Persuasive Writing

The art of persuasion is an important skill, not just in writing, but in living. When humans believe strongly in issues, problems, or causes, they need the skills to explain their thinking.

Third grade writers are currently writing persuasive letters. They have chosen something in their lives - at home, in school, in the world - that they think should be different. In order to persuade their readers, they have brainstormed reasons or examples to support their argument. In addition, third graders are using details to help their reader better understand their reasons.

For example, I am writing to convince my reader that children should have no more than one hour of screen time each day. My reasons include:

1. Children should have more physical activity.
2. Children should have time to participate in other interesting hobbies and activities.
3. Children need time to read, study and work on homework.

Today, I modeled for the children as I developed one of my reasons by writing details about it. I wrote, "Kids should be limited to one hour of screen time because they need to do more physical activities. Exercise keeps people healthy. If kids are sitting in front of a screen, they are not active at all. Some people might say that kids are active on Wii, but I think they get more active outside. "

Ask your child about their persuasive letter today!

Studying States

Third grade geographers are so excited to learn about the 50 United States! We have officially started our unit.

Hopefully your children are busy at home preparing their dioramas and paragraphs for the State Fair. Yesterday, I sent home a checklist to guide third graders as they create. I hope this will help them get organized and keep them from waiting until the last minute. By now, all children should know the topic of their project. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

This week, geographers looked at one way the country is divided into regions. (Different people divide it in different ways, we teach just one example.) Ask your child to tell you where to find these regions on a map of The United States:

New England
Mid-Atlantic
Southeast
Midwest
West
Southwest
Pacific

In addition,it is important that all children know the following:
Our country is made up of 50 states.
Each state has a capital.
The capital of our country is Washington D.C.
We live in Massachusetts.
The capital of Massachusetts is Boston.

The children are also working hard at school to learn about their state. While we are focusing in on one small aspect of their state at home, we are looking at the entire state at school. The children are completing research sheets to gain general information. We are learning about agriculture and manufacturing. (Ask your child for an example of something that is manufactured! Ask them the difference between manufacturing and agriculture!)

This information will be compiled and shared at the state fair. They will be displayed along with the dioramas. Together the children will look carefully at their collective states and find similarities among states. Most importantly, we want children to understand that where people live in our country affect how they live.

"Battle" Scenes

Room 221 loved "Poppy" by Avi as a read aloud. The children loved the suspense of Mr. Ocax and the humor of Ereth. They voted on their favorite chapters. One of their favorites was "The Battle" in which Poppy (the mouse) fights Mr. Ocax (the owl) for her life. They used their bodies to create sculptures of scenes within that chapter. Click here to see photographs of their sculptures.

Poppy

Did you hear? We finished our all time favorite read aloud on Thursday. "Poppy" by Avi was a huge hit in Room 221. The kids were enthralled by the humor of Ereth (the porcupine) and the suspense of Mr. Ocax.

You should know that this book is just one in a series. The books are leveled S, so some third graders can read them independently, but all children will enjoy them as a read aloud. I promise that you will enjoy the books too if you choose to snuggle up to share them with your child. Perhaps you can read them all this summer! The titles are:

"Ragweed"
"Poppy & Rye"
"Ereth's Birthday"
"Poppy's Return"
"Poppy & Ereth"

Avi has written many other fabulous books (apart from the Poppy series). Some are perfect for 9 year olds, some are more suited to older readers. Check them out at your local bookstore or library. You can also check out Avi's website!

MCAS Week!

As many of you know, the Reading MCAS begins next week. We will have a brief practice test on Monday. This is fairly short, and simply gives the children an exposure to the experience.

The actual test will be administered on Wednesday, March 21 and Thursday, March 22 at 9:00am. The test is created to take about 60 minutes. Some children will be done sooner, and others will take longer. The test is untimed, so the children can take as long as they need.

I am asking all students to be in bed by 8:00 the nights before the test. Please help your children follow this guideline. In addition, all children should eat a healthy breakfast before coming to school each test day.

The children are welcome to bring in an extra healthy snack if they would like to eat before the test begins. They will be encouraged to eat lightly so they don't become sleepy from overeating. After all children have completed the test, they will also be able to eat snack and relax for a short time. The children will get extra recess each test morning in order to run off any extra steam.

Next week will look different in terms of homework. Written homework will not be assigned. In addition, the timed quizzes will not be given on Tuesday and Friday. Your children should continue to read (or be read to) for at least 20 minutes each night.

Most importantly, I do not want your children to feel stressed about MCAS. It is important that they know we believe they will do well. Please encourage them to work hard and do their best. However, also remind them that no matter how they do on MCAS, we know they are smart children!

Thanks for your cooperation. Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.

Folk Tales

Room 221 readers have been enjoying folk tales with partners! A folk tale is a story that has been told repeatedly over generations. Folk tales come from all over the world. They often have a "trickster" character and often teach a lesson. Ask your third grader about the folk tale that they are reading.

Contractions

Do you remember learning about contractions when you were in school? A contraction is two words that are smooshed together to make one word. When the words are smooshed together, some letters fall out and are replaced by an apostrophe. "Can not" smooshes together to make the contraction "can't." Ask you're child to share a contraction they heard or wrote today.

Electricity Investigations

Throughout our electricity unit third grade scientists have asked thoughtful questions. Yesterday we sorted our questions into two groups. Some of the questions were "researchable." That means we could find the answers by asking someone, searching on the internet or searching in a book. The questions we were focusing on were "testable." That means third grade scientists could safely find the answers by using scientific equipment.

Third grade scientists are working in groups to answer some of those questions. They will figure out which materials they will need to use. They will describe the set up and write the directions so that any other scientist would be able to repeat the investigation.

Finally, they will give it a try. Third grade scientists can use many different size batteries, different kinds of wire, light bulbs, motors, and switches to answer their questions. I look forward to seeing them collaborate.

Ask your third grader about their questions for an electrical investigation. :o)

Museum of Science

Thanks so much to Austin's mom, Madison's mom, Reed's mom,and Sarah's dad for accompanying us on our field trip today! We couldn't have done it without them. The kids had a blast and learned so much!

Ask your children about the Lightning Show, the 3-D dinosaur movie, the dinosaur exhibit, or the "scientific" playground. I challenged them to tell you at least one thing that they learned.

Have a great weekend! :o)