Students’ Highlights 4/8/2024 – 4/12/2024

• Music- practicing Spring Concert songs
• Art- clay sculptures
• Language Arts- Reading Carving Stories in Cedar and The Legend of Raven and Fog Woman
• Math- Comparing fractions on a number line
• Science- vocabulary review
• PE- King Pin game
• Spanish- Starting posters about the book The Desert is My Mother
• Social Studies- Project preparation for Tucson History Day

Tucson History Day is April 19th.  Please, join us between 2:00pm – 3:00pm in Smith Center for a walk through time.   Hear highlights about the development of Tucson.  Students are excited to share their research and projects with you. Their presentations are set up as a walk-through, which gives the children multiple opportunities to share their research.  We encourage your curiosity with questions and praise for their amazing work!

 

 

As a reminder…

During the morning, we will recreate a school day as it might have been in the year 1889.  The students are encouraged to dress in period clothing. The girls may wear long skirts with blouses, or long dresses. The boys may wear long pants or denim jeans and a buttoned-down shirt. Several clothing items are available to borrow from Ms. Stalkfleet. T-shirts are not permitted, as they would have been considered underwear during the period being recreated. Acceptable accessories for the girls are straw hats, bonnets, hair ribbons, and shawls. Acceptable accessories for the boys are straw hats, suspenders, and neckerchiefs. If possible, students should not wear athletic shoes. Leather shoes or boots would be more appropriate.

Students provide their own lunches. To create the most authentic experience, all foods should be wrapped in wax paper, cloth wrapping, or plain brown paper. Plastic wrap, baggies, and aluminum foil did not exist in 1889 and therefore should not be used. The lunch should be packed into a container such as a small metal bucket, plain brown paper bag, or a cloth bag/bandana. Please, no modern lunch boxes or plastic containers.

Suggestions for lunches:

• Beef jerky
• Fresh vegetables
• Bean burro
• Tamales
• Jelly sandwich
• Biscuits
• Refried beans
• Tortillas
• Bacon sandwich
• Potato chips
• Hard boiled eggs
• Cookies; oatmeal, molasses, raisins, sugar, gingerbread
• Fresh fruit
• Hard candy
• Beverage suggestions: Water, Tea, Sarsaparilla

Reminders

• April 19: Tucson History Day
• April 26: Library visit for poetry books
• May 9:  Mother’s Day Spa-tacular, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
• May 10: Fine Arts 2-3pm
• May 17: Donuts with Dads, 8:00am – 9:00am
• May 17: Art Expo, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
• May 21: Year-End Party, 9:00am – 1:00pm
• May 23: Last Day of School, noon dismissal

Spelling Lesson 28 Words with the /ôr/ and /ûr/ Sounds

1. dirt
2. order
3. door
4. worst
5. hurt
6. score
7. before
8. hurry
9. sport
10. nurse

Before the break, we had a wonderful time doing our community service work of hiding eggs for the First graders to find.  Our hiding places were “egg-cellent!” 🙂

 

We hope you had a wonderful break with family and friends!

Class resumes on April 8, 2024

Reminders

• March 29-April 5: Easter Break
• April 19: Tucson History Day
• April 26: Library visit for poetry books
• May 9:  Mother’s Day Spa-tacular, watch for details, coming soon
• May 10: Fine Arts 2-3pm
• May 17: Donuts with Dads, watch for details, coming soon
• May 17: Art Expo, 5:30pm
• May 21: Year-End Party, watch for details, coming soon
• May 23: Last Day of School

Spelling Words with the /âr/ Sound, test is April 12, 2024

1. care
2. wear
3. share
4. bear
5. hair
6. pear
7. chair
8. fair
9. dare
10. stare

 

 

 

Students’ Highlights 3/18/24 – 3/22/24

• Library visit for fantasy books
• Music- boom whackers to Imagine Dragon music
• PE- Freedom Catch game for throwing and catching skills and Lava song with ukuleles
• Language Arts- read about musicians and singers who connect their music to their heritage.
• Social Studies- Tucson History writing final drafts
• Math- Fractions can make a whole
• Science- Observed whether dirt or water dissolved faster in water or dirt
• Spanish- Test about the planets in the Spanish language
• Art- watercolor floral bouquet

A Signup Genius is arriving soon for three celebrations that Third Graders are very excited to share with you; Mother’s Day Spa-tacular, Donuts with Dads, and the Year-End Party.  If you are able. and willing, we appreciate you for volunteering. Please note, class funds are dedicated to these events and we expect everyone to turn in receipts.

News from third grader’s Science teacher, Dr. Colleen Kelley:

“I wanted to provide you with an overview of what students are doing in science. The overarching theme for this unit is “The Makers, The Bakers, and the Shakers”.  This unit began March 11 and will extend to May 1st (ish).

