3rd

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

• December 17th: 3rd Grade Explorers Freeze Lab (2:30pm in 3rd Grade)
• December 17th: Elementary Holiday Show at 6:00pm
  • Students will meet in third grade at 5:30pm
• December 19th: Early Dismissal at 11:30 (No Aftercare)
• Winter is here and it came with full force- please make sure to send your child with all the winter goods such as gloves, jackets, snow pants and boots. We love going outside and playing in the snow but our number one priority is that each student is warm and safe!

❎ Students started learning their 7’s multiplication facts this week, and they discovered that practicing can actually be fun. They played learning center games, chanted skip-counting by 7s, and even tried a “7s brochure” where table groups worked together to solve problems. With each activity, the facts became easier to remember and a lot more exciting to practice.

🔤 Students explored the suffix -sion during phonics this week and enjoyed discovering how it changes a word’s meaning. They practiced reading and spelling words like “vision,” “decision,” and “mission,” noticing how the ending sounds like “zhun.”

🖋️ Students began learning how to write informational text this week, and they were excited to become “experts” on their chosen topics. They practiced writing clear facts, adding helpful details, and organizing their ideas into beginning, middle, and end. As they worked, students used tools to guide their thinking and grew more confident sharing information in a clear, structured way.

📚 Students began literature circle groups this week, diving into the I Survived book series by Lauren Tarshis. They worked together to discuss exciting events, ask questions, and make predictions about the stories. Each group took turns sharing their thoughts, making connections, and exploring the adventures in history while practicing their reading and discussion skills.

💛 This week’s SEL lesson was designed to help your child discover and practice positive self-talk. We will all face challenges throughout our lives, it is inevitable. However, encouraging ourselves through positive self-talk during difficult times can be an essential skill for kids, and adults alike, to learn. This lesson provided students opportunities to practice minimizing their inner critics and increasing positive self-talk.

Wishing you and your family a comfy-cozy weekend!

Miss Madison and Mrs. Buck

  **Please contact us BOTH if you have any questions or concerns this school year: 

mkmcdonald@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

• December 1st: School Resumes at Normal Time
• December 17th: Elementary Holiday Show at 6:00pm (Students arrive to classrooms at 5:30)
• December 19th: Early Dismissal at 12:30 (No Aftercare)

Date: December 17
Student Arrival: 5:30 PM — students will come directly to our classroom
Show Begins: 6:00 PM in the gym

To help prepare for our performance costumes, all students should bring in a plain white shirt on December 1st. We will decorate these shirts together in class. For performance night, students will wear their decorated white shirts with dark-colored pants.

Even though this week was only two days long, it was packed with fun, learning, and lots of holiday cheer! Our class kicked things off by solving a turkey mystery. Students used their place value strategies, addition and subtraction skills, word problem solving, and knowledge of 2D/3D shapes to uncover clues. It was a perfect way to review so many math concepts while getting into the Thanksgiving spirit!

In writing, we explored the history of the Macy’s Day Parade. Students practiced identifying facts vs. opinions, and were amazed to learn how this tradition has grown over the years. Later in the day, we headed to first grade to help our cougar buddies design their own Macy’s Day Parade balloons. Our students loved encouraging their younger peers and watching their creativity come to life.

We wrapped up the day with a cozy pajama dance party and some delish popcorn—what a way to celebrate all our hard work for our 29 hours school fundraiser.

On Tuesday, we were invited back to watch the first grade Macy’s Parade in action! A special shoutout to Hazel and Hudson, who were the official news hosts for the parade. They did an amazing job announcing each balloon. The rest of our class enjoyed cheering and celebrating! It was an unforgettable moment of school spirit and teamwork.

The next morning, we proudly celebrated the 67th day of school (a class favorite number!). We started with a fun warm-up and then rotated through Thanksgiving-themed centers. Students practiced reading and math skills. Later, we joined in on the fun (virtually due to the rain) to cheer on teachers and alumni in the annual alumni kickball game—always a highlight!

We closed out our short week by feasting together during our Thanksgiving lunch and sharing what we are thankful for this year. We are so thankful for each and every one of our students and the individuality they bring to third grade. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back on December 1st.

