Tis the season of testing! We have a Unit math test this week, but really the testing we have been talking about in class are the Forward tests, which are the state tests. 3rd graders will take the Forward tests in the morning of April 20, 22, and 27. There is really nothing that you need to do at home for this other than making sure your child gets a good restful sleep the night before and have something in their bellies the day of. We will provide snacks for the entire class those days as well (or they can choose to bring their own, as usual.) 

We have been talking about these tests in class to hopefully minimize the worry and stress that can come along with testing for some students. If your child is feeling anxious about them, please let me know so we can work to alleviate some of that. We talk about tests as a way to show off and celebrate all that we have learned and just how much we have grown. 

Reminders:

• Please return the yellow KAT envelope with any donations! 

• 3rd graders will be performing a concert on April 15th @8:00am during the school day. The performance will be virtual (live recording) as well as recorded for future viewing. Students are encouraged to dress up in something nice, avoid jeans and tennis shoes if possible. 

Coming up:

April 12: Pajama Wear

April 13: Purple Wear

April 13: Unit 7 Math Test (Math review due this day)

April 14: Sports Wear

April 15: Hat Day

April 15: Spring Concert -- have your child dress nicely! We can take the hats off for the concert :) 

April 16: KAT (Knowledge-A-Thon) day!

April 16: Rockstar Wear!

April 18: Sunday at 12:00 PM Summer School registration begins

April 20: Reading Forward Test

April 22: Reading Forward Test

April 27: Math Forward Test

Curriculum:

Math: Mathematicians have seemed pretty confident going into this test! The test will be on Tuesday, so the review will also be due then. We'll also spend some time going over the math tools for the Forward test so that they can get familiar with them. 

Writing: This week we will focus on word choice! We'll go over words with multiple meanings (like stable... a horse's stable vs the chair was not stable) and figurative language (similes and metaphors.) 

Reading: Our readers have been doing so well in using all they learned when reading an information text! We'll play a little nonfiction Jeopardy and then give a few more test taking tips! Feel free to share any test taking tips with your child as well (eliminating answers that could not be correct, choosing the best answer, rereading to be sure it's correct, etc.) 

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Jenny Kocourek