Our CRCT testing has been completed for this year. A big "thank you" goes out to all who gave their best. The remaining 18 days of school will be filled with learning opportunities that allow each student to apply concepts and skills that have been taught throughout the year.
Click below for some fun learning about our government system:
CRCT testing will begin on Wednesday, April 23. The third graders will be taking the reading section on this day. There will be a total of 5 testing days. Please make sure that your child has plenty of rest and eats a healthy breakfast. Throughout the year, the children have been taught many concepts, strategies and skills that will help them with the testing process. Please offer your child words of encouragement and support so that he or she will not experience any test anxiety.
The students have had an exciting, educational week. They successfully presented their wax museum for an audience of 3 classrooms. We also were honored to have Mrs. Hutnik and Mr. O'Connell attend the performance. I was very pleased that each child did his or her best to provide factual information about the nine great American Heroes. I want to thank all parents who helped provide creative costumes. You and your child's attention to detail made this event more special.
We are continuing to sharpen our multiplication and division skills since applying these concepts with 3-digit numbers can be challenging. In order to help your child become more comfortable with these problems, please give your child some practice problems over the break.
Important Dates:
April 7-11 Cobb County Spring Break - Have a wonderful time together. I will see you back at school on Monday, April 14th.
April 18 - Spring Carnival at Big Shanty from 5:30-8:30
April 23,24,25,28, and 29 - CRCT testing
May 5 - Third grade field trip to Vulcan
Here are some topics that Mrs. Laudick's Super Stars are learning about:
Study Island - The students have had the opportunity to utilize technology and this wonderful Language Arts program to enhance a variety of reading skills. Your child can access this program from home by clicking on the link below. They should know their password and username. This program would be an excellent tool to use over spring break. Have fun learning!
The students are excited about presenting a wax museum on American heroes. To the right, are a few of the heroes that will be presented. The children are gathering facts and data about these individuals by reading narrative pieces and utilizing encyclopedias and online resources. The wax museum will have two interactive stations so our audience can apply what we have taught them!
In science, we have continued our studies on heat. Mother Nature has been cooperative this week and the students were able to see the affects of "solar energy"during our outside science lab. The solar cookers (i.e. chocolate was involved) and the solar mini-cars were a big hit. Please ask your child to share what he or she learned.
This week, we are reviewing all concepts learned in our measurement/fraction & decimal unit.
Please use the link below to practice many different math skills.
Click here: http://www.rainforestmaths.com/
The Big Shanty Author's Night will be on Tuesday, April 1st, following the PTA meeting. It should be a night filled with creativity, excitement, and learning. I look forward to seeing you there.
Here is the CRCT practice link for you to use from home. Let me know what you think about it.
During the beginning of February, we will be learning the following concepts:
In math, our focus will be on measurement. The students will be exploring how to measure length to the nearest 1/2 and 1/4 inch. They will also learn to accurately measure various objects using centimeters and millimeters. Soon, I will be sending home information regarding a fun and creative measurement project that is to be completed at home.
Next week we will be presenting our class plays. The students have been busy learning their lines, practicing fluency, and showing expression. Each student has designed a costume and helped their group create scenery for their play. The students will continue to take "short" CRCT practice tests at school to prepare for the test in April. They are using bubble sheets to record the answers so they will be familiar with the testing format. At home, you can help your child by ensuring that he or she is reading nightly and practicing good reading strategies.
We soon will be finishing our unit on magnets. The children really enjoyed conducting several magnet experiments and they devoted a lot of energy and talent towards creating a story about a "super magnet hero." This unit helped them to see that learning about science can be fun!
In writing, the students will be creating several different persuasive pieces. Although this writing can be challenging at first, children usually come up with clever reasons to convince their audience to support their point of view!
Upcoming events: Wed. Feb 6 - Early dismissal - released 2 hours early
Mon. Feb. 18 - President's Day - no school
Tues. Feb. 19 - Teacher Work Day - no school for students
I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday break. I am looking forward to starting the second half of our school year with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement for learning. Some of the concepts that we will be learning are: writing persuasive pieces, utilizing reading strategies to comprehend fictional text,& identifying fractional parts of a whole or set.
Important dates:
Jan. 21 - No school ( Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday)
Jan. 22,23,24,25, & 28 - early release - Parent Conferences
The students have been busy learning about their city, state and federal government. Since this is such a broad and detailed topic, we will be spending many sessions covering this standard. Below are some fun, interactive sites that your child can use at home to explore more about our government.
Kids.Gov: http://www.kids.gov/
Ben's Guide to Government : http://bensguide.gpo.gov/subject.html
Over the remaining weeks of this grading period, the students will continue to strengthen multiplication and division skills. We also will be reading informational text and creating several informational writing pieces. Thus, our days will be filled with wonder and learning as we all look forward to a nice, winter break.
Happy Holidays from Mrs. Laudick
