Mrs. Halimi

Good morning Haigh families. Sorry for the late post, we had some trouble with our cable working over the weekend.

This week we will finish up our NWEA tests (Science and Language). I will also finish up DRA testing the remainder of the class.

As a reminder we do have a half day on Friday. Dismissal is at 11:45.

Academic Vocabulary:

1. Pitch- How high or low a sound is.
2.  Volume- How loud or soft a sound is.
3. Quotient- The answer to a division problem.
4. Citizen- A person that follows and protects the laws of their local, state, and federal government.
5. President- The leader of the government.

In reading we will continue to focus on main idea. In writing we will continue to work on our informational books. We had to put them on hold last week as we had to complete our district writing prompt.

In math you may have noticed a “zip strip” of multiplication facts that your child is working on each day. These daily test are given each day to reinforce fact fluency in multiplication. Each child starts out with their 1’s and once they master the quick quiz they get to sign the “Multiplication wall of fame” and move on to the next fact (up to 12).  Hopefully this will encourage students to practice their facts both inside and outside of the classroom. This week we will also focus on writing both multiplication and division story problems using a diagram.

Students will continue to learn about sound through a variety of center activities. We will focus on how sound travel.

In social studies we will learn about the purpose of the Michigan Constitution and how the government is organized.

Please remember to encourage your child to read each night and fill out their daily reading log.  Please also encourage them to visit Mobymax.com and MYon.com to practice their reading skills.

That is all for now. Have a great week!

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend.

This week we will begin our NWEA testing.We will begin with reading tomorrow and math on Thursday. Please make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast and give them some words of encouragement. I am sure they will all improve and show growth from the beginning of the year. Last week we took the time to review our fall scores and set new goals for our winter testing.

This week we also have our district writing prompt to complete. Students will be writing an opinion piece. I am confident that they will do a great job since we just finished up with this genre and their papers look great!

We will continue to work on main idea in reading. I will also be giving a reading DRA / progress monitoring assessment to students this week to monitor their reading level.

To say that this short week is a “busy” week is an understatement! We will be busy and working hard to show our progress toward our 2016 goals.

Academic Vocabulary:

1. Factor- Numbers we can multiply together to get another number.
2. Republic- A government where people hold the power of the government.
3. Elect-To choose someone by voting.
4. Division- splitting into equal parts or groups.

Just a reminder that on Wednesday we have a late start day; school begins at 9:35.

Welcome back Haigh families! Time flies when your having FUN! I sincerely hope everyone had a great time catching up with friends and family over the break. Now…..back to business 🙂

**Please send in a stamp and an envelope to school with your child so they can mail their favorite restaurant paper to the business. We will address them in class.

**Please return the HAIGH reading challenge calendar by Friday in order to be entered to win a prize.

**Please wear DETROIT LIONS gear or colors on Friday (even though they LOST!) to school on Friday. We have a Detroit Lions, leaders for life assembly in the morning.

** This week we will have four academic words instead of five as we transition back to school 🙂

Academic Vocabulary:

1. Product- The answer to a multiplication problem.
2. Array-A set of objects or numbers arranged in rows and columns to help us multiply.
3. Government- A system of laws and leaders that helps keeps people safe and protects their rights.
4. Main idea- What the text is mostly about.

This week in reading we will begin to explore how to find the main idea in non-fiction text. We will practice with short texts and gradually move to bigger texts.

In writing we will begin to write to inform. Students will be brainstorming a list of expert topics that they feel they know a lot about. Next, students will begin to write a short informational book that will thoroughly explain their topic using text features to support their ideas. This is a fun unit in writing and students really take pride in the creation of their expert books.

In math we will begin unit 4 which is multiplication. If you haven’t already, please make sure your child has a set of flashcards (Dollar Tree has them) to practice at home and at school. Also, their are a number of websites including frontrowed.com that allows student to practice math facts. Remember, fluency is the key and with daily practice and repetition your child will be fluent with their facts in no time!

We will begin our new unit about the government of Michigan in social studies . This week we will focus on the question of why people need governments.

We will begin our unit on sound energy this week as we brainstorm things we already know and what we want to learn in the unit.

Next week we will begin our winter NWEA testing.

*****NO SCHOOL MONDAY *****

BRRRRRR! It is freezing outside! Be sure to bundle your child in layers tomorrow! This week will be busy and FUN as we prepare for Christmas break.

Important Dates:

Tuesday 12-20~ Spelling test/Math test. Study guide will be sent home tomorrow.

Please send in 1 or 2 cardboard boxes with your child. The box may be any size.

We will be doing a math performance task with the boxes. If you would like to

donate any extra rolls of wrapping paper that would be greatly appreciated!

