Inferring

Do you remember being asked to make inferences when you were in third grade reading groups? I do. And although I was considered a strong reader, I had no idea idea what an inference was.

In Room 221, we will begin to take the mystery out of inferences, because we make them every day. To make an inference you use your schema (background knowledge - the stuff that's already inside your head) plus the clues that you see (or hear) around you. For example, if I hear my dog scratching at the door, I can infer that he wants to go out.

Readers do the same thing with texts. They use their schema plus clues from the text or the illustrations. We learned that readers can infer in three different ways:

1. Infer the meaning of an unknown word
2. Infer to make a prediction
3. Infer to deepen our understanding of what's happening in the text

Share the inferences you make as you read with your third grader!

Extra Help This Week

I will be holding extra help sessions again on Wednesday morning (7:50-8:20)and Thursday afternoon (2:35-3:05). This week we will continue our focus on elapsed time.

I am happy to see as many children who are interested. I only ask that you notify me to let me know that your child is coming.

Fair Shares

Our class is beginning a new unit on fractions, called Fair Shares. Your child will be using fractions to make "fair shares" of things like paper "brownies" and pattern-block "cookies." By working with these materials, your child will learn about how "wholes" come apart into fractions and how fractions fit together as wholes. We'll talk about which of two shares is larger and which fractions are really the same (for example, 1/3 is the same as 2/6).

Here are some ways that you can help at home:

*When your family is sharing food, talk about "fair shares" and help your child name fractions. If you want to split the pizza among five people, how can you split it fairly? How much does each person get?

*Cooking is another great way to learn about fractions. How can we measure 3/4 cup? Look together at how the fractions appear on a measuring cup. Doubling recipes, or cutting them in half, can help your child understand how to make new numbers with fractions.

The purpose of this unit is for students to visualize and compare fractions, to find different combinations of fractions that make a whole, to learn which common fractions are equivalent, and to begin to use fractions to solve problems like this one:

Six people at a party shared all the cookies evenly. Each person ate 1 and 1/3 cookies. How many cookies did they eat?

We love fraction action! :o)Melanie

Paralympics - Social Action

Several weeks ago, during a disabilities event sponsored by the PTC, Room 221 third graders learned that the Paralympics take place several weeks after the Olympics each year. They also learned that the Paralympics are not televised like the Olympics. In fact, the U.S. is one of the only major countries not to televise it. Most others do.

This upset the children greatly. They felt this was unfair and they, in fact, would be interested in watching the Paralympics on television. So, they decided to take action. Third grade social activitists decided to write a letter to the major networks persuading them to televise the Paralympics.

I suggested that we do some research first. So, we emailed several people on the International Paralympics Committee. We learned that they will be publishing a broadcasting schedule soon. Due to our inquiries, Room 221 will be receiving the schedule via email. Therefore, Room 221 has decided to hold off on writing our letter to the networks until we have more information.

Your children should be proud of their actions. Standing up for what you believe in is honorable and an important part of living in a democratic society.

Art Tomorrow

Sorry for the short notice! Mrs. Morgan is working on an architecture unit with third graders for the next few weeks. They are invited to bring in photographs of their houses to draw. This is not mandatory, the children may also choose to draw a historical house in Needham.

Extra Help

Starting this week I will be holding extra help sessions on Wednesday mornings (7:50-8:20)and Thursday afternoons (2:35-3:05). In order to best meet the needs of each child I will be choosing a focus for each session. For example, this week there will be a focus on elapsed time. If your child needs or would like some extra practice in this area they are welcome to attend either or both days.

I am happy to see as many children who are interested. I only ask that you notify me to let me know that your child is coming.

Thank You!

A special thanks to our Room Parents, Misty Perkins and Kathy Lesanto and volunteer Jacquie Sherman for yet another fabulous party! The Friday before vacation the children had a fantastic time decorating Valentine's bags, playing bingo and making beautiful roses.

Thank you!

Report Cards

There have been several questions about signing and returning report cards. You do not have to sign or return these ones. Because we are entirely digital now, new ones will be printed for June.

Please don't hesitate to call or email if you have any questions or concerns.

Have a wonderful vacation! :o)

Reflection Letters

Unfortunately, reflection letters did not make it into our schedule this morning. We will be sure to write to you the Friday after vacation. Sorry!

State Fair

Thank you to all who were able to attend the state fair. The children were very proud (and deservedly so) to show off their learning through facts, songs and their creative dioramas.

Reflection Letters

We have been challenging your children to become more thoughtful letter writers. One of the FCAs for today's letter was "thoughtful response." The children have been viewing responses as an answer to the questions from the previous letter. We are challenging them to think beyond that. Their responses should also address the comments that the previous letter states. For example, if a parent writes about their experience with p.e. when they were a kid, the child should write something about that. They might say, "I'm surprised that..." or "I wonder why..." or "I think it's cool that..." That writing should be addressed.

If you haven't already been doing so, please take the time to respond to your child's letter this weekend. It will help make their letter writing more meaningful and it will give them someone to whom they can respond.

A second FCA this week was "looks right, sounds right." Third graders have fallen out of the habit of rereading their letters for editing purposes. Therefore they accidentally leave out words, write incorrect words or make other small mistakes. I have challenged them to reread all writing that will be read by another person. They should read the writing out loud and point to each word as they read. This will draw their attention to any mistakes they may make so they can be corrected. You should see a difference in their writing soon.

Have a great weekend! :o)

Scholastic Book Club

I will hold off placing an order with Scholastic until Monday. If you are interested, please send in your orders.

Book Club

I know that January books have not yet arrived. They will be arriving soon. I don't want to get behind with our orders, so I'm sending home February's catalog tomorrow.

Sorry for any inconvenience. :o)

Disability Awareness

Room 221 community members had a fantastic learning experience at the Disability Awareness program this afternoon. The children had the opportunity to try adaptive equipment that makes it easier for people with disabilities to do many things like hold a spoon, or reach something up high. Special guest, Dale Wise, was very open with the children as he shared his prosthetic leg and other prosthetic limbs. He also showed the children a short clip from the Paralympics. Did you know that the United States is one of the only countries NOT to televise this major athletic event? Finally, the children were able to try out crutches, walkers and wheelchairs. They even tried playing hockey and basketball while using the equipment.

It's really important that children understand that people with disabilities can do many, many things. They may just do them differently than other people. It is also important for children to remember that disability or not, everyone has things they are good at. Everyone has things they struggle with. Finally, we want children to consider how they treat and talk to people with disabilities. For example, if a child who uses a wheelchair is on the playground, they can find ways to include that child in their play. Children with disabilities want to have friends and be included just like all other children.

Thank you to all the amazing parents that spent many hours making this possible.