Academics (Summary of this past week's learning)

Math- Students learned all about measuring length to the nearest inch, half inch, centimeter, foot, yard, and meter. They learned the lengths of each unit and practiced identifying reasonable units of measure for certain objects, for example "A car is about 5 (inches/ feet/ yards) tall." You would select "feet." Students learned units of measure in the customary system (in, ft, yd, mi) and metric (mm, cm, m, km). They were given ample practice measuring things around the classroom with rulers and metersticks. 

Reading- Students are reading to develop their background knowledge of soil. We are also reading poetry and learning how to engage in this type of literature. 

Word Study- We took a break from word study this week to focus on things like the music performance and field trip. We will continue after spring break. 

Writing- Students engaged in writing poetry. They created a poetry section in their writing notebook for poems. They started by writing couplets, a two-line poem that rhymes.

Science- Students are learning how to protect and conserve soil. They will need to know these strategies so they can provide a solution to the soil problem outside in the schoolyard. Also, students learned about how organisms break down when they die and become soil. This is called decomposition. Finally, we took our field trip on Thursday to observe animal adaptations at the Smithsonian. 

SOL Review

SOL stands for "Standards of Learning." It's what we call our standardized testing in the state of Virginia. It starts in third grade, so it's the first year your child will take the test. Third graders take two SOLs: reading and math. I will start sending SOL review sheets that are optional. I recommend doing this for the practice. You should print them off at home. I will send home one math and one reading section each week.