3rd

ELA: This week we’re focusing on another suffix: -er. Students are spelling words like saucer, lower, and wrapper. The Literature Circles are moving right along. Students are finding success as they become more accustomed to the routines and activities set forth each day. We love listening in on the wonderful group discussions that are taking place; Each group has become just like a book club!

Math: We stayed the course in fractions and went beyond the basics. Students learned how to recognize unit fractions, which always include one part of a whole. They heard the story “Inch By Inch” and took a closer look at fractions of an inch by creating….THE BIG INCH! We also took a cross-curricular approach and created colorful pennants that represented fractions. The end of the week wrapped up with some fun fraction stations!

Deep Dive:  Our diorama projects are nearly complete! We’ve seen scenes depicting grasslands, trees, and bodies of water. Some kiddos have included human and animal figurines to add life to their scenes. We can’t wait to see the students showcase their finished projects in the freeze lab!

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

hwillliams@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

Have a great weekend! 

Hanna and Paula

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

ELA: Grammatically speaking, we are reviewing the rules for adding suffixes -s, -ed, and -ing. Do we double the final consonant, change a final Y to an I, or do we simply apply the suffix? Students engaged in numerous activities in order to practice forming words with each suffix. 

We have also begun new, more independent literature circles. Our four focus books are Stink, The Incredible Shrinking Kid, Clementine, Chocolate Fever, and Ranger in Time: The Great Earthquake of San Francisco. Students have specific guidelines to follow as they learn and work in each group. 

Math: We have begun measuring up, literally! Fractions took center stage to begin our measurement series. Students learned vocabulary words, like “numerator” and “denominator.” We also discussed the criteria needed to determine if parts of a whole are equal. We named it the “S Test” because equal parts are typically the same Size, same Shape, and same amount of Space.

Deep Dive:  Our diorama project is in full swing! Students are using their boxes to create a variety of different scenes to match either a European Explorer or Native American Tribe. Stay tuned!

**Students were also treated to a performance of Aesop’s Fables by a small group of Towngate Theatre performers!

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

hwillliams@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

Have a Great Weekend!

Hanna and Paula

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

ELA: Our young writers have been busy learning about suffixes, specifically -s and -es. This important concept helps us understand how words change when we need to make them plural. The students have been practicing adding these suffixes to nouns, making sure to follow the rules for words that end in s, x, z, sh, and ch, which require -es.

In addition to this, the students have been applying their new skills in the context of informational research writing. They recently wrapped up a project where they researched a topic of interest and shared their findings in a detailed informational report. This project helped them to strengthen, organize  and present facts clearly and effectively.

To showcase their hard work, the students have created writing portfolios that feature their research over the past few weeks. These portfolios allow them to reflect on their progress and take pride in their writing achievements. Keep an eye out for these portfolios coming home soon!

Math: In math, our students have been exploring fact families, an essential concept for understanding the relationship between multiplication and division! By practicing fact families, the students were able to see how numbers are connected and how knowing one operation can help solve for others.

Deep Dive:  This week, students learned about explorers and their interactions with Native Americans. They also learned about the discoveries each explorer made and the conflicts they faced. Next week, we will begin our diorama project. Check the flyer below.

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

hwillliams@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

See you at Celebrate! 

Hanna and Paula            

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

ELA: In Language Arts, we explored the suffix -ed and unpacked all the spelling rules that followed it. For Writing, students crafted three chapters based on their research topics, penning their ideas into something special.

Math: In Math, we tackled the 11s and 12s times tables, multiplying our skills and adding confidence. We are now at the end of our multiplication journey and will be starting fact families next week. Don’t forget to put those flash cards to good use! 

Deep Dive: 

Deep Dive, we mapped out 8 different tribes, exploring new cultures and finding their locations on the globe. It was a week full of growth and discovery – we’re definitely on the up and up!

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

hwillliams@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

Don’t forget to sign up for Celebrate! Hope to see you all there! 

Hanna and Paula

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

ELA: Students began their journey into morphology, which is the study of the forms of words. This week students focused on suffix -ing as they learned various spelling rules and how to apply them. Students also continued to work on reading, comprehension, and other language skills through learning stations. Writing took a nonfiction turn as students began early stages of a research project. Stay tuned! 

Math: We hopped right back into times tables while learning multiples of ten, one hundred, and even one-thousand! Students engaged in whole group, collaborative, and independent tasks to reinforce multiples of tens.

Deep Dive: 

We began a new deep dive this week: Native Americans & Explorers! 

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

hwillliams@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

Have a great weekend! 

Hanna and Paula      

Messages pertaining to 3rd grade: We are in need of tissues & dry erase markers! Anything helps!

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

ELA: Students turned their phonics focus to CH says /k/ as in chord. We learned through several different phonics, reading, & writing activities in order to enhance our learning experiences. Kiddos also finished the book Henry Huggins. Ask them their favorite part! 

Math: We spent this week finding fun ways to review multiplication facts. We played interactive games like, “Kahoot!” and “I Have, Who Has…?” Students were also introduced to a fast-paced, computer-based fact fluency game called “Math Facts Pro.” 

Deep Dives: We closed out our Goods & Services deep dive by having an open discussion about Market Day. The students’ goods produced over $1,000 and the proceeds will be donated to support a local family who is supporting their high school student’s new battle with cancer. 

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

hwillliams@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

Enjoy your Spring Break! See you on March 10th for a 10 a.m. start.

Hanna and Paula        

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

Message pertaining to 3rd grade:

-As sick season is upon us, we are accepting donations for tissues!

