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This year, third grade students will be learning many interesting things in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Check back often for updates!

Reading - This year, students will be working on various reading skills in their basal reader, such as finding the main idea and supporting details, making predictions, drawing conclusions, looking at the author's purpose, and cause and effect. Students will also read and discuss novels in class, such as The Hundred Dresses, Hannah's Fancy Notions, The Courage of Sarah Noble, and Bunnicula, and will answer comprehension questions about these books.

Writing - Students will be busy writing in third grade! They will write narrative pieces, their own mystery stories, How-To Reports, persuasive writing pieces, and Poetry--just to name a few things. Throughout the year, students will learn about the writing process, from pre-writing, to drafting, to revising and editing. They will learn skills on how to write exciting beginnings and how to build suspsense. Also, we will be doing a lot of MCAS preparation in the area of Writing.

Math - In math this year, students will strengthen their addition and subtraction skills, will learn about place value, money, multiplication, division, fractions, measurement, and geometry.

Science - Students will work on a "mystery powders" unit where they will perform various tests on substances to determine what the mystery powders are. They will learn about chemical properties, filtration, evaporation, suspensions, and solutions. Students will also learn about Electrical Circuits, Owls, and Soils this year.

Social Studies - This year students will learn about the geography of MA, the Pilgrims and their arrival in the New World, the American Revolution