Potts' Classroom News

Welcome to 3rd Grade!

Happy Second Week of School!

I am so excited to be able to spend this year with each and every one of you. I have very high hopes for how each and everyone of us will grow in our learning and as a class.

We are off to a great start. Last week went very well and everyone jumped right in without any hesitation. 

The third grade team will be sending home a monthly newsletter. This will have information such as upcoming events, reminders, and our learning focus for that month in each subject. This came home on Tuesday with the students.

Homework started this week as well. Our wonderful new principal, Ms. Nelson, has ordered some take home folders that are top of the line. As soon as those come in, the homework and reading log will be kept in there for the week. For this week, it is stapled in their agenda so they are able to keep up with it. Homework every week will be reading for 20 minutes a night and a few math problems that are review of standards we have worked on. I know everyone has a busy schedule with life and sports, but please ensure that your child is getting their homework done. I will be checking their homework on Fridays, so there is plenty of time to get it done.

Please be sure to sign your child's agenda every night. This is a form of communication between us. This is where the students will color in what color they were on for the day as well any notes from me about the day. If you have any notes that you need for me, please write them in the agenda. This can be anything from a transportation change to an excuse. I check the agendas every morning for a signature and for notes.  :)

A few reminders:

We will be having an extended day on August 21st. The day will go an extra 45 minutes due to the solar eclipse. All transportation will still be the same.

On August 22nd, we will be having our open house. This will be from 5:30-7:00. This is a time for parents to come and hear about how the classroom runs, expectations, procedures, and to clarify any confusion. 

I look forward to seeing you all there!

 

-Ms. Potts

March 27th

Happy almost Spring Break! Only 4 more wake ups until our week off! Just a reminder, report cards went home on Thursday. Please return the envelope signed. I am also collecting 3 stamps per child in order to mail the report cards home at the end of the school year. If we do not receive stamps or your child has an outstanding balance then you will have to come up to the school during the summer to get the report card. We have some fun things this week. We will have another visit from Wellstar on Tuesday and then our cultural arts day on Friday. Here is a peak at our week:

 

Reading: This week we are practicing asking and answering questions while reading. We are trying to focus on questions that do not have a yes or no answer and are not about the story elements. This will help with the students comprehension when reading.

Math: We are learning about how to partition a shape into halves, thirds, and fourths. We will focus on partitioning them into equal parts as well.

Writing: We will be finishing up on opinion writings this week. We will practice responding to a prompt in which we have to give our opinion on something.

Science: Our science time will be used to do the career cluster lessons this week. This is a time where we get to explore the different careers in our world.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and a wonderful spring break!

-Ms. Potts

March 20th

Good Morning!

We are 2 weeks away from Spring Break and still just as busy! The 3rd Nine Weeks report cards will be going home on Thursday. Please remember to sign the envelope and return it. You may keep the actual report card. We also have Spring pictures on Friday, the 24th. Remember to return your picture order form. International Night is this Thursday, the 23rd. It will be held at the school from 6:00-7:30. Here is what we have going on this week in the classroom:

Math: We will be taking the pre-touchstone for the 4th nine weeks on Monday and then spend the rest of the week learning about plane figures. We will be discussing names, angles, and sides.

Reading: We will be taking the pre-touchstone for the 4th nine weeks in reading as well. The rest of the week will be spent learning about author's purpose and being able to identify what the author is trying to tell us.

Science: We will be discussing the different seasons and how we can observe the changes based off of how the trees change throughout the year.

Writing: Everyone seems to be doing well with opinion writing. We will be working on a new opinion piece this week to keep practicing.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

-Ms. Potts

 

 

 

March 6th

Good Morning!

It is hard to believe we are already in March! This year is flying by. We had so much fun in the classroom on Friday for Read Across America Day. We had a total of 4 guest readers and a lot of Dr. Seuss activities. We were even able to watch the Tortoise and the Hare race! The students loved it. Here is what we have going on this week:

Math: We will begin talking about comparing numbers this week using the >, =, and < symbols. We will be comparing both two-digit and three-digit numbers. The students need an understanding of place value to help with this.

Reading: We have finished up fables and are moving into folktales now. We will spend the read reading different folktales and discussing the characteristics of them.

Writing: We will begin a new writing piece this week. We learned about Jackie Robinson during social studies, so we are going to take our knowledge about him and put it into a writing. The students will be writing a paper that discusses Jackie Robinson's character traits and how he possessed those.

Science: We started learning about stars last week and are now moving into the moon. We will be discussing the moon and the different phases.

We will also have our guidance lesson this week with Mrs. Whitton.

Mark you calendars for Spring Pictures on March 24th. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

-Ms. Potts

February 27th

Welcome Back!

I hope you all had a relaxing break and enjoyed the warmer weather as much as I did. We are back in full swing today with lots to do this week. We will be having a guidance lesson this week from Mrs. Whitton along with Talent Development with Mrs. Brown. On Friday we will celebrate Read Across America Day and have some fun activities and books to go along with that. Here is what we are doing this week in each subject area:

Math: We are continuing to work on word problems. The main difference is the students are now having to determine if it is a one or two-step word problem. We will be practicing this throughout the week and putting the "cube strategy" to use.

