WELCOME TO MRS. RUBY'S THIRD GRADE CLASSROOM!

April 2008

Dear Families,

  I would like to remind you of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) that your child will be during the week after spring break.  The dates are April 15-18.  We test for most of the school day on these dates.  If at all possible, please avoid scheduling appointments, or early dismissals during this week.  Thank you.

There is no book report this month because of the Community Reports and the gathering of sources.  We went to the library today and had a chance to look for some books, but trips to the public library or internet sites outside of the school day will also be needed.  We have discussed that interviews are an excellent resource and writing or calling for brochures etc. is also a great way to gather information.  Other sources might include: books, magazines, the internet, or encyclopedias.  It will be required to use at least two different sources, and depending on the topic, preferably three.  Everyone now has a topic and hopefully ideas for sources. This week I will be teaching the students how to generate good questions that will be answered in their research papers.  After this lesson we move to note taking (using a gathering grid.)  At the end of this week I will send a sample grid and additional instructions to keep at home over the break.  There will be no homework during testing week except perhaps reading and looking for information on the report topic.  Your child should not begin to write the paper until we have had a chance to discuss and model opening paragraphs and so forth.  As I mentioned before this is a process for third-graders!  Each student will be labeling a folder to keep as his or her “report folder” and they should get in the habit of taking it to and from school each day.

In math we continue with chapter nine-Multiplication and the patterns we can find in multiplication.  We will be taking the chapter test on Friday morning (first thing, before the egg drop.) 

This week’s story is in the second reader and is called “Ali Baba Bernstein.”  It’s a sweet story about the uniqueness of our names, but most especially that we would always be the same person no matter what our names are.  Part of tomorrow’s homework will be a quick look at what our names mean and the origin of our names.

EGG DROP-optional, but fun!  The requirements and rules are listed on the school website.  Basically, it is a raw egg, packaged for protection in a container no larger than seven inches in height, width or length.  The container must be labeled with the student’s name and classroom.  ASB officers visited last week with examples and encouragement!  Parents are invited to view the drop on Friday morning.  3R’s scheduled time is 8:45-9:15, so grab a coffee and come back to view the drop.  There is an early dismissal that day so teachers may attend a Social Studies in-service.

April is National Poetry Month and we will be writing a couple different types of poetry during this month.  We begin with cinquain poetry about spring-- if the weather cooperates!  It would be difficult to write about the feeling of spring when the snow is falling!

Thank you to all who were able to attend Mass last Thursday when 3R led the other students in worship.  All those who participated did a beautiful job and we appreciate the extra at-home practice.

Have a wonderful spring break with your families.  Any extra time could be used for report reading and math fact practice!  We have completed all the facts 0-10 and now it is time to memorize!

                                                                             God bless,

                                                                             Melissa Ruby

        THANKS FOR VISITING THE 3R WEBPAGE!