons 1-3 (unit 2 in our textbooks) on Tuesday. It will cover what a noun is (a person, place, or thing,) nouns in a subject, and common/proper nouns. We will then move on to plural nouns. Tentative test date for the entire unit is 11/29.

Reading: We will continue studying synonyms and antonyms this week. We will also meet in our book groups to continue/finish up our current novels. Lastly, we will be doing some turkey-related activities. The students are bringing home a turkey today that they need to disguise. They will be writing about it this coming week.

Social Studies: I've moved the quiz to 11/14 on Downers Grove history. The students are aware of this. The study guide already went home and the packet should be in their social studies pockets. We will then continue studying modern day Downers Grove. Field trip is on 11/20!

Science: A lesson review (quiz) on lesson 3 (how living things survive in ecosystems) will be on Thursday. Remember, students may use their textbooks and notes during the lesson review. There is one more lesson coming up in chapter 4; tentative test date for the chapter is 11/30

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: This week we continue chapter 5 on money and time. Today we were making change. Students took home their change and some fake bills. Please make sure they use it to make change, which is the homework for today. Tuesday we will work on adding/subtracting money. We will review on Wednesday and the test on money is scheduled for 11/15. After that, we will move on to the time portion of chapter 5.

Important Dates:

11/12 – Day off; Veteran's Day

11/20 – Mrs. Klacza's class DG field trip

11/21-11/23 – Thanksgiving holiday

11/29 – Picture retakes

Have a great LONG weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/5/12 - 11/9/12

Thank you to all the parents who came to conferences on Monday and Tuesday. It was delightful to sit down and chat with you about your child. Thank you, also, for being so prompt!! I had a lot of conferences, but was able to stay on schedule :)

Thank you to all the fabulous Halloween “party moms!” The game stations were awesome and the food/beverages were incredible!! I've said it before and I'll say it again... We have the best families in District 66!!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: This week we will have no spelling words or tests since it is a 3-day week. Enjoy the time off!

English: We have started studying Nouns which is Unit 2 in the text book. This week we will focus specifically on common and proper nouns and nouns in the subject of the sentence.

Reading: We will continue predicting and also add on synonyms and antonyms. We will also meet in our book groups to continue/finish up our current novels.

Social Studies: We will be finishing up our Downers Grove history packet. There will be a quiz covering the material on 11/13.

Science: A lesson review (quiz) on lesson 2 (types of ecosystems) will be on Thursday. Remember, students may use their textbooks and notes during the lesson review.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: This week we will start chapter 5 on money and time. I will break it in half and test both sections separately. This week we will focus specifically on counting bills and coins, comparing money amounts, and making change. The test on money is scheduled for 11/15. We'll then move on to time! A letter went home today asking for your child to bring in some coins for Monday. Thank you!

Important Dates:

11/5 – Day off

11/6 – Teacher Institute (students are off/parents are voting!!)

11/12 – Day off; Veteran's Day

11/20 – Mrs. Klacza's class DG field trip

11/21-11/23 – Thanksgiving holiday

11/29 – Picture retakes

Have a great LONG weekend! Mrs. Klacza