Angles, Lines, and Fractions

We recently finished our math unit on fractions. The final assessment as well as the work from the unit was sent home on Monday. I included all of the additional challenge work third graders chose to complete. I hope that you were able to take time to review the work with your third grader. Their understanding of fractions grew throughout the unit. I was impressed with the complicated fraction problems they were solving. Please let me know if you have questions after reviewing the work. 

Our next unit is about angles and lines. 

Mill City Museum

We had a great trip to the Mill City Museum.  Thank you to all of the parents who joined us!

Here are some questions to ask your third graders about the trip.

What was important about Saint Anthony Falls?
How was the mill destroyed?
What powered the mill?
What did the mill make?
What was your favorite part of the movie?
What did you do in the water lab?
How has Minneapolis changed?
Who worked in the mill?

Persuasive Writing

Third-graders are brim full of opinions. They'll argue for later bedtimes, puppies, trips to Disney World, baby sisters, and pizza for dinner. They'll assert passionately that chocolate ice cream is better than vanilla (or vice versa). They'll claim that they need new markers, new shoes, the next book in the hot new series. And the list goes on. Eight- and nine-year-olds have no problem being seen and heard and making their opinion well known. And that's great news. 

As children already eager and ready to persuade others, third-graders are perfectly primed to channel their opinions into writing that can make a difference. This unit is exactly tailored to help your students to transfer their exuberance and passion into working for local and then more global causes, realizing that their voices have power and that well-supported opinions can and do change the world. 

Changing the World 
Persuasive Speeches, Petitions, and Editorials 
by Lucy Calkins and Kelly Boland Hohne 


We recently completed a unit on persuasive writing. Third graders wrote and then recorded speeches about a variety of topics important to them. They either wrote about a problem they saw or something wonderful they wanted others to appreciate. Third graders thought about helping others notice something that was beautiful in the world or something that was broken. They learned that their passionate opinions are strengthened by thoughtful reasoning and evidence. In addition, they practiced considering the audience and using language to make their words powerful.  

Click here to listen to the speeches. I hope you enjoy third graders changing the world! 

After School Club

I would love to have more third graders sign up for our final after school science and engineering club. For this round we will be incorporating art into the projects and the club will run for four weeks. Please let me know if you have any questions. The link to sign up is below. 

Thanks! 

Science and Engineering Club

Why Do People Move?

We started our study of cities this week.  One of our guiding questions for social studies this year is why do people move.  We began by brainstorming different reasons that people might move.  It was interesting to see the variety of responses that we came up with.  I invited a number of adult members of our community to come in and share their story of moving. Conducting an interview is an important life skill and I am impressed by the questions third graders are asking. In addition, they are enjoying hearing the fascinating stories and learning more about adults in our community. If you are interested in sharing a moving story with our third graders please let me know.  Ask your third grader whose moving story they most enjoyed! 

For homework, students are looking into why a member of their family moved either to Minneapolis or to the United States. Students were very excited about this assignment. Please help your third grader stay organized with this two week assignment. Third graders also participated in an immigration simulation.  The feelings of wanting to move to somewhere where there are more resources and space became very real for students as some of them were squished into a small square with few markers (shared resources).  They also began to realize some of the challenges and risks of moving.  Many students were disappointed to learn that not everyone is allowed to move into a new chosen country. Ask your third grader about how it felt to be treated like an immigrant. 

End of the Year Events

April 8, 2016

Dear Parents,

A glance at the calendar tells us that there are just about eight weeks of school left, and they are filled with exciting opportunities that we need to let you know about.

Our spring social studies in third grade are framed by the questions:

•Why do people move?

•How does a community grow and change to meet the needs

 and wants of its people?

•How does a community’s  geography – its climate, physical

features and natural resources – affect the way its people

live and work?  

We are beginning our study of CITIES with family migration stories and discussions about immigration, past and present.  Next, we will begin to talk about the physical structure of a city and how a city grows and changes according to the needs and wants of its citizens. Then, our focus will be on Minneapolis and its history of development.

You will want to take note of several dates and a project that go along with our CITIES studies.  A homework project for this unit will be to design a city.  This CREATE A CITY project will pull together all of the information that we have studied about cities in the classroom.  A foam board base will be given to each student in order to create a city for the past, present, or future.  Any media may be used, but the city must fit on the base provided. Directions and the base for this project will be given to students on Monday, May 2nd, and completed cities will be due back at school on Monday, May 16th.  Each student will design a brochure telling about his or her city and should be ready to give a brief oral presentation to the class.

We would like to invite you to join us on Friday morning, May 20th, when students will be sharing their CREATE A CITY projects (along with music and other activities from the CITIES unit) with parents at our Third Grade Sharing Program.  This will take place in the Bovey Chapel in the Middle School from 8:30-9:30.  Coffee, tea, juice, and pastries will be served.

There are also some field trips connected to this CITIES unit.  The first one will be a visit to the Mill City Museum next week on Wednesday, April 20th.  In May there will be an all-day tour of Minneapolis and a visit at City Hall with a Minneapolis councilmember. We are still working to determine the date of this trip. If you would like to help with any of these trips, please contact your parent room representative.  

Other upcoming events:

May 26th – Third Grade Olympic Day, 1:15-2:45, Hopkins Campus

May 27th– Reading Graph Auction in third grade

May 31st– Lower School Closing Ceremony, 9:00 a.m.

Happy spring!!

Third Grade Teachers

Owl Pellets