Lattes of Learning in Third Grade

October 6th – No School (Fall Long Weekend)
October 7th – School Resumes with a regular start time.
October 10th – Special Persons Day (1:15 to 2:30- please see your student’s yellow folder for important information about this event)
October 18th – Vantoberfest!! (see email from school)
October 20th – 3rd and 4th grade field trip to Meadowcroft (Information will be sent home next week)

Phonics
This week, we dug into the schwa o sound and tackled longer, multisyllabic words. To make our practice even more engaging, Mrs. Lori joined us for a special phonics lesson. She re-introduced us to an Elkonin box drill, where students broke words apart into sounds and practiced mapping them. The class had a blast tapping out words, stretching sounds, and seeing how each syllable connects. This hands-on activity really helped students build confidence with more complex words.

Math
In math, subtraction with multi-digit numbers has been our big focus. We practiced lining up numbers carefully and remembering the important step of borrowing when needed. We reminded student to “go ask your number neighbor to borrow” — it made the tricky process a little more fun! We’ve been working through lots of practice problems together and in small groups, and it’s been rewarding to see students grow more accurate and quicker in their strategies.

Deep Dive
Our Deep Dive has taken us into the fascinating world of reptiles. We’ve learned about their unique traits, habitats, and life cycles. Students are putting all their knowledge together as they work on writing and illustrating our very own zoology book, which will soon be published! Each child has chosen an animal to research and is becoming an “expert” in that area. The excitement of creating a real book that families can order has been a huge motivator — they are so proud of their hard work!

Reading
This week we hosted a very special event — our Book Tasting Café! Students rotated through different “tables” with a variety of genres: mysteries, biographies, poetry, fantasy, and more. At each stop, they sampled a book, recorded their thoughts, and reflected on which genres they enjoyed most. To make the event extra memorable, we turned the classroom into our own version of Starbucks. Students ordered a pink drink (pink lemonade) or coffee (chocolate milk) before diving into their books. They loved sipping on their “drinks” while discovering new favorite types of stories. This experience will help guide their reading choices as we begin our study of genres next week.

Writing
In writing, students are finishing their second or third memoirs. It’s been wonderful to see them write about meaningful experiences in their lives and then revise their work to make it stronger. They are learning to add more details, reflect on the feelings connected to their memories, and bring their moments to life for readers. After fall break, we’ll be shifting into a new form of writing — and we can’t wait to see how they transfer their growing skills.

Special Visit
We were lucky to have a visit from the Ohio County Library this week. Mr. B from the Ohio County Library made a visit to third grade on Friday and brought some very fun and engaging Halloween activities to do with us! We listened to Creepy Crayon to welcome the spooky season and we even got to put on a small play! We love when Mr. B comes to visit us and we can’t wait until he comes back in November!

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR PARENTS! Thank you to all the parents who took time out of their day to meet with us during our Parent Partnership Meetings over the past two weeks. We truly loved having the chance to sit down with you and talk about your child’s growth and ways we can continue working together to support their journey in third grade. Your insight and partnership means so much, and we are grateful for the time and care you put into being part of your child’s learning.

We hope you all enjoy your fall long weekend and make some memories with your student! Please make sure to check your student’s yellow folder for important information about our Special Persons Day and to RSVP!

We will see you all on Tuesday, October 7th for our regular start time!

Madison and Paula

(mkmcdonald@wcdsedu.com and pbuck@wcdsedu.com)