Jan. 18 - 22

Say hello to our little friend! Third graders are studying crayfish during our science unit on life structures. Each 3rd grade classroom is home to a dozen of these little critters. Mrs. B and I can now get a summer job wrangling crayfish. Students are excited to observe and learn about these interesting crustaceans.

Dates on Deck:

Mon., Jan. 18 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - No School - Staff Prof. Dev.

                        - District Winter Assessments this Week

Fri., Jan. 22 - Iowa Assessments Results sent home with 3rd grade students

Thurs., Jan. 28 - 100th Day of School (unless there is a snow day before this)

Fri., Jan. 29 - Keystone Elem. Pajama Day/PBIS Student Behavior Reward Activity

Learning Focus:

Math - exploring division concepts; Rocket Math-daily math facts

Science -  structures of life; crayfish

Reading - inferences; trickster tales

Writing - winter journals - staying on topic/focused/organized

Word Work - syllables with consonant blends/digraphs/vowel pairs

This Week's Words to Practice Spelling/Writing at Home for Friday's Test:

flashlight, halfway, hundred, subtract, purchase, trial, poem, violin

Your child's winter Accelerated Reading  report went home on Friday. Please read over the report with your child, sign, and return it to school on Tuesday. We are very proud of our students' progress so far this year. Way to go!

Rocket Math:
We are now officially halfway through the school year. Winter District Assessments will take place this week. Third graders who have yet to achieve all levels of Rocket Math Addition will participate in an extra daily RM practice at the 2 PM recess. This will only take part of their recess time, but is crucial in helping achieve this goal.  They still have RM Subtraction (and Multiplication) basic facts to learn this year.  Being able to recall basic facts automatically (without having to figure them out) is very beneficial to students as they undertake multi-step computation. 

Learning basic facts is a memory skill that requires consistent practice and repetition. We have encouraged students to practice at home, in addition to daily work done in the classroom. We are now at the point in the school year where extra practice has become mandatory, so students are well prepared for fourth grade math. Let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you for reminding your child to bring winter outerwear for recess, and a separate pair of shoes to be worn inside. Students were much better prepared last week! It is supposed to warm up enough for them to get outside and run off some energy at recess again this week. We hope students enjoy the day off from school tomorrow. Mrs. B and I will be attending a Common Formative Assessment workshop with all Benton Community and Monticello teachers in Cedar Rapids.