CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS
- Wednesday, January 14 – Spelling Bee!
- Students were sent home with a list of possible words.
- The winner advances against middle school, then to the county!
- Monday, January 19 – MLK Day of Service (More info below)
- Street Moms and Blanket Making
- Friday, January 30 – Freedom Friday and 8 am Parent Coffee
- Friday, February 6 – 11:30 Early Dismissal – Winter Long Weekend
- Monday, February 9 – No School
- Tuesday, February 10 – No School
New year… same awesome third graders! We kicked things off with adventures, learning, and lots of reconnecting, and the excitement is already filling our classroom. Buckle up— 2026 is going to be full of growth, memories, and fun!
Math: We are wrapping up our multiplication skills by tackling the 11s and 12s. Our third graders created hands-on tools like our 11s multiplication fact origami, they collaborated with their partners, and used loose parts to strengthen their understanding. As a class, we reviewed that a dozen equals 12, making real-world connections to our learning such as a dozen of donuts!
Reading: Our third grade readers are about to jump into their next book club! Before starting our next book club, all the students participated in a fun mini book tasting to preview the different chapter books that we will be using in the coming weeks. The students quickly wrote down three interesting things that caught their eye about the book and then ranked all five books from their favorite to their least favorite.
Writing: We have some experts in training as our writing focus has been informational writing. Using mentor texts, we explored topics such as Jamaica and Tim Tebow, and we became detectives as we decided whether a text was informational or not. These third graders did a great job finding facts, headings, and clues that helped them determine if the text was factual or opinion based.
SEL (Social Emotional Learning): As we kicked off a new year, we discussed goal setting and what New Year’s resolutions are. Each student created their own goal using a “wheel” that focuses on three main categories: school, home, and our hobbies. Each student then created their three steps on how to make that goal a reality! We can’t wait to cheer them on as they achieve their goal! As a class, we created our own goal of building independence and responsibilities as we prepare for fourth grade!
Deep Dive: We are diving right into West Virginia History, and our third graders are already excited! This will be a two week mini lesson where we will learn all about our West Virginia. We kicked off our learning with a class trip to Northern, where students spent the day learning in our off-campus classroom, visiting the local library to read some new books, and we took a visit to Independence Hall. This hands-on experience sparked lots of curiosity and questions as we began learning all about our state. Our third graders truly enjoyed seeing inside of the courtroom, post office, and they even made their own flags!! What a day!
Our third graders are excited to begin a very special community service project! We are partnering with Street MOMs (Mothers of Many) here in Wheeling, an organization that provides compassionate, non-judgmental support to individuals and families experiencing homelessness and hardship. Street MOMs works to meet immediate needs such as warmth, food, and hygiene while helping people take their next right step with dignity and care.
As part of this project, our class will be making blankets that Street MOMs will distribute throughout Wheeling during the cold winter months. To kick off our project, Street MOMs will visit our third graders and give a presentation about their mission and how they help our community.
How families can help:
We are accepting blanket-making kits (fleece or no-sew blanket kits) that students will use to create the blankets in class. These kits will be turned into warm, cozy blankets and donated directly to Street MOMs to share with those in need.
This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn about empathy, service, and giving back, while making a real difference right here in Wheeling. Thank you for helping us support this meaningful project and for being part of our caring classroom community!
The new year reminded us just how special our classroom community is. We explored, learned, laughed, and reconnected—and this is only the beginning. Thank you for being part of our third grade journey. Big learning and even bigger smiles are ahead!
Enjoy your weekend and we will see you on Monday!
Madison and Paula