– The Makers section describes the interface of the environment with synthetic objects like plastic.  We are exploring persistence in the environment, oxidation of plastics, how plastics are made, the fate of plastics in the environment, and remediation strategies.

– The Bakers section describes the interface of the environment with natural materials like fossil fuels. We will be exploring topics like combustion (which is also oxidation and will reinforce what was learned in The Makers), carbon dioxide emissions, how fossil fuels were made, and alternatives to fossil fuels as energy.

– The Shakers section describes natural environmental processes which remediate anything produced from The Makers or The Bakers. Specifically, we will be investigating plants and microbes that have adapted to shake up and break down these things.

Assessments will be based on:

a) Each day, I write on the white board the content we are learning. I ask the students to copy what is written on the white board into their journals. We know that handwriting reinforces learning, and my students will be writing in science each day. I will collect their journals and evaluate them as a measure of participation and engagement. Included in their journals are their experimental procedures, observations, and analysis as well as vocabulary terms.  b) vocabulary quizzes

Also, I will review in class and provide a study guide for students prior to any vocabulary quiz. Their first vocabulary quiz is the week after our Easter break.”

Students’ Highlights 3/11/24 – 3/15/24

• PE- played King Pin with older kiddos
• Music- Rehearsed Lava song
• Math- Unit Math test
• Language Arts- small group readers
• Social Studies- Tucson History Project kickoff
• Spanish- Reading books in the Spanish language
• Art- oil pastels in the style of Ted Harrison and drawings of our future careers
• Science- decomposing materials

Language Arts continues the theme From Past to Present. First, students will read a biography of blues legend Blind Lemon Jefferson who added to the musical heritage of the United States.  Then, they will compare the song lyrics and the biography text, noting their similar ideas and the differences of literary vs. informational language.  Next, grammar studies include pronoun agreement for subject and object pronouns.

Math starts the week with understanding that fractional parts are constructed of unit fractions.  Students will use representations to visualize how fractions relate to each other and are parts of a whole.  Then, students will use notation for fractions with a numerator  greater than 1 and use equations to represent how fractions relate to each other and to a whole.  Next, students will represent fractions on a number line and explain why fractions are equivalent.  Last, they will measure length to the nearest fourth inch and represent measurement data to the nearest fourth of an inch on a line plot.

The Tucson History unit of study has students preparing for Tucson History Day. The day will be scheduled soon and it is expected to happen in early to mid April.  We will recreate a school day as it might have been in the year 1889.  The students are encouraged to dress in period clothing. The girls may wear long skirts with blouses, or long dresses. The boys may wear long pants or denim jeans and a buttoned-down shirt. Several clothing items are available to borrow from Ms. Stalkfleet. T-shirts are not permitted, as they would have been considered underwear during the period being recreated. Acceptable accessories for the girls are straw hats, bonnets, hair ribbons, and shawls. Acceptable accessories for the boys are straw hats, suspenders, and neckerchiefs. If possible, students should not wear athletic shoes. Leather shoes or boots would be more appropriate. 

Students provide their own lunches. To create the most authentic experience, all foods should be wrapped in wax paper, cloth wrapping, or plain brown paper. Plastic wrap, baggies, and aluminum foil did not exist in 1889 and therefore should not be used. The lunch should be packed into a container such as a small metal bucket, plain brown paper bag, or a cloth bag/bandana. Please, no modern lunch boxes or plastic containers.

Suggestions for lunches:

• Beef jerky
• Fresh vegetables
• Bean burro
• Tamales
• Jelly sandwich
• Biscuits
• Refried beans
• Tortillas
• Bacon sandwich
• Potato chips
• Hard boiled eggs
• Cookies; oatmeal, molasses, raisins, sugar, gingerbread
• Fresh fruit
• Hard candy
• Beverage suggestions: Water, Tea, Sarsaparilla

Reminders

• March 22: Library visit
• March 28: half Day 11:50 dismissal
• March 29-April 5: Easter Break

Spelling Lesson 26 Words with lf, mb, tch. 

1. half
2. thumb
3. match
4. climb
5. myself
6. scratch
7. pitcher
8. shelf
9. crumb
10. kitchen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Students’ Highlights 3/4/24 – 3/8/24

• LOVE OF READING activities–We love kids, books, and dogs all in one place.  It was so much fun!
• Art- making mountains and sunset with pastels
• PE- Played Tower Take Down developing skills at working together and throwing frisbees
• Spanish- played Bingo in Spanish language
• Language Arts- possessive nouns and possessive adjectives
• Science- Reading Dr.Kelley’s book about problem solving with Radium Girls
• Music- Practiced writing music for ukulele and played the music beat with boom whackers
• Math- Comparing Multiplication facts
• Social Studies- Tucson History’s Top Ten important dates and events

From Past to Present is the title of our next unit in Language Arts. Unit 6 explores the big question “How can we preserve our traditions?” Week one shows how dance and music are ways that cultures express their traditions.  Students will read song lyrics that express a young girl’s thoughts and feelings about a famous singer named Celia Cruz.  Reading comprehension covers classifying and visualizing details.  Grammar practices pronouns and pronoun-antecedent agreement.