We hope you all have a relaxing, joy-filled break! 🍁

Miss Madison and Mrs. Buck

  **Please contact us BOTH if you have any questions or concerns this school year: 

mkmcdonald@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.comOr Talking Points (send to both if you can)

• CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

• November 24th: Pajama/Dance Party to celebrate 29 hours!
• November 25th: Alumni Kickball, Thanksgiving Lunch and Early Dismissal at 12:30 (No Aftercare)
• December 1st: School Resumes at Normal Time
• December 17th: Elementary Holiday Show at 6:00pm (Students arrive in classroom by 5:30pm)
• December 19th: Early Dismissal at 12:30 (No Aftercare)

As we begin the second trimester, our third graders will start receiving grades on their math and language arts work. This is an exciting step as we help them get ready for fourth grade! Beginning November 18th, you’ll start to see graded homework and assignments coming home. Then, during the third trimester, students will receive grades on their report cards. This gentle transition will give both students and families time to get comfortable with the grading process while continuing to celebrate all the wonderful learning and growth happening each day!

Elementary Holiday Show: We are asking that each student brings in a white t shirt for their costume/outfit for the show. We will be decorating them in class with Mrs. Dena. All shirts are due to our classroom by December 1st so we can paint them ahead of time. We ask that students wear dark colored pants with their white shirt. Our Show will begin at 6:00pm on December 17th, students should arrive to the classrooms by 5:30pm.

🏈 Multiplying with 6 can be exciting because the numbers grow quickly and feel powerful. When we practice our six facts, we can skip-count, or double 3’s facts to help us find the answers faster. Students got to play Paper Football in one of their math stations and kept score by adding 6 every time a touchdown was scored. Go team!

📔 Students practiced identifying singular and plural nouns in grammar this week. They learned that adding -s is the most common way to make plural nouns, but also learned some irregular forms like “mouse” to “mice.”

🔠 Our phonics lessons this week focused on the -age ending, and students had fun discovering how it changes the sound of words. They practiced reading and writing words like page, cottage, and package, and enjoyed using them in their own creative sentences.

✍️ This week in writing, the students “talked turkey.” Students persuaded their audience to either eat turkey or not…..from the viewpoint of the TURKEY! The kiddos stated several reasons and examples to support their opinion. Well done! (The writing, not the turkey. 😄) They also wrote about their favorite Thanksgiving food accompanied by a colorful picture; What a feast for the eyes and ears! We also had the opportunity to work with students from West Liberty University; They provided some insight on transition words to help give our writing good direction. What an enriching experience for all!

📚 Our third grade class just finished reading Henry Huggins, and everyone was so excited to reach the end! Students loved following Henry’s adventures with Ribsy and all the funny challenges he faced. We shared our favorite parts and talked about how the characters changed throughout the story. It was a fun and memorable read that sparked lots of great discussions!

🌎 During deep dive we have started learning about European explorers and the exciting journeys they took long ago. Students are discovering which countries the explorers came from, where they traveled, and why they set out on these adventures. They are asking lots of curious questions and are eager to learn more about the challenges and discoveries these explorers made.

Thank you so much to all the families who donated to Third Grade during our 29-Hour fundraiser! Your generosity means the world to us. We are truly thankful for each of you and the support you give to help us create a loving, nurturing, and joyful learning environment for our students. Because of you, our classroom continues to grow in imagination, creativity, and opportunity. We appreciate you! 

Have a Fantastic Fall Weekend!!

Miss Madison and Mrs. Buck

  **Please contact us BOTH if you have any questions or concerns this school year: 

mkmcdonald@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

• November 20th: 9:00-10:00 3rd Grade’s 29 Hour!
• November 25th: Alumni Kickball, Thanksgiving Lunch and Early Dismissal at 12:30 (No Aftercare)
• November 26th-30th: Thanksgiving Break!
• December 1st: Classes Resume at Normal Time
• Save the Date for our Holiday Show!! December 17th, 2025 at 6:00pm

As the crisp autumn air settles in and the leaves begin to change, our third graders are diving into another exciting month of learning! We’ve been enjoying the beautiful fall weather during recess and outdoor activities, but the chilly days are starting to sneak up on us. Please make sure your child comes to school dressed for the cooler temperatures — coats, hats, and gloves help keep everyone cozy and ready to learn.