Wednesday 12-21~Late Start. Science test; study guide will be sent Tuesday.

Thursday 12-22~ PBIS Movie reward 🙂

Friday 12-23~ Class Christmas Party 1:30-3:00. All are welcome to attend 🙂

*Please send in a new or gently used book wrapped for our Christmas book exchange.

This week we will be reading and researching Christmas around the world. Students will read to discover the different holiday traditions that children follow in different countries. Later in the week they will choose a country to investigate their traditions and create a mini poster.

We will be finishing up our opinion writing of our favorite restaurants. Each morning we work on these and our stomachs are growling because the writing is that “GOOD!” We have really been working hard on word choice and using all our senses to describe the food, service, decorations, and cleanliness of their favorite restaurants.

This should be a great week as we approach Christmas break 🙂

Happy Holidays!

Dear Parents,

The holidays are upon us and our holiday party planning has begun! Our holiday party is scheduled for Friday, December 23rd at 1:30. We have many fun activities for the children to engage in. In the spirit of gift giving we are asking that each child bring a wrapped, gently used or new third grade appropriate book to school next week. We plan on having a “book exchange” on the day of our party. This will be a fun activity for students to enjoy, as well as give them a new book to be excited about as we leave for winter break. Hopefully they will love their new book and read it on the break. Thank you for your support, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I hope everyone enjoyed their SNOW DAY! It was a great surprise for me. I really enjoyed the extra day to spend with my family. We enjoyed sledding, a snowball fight, and hot chocolate. I even got in some Christmas shopping.

Tomorrow evening is the ugly sweater BINGO! Please come and enjoy with your family. Your child may even want to wear their ugly sweater to school tomorrow 🙂

This week we will be having our social studies test on the history of Michigan. I will send home a study guide for your child to review at home.

We will continue to work on opinion writing as we write about our favorite restaurants in the area. This is always so fun to write about ….and it makes us really anticipate lunch time!

In reading we will continue to read legends and develop our skill of cause and effect relationships. We will also look at strategies to help us understand unfamiliar vocabulary words in nonfiction texts. Learning about context clues will help students deepen their understanding as they encounter nonfiction texts.

We will continue to review area and perimeter as well as measuring to the 1/4 inch. The test for this unit will be early next week.

Academic Vocabulary:

1. Pioneer- A person who is the first to settle in a region.
2. Translucent- Allowing some light to pass through.
3. Refract- The bending of light.
4. Effect- What happens because of the cause.
5. Width- The distance from side to side.

Homework for the week is posted now. Sorry for the delay!

Good afternoon Haigh families 🙂

I hope everyone had a great weekend and a chance to get some shopping done. The malls sure are busy, but we managed to get our Santa pictures on Saturday.

This week:

In reading we will continue to learn about Native American legends and compare them to myths and fables. We will also work on answering extended response type questions in social studies and science.

In writing we will finish up our favorite food paper and begin another opinion piece about our favorite restaurant in the area.

In math we will focus on building our confidence in finding the area and perimeter of different shapes. We will focus on differentiating between the two as we engage in fun math stations.

We will continue to learn about the history of Michigan and focus on how Michigan gained it’s statehood. Our social studies test on Michigan history will be next week during technology class.

Academic Vocabulary:

1. Perimeter- The distance around a figure.
2. Area- The amount of space inside a figure.
3. Explorer- A person who travels and investigates unknown places.
4. Length- The distance from one end to the other.
5. Verb-A word that expresses an action. Ex.- jump, swim

Looking forward to a great week 🙂

Good afternoon Haigh families,

I hope everyone enjoyed their break with family and friends.

This week we will begin to learn how to write an opinion essay. We will review the purpose of an opinion paper and plan our papers using our blueprint planning tool.

In reading we will learn about different legends shared by the Native American culture. We will read a variety of legends and discuss themes as well as infer what these legend tell us about the Native American culture. We will also connect them to our earlier learning of fables and myths.

In math we will learn to measure to the 1/4 inch. We will be measuring many items and practice identifying the marks on the ruler. We will also learn about perimeter and how it pertains to our real life.

In social studies we will learn about Native Americans and their role in the fur trade as well as Michigan’s history with the French and the British.

In Science we will investigate light and determine how it travels and what it can travel through.

Academic Vocabulary:

1. Artifacts- Things from the past that are found and left for us to study.
2. Legend- A make believe story that tells how something in nature came to be.
3. Historian-People who study the past.
4. Opinion- What someone thinks about something.
5. Culture-The way of life for a group of people.

Looking forward to a great week at Haigh 🙂

Hope your Thanksgiving is filled with love and laughter and all the wonderful things we all have to be thankful for. From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving! and……Let’s go LIONS 🙂