Friendly Letter Writing

Starting in January, students will be reviewing the elements of a friendly letter.  They will combine these elements with convincing arguments to support their point of view.  Students will be writing persuasive letters on a variety of topics and for different purposes.  They will use success criteria and teacher feedback to improve their writing.  

Strong and Stable Structures

In Science, we will be starting an inquiry into Strong and Stable Structures after the holidays.

Students will be exposed to the following big ideas:

• A structure has both form and function. 
• Structures are affected by forces acting on them.
• Structures need to be strong and stable to be useful.

In order to increase engagement, science is intended to be as hands on as possible.  We will be building and creating different structures using a variety of materials and we will investigate how size, centre of gravity, design, and shape affect the structure's strength and stability.

To support your child's development and understanding at home, you could:

• point out different structures in the neighbourhood (bridge, building, treehouse) and discuss its design features
• observe a construction site for a few minutes and discuss how the structures are being build and what materials have been selected
• look for photographs of impressive world structures and compare designs

Linear Measurement

On January 9, students in 3C will be starting a new math unit.  In our Linear Measurement unit, students will cover the following skills and concepts:

• estimate, measure, and record length, height, and distance, using standard units (i.e., centimetre, metre, kilometre)
• draw items using a ruler, given specific lengths in centimetres
• compare standard units of length (i.e., centimetre, metre, kilometre) (e.g., centimetres are smaller than metres), and select and justify the most appropriate standard unit to measure length;
• compare and order objects on the basis of linear measurements in centimetres and/or metres

You can assist your child's development and understanding by:

• having him/her select appropriate units of measure for certain objects in real life
• asking him/her to measure objects in your home using a tape measure or ruler 
• estimating how many kilometres it takes to drive to a familiar destination and checking upon arrival

Patterning Quiz Study Note

The Grade 3’s will be having a math quiz on Tuesday, December 20, 2016.  For the quiz, students need to know the following:

Learning Intention:   We are learning to…

• Describe and extend a variety of patterns involving numbers and shapes.

Success Criteria

I can…

✔  Extend growing or shrinking patterns.

✔  Write a pattern rule for a pattern.

Examples:  Start at 3.  Add 5 each time.  (3, 8, 13, 18…)

        Start at 2.  Add 3 then increase the amount you add by 1 each time.  

                 (2, 5, 9, 14 …)

     Start at 25.  Subtract 3 each time (25, 22, 19,16)

✔  Find number patterns on a hundred chart and number line.  Describe the pattern.

Example: Start at 30.  Count on by 5s.

  30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55

  Pattern:  The ones digit repeats 0, 5

    The tens digit repeats 2 times then increases by 1.

           ✔ Use a table to organize the information from a pattern.

✔  Extend repeating patterns where 2 or 3 attributes are changing (shape, size, number, position, colour, thickness…)

✔ List and identify attributes that can change in patterns (shape, size, number, position…)

✔ Solve word problems

Students need to take home their math duotang in order to be well prepared for the quiz.  They must bring their duotang back to school each day as we will be reviewing the concepts in class.  

Thank you!

Heritage Schoolhouse Trip - NEW DATE

HERITAGE SCHOOLHOUSE FIELD TRIP RESCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2017

Making Predictions

Throughout the month of December, students will be focusing on a new comprehension strategy: Making Predictions.  Students will make predictions before and during their reading.  They will monitor and verify their predictions and make changes to them when necessary.  They may use foreshadowing in the text and their own background knowledge to formulate their predictions. Making predictions can be used when reading fiction and non-fiction texts.  This comprehension strategy has strong cross-curricular connections to social studies and science as well.
You can support your child at home by listening to him/her read aloud and asking for thoughtful predictions.  Discuss the predictions and read on to find out how accurate they are and how they help readers better understand the text.