As we begin the second trimester, our third graders will start receiving grades on their math and language arts work. This is an exciting step as we help them get ready for fourth grade! Beginning November 18th, you’ll start to see graded homework and assignments coming home. Then, during the third trimester, students will receive grades on their report cards. This gentle transition will give both students and families time to get comfortable with the grading process while continuing to celebrate all the wonderful learning and growth happening each day!

Math: We’ve been mastering multiplication by 5s! Students are working hard to earn their “ninja belts” as they demonstrate mastery of each fact set. It’s been so fun to see their confidence grow as they use different strategies to solve problems quickly and accurately. Our ninja math challenges have added an exciting element of friendly competition, and the students are motivated to keep earning those belts!

Reading: We are diving into Chapter 5 of Henry Huggins and focusing on building deeper comprehension skills. Students are discussing the characters’ actions and feelings, making predictions, and sharing their favorite parts. Alongside our novel, we’ve been exploring text features—learning how to identify headings, captions, diagrams, and glossaries, and understanding how these features help us as readers. It’s been wonderful to see students start pointing out text features in all kinds of books they pick up!

Writing: We are continuing our persuasive writing unit, and our third graders are already showing strong opinions and creative reasoning! Students are learning how to write opinion pieces that convince others by using clear reasons, strong supporting details, and thoughtful organization. From deciding the best classroom snack to choosing which season is superior, their ideas have been both clever and convincing. It’s been exciting to watch them grow as confident writers who can express their thoughts with purpose and passion! Next week, we’ll put our new persuasive skills to the test in a fun and festive way — by writing from the point of view of a turkey trying to avoid being eaten on Thanksgiving! We can’t wait to see the imaginative arguments our students come up with to save their turkey selves!

Deep Dive: We wrapped up our Native American Deep Dive in a very special way! Students broke into their own “tribes,” researched different regions, and created group presentations to share what they learned with the class. Each group worked together to showcase unique aspects of their tribe’s culture, traditions, and daily life. Their teamwork and creativity were amazing to see! Next week, we’ll be kicking off our brand-new Explorers Unit, where we’ll learn about the brave explorers who traveled across the world to discover new lands.

Phonics: We’ve been combining our new skills with the endings -ture and -tion. Students practiced identifying when to use each spelling pattern and applied these skills in both reading and writing. They’re becoming stronger, more confident spellers each day! During word work time, our third graders have also been diving into their word work bins with excitement and focus. It’s been wonderful to see them becoming more independent learners—taking ownership of their practice, making thoughtful word choices, and using their time productively. We’re so proud of the independence and effort they bring to this part of our day!

Veterans Day Activities: This week, our third graders learned all about Veterans Day and the importance of honoring the brave men and women who have served our country. We discussed what it means to be a veteran and why we take time each year to show our appreciation for their service and sacrifices. To celebrate, students wrote thank-you letters to one of our very own teachers, Mr. White, who served in the military. Their letters were filled with gratitude and pride, and it was a wonderful way for students to connect personally with the meaning of this special day.

SEL (Social Emotional Learning): In SEL this week, our third graders focused on the important skill of active listening. We discussed what it truly means to listen with our whole body—using our eyes to look at the speaker, our ears to hear their words, our minds to think about what’s being said, and our hearts to show kindness and respect. Students practiced showing they are active listeners through eye contact, nodding, and thoughtful responses during partner and group activities. We’re learning that being a good listener helps us build stronger friendships, understand others, and create a more caring classroom community!

 Field Trip Fun:
This week, we also enjoyed a fantastic field trip to the West Liberty Zoo Science Center! The students had an incredible time exploring and learning about a wide variety of animals. The trip connected perfectly to our zoology deep dive, allowing students to see many of the animals we’ve studied up close. It was such a wonderful hands-on learning experience that brought science to life in the best way!

As we move through November, a month filled with gratitude and growth, we’re especially thankful for their positive attitudes and love of learning. It’s such a joy to watch them grow in confidence and independence each week. We can’t wait to continue this learning journey together as we head into more November adventures—filled with thankfulness, teamwork, and plenty of fall fun! 

