Tag Archives: Growth Mindset

Third Grade Update

Hi Families,
Here’s what’s happening in third grade:

Writing:
Today, we started a new writing unit. We will be learning about literary essays and the class will be working on reading a text, studying the characters, and writing a literary essay.

Math:
We are finishing up Unit 4 with the test tomorrow (Tuesday). We will move on to Unit 3 and study measurement, weight, volume, mass, elapsed time, and graphing.

Reading:
We started our Character Studies unit today. We will use the book Because of Winn-Dixie to study the main character and we will move on to book clubs where the students will talk and discuss the characters in their text.

Homework:
A new math/reading log went home today. Please remind your third grader to fill this out throughout the week to keep track of their reading and math practice. It is very important that our third graders are remaining consistent with this especially as we move into the next reading and math units. Thank you!

Growth Mindset:
In the last few weeks we have learned about empathy, using strategies for worrying, and today we started talking about how our mindset impacts our mood.

Valentine’s Day:
We will do some Valentine related activities on Friday, February. 12. If your child chooses to bring in Valentine’s to pass out, they should be brought to school before Wednesday, February 10. I will send a class list home. We will decorate Valentine gift bags at school.

Reminder:
Friday, February 5 is an early release. Dismissal is at 12:15
Monday, February 8- NO SCHOOL- WINTER BREAK

Third Grade Update:

Here’s what we’ve been up to in third grade:
Writing: We are just beginning our writing unit and the students started making goals for themselves as writers. We are learning about writing true stories. This week we started to learn strategies for when we struggle with thinking of ideas to write.

Math: Our first unit of math is multiplication. We started learning the patterns for 5s and your child should be bringing their flash cards home to practice. To help your third grader with multiplication equations, say the equation like this: 3 x 5 as ‘3 groups of 5′.
We have been learning to write a multiplication equation and show it in a few different ways. For example: equal groups, repeated addition, and array.

Reading: We have learned all about our classroom library and we have talked about the different genre choices. We have spent some time filling our book baskets with good-fit books. We are working on building reading stamina to read independently. Next week we will start making goals for our selves as readers that will build a positive reading life.

Social Studies: During social studies we are spending a lot of time learning about what it means to be a classroom community. We are learning our S.O.A.R procedures and are learning about concepts such as acceptance, how we use our words, and being a good friend to others. We have been enjoying some great read aloud books that help us learn these lessons. Next week we will take a closer look at Growth Mindset.

Here are a few pictures from our week:

CHOOSING BOOKS AND SORTING THEM BY GENRE

MATH REVIEW

BUILDING ARRAYS

~A GREAT Start~

Parents,
We had a great first four days of third grade! We have been learning classroom and school procedures (SOAR) and we have been getting to know our classmates, too. What a wonderful group of learners! Remember that we do not have school tomorrow (Friday) or on Monday. We will be back on Tuesday, September 3!

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We have started learning about Growth Mindset. Our third graders will be learning more about this and will be using it as they learn throughout the year. We learned that our brain is like a muscle that grows stronger when we work hard and face challenges. Our mindset and attitude impacts the way we learn new things. Our mantra this month is EVERYONE CAN LEARN! The has been a great reminder for our class for when something is hard to do.

We discussed the difference between a Fixed Mindset and a Growth Mindset.
For example, with a Fixed Mindset, we say “I can’t do it”, but when we have a Growth Mindset, our thought is changed to “I can do it if I practice and try my best”.

Our class talked about how it is okay to feel upset, angry, or frustrated about learning new things, but when we feel that way, we need to use strategies to help us calm down and change our mindset.
We have been learning strategies such as movement breaks or calming breaths throughout our day that help us focus on our learning and be ready to take on challenges in a positive way.
Please take a look in your child’s daily folder next week. You will see an orange paper that gives you more information about Growth Mindset and ways that you can encourage this at home with your child. I look forward to encouraging our students as learners this year!

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Puzzle Piece Homework: Each student in our class is special and unique and together we make a great team! Each student is part of the puzzle that is our class. On Tuesday, we read a book called The Crayon Box That Talked. This reminded us that each one of us is a special part of our classroom community. Students were sent home with a puzzle piece homework assignment today. Please read this over with your third grader. This should be brought back to school by next Friday, September 6.

Thank you and have a great weekend!!

Ms Van Arkel 🙂

Week of Oct. 8

Parents,
Here are a few things you will need to know:

Our Growth Mindset mantra this month is: MY BRAIN IS LIKE A MUSCLE THAT GROWS. Today, we made a new goal for ourselves. We put it right on our name tag as a daily reminder. The goal is: I will work hard to help my brain grow strong!
Jet’s Pizza night: October 11
Early Release this Friday, Oct. 12
Snack: Please help your child remember to pack one healthy snack each day. I usually have a snack available for forgetful situations. If you are able to donate a box of graham crackers, our class would appreciate it!
Multiplication Fluency Practice Page: On Wednesdays (and sometimes more often) we assess multiplication fact fluency. This helps the students take responsibility in their learning. Students will be given a multiplication fact page one fact group at a time. This Wednesday we will start with the 5s. When the 5s page is passed, your child will move on to the 2s. The order we will follow is: 5s, 2s, 10s, 9s, 3s, 4s, 6s, 7s, 8s. Your child has a graph where they will keep track of their progress so they know what facts to work on. You will see the practice page come home with a note attached that says: “GOT IT!” or “NOT YET”. This will let you know what facts to work on for the next practice page.
We made our GOAL!!!!
Each day we use a scoreboard. If our scoreboard has more smile tallies than sad face tallies, we earn a smile magnet. So our class set a goal of earning 10 smile faces. When the class met the goal they would receive a treat from me. So today was the day! We enjoyed cookies and apple cider. Way to go, class!!

A Great First Week!!

Parents,
We had a great first three days of third grade! We have been learning classroom procedures and we have been getting to know our classmates, too. What a wonderful group of learners! Remember that we do not have school tomorrow (Friday) or on Monday. We will be back on Tuesday, September 4!

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Our class talked about how it is okay to feel upset, angry, or frustrated about learning new things, but when we feel that way, we need to use strategies to help us calm down and change our mindset.
We have been learning strategies such as movement breaks or calming breaths throughout our day that help us focus on our learning and be ready to take on challenges in a positive way.
Please take a look in your child’s daily folder. You will see a green paper that gives you more information about Growth Mindset and ways that you can encourage this at home with your child. I look forward to encouraging our students as learners this year!

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Thank you and have a great weekend!!

Ms Van Arkel 🙂