Readers’ Workshop

 This spring, in Readers’ Workshop, third grade students will be enjoying a Poetry Unit. According to Guiding Reading and Writers Grades 3-6 by Fountas and Pinnel, poetry “enables students to appreciate the sound and imagery of language, invites students to understand and view themselves and their world in a new way, enriches students’ lives as they discover words, sound, and rhythm in unique, creative ways, intrigues students as it offers puzzles within puzzles, and captures the essence of meaning in the sparest of language.” The children will learn about various poets during “poet talk”, compile a “self-portrait” anthology, respond to poetry through writing and compose their own poems.

Writers’ Workshop             

Third graders have been learning how to compose a well-written “How-To” piece in Writers’ Workshop by examining a variety of “How To” books. They’ve identified and learned to write the various parts of a “How To” piece: the introduction, list of supplies and materials, tips and warnings, step-by-step instructions and the conclusion. The students will publish their own “How To” writing that includes all of the parts of “How To” writing and highlights each student’s individual writing voice.

Math

The study of fractions is the focus in Math for the first part of this quarter. The students will study equivalent fractions, compare fractions, and add and subtract fractions.  Next, the children learn about area, perimeter, and volume. The school year will end with a unit on division. Of course, all units will be taught through Envision Math which incorporates technology, manipulatives, and real-world problem solving in each lesson. As always, math vocabulary is included in each unit of study.  

Jewish Learning                 

Third graders are about to embark on their Tikkun Olam project. By reading books that deal with our relationship between people and animals, they will raise funds to donate to the Texas Hearing and Service Dog, Inc. This organization assists individuals living with hearing or mobility challenges. A recipient of a dog from this organization visited with the students and shared her experiences from having benefited from this organization. This project ended with a “Third Grade Olympics” where each student tried to complete various physical activities while having a mock disability.

As always, Jewish learning plays an important role in the third grade curriculum. The remaining Jewish holidays for study include Passover, Yom Hashoah, Yom Ha’atzma’ut, and Shavuot.  My Jewish Year, our third grade text, serves as a wonderful resource of our holiday units.  We also read Terrible Things by Eve Bunting for our holocaust unit which is a wonderful metaphorical story for explaining the holocaust. Torah study also enriches our curriculum. Our two remaining Torah units of study include Yaakov’s Deception and Life Cycles. Through reader-friendly text the students participate in wonderful group discussions and learn to interpret Torah. Rabbi Miller, a rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel, as well as Nancy Pryzant Picus, Director of Jewish Learning, are actively engaged with the third grade students in various ways throughout the year. Sometimes we study prayer together, participate in family projects such as our Havdalah Service, or just have fun with our sing–a-longs.

Science 

The study of Rocks, Minerals and Fossils is coming to a close for the children with a project of their choice that demonstrates their understanding of the concepts they learned for this unit. The next science topic moves from Earth Science to Life Science. This unit includes an in depth study of animals and their habitats.

 Social Studies

The third grade field trip to downtown Houston and its tunnel system is the topic of conversation among the third graders. The children couldn’t be more excited. This trip correlates with various aspects of Social Studies including map skills and community.  The trip also includes math since the children will have to “budget” their money for lunch. The biggest challenge is will there be enough money left for “dessert?”