With cozy fall wishes, Miss Madison and Mrs. Buck

  **Please contact us BOTH if you have any questions or concerns this school year: 

mkmcdonald@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.comOr Talking Points (send to both if you can)

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

• November 11th: No School for Students
• November 12th: Third Grade Field Trip to West Liberty Zoo Science Center
• November 25th: Alumni Kickball, Thanksgiving Lunch and Early Dismissal at 12:30 (No Aftercare)
• November 26th – 28th: Thanksgiving Break
• December 1st: Classes Resume (Normal Start Time)

🍂 November is here, and our classrooms are buzzing with excitement! Students are diving into new learning adventures, showing gratitude, and enjoying the cozy spirit of the season. We’re thankful for all the curiosity, kindness, and teamwork filling our school each day!

🍪Third grade learned how elections work by listening to a great story: Vote for Our Future. Then students got to vote for their favorite cookie — either the chocolate chip cookie or the sugar cookie. Once the votes were in, they were counted, graphed, and a winner was announced. (Drumroll please……) Chocolate Chip won! Then, we got to enjoy the taste of victory!

❎Our third graders have been busy learning how to multiply with threes and fours! They’re discovering patterns and finding fun ways to solve problems quickly. We even talked about using the “double-double” strategy to help—if you know your twos, you can double them again to find your fours! It’s exciting to see how much their multiplication skills are growing.

🔠Students have been practicing their reading and writing fluency with a focus on words that end in -tion. They’re also working hard to remember their capitalization rules and use the correct punctuation in every sentence. It’s been great to see them paying attention to the little details that make their writing shine! We’ve also been putting the finishing touches on our animal book inspired by our Zoology deep dive. Stay tuned for more details!

📚We continued on our reading journey through Henry Huggins. The students enjoyed the small group activities and discussions centered around comprehension and story details. Ask your kiddo about Henry and Ribsy’s latest shenanigans from the most recent chapters!

We wrapped up the week with a Friday full of excitement and smiles! The Ohio County Library stopped by to share two fun stories with our students and even led a game that had everyone laughing and engaged. We always love when our community partners visit and bring reading to life!

Later in the day, we gathered for a special assembly celebrating our school’s 29 Hours event. The energy in the room was incredible as some of our teachers competed in Minute to Win It games—including our very own Mrs. Buck and Miss Madison from third grade! The students were cheering loudly and absolutely loved watching their teachers take on the challenges.

Be sure to ask your child which games we played and what their favorite part of the day was—it was definitely one to remember!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

Miss Madison and Mrs. Buck

  **Please contact us BOTH if you have any questions or concerns this school year: 

mkmcdonald@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

• November 11th: Professional Learning Day (No School for Students)
• November 12th: 3rd Grade Field Trip to West Liberty Zoo Science Center (More Information to come next week)
• Tuesday, November 25 – Alumni Kickball, Thanksgiving Lunch, and Early Dismissal at 12:30 (No Aftercare)
• Wednesday – Friday, November 26th-28th  – No School 

We kicked off the week with two of our very own third graders sharing highlights from our field trip to Meadowcroft! They did such a great job presenting to the school. Wesley shared that his favorite part was seeing the otter, while Megan talked about learning ancient hunting techniques — and even getting to try out an atlatl! We loved hearing their reflections and reliving all the fun moments from our trip.

In math, we continued working on multiplication and practiced our facts through games and challenges. We also introduced Ninja Math, where students earn new “belts” as they master their multiplication facts — the excitement and determination were off the charts! To celebrate Halloween, our Thursday math centers took on a spooky twist, and we had a hauntingly good time practicing our skills.

In reading, we focused on identifying the main idea and finding the “clues” that help us uncover it. We kicked things off with mystery bags to introduce the concept and then applied our detective skills to reading passages to uncover each story’s main idea. To end the week, we completed a Halloween-themed escape room, where students worked together to solve reading puzzles and use their vocabulary skills to unlock clues and escape! It was the perfect mix of learning and fun.

