Newsletter Info

Social Studies
This week we will learn about our national government. We will focus on the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) and how all three parts work together to protect the rights of our country's citizens. Later in the week, we will also learn about the role of symbols in our country. For example, many Americans think of freedom when they see a bald eagle or American flag. There will be no social studies questions or quiz next week in celebration of Thanksgiving.

Science
We have finished the first part of our unit on the Sun and other stars in the solar system. This week, we will move on to the next concept: Gravity. Your child should already be comfortable discussing gravity as a force that pulls objects toward the center of the Earth. In third grade, we focus on the concept of defying, or overcoming, gravity. Take a gravity walk around your neighborhood or local park. Look around for examples of people defying, or overcoming, gravity. In class, we will explore that concept through several different labs. Next week, we will investigate how we can overcome the force of gravity to make a model rocket fly higher. In order to do this lab, we need to collect the following materials by Thursday of this week: Oblong balloons (small and large), fishing line, donut magnets, quart sized baggies, small plastic disposable water bottles (empty), straws, and modeling clay. Please contact Mrs. Z immediately via email if you are interested in helping out. Thanks in advance for your support!

We are continuing our studies on the relationship among skip counting, repeated addition, and multiplication. The students are beginning to understand that doubling (or halving) one factor in a multiplication expression doubles (or halves) the product. For example, 10 bags of apples with 3 apples in each bag would total 30 apples (3x10=30. The students can use this information to determine that 10 bags with 6 apples in each bag would total 60 apples (10x6=60). Using known multiplication combinations to determine the product of more difficult combinations is an important skill for the students to build their understanding. We also practiced skip counting around the classroom by various multiples. Have your child practice counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, 6's and 10's to reinforce this skill. The homework sheet for the week of November 15th-19th is Sheet #12, and will be checked Wednesday and Friday in class. We will also have our Tuesday Math Quiz. The quiz will focus on using multiplication combinations.