Grade 3 Curriculum Night

Reading:

This week, readers will be learning how to share books. When you have a book that you want other people to read, you don’t simply ‘dump’ it on them. You can create an atmosphere in which another person wants to read that book.  

Writing:

We are having fun studying the English language. English is a language system governed by rules, and this concept aligns with our current unit of inquiry. Students will continue making these connections while learning, applying, and transferring their understanding about rules in the English language. Please discuss how the rules in the English language compare to the rules in your own language. 

Math:

Students will apply their knowledge of area and perimeter to create shapes with the same perimeter and different area or different perimeter and the same area. They will create a variety of models & support and communicate their reasoning in discussions.  

Unit of Inquiry:

Students are learning more about hierarchy and leadership. After looking at different systems that are broken around the school, students are now looking at ways the community could be supported and who could make the changes. 

Reading:

This week, readers will be studying the particular word choices an author makes. For example, is there a difference in describing something as big or as large? Does this make you form a different visual image? How important is it to be specific with your word choices? 

Writing:

This week, writers will be taking a deeper look at the structure of their writing (grammar!) In particular, they will be looking at fronted adverbials, subordinating and coordinating conjunctions, and paragraphing. 

Math:

As students learn about perimeter as an attribute of plane figures, they apply their knowledge to real world situations through problem solving (3.MD.8).  Our mathematicians measure side lengths of shapes in whole number units to determine perimeter and solve problems where side lengths are given and not given.  Students consider the efficiency of their strategies and identify tools for solving; for example, they use multiplication as a tool when measurements are repeated.  

Social Studies:

This week students are thinking about how organized systems function? What do systems look like when they work and what do they look like when they don’t work. Students will create a system that fixes an issue we’re having in 3rd grade. 

Special Dates:

May 10th- Student Led Conference. Don’t forget to sign up for them if you haven’t already. Your child DOES need to attend the conference.

Reading:

This week, readers are further exploring characters. They will learn that the more you know about a character, the better you know them, and the better you know them, the stronger your predictions will become. We will also begin book clubs. Students have been chosen to join a book club and be in a fishbowl for the class to watch their conversation.

Math:

Students next use tangrams and tetrominoes to compose and decompose shapes.  They reason about the relationships between shapes and between attributes.  For example, students understand that quadrilaterals can be decomposed into triangles, and recognize that the two smallest triangles in a tangram puzzle can be put together to form a parallelogram, a square, and a medium triangle.

Social Studies:

This week students will be thinking about the questions: What are systems? What are rights? What are responsibilities? A provocation of a morning without rules (except to stay safe) and noting conflicts and frustration. Another morning full of rules! A rule to get out of your seat. A rule to get a drink of water. Students are asked to notice how systems work and don’t work. 

Writing:

Storytelling! We are working on sharing a story that will be turned into a podcast. A focus on using vivid verbs, paragraphing, voice and expression. Having a good lead to hook in the reader and working on the story structure. Stay tuned for wonderful podcasts!

Quizlet Vocabulary  

Reading:

This week, we begin our final reading unit of the year, focused on book clubs. Students will be in book clubs, sharing what they’ve read and what they think about. Specifically, this week students will be analysing how the main characters respond in different situations. 

Math:

Topic B introduces an exploration of geometry.  Students build on Grade 2 ideas about polygons and their properties, specifically developing and expanding their knowledge of quadrilaterals.  They explore the attributes of quadrilaterals and classify examples into various categories, including recognizing the characteristics of polygons (3.G.1).  Students draw polygons based on their attributes, producing sketches from descriptions like, “This shape has two long sides that are parallel, two short sides, and no right angles.”

Students next use tangrams to compose and decompose shapes.  They reason about the relationships between shapes and between attributes.  For example, students understand that quadrilaterals can be decomposed into triangles, and recognize that the two smallest triangles in a tangram puzzle can be put together to form a parallelogram, a square, and a medium triangle.

Social Studies:

Students are starting a new unit of inquiry this week. They will be learning more about how people collaborate to create systems to organize society. We begin this learning journey by understanding more about the rights and responsibilities of ourselves and others. The word “system” will be explored and students will be gathering information of how people create systems. 

Writing:

I was lucky enough to attend a storytelling workshop at level 5 over the long weekend. I learned great strategies that I plan to use over the next few weeks in class and getting kids to write and share their own stories. We’re going to end the writing unit with more of choice. Now that students have learned different genre’s of writing, they get to explore one they feel most passionate about.