During phonics, we reviewed some familiar spelling rules — like the floss rule, when to use ck, and when letters double. It was a great refresher, and students had fun practicing their spelling words. In grammar, we learned how to use commas correctly when listing words in our sentences — an important skill for our growing writers!

In writing, we took a short break from our persuasive writing unit to dive into something a little more spooky and fun — creating our very own Creepy School Supplies stories! Inspired by Creepy Carrots and Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds, students imagined what would happen if their everyday classroom supplies suddenly came to life with a mischievous twist. From haunted highlighters to ghostly glue sticks, their creativity and imagination truly shined! We brainstormed eerie settings, built suspenseful plots, and practiced using descriptive language to bring our creepy creations to life. The stories were equal parts spooky and hilarious — a perfect way to celebrate the Halloween season while continuing to grow as writers.

During our deep dive, we continued exploring Native American tribes, learning about their unique cultures, traditions, and ways of life. Students were fascinated by how each tribe adapted to their environment and developed their own customs, homes, and food sources. We had great discussions, created detailed notes, and even compared similarities and differences among tribes. Everyone is eager to continue our journey next week as we dive into learning about our next tribe!

We wrapped up the week with our Halloween and Fall Fest celebration — complete with a hayride, a trip through the fifth graders’ spooky haunted house, a whole school parade, and our classroom party. Everyone’s costumes were fantastic! 🎃

A huge thank you to all the parents who donated food, drinks, and activities. Your support means so much to us — we couldn’t have done it without you!

Miss Madison and Mrs. Buck

  **Please contact us BOTH if you have any questions or concerns this school year: 

mkmcdonald@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.comOr Talking Points (send to both if you can)

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

• October 31st : Fall Fest and Halloween
  • Children should come dressed in costume.
  • 9:00 – Whole school costume parade on the loop (weather permitting) Parents are welcome to come and watch!
  • 3rd Grade Halloween Party in the classroom just for our third grade kiddos.
  • 11:30 am dismissal with aftercare available until 3:00pm. Children staying for the afternoon must have a packed lunch.
• November 11th: Professional Learning Day for Teachers (No School for Students)
• As the fall weather has entered with full force, please send your students with coats, gloves and other layers to keep warm as we will be still spending time outside. If possible, please label your child’s clothing item with their name or initials.

Meadowcroft: Our class took an exciting trip to the Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village! Students explored what life was like for people long ago and learned how early settlers and Native Americans lived. They enjoyed seeing the historic buildings, trying hands-on activities, and discovering how the past connects to our world today. **Check out the cool pictures below!

Math: In math, we learned about the commutative property of multiplication, which means we can change the order of the numbers and still get the same answer. For example, 3 × 4 is the same as 4 × 3! We also practiced division as sharing, where we split a number into equal groups to see how many are in each group. Students had fun discovering how multiplication and division are connected!

Reading / Phonics: This week, students explored adjectives and learned how these describing words can be easy to find with the 5 senses. In phonics, we focused on the -ture sound found in words like creature and picture. We also read stories in the realistic fiction genre, where we used our comprehension skills to answer questions about our story!

Writing: Students learned about the stages of persuasive writing, including planning, drafting, revising, and publishing. They began by choosing a topic and gathering strong reasons to support their opinions. During writing time, students worked on organizing their ideas clearly by using different colored notecards. Students did a fine job using convincing words to persuade their readers!

Deep Dive: Students began learning about the different Native American tribes and regions across North America. We will continue to explore important areas such as homes, clothing, food, and traditions to understand how each group adapted to their environment and built their communities.

Miss Madison and Mrs. Buck

  **Please contact us BOTH if you have any questions or concerns this school year: 

mkmcdonald@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.comOr Talking Points (send to both if you can)

CLICK HERE FOR WCDS UPCOMING EVENTS

October 18th: Mural Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 5:30pm and Vantoberfest at 6:00pm

October 20th: 3rd Grade Field Trip to Meadowcroft!

October 21st: Reimagine Middle School at 6:00pm

October 31st: Fall Fest/Halloween – 11:30 am dismissal!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like fall in third grade! Our week was filled with hands-on learning, pumpkin fun, and plenty of laughter. Between skip-counting songs, persuasive writing tricks, and prepping for Vantoberfest, our third graders have been working hard and having a blast!