Our class is starting a new mathematics unit about fractions called Fair Shares and Fractions on Number Lines. In this unit, students investigate the meaning of fractions and the ways fractions can be represented. They solve sharing problems (How can 2 people share 3 brownies equally?), represent fractions with area models and on number lines, compare fractions, and determine fraction equivalents.

Reminders

• March 13: half Day 11:50 dismissal
• March 22: Library visit
• March 28: half Day 11:50 dismissal
• March 29-April 5: Easter Break

Spelling Lesson 25,  Words with Silent k or Silent w

1. know
2. wrist
3. knife
4. knob
5. wrong
6. knee
7. wrote
8. knock
9. wren
10. knight

Student Highlights 2/25/24 – 3/1/24

• Science- Class with our new teacher, Dr. Kelly
• Math- mastering multiplication story problems
• Spanish- Vocabulary words associated with school
• P.E.- Flag Football with multiple balls
• Music- playing piano
• Language Arts- library visit for mythology and fable genre
• Social Studies- finished reading Tucson’s History
• Art- organic curved-shape collage

You are invited to join us during Love of Reading Week.  We welcome family members who would like to read to us.  You may choose to bring your own book or a book can be provided.  Let us know and we will schedule a convenient time.

Math students are practicing multiplication problems with missing factors and solving multiplication and division story problems.  Students may use skip counting, other facts that they know to help them solve the problems.  Students are also developing strategies for multiplying that involve breaking apart numbers.  Later next week, lessons focus on x7 multiplication facts and learning multiplying by multiples of ten to solve word problems.

Language Arts theme Mysteries of Matter finishes this week and an assessment covering the four week unit is scheduled.  Throughout this week, we will read about changes in soil.  The main selection is an interview with Maycira Costa.  Dr. Costa studies the Pantanal region, one of the largest freshwater ecosystems in the world.  The region features marshes, forests, rivers, and lakes. Students will determine Dr. Costa’s viewpoints about the subject wetlands.  The vocabulary strategy this week is that some synonyms have different shades of meaning. Grammar concepts covers possessive nouns and possessive adjectives.

Reminders

• March 3-8: Love of Reading Week
• March 6: Pajama Day
• March 8: Relaxed Dress
• March 13: half Day 11:50 dismissal
• March 22: Library visit
• March 28: half Day 11:50 dismissal
• March 29-April 5: Easter Break

Spelling Lesson 24, Words with /kw/ and /skw/ Sounds

1. quiet
2. quack
3. queen
4. squeeze
5. quit
6. squeak
7. quick
8. squirrel
9. quite
10. question

Students’ Highlights 2/12/24 – 2/16/24

Parent teacher conferences provided opportunity for us to discuss your child’s second trimester progress.  This discussion helped us determine guidance for students, offering ample time to make improvements and strengthen their skill set from the previous report, and assisted in setting specific goals for the remaining trimester. Thank you for talking with us about your child’s amazing achievements!!

After Rodeo break, Math lessons will use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, e.g. by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.  Students will work on learning the facts to 10 X 10 by playing the array game, Factor Pairs, and by practicing with their multiplication cards.  They will discuss how to use facts they know to help them with facts they do not know.

The social studies unit, Tucson History, started with our field trip to the Tucson Presidio.  Students spent the rest of the second trimester learning about the reasons Tucson developed into the city it is today.    Students will continue their learning by working in small groups. They will write about an important part of Tucson’s history. Then, the group will create a visual aid representing the event or person during class.  Our studies will culminate with a Tucson History Day where students will share what they have learned with parents.  Tucson History Day is scheduled for late March and will include costumes and an authentic school room experience in the morning. Activities include, but are not limited to chalk boards, readers, cursive writing, and a spelling bee.  Students will present what they learned to parents at the end of the day.

The students are encouraged to dress in period clothing. The girls may wear long skirts with blouses, or long dresses. The boys may wear long pants or denim jeans and a buttoned-down shirt. Several clothing items are available to borrow from Ms. Stalkfleet. T-shirts are not permitted, as they would have been considered underwear during the period being recreated. Acceptable accessories for the girls are straw hats, bonnets, hair ribbons, and shawls. Acceptable accessories for the boys are straw hats, suspenders, and neckerchiefs. If possible, students should not wear athletic shoes. Leather shoes or boots would be more appropriate.  

Spelling words for the week of 2/19:

1. gift
2. sold
3. left
4. raft
5. held
6. swift
7. wild
8. after
9. drift
10. world

Reminders

• February 16th Second Trimester Ends
• February 19th-23rd No School, Rodeo Break
• February 26th- Classes Resume

Have a wonderful Rodeo Break!

 

Giving is a third grade tradition of acknowledging St. Michael’s community members throughout the school year.  For Valentine’s Day, students are writing letters to administration and support staff, thanking them for their work and service for our school.  They’ll  delivery the letters in the morning, have a special snack, and then exchange valentines in the afternoon.  As a reminder, students exchange valentines with all third graders.

The main reading selection in Language Arts this week, Mysteries of Matter, looks at another animal who got trapped when water turned to ice. Students will compare the points and details and text features of a science article and an email about a baby mammoth frozen in ice for 40,000 years.  They will learn to identify formal and informal language and their different purposes.  Adjectives and articles are highlighted in grammar lessons.

The main math ideas this week are understanding the meaning and structure of multiplication and division and the relationship between them.  Students will solve multiplication and division problems, including multi-step problems and problems with multiple solutions.

The monthly reading genre for February is a biography about a scientist.  While reading, students are completing a “sloppy copy” of their biography report.  It is possible that their reading selection does not include some information that belongs on the biography report.  Students will research for missing information during class time and finish final drafts by the end of February.

Reminders

• February 12th-16th Parent Teacher conferences
• February 14th- Relaxed Dress, Valentine’s Day theme
• February 16th Second Trimester Ends
• February 19th-23rd No School, Rodeo Break
• February 26th- Classes Resume

Spelling List 22; Holidays

1. Mother’s Day
2. Columbus Day
3. Thanksgiving
4. Independence Day
5. Father’s Day
6. Memorial Day
7. Labor Day
8. Valentine’s Day
9. Halloween
10. New Year’s Day

Students’ Highlights 1/29/2024 – 2/2/2024

• Music- composing ukelele music, learning Hallelujah on the piano and Tetris on the boomwhackers
• PE- Played Follow the Leader  and Duck, Duck, Goose with 5th/7th graders
• Math- building quadrilaterals, identifying their attributes
• Social Studies- Learned about the Gadsden Purchase
• Science- Leaned about Ice Glaciers, made kites and learned about machines that calculate weather
• Art- Painting paper maché bowls
• Language Arts- comparative adverbs, opinion writing, author’s purpose
• Spanish- made maps of fictional places

Looking forward, Language Arts lessons begin our next unit, Mysteries of Matter.  “What causes matter to change?” That is the big question we are exploring in this unit. To answer it, we are reading, writing, and talking about what happens when materials change from solid to liquid to gas. This week, we’re reading Melt the Snow! by Marisa Montes. In this play, a snowflake falls on a little ant. How will she get free? Reading comprehension focuses on Character and Plot.  Grammar looks at adjectives and comparison adjectives.

Math lessons begin later next week using multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, e.g. by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.  Students will work on learning the facts to 10 X 10 by playing the array game, Factor Pairs, and by practicing with their multiplication cards.  They will discuss how to use facts they know to help them with facts they do not know.

 

 

Students’ Highlights 1/22/2024 – 1/26/24

• Music- boom whackers Thunder by Imagine Dragon and  Mary Had a Little Lamb on ukulele
• PE- Playing Capture the Flag with multiple balls and Hula Hoop Tag and Hula Hut
• Math- shapes of seven square units, 100 Licks Challenge
• Science- compared the diversity of water temperatures when combined
• Language Arts- Author’s purpose, helping verbs, opinion and evidence, be verbs
• Art- paper maché bowls
• Social Studies- reading about Tucson’s History

This week, we finish Language Arts Unit 4 with assessments covering concepts learned throughout the unit.  Student materials to review are their anthology, writing book, worksheet packet and myngconnect.com website reviewing the following concepts:

Reading

• determine theme
• describe and compare story elements
• identify opinions and evidence
• determine author’s purpose
• distinguish viewpoint
• determine importance

Vocabulary and Spelling

• use domain-specific and academic words
• use prefixes to determine word meanings
• use commonly misspelled words correctly
• Spelling Lesson 20: Days of the Week and Time Words
  • •  Friday
    • Sunday
    • morning
    • Tuesday
    • Saturday
    • evening
    • Monday
    • afternoon
    • Thursday
    • Wednesday

Grammar and Writing

• use present-tense words and action words
• use subject-verb agreement
• use helping verbs
• use forms of DO
• link opinions and reasons