-We are also in need of dry erase markers!

ELA: Students learned another sound of long /a/. Our sentence goes like this: Acorns came on a rainy day with my neighbor. This week’s focus was /eigh/. That’s right, they now know 5 ways to spell with long /a/! 

Math: We continued climbing up the multiplication ladder and reached 9’s! There were so many cool patterns and tricks to help discover the products. There’s the “list method,” “one less than, plus what,” “the nine’s story,” and “the finger trick.” Ask your kiddo which trick or method was their favorite!

Deep Dives: 

Can you believe that Market Day has come & gone!? This deep dive has been an absolute blast and we couldn’t think of a better way to end it. Market Day was very successful! We made over 1,000 dollars that will be donated to a local hospital or nursing home of the kiddos choice. 

Shout outs:

-ALL 3rd grade students

-3rd grade families for visiting

-Grades SK-5th for visiting 

-Parent volunteers

-Mr. Michael, Officer John, & Mr. Ron for help setting up

-Miss Lindsay & Miss Bekah for helping man stations 

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

hwillliams@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

Enjoy your weekend!

Hanna and Paula

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

ELA: Students learned that /ar/ has 2 sounds. They previously learned that it says /r/ and this week kiddos learned it says /er/ at the end of as in dollar. Not only did they work with these popular words, but we also started a new book study: Henry Huggins. We completed chapter 1 & 2 this week and we can already tell this will be a well liked book by all! 

Math: This week, students focused on mastering their 8 times tables. Through fun activities and engaging exercises, they worked on building speed and accuracy with multiplication facts. It’s been great to see their progress and confidence grow as they continue to strengthen their math skills! We encourage kiddos to keep practicing their multiplication flashcards at home! 

Deep Dives: 

Goods & Services: Students are wrapping up their projects and everything is coming together very nicely. Market Day will be held Friday, February 21st from 1:30pm-3:00pm at WCDS gym. On this day, five student-run stores will be set up, offering a variety of homemade items for sale: bookmarks, bracelets, dog treats, energy snacks, and pencil cases. Prices will range from $1 to $3. All proceeds will go toward supporting a local charity, and we would greatly appreciate your support! If you choose to donate or buy, we ask that you bring small bills! 

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

hwillliams@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

Enjoy your weekend!

Hanna and Paula         

 Title: 6 More Weeks of Winter or Spring? What Shall It Be?

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

Information pertaining to 3rd grade:

• Sara Yanko and Theron Hicks would like to start a book club for Moms and kids; A chance to keep us all reading & to hang out outside of school. If you’re interested or just want more information please contact Sara Yanko at (330) 283-0862

Reading Bowl:
This week our students have already read over 2,500 minutes collectively! This concludes the final quarter of the Reading Bowl. Thank you so much for reading!

ELA: Students learned to “wrestle” with the ending -stle. With that skill kiddos used words like castle, jostle, and thistle. We even used dictionaries to look up a few of our spelling words! They also “mended broken hearts” as they brought together two words that made contractions. Isn’t that sweet?!

Math: Students multiplied by 7 this week. They made arrays, skip-counted, and played a few new, fun games. We even discussed the relationship between arrays, area, and perimeter. Another Multiplication Ninja challenge brought our week in math to a close.

Deep Dives: 

STEAM Lab: Students heard about the relationship between magnetism and electricity as we began learning what electromagnets are! 

Goods & Services: Students are wrapping up their projects and everything is coming together very nicely! Market Day will be held Friday, February 21st from 1:30pm-3:00pm at WCDS gym. On this day, five student-run stores will be set up, offering a variety of homemade items for sale: bookmarks, bracelets, dog treats, energy snacks, and pencil cases. Prices will range from $1 to $3. All proceeds will go toward supporting a local charity, and we would greatly appreciate your support! If you choose to donate or buy, we ask that you bring small bills! 

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

hwillliams@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

Have a great long weekend! See you Tuesday @ 10:00!

Hanna and Paula

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

Information pertaining to 3rd grade:

• If you’d like to support your child in their Goods and Services project, please click here.
• Sara Yanko and Theron Hicks would like to start a book club for Moms and kids; A chance to keep us all reading & to hang out outside of school. If you’re interested or just want more information please contact Sara Yanko at (330) 283-0862

Reading Bowl:
This week our students have already read over 3,000 minutes collectively! We will be entering the 4th and final quarter next week!

ELA: In phonics, students learned the tricky suffix “-sion,” as in “explosion.” They had an explosive week as we tried out a few new reading stations, and they were a big hit! Students also practiced how to make nouns possessive. Last but not least, they are continuing to work on writing their “how-to” pieces.

Math: Students represented multiplication by 6 in every way they know how. They modeled equal groups, arrays, repeated addition, and the commutative property! Another Multiplication Ninja challenge wrapped up the week.

Deep Dives:

STEAM Lab: Students were engaged in activities to test out the magnetic field.

Goods & Services: Students are wrapping up their projects and everything is coming together very nicely. Market Day will be held Friday, February 21st from 1:30pm-3:00pm at WCDS gym. On this day, five student-run stores will be set up, offering a variety of homemade items for sale: bookmarks, bracelets, dog treats, energy snacks, and pencil cases. Prices will range from $1 to $3. All proceeds will go toward supporting a local charity, and we would greatly appreciate your support! If you choose to donate or buy, we ask that you bring small bills! 

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

hwillliams@wcdsedu.com & pbuck@wcdsedu.com

Or Talking Points (send to both if you can)

Stay Warm!

Hanna and Paula