Reading:
We’ve been diving into genres and exploring how different types of books have their own unique features. The students are loving discovering what makes mysteries, fantasies, and nonfiction so different—and so fun to read!

Writing:
In writing, we’ve kicked off our persuasive writing unit! The students are learning all kinds of clever tricks to convince an audience—and they’re getting really good at it! Parents, be warned—they might just persuade you into an extra dessert or later bedtime with their newfound skills!

Math:
In math, we’ve been learning all about repeated addition (our first step toward multiplication!). We also reviewed skip counting, and even sang a few songs to help us remember our counting patterns. Ask your child to teach you their favorite one!

Phonics:
Our phonics focus this week was the eigh pattern that makes the long “a” sound. We practiced with words like sleigh, weigh, and freight—and made sure everyone knows it’s sleigh, not slay, as the kids like to joke!

Deep Dive:
We’re wrapping up our zoology unit by finishing our very own animal books! These are truly works of art and knowledge combined. Be sure to send back the form if you’d like to order a copy of your child’s book—they’ve worked so hard and are so proud of their creations. We will be diving into our next Deep Dive on Tuesday and we can’t wait for our students to tell you all about it.

Creativity & Community:
Of course, we made time for some imaginative fun! We’ve been busy decorating our class pumpkin for Vantoberfest—it’s inspired by one of our favorite books, can you guess what book it is from?

Don’t forget to stop by Vantoberfest this Saturday (or you can bid online if you can’t make it) for your chance to win our amazing pumpkin! Although students can’t join the Saturday festivities, they had their own celebration during our Mural Wonderland Stations on Friday! We played in bubbles, practiced mural-themed yoga, and even helped decorate a ribbon for the new mural ceremony.

Important Reminder:
We’ll be heading to MeadowCroft on Monday! Please send your child with:
– A packed lunch in a disposable bag
– A disposable water bottle
– Monday Uniform Attire (Weather-appropriate clothing)

We hope to see you all on Saturday for the Mural Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Vantoberfest! Have a great weekend and we will see you all on Monday for our field trip to Meadowcroft!

Miss Madison and Mrs. Buck

  **Please contact us BOTH if you have any questions or concerns this school year: 

mkmcdonald@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

• October 18th: Vantoberfest! (see the email from the school)
• October 20th: Field Trip to Meadowcroft
• October 31st: Halloween and Fall Fest (11:30 Dismissal)

Dear Families,

Fall has arrived, and our third graders are in full swing! The classroom is buzzing with learning, laughter, and lots of exciting new challenges as we move deeper into the school year.

Math:

We’ve been having lots of fun in math class working with addition and subtraction fact families! Students are discovering how numbers are connected and how one fact can help them solve another. Through games, hands-on activities, and teamwork, they’re building strong number sense and confidence with their math facts.

Phonics:
In phonics, we learned that the letter y can make the long i sound, like in the words cry and fly. Students had fun finding and reading words with this sound and using them to write their own sentences. We also continued to study the homophones THEIR, THERE, and THEY’RE. This is tricky, even for adults, but THEY’RE sure working hard and trying THEIR best! 

Literacy:
Students have been learning all about different reading genres and what makes each one unique. They’ve explored examples of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and more to see how authors write for different purposes. It’s exciting to watch them start recognizing their favorite genres and starting to choose books that match new interests!

Writing:
Students have been introduced to  persuasive writing using the OREO model — Opinion, Reason, Example, and Opinion restated. They’ve been learning how to clearly share their ideas and support them with convincing reasons and examples. 

Deep Dive (Science):
Students continued to research, write about, and illustrate their animal to take them one step closer to publishing their Student Treasures book. Stay tuned for more details!

Thank you to all the family members that came to enjoy Special Persons Day with us on Friday! We loved having you in our third grade classroom. Our students love you to pieces!

Miss Madison and Mrs. Buck

  **Please contact us BOTH if you have any questions or concerns this school year: 

mkmcdonald@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.comOr Talking Points (send to both if you can)

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

• 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)

Welcome to Third Grade’s version of Starbucks (Starbooks)

Lattes of Learning in 3rd Grade