1. Ms. Deming’s Weekly Newsletter Last Week’s Happenings…
December 7, 2015
Last Week’s Happenings…
Experiment 1
Last week we did an experiment on force, mass, and speed. The students used a sling shot to launch a nerf ball and a basketball. Students had to apply different forces and then record the distance the ball traveled. Students were able to observe that mass and the amount of force applied affect the speed and distance of an object.
Experiment 2
In this experiment the students learned about slope and distance. The students used a car and ramp to explore this. Students kept adding textbooks to their ramp in order to increase the slope. Students were able to observe that the great slope they had, the farther the car would travel. Students also changed the friction of their ramp by using aluminum foil and bubble wrap to see how this affected the distance the car went.

2. Happening This Week… Grammar
Math
Students will continue working on our multiplication unit. So far, I have a few students who have completed all of their pathways. Once they complete all of their pathways, they will be given the multiplication PBL. For the PBL, students must choose a city to build a new resort and design the resort. They have to calculate prices for all of the items they will have to buy. When they are finished, they have to draw their resort. Students will also be taking the quarter 1 common assessment this week. This will check for retention of place value, addition, and subtraction. It will not be used as a grade.
Reading
This week we will continue with our nonfiction reading unit. This week we will do another close reading on a fifth grade level nonfiction passage about Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement. The students will also have their assessment on Tuesday on the skill finding the connection between sentences and paragraphs in a text. They will be asked questions like, “How are paragraphs 1 and 4 similar?” The rest of the week, students will read technical, historical, and scientific texts and they will have to identify events and steps in a procedure. Students will also MAP test in reading this week.
Writing
This week we will wrap up our “Upping the Quality of Personal Narratives” unit. Students must turn in a second narrative on Wednesday. This means, they may have to take home to work on. I will be sending home the rubric. This will be taken as a formal grade. This week we will also begin our nonfiction writing unit.
Grammar
This week the students will learn about compound sentences. They will learn that you can join a compound sentence together by using a comma and the words and or but, Students will have a mini grammar assessment on Friday.
Science- This week we will continue with our force and motion unit. We will be wrapping up this unit this week. Expect a test next week.
Social Studies- We will continue with our unit on citizenship. This week the students will learn all about our local government.
Important Dates to know…
-12/8 Winter reading MAP testing 1:00-2:30
-12/10 (Our class goes on this day) Third Grade Field Trip to Rosedale -12/9 Narrative writing piece (different than the first one they turned in) due for a formal grade
-12/11 Last day of fall clusters
-12/14 – 12/18 Scholastic Book Fair in media center
-12/15 Winter math MAP testing 1:00-2:30
-12/17 Winter Concert for grade 3 (students should meet in their classrooms at 6 p.m. The concert begins at 6:30).
-12/18 Cluster Expo
-12/18 December birthday 3:00
-12/21 – 1/3 No School Winter Break
Vocabulary Dates:
-List 5 words introduced 12/7 and 12/8 and test 12/18
Spelling Dates:
Group 1: New words introduced 12/2 and test 12/9
Group 2: New words introduced 12/3 and test 12/10
Group 3: New words introduced 12/4 and test 12/11
Assignment Due Dates this week:
Second published narrative writing piece with illustration due Wednesday, December 9.
Test & Quiz Dates this week:
Reading informal assessment on finding the connection between paragraphs and sentences is on Tuesday, December 8/
Grammar assessment on compound sentences is on Friday, December 11.
Notes from Ms. Deming 
-Don’t forget our field trip is this week. We will eat lunch when we get back to the school. Students who wish to buy a lunch will be receiving a bagged lunch. Please have students dressed appropriately for the field trip. This means sneakers that are comfortable to walk in, coats, gloves, and hats.
-This week and next students will be doing their winter MAP tests for reading and math. They will be given their winter goals that they are trying to reach. If they reach their goal, they will earn lunch in the classroom or outside for a picnic with me and a dessert after lunch. Please try to have students present on these days from 1:00-2:30.
-Second Quarter Progress reports will go home this Thursday, December 10, 2015.
-Please continue to do Compass Learning, Khan Academy, and practice your child’s math facts at home with them. Once they master, I will be working with them on enrichment.
Important Information and Reminders
To efficiently manage classroom items on the wish list, a sign up genius was created. The link is:
Please check it weekly!