Third Grade News October 2017 STEM Snippets Humanities Highlights Friendly Reminders                                                          10/6 Early Dismissal for Students 10/10 PTO Meeting- 7 pm 10/13 PTO Fun Run (during specials) 10/20 No school for students   Pizza Hut’s Book It Program has started! Simply fill out the calendar each time your child reads and once he or she earns 300 minutes for the month, turn it in for a coupon for a free personal pan pizza! Students have been working hard: *applying weekly vocabulary words *reading fantasy and realistic fiction text, with a focus on the characters and how they feel or change throughout the story *working on their personal narrative writing pieces *applying Fundations phonics lessons to improve spelling *identifying statements, commands, questions, and exclamations *using the correct punctuation mark at the end of sentences *using text evidence to support answers Upcoming in Humanities: STEM Snippets      *3rd Grade STEM students have been quite the busy bees! We have learned strategies for both multiplication and division and are putting them to use in a variety of real world problems. Students have received their multiplication fact folders and are excited to move up their “levels” each week! At-home fact practice each night is very much encouraged via flash cards, First in Math, fact apps, or games!        *In Science, we've had a blast exploring the life cycles of insects. We participated in a compost investigation and are currently observing the life cycle of meal worms. Soon we will be able to compare this with the life cycles of plants and vertebrates, and begin exploring different inherited and acquired traits! We are going to start reading nonfiction articles by learning about inventors & their important contributions! Students will use text features to deepen their understanding of the text and identify the main idea of the articles. In addition to written responses, our next writing piece will be one where the students have to finish a narrative story. Students will think of what could happen next to the characters and create a realistic ending to the story. Character Trait of the Month Congratulations to Kai, Julia, and CJ!!! All three students were voted by their classmates for showing qualities of Respect. Our October trait of the month is Responsibility. Point out ways your child is showing responsibility when you see it!