1. Last Week’s Happenings…
Ms. Deming’s Weekly Newsletter
February 22, 2016
Last Week’s Happenings…
Classroom Economist
Last week Mahip presented his classroom economist report from the last class store. He did a fantastic job!
Fraction Fun
Last week depending on what group students are in, they either created a fraction pizza or a shape where they had to write the fraction of each color.
Social Studies – Geography
To learn about latitude and longitude last week students studied globes and played a treasure game that required them to find the coordinates.
February Birthday Celebration
Happy Birthday Maya!
Mathapalooza
Some of the students in our class participated in mathapalooza. Mercy, Henry, Garrett, and Nela were part of the team. Congratulations to Henry Pratt-Brown for winning first place in the individual competition.

2. Happening This Week… Grammar
Math
Students will continue with our fraction unit. This week they will finish learning about fractions on a number line. They will also be learning about equivalent fractions using pictures and number lines. If a student gets a 100% on their math pretest for a specific skill, they will be working on an enrichment activity. Students are also still working on PBL’s from the previous unit (Panthers PBL and Division Board Game). Panther PBL is due by Wednesday, March 2. The division board game PBL is due Wednesday, March 9. Students will be given time to work on in class during math.
Reading
This week the students will get their series reading unit test back in their Thursday folder. If they got below a 79%, they must retest. Students will also watch the Series of Unfortunate Events movie in class on Monday. This is the read aloud book we have been reading throughout the unit. They will compare and contrast the movie from the book series. Students’ series reading projects are due Tuesday. We will also begin our William and Mary unit called, “The Green Book.” This unit is from the William and Mary curriculum that is specifically designed for gifted learners.
Writing
Students will continue with their nonfiction magazine articles. Students are working on writing their paragraphs, creating subheadings for their paragraphs, including text features, a glossary, and a magazine cover for their illustration. This is similar to the project they did at home, just not as detailed.
Grammar
There will be no grammar this week as we are trying to finish up with our nonfiction writing articles.
Important Dates to know…
-3/1 Early Release Day
-3/2 Book Character Day (Come to school dressed as your favorite book character). More information will be sent home. Also on this day we will be Skyping with another 3rd grade class from Georgia.
-3/16 Shiele Museum 3rd Grade Field Trip
-3/18 Mother/Son Event
-3/31 End of third quarter
-3/25-4/3 No School Spring Break
Vocabulary Dates:
-List 8 words introduced Tuesday 2/16 and Wednesday 2/17
-List 8 test Friday 2/26
**Vocabulary will be post-poned for 3-4 weeks after list 8 due to our William and Mary unit**
Spelling Homework & Test Dates:
Group 1 words introduced Wednesday 3/2 and test 3/9
Group 2 words introduced Thursday 3/3 and test 3/10
Group 3 words introduced Friday 3/4 and test 3/11
Upcoming Assignment Due Dates:
-Tuesday 2/23 Reading Series Project Due
-Vocabulary List 8 Assignment D & E in Wordly Wise book due
Upcoming Test & Quiz Dates:
-Wednesday 2/24 Social Studies Mid-Unit Quiz on Geography
-Friday 2/26 Science Unit Test on Earth’s Movement & Moon Phases
-Friday 2/26 Vocabulary Test on List 8
-Weekly (every Thursday) Green Book comprehension and vocabulary assessments. Students will have their first one this Thursday. Vocabulary for this week only will be open book/journal since students’ have their Wordly Wise test on Friday. To do well, please make sure students are caught up with their reading and also that they look over their vocabulary words in their Green Book journal they will receive in class on Tuesday.
Science- This week the students will learn about the different phases of the moon. The students will participate in an experiment that involves OREO cookies. They will have to create the phases of the moon by carving the frosting and putting them in order. Students’ study guides are due Thursday and their test is on Friday.
Social Studies- This week the students will be learning about absolute and relative location. Their study guide is due Tuesday and they have a mid unit quiz on Wednesday.
Notes from Ms. Deming 
-We will begin a reading unit from the William and Mary curriculum beginning Tuesday of this week. Students will have assigned reading and journal response questions each day. Whatever they do not finish in class they should do for homework as part of their read 30 minutes for homework. The William and Mary curriculum is a reading and writing curriculum designed specifically for gifted learners. We will be teaching vocabulary throughout this unit, so we will be post-poning Wordly Wise until after this unit is finished. The unit will consist of literature webs, vocabulary graphic organizers, journal response questions, paideia seminars, and weekly comprehension/vocabulary quiz’s.
-This week we will begin EOG prep. We will review one 3rd grade common core state standard each week. We will complete a model passage with questions together as a class then the students will do one on their own. Students who don’t show mastery will be retaught and will complete a second passage. These will not count toward their grade. This EOG prep will be every Friday.
-Progress reports will go home next week. Date TBD.
-Please make sure students are continuing to practice their multiplication and division facts to retain their fluency.
Important Information and Reminders
Wish List Link: