JOHNSONS JOURNAL

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November 17, 2014

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Mathematics

Our class will celebrate Thanksgiving by making a

Friendship (fruit) salad on Tuesday, November 25th.
Each child volunteered to bring a specific item. That
information went home with your child last week.

In addition to our work on subtraction with

regrouping, weve been following problem-solving
steps to answer word/story problems. Well have a test
over adding and subtraction with regrouping
(carrying/borrowing) on Tuesday. Your child may wish
to review those concepts prior to the test.

Looking ahead to our Christmas festivities, the

children will have a gift exchange on Wednesday,
December 17th. The gift exchange will be a wrapped
chapter book. (Please keep the cost under $4.00.)
Information about the gift exchange has been emailed,
and you can find it here. Our Christmas party will be
on Friday, December 19th from 1:00-2:15.

Reading
A new fluency practice page went home with your
child today. The goal for January will be to read a
minimum of 89 correct words per minute.

Writing
Soon we will conclude our first unit of writing with a
classroom celebration. The children will have the
opportunity to read their completed personal
narratives aloud in front of their classmates. It will be
a great opportunity to practice public speaking.
Students learned a lot of skills throughout the process
of writing the first personal narrative. They learned
about the importance of using a good lead to hook
their readers interests. Also, they learned to include
details to make the writing come alive. They learned
techniques to write a good ending, too.
In addition to the writing lessons, students are
reviewing the cursive that most learned in second
grade. Well finish our review before Thanksgiving.

Math Lab
Math Lab instruction continues to fill gaps in skills that
were expected to be mastered before third grade. All
students participate and are grouped by needs.
Weve been working on these addition strategies:
doubles (3+3), doubles +1 (3+4), and doubles +2 (3+5).
Also, weve been working on solving word problems.

Science
Our plant study is underway. The students are
learning to describe the functions of the plant parts:
flower, root, stem, and leaf. Next, theyll learn how to
classify plants based upon observable characteristics.

Social Studies
On Wednesday, students will have a quiz over
Michigans state symbols and the concept of the
common good. Your child may wish to review pages 9 15 prior to the quiz.

Spelling
Starting soon, the weekly spelling lists will be coming
home in both print and cursive. Tests will be taken in
print and cursive starting on December 4. The spelling
tests will be taken entirely in cursive after Christmas
break.

JOHNSONS JOURNAL!

PAGE

Recess Policy
Our schools recess policy is that the children will go
outside for recess daily unless its raining, the
temperature is under 15 degrees, or the wind chill is
below zero. Please contact our schools counselor,
Mrs. Bickel, or me if you need assistance providing
outdoor clothing for your child.

Important Dates
November 20
Food Drive Ends
November 21
1st Trimester Ends
PTO Popcorn Day
Our Classroom Family
2014 - 2015

November 25
Friendship Salad
(Each child volunteered to bring an item. That
information went home with your child last week.)
November 26 - 28
No School (Thanksgiving Break)

Updated Information

December 17
Christmas Gift Exchange
(Click here for more information.)

The MEAP has been

replaced by the M-STEP

December 19
Christmas Party (1:00-2:15 P.M.)
December 22 - January 2
No School (Christmas Break)
January 5
School Resumes

***
3rd Grade Window for Testing:
May 18 - June 5
English Language Arts & Mathematics
(Approximately 7 hours of testing total)
Click here to read more about the testing.

Whatever you are, be a good one.

Abraham Lincoln