Curriculum Update October 14, 2016

Curriculum Update October 14, 2016

October 21 and 24 - Student Led Conferences - Please make sure to schedule a time for your conference. There is no school on these days for Lower School students.

Science:

Students are now learning about Earth materials. Soon they will measure a rocks hardness using the Mohs hardness scale scratch test. Friedrich Mohs created a scale from one to 10 to describe mineral hardness. He gave harder minerals larger numbers and softer minerals smaller numbers. Talc, the softest mineral, he assigned to one, the smallest number on the scale. Diamond, the hardest mineral, he assigned to 10, the largest number on the scale. If you would like to test this experiment at home on rocks of your own you will need:

* Your fingernail (approx. Mohs Scale 2.5)

* An old 2 cent coin or copper penny (approx. Mohs Scale 3.5)

* An iron nail (approx. Mohs Scale 5.5)

* A hardened steel file (approx. Mohs Scale 7)

If you prefer a digital version please check out these links for students to play games testing the hardness of rocks and minerals:

http://archive.fossweb.com/modules3-6/EarthMaterials/activities/mohsdrill.html

http://www.purposegames.com/game/mohs-scale-of-mineral-hardness-game

MATH:

Linear Measures and Area

In Unit 3, children will develop their measurement sense by measuring lengths with standard units—in both the U.S. customary system and the metric system. Children will practice reading a ruler to the nearest inch, nearest _ 1 2 inch, nearest _ 1 4 inch, and nearest centimeter as they measure a variety of objects, including parts of their own bodies, such as their hand spans, wrists, necks, and heights. In addition to the inch and centimeter, children will also measure with other standard units, such as the foot, yard, and meter. Children will begin to use certain body measures or the lengths of some everyday objects as personal references to estimate the lengths of other objects or distances.

Language Arts:

The third graders are continuing to work hard toward developing more advanced skills in both reading and writing. Students are in the publishing phase of the writing process and are excited to share their small moment narratives with their parents at the upcoming conferences. In reading, students are learning to tackle tricky words and use a variety of comprehension strategies to deepen understanding. As we finish up on our unit on narratives and are looking forward to turning our attention to informational text. When reading and writing informational text, our focus is on using both text features and text structure to comprehend text and organize our writing. Students are encouraged to read a wide variety of literature and should include both fiction and non-fiction in their daily reading. All families are reminded that the Lower School library offers a wealth of resources to both parents and students that allow students to expand their reading experiences. As always, please assist your child in maintaining the weekly log sent home by classroom teachers.