The week of April 17th through 21st, 2017  
*Please read all the way to the end of this blog post for new information.
➤ Spelling list #12 Endings with -ed and -ing
studying     joking     served     dropped     exciting     noticing     cared     beginning     dripping
changed     stopped     walking     sleeping     acting     trying

Review words: address     errand     collect

Challenge words:  decorating     prepared

**Spelling Test next Friday, April 28th.

➤ Reading and Language Arts:
          ➦Finishing our class book, Trumpet of the Swan, and answering comprehension questions, watching the cartoon movie and comparing.
          ➦Grammar Rule #14  The tense of a verb tells when an action occurs.  For example, Present tense:  I am eating peanut butter.  Past tense:  I ate the peanut butter.  Future tense:  Tomorrow I will eat the peanut butter.
           ➦Working on third grade reading, language arts and math skills in our morning work.
          ➦Text Structure:  setting, characters, plot, conflict, resolution.
          ➦Chapter Book Story Bag Project:  The students have chosen a chapter book on the top tier of their reading level cards and will be reading and recording on their story elements page.  Posters and presentations will start in a week or two.
           ➦Writing:  Students will be working on a piece called "What's Your Point of View."  We will edit and add to their writing and then they will type them on the Chrome books.

➤Math:
           ➦Reviewing our end of year third grade math assessment as a class. This will take us several days to complete.
          ➦Working on multiplication fact fluency.
           ➦Measurement in weight:  We will look at grams, kilograms, ounces, pounds, ounces to gallons.
           ➦Keep practice multiplication fluency:  Papers might come home with your child to practice their multiplication facts this week.  They will not be due to turn in but are a  great practice for when we do a facts fluency assessment each week.
➤Science Fair Project:
The science fair projects are completed at home.  You can use the Science Fair packet that will help outline what to do to complete the project.  Science Fair projects take some time to develop an experiment or investigation.  Projects do not come to school until Friday, May 12th. We don't have the space to store them before that.  The weekly email also has the science fair guide as well as a few videos that help outline the process.

➤Homework:
           ➦We will only have IXL homework this week to work on measurements in weight. No paper homework this week.
                      * BB.5 Which unit of weight is appropriate?
                      * BB.6  Which customary unit of volume is appropriate?
                      * BB.7 Which customary unit is appropriate?
                      * BB. 9  Compare and convert customary units of weight.
          ➦Reading at home or on MyOn and record your minutes read on the calendar. (Choice)
          ➽April Reading calendars will be due the first week of May.

➤State Testing information:
     Third grade will begin their SBAC testing on April 27th and complete the testing by May 10th.
Here is the schedule we will follow: 
               *April 27th (Thursday):  ELA PT-English Language Arts Performance Task.
               * May 1st ( Monday):  MATH PT- Math Performance Task.
               * May 3rd (Wednesday):  ELA CAT- English Language Arts Computer Adaptive Test. 
               *May 9th (Tuesday):  MATH CAT- Math Computer Adaptive Test.

Helpful Information:  CAT (Computer Adaptive Test) means that the test will adapt to how the child is answering questions so that it will provide a measure of the child's understanding of third grade standards, somewhat like below, average, above average.
          PT (Performance Task) means students will answer a set of questions that are centered on a common theme or problem.
➦If you have further questions about SBAC you can go to this site for helpful information for parents: http://www.smarterbalanced.org/parents/

We need your help and here's why and how:  
     ** The testing information is very important to teachers and the state but we want our kids not to worry that this test measures them as a person so please support and encourage them to do their best and show what they know and that's it.  It will not be the determining factor of promotion to fourth grade. 
     **Please have them get a good night's sleep the night before each test.  I know this can be hard with sports and other things going on but it is super important to their stamina during testing.
     **Snacks- I think the biggest thing the kids look forward to with testing is getting to have some snacks with them to munch on as they test.  The school will provide a cheese stick, mints and crackers and I will buy some mint gum and fruit snacks as well. You can send snacks with your child also but we ask that they are not just sugar or liquid as the sugar won't help the body regulate and attend and the liquid could spill and ruin chrome books.  
     **I am so proud of the kids and I am looking forward to seeing how much they have grown and learned this year! I will be there to cheer them on and make this a stress free experience! 

➤Dates to remember:
          ➦Pizza orders can be placed on Tuesday.  $1 for a slice of pepperoni or cheese. Pizza delivered on Wednesday lunch time.
          ➦Snack shack will now be open on the last day of every school week- Thursdays or Fridays.
           ➦Days to pay back from Snow Days:  Friday, April 21st and Friday, May 5th.
           ➦Friday, May 5th:  Tryouts for Elementary Talent Show with Mrs. Ellis. A note was sent home last week. Please let me know if you need another copy of it.
➤Snack is every day at 10:30 am.  Please send something small to nibble on so they will have energy to keep working all day.