Week of September 29th

This week, we will be starting our spelling paragraphs. Each student will be expected to write the paragraph Monday and Wednesday nights and return it the following day. On Wednesday, a cursive version will come home for them to trace. This counts for writing the paragraph and practicing cursive. They must choose 3 words that might be difficult for them. These three words must be written 3 times correctly on the back of the sheet.
The paragraph is generated by the students with direction from me. We are working on the Step Up to Writing model with a topic sentence, main ideas and details, and conclusions. I also try to incorporate skills they are to be working on in reading. This week it is compound words and contractions.

This week's paragraph is:
Pollinating Flowers
We have been growing plants in Science. They have sprouted leaves and yellow flowers. On Tuesday, we pollinated the flowers. Bees, birds, butterflies, and wind normally pollinate flowers. It's been an interesting experience!

The test on this paragraph will be on Friday.

We continue to study Friendship in reading. In math, we are working on fact families and using them to complete addition and subtraction problems. We will be finishing up our unit study on plant growth and development - hopefully. Plants are never predictable!

Monday, October 6th we will start Food is Elementary. Thank you for your generous support. If you have not sent in the permission slip, please do so or your child will not be able to participate. Also, thank you to Mr. Henn who will be helping out. We still need one more parent volunteer. Let me know if you are interested.

Week of Sept. 15

This week students will take the MAP test in both reading and math. These tests show the approximate level in both subjects for your student. Results will be shared during the November conferences.

Wednesday, Sept. 17th, we will be visited by Bill Hoage and his guide dog Donde. Bill and Donde will come in to talk to the kids about being blind and the use of guide dogs. This goes with the story we completed last week in reading, Rugby and Rosie.

On Friday, Lincoln will kick off the annual Jog-A-Thon. Your support on this fundraiser is greatly appreciated.

Your student will be bringing home an Honors Reading List. This is a list of books that the third grade teachers think your student should read at the beginning of the year. Please look over this list and encourage your child to check some of these books out of our library. More lists will come as we continue in the year.

Please continue to send in Food is Elementary permission slips and $8.00 checks. We appreciated your support!

Code Word :

Learning

Weekly News for Sept. 8

We start our first story in reading this week, Rugby and Rosie. This story is about a boy who raises a guide dog. Please send in with your child any stories or pictures you find that show friendship between humans and animals.

We are growing Wisconsin Fast Plants. During this study, we will be learning about the lifecycle of a plant, how bees influence plant life, and the basics of science notebooking.

Our first spelling test will be this Friday. Purple lists will be sent home every Monday (or Tuesday if there isn't school on Monday). Please make sure your student studies their words for Friday.

Reminders:

• Open House is Thursday @ 6:30 - 7:30. I look forward to meeting you all.
• Be sure your student reads an AR book nightly. Reading calendars are due at the end of the month.
• There is homework every night.

Please remember to sign and return the permission slip for Food is Elementary. The cost of the program is $8.00. This check should be made out to LEAP.

Have a wonderful week!