Reading: At the beginning of the week the students will have the opportunity to take what they have learned about fables and put it into action by writing their own fable. They will be given 2 animal characters and the students will be choosing the moral of the story and then writing their fable. Later in the week we will begin learning about folktales.

Writing: We are continuing to work on opinion pieces. We are really focusing in on how to have STRONG reasons that support our opinion and then developing supporting details from there. If they have strong reasons, the supporting details will come a little easier.

Science: This week we are introducing a new standard in which we will be learning about the stars. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be learning about stars, the sun, and the moon.

I hope you have a wonderful week,

Ms. Potts

February 27th

Welcome Back!

I hope you all had a relaxing break and enjoyed the warmer weather as much as I did. We are back in full swing today with lots to do this week. We will be having a guidance lesson this week from Mrs. Whitton along with Talent Development with Mrs. Brown. On Friday we will celebrate Read Across America Day and have some fun activities and books to go along with that. Here is what we are doing this week in each subject area:

Math: We are continuing to work on word problems. The main difference is the students are now having to determine if it is a one or two-step word problem. We will be practicing this throughout the week and putting the "cube strategy" to use.

Reading: At the beginning of the week the students will have the opportunity to take what they have learned about fables and put it into action by writing their own fable. They will be given 2 animal characters and the students will be choosing the moral of the story and then writing their fable. Later in the week we will begin learning about folktales.

Writing: We are continuing to work on opinion pieces. We are really focusing in on how to have STRONG reasons that support our opinion and then developing supporting details from there. If they have strong reasons, the supporting details will come a little easier.

Science: This week we are introducing a new standard in which we will be learning about the stars. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be learning about stars, the sun, and the moon.

I hope you have a wonderful week,

Ms. Potts

February 13th

Good Afternoon!

I hope most of you took the weekend to recover from the yucky sickness that is going around. We have 5 students out today. :( I think it is safe to say we are ready to have everyone back! I have been stressing how we need to be washing hands and covering our mouths when we cough and sneeze. I know being out of school is not fun, but it is even more miserable when it is for multiple days. The break next week is coming at the perfect time for everyone to get some much needed rest. 

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! We will take 15-20 to exchange Valentines with our classmates. Please be sure to send in one for every class member. (no treats please)

Here is what we are working on this week:

Math: We are not focusing on adding four 2-digit numbers. For example, 12+14+23+32. We have a few different strategies we are learning this week to help with this. There will be math homework in their agendas for some extra practice at home.

Reading: We are continuing to learn about fables and how they all have a moral, or lesson in the story. We are having some difficulty being able to identify the moral but with some more practice this week, we should be good to go!

Social Studies: This week we are learning about Jackie Robinson! We just started reading about him today. I am excited about what the students will learn.

Writing: We are starting a new writing piece this week. This time I am allowing the students to pick their own topic. Today we focused on picking a topic that they are passionate about. If they pick something they are passionate about they will be more likely to have really strong reasons and supporting details. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and break next week! Rest up!

-Ms. Potts

 

February 6th

Good Morning! (or gloomy morning for us Falcons fans)

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We will be going on our field trip to see Sleeping Beauty on Thursday. We are all very excited for this. I wanted to let you all know we have had some sickness going around. I had a talk with the kids this morning reminding everyone to wash their hands and cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze. We are wiping down desks and tables to help cut out the germs in our class. We have when a classmate misses because they do not feel well, so we are trying to help as much as possible. Here is what we are doing this week:

Math: This week we are focusing on the subtraction strategies for 3-digit numbers. They are the exact same strategies that we worked on last week, just not we are doing subtraction problems instead.

Reading: We are introducing fables to the students this week. We are discussing how fables have a moral (or lesson) in the story and we are practicing being about to find the moral of the story. 

Writing: We are continuing to practice writing an opinion piece. We will finish up our class pet paper this week and being writing about a new topic as well.

Social Studies: This week we are learning about the 3 levels of government and what the roles of the elected officials are. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

-Ms. Potts

February 2nd

Good Morning!

We will be having our annual Jump Rope for Heart on February 17th. This will not count as a specials rotation, so I updated the calendar with that change put in!

 

Download February-2017-specials

January 31st

Good Morning!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Here is an update of what we are working on in class.

Reading: We have been learning about comparing and contrasting similar versions of the same story. For example, we read "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Ninja Red Riding Hood" and then the students used information from that to compare and contrast the stories. The students seem to be doing a wonderful job with this. We are continuing this standard throughout this week. 

Math: Last week we worked on money word problems. There were a few students who still need a little practice with at home. I encourage you to get some coins out and let your child practice counting them.

Science: We are continuing to learn about shadows and how the sun plays apart in this. The students have loved going outside and noticing their shadows and how they change throughout the day.

Writing: We have introduced a new writing! This quarter we are working on opinion writing. Last week we talked about pros/cons, facts/opinions, and paragraph structure. This week we are working on writing a persuasive piece to convince the teacher of a class pet that we should get.  :)  I am really wanting them to focus on using STRONG reasons to support their opinion. I encourage you to ask your child about this at home. I am enjoying their creativity with it.

 

We have a field trip coming up! We will be going to the Atlanta Ballet (Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center) on February 9th. It is free of cost. Your child came home with a permission slip on Thursday. Please fill it out and return it back to me by February 7th.

 

Thank you for all your support at home!

-Ms. Potts