Skills Block

Our students loved reviewing nouns with this vintage grammar rock video:

So far in Skills Block we have learned how to spell third grade no excuse words, learned some amazing new vocabulary from the book, Montezuma's Revenge, and learned about common and proper nouns.

Each week in Skills Block we will either focus on spelling, vocabulary, or grammar. This week and next we will be studying the rules for how to make a noun plural. Check the newsletter for specific details on the rules we will be learning.

Planning our Stories!

Last week, our writers in room 205 chose a topic and planned their stories. The plan allows the writer to know exactly how their stories are going to go, before they just start writing. A plan should include all the main events of the story, but does not need to go into vivid detail or have complete sentences. The plan below was done by one of our amazing writers, Dalton! He is planning a story about how he crashed his cousin's four-wheeler. His story starts as he is getting the 4 wheeler out of the shed. This is the perfect place for his story to start, because it is right before the main event! (He didn't write about what he had for breakfast that morning, or how he brushed his teeth or got dressed. That would be a boring beginning!) The middle of Dalton's plan contains the action of his story, and he includes 5 main events that happened. He ends his plan with a feeling (relief) that he would be able to ride his 4 wheeler again because he wasn't hurt. This is an amazing plan and we can't wait for Dalton to write his story so we can read it!

Reading with STAMINA!

This week in Reading Workshop, we have been really focused on building reading stamina.  Reading stamina is a child's ability to focus and read independently for longer periods of time without being distracted or without distracting others. Third grade readers should be able to read chapter books for at least 30 minutes at a time. They should read one book at a time, not starting a new one until the previous one is finished. Readers should be so into their books that they don't think about anything else, but what they are reading!  By Friday, we had so many excellent readers practicing amazing stamina. Some students were doing such a great job that they were picked to read in special comfy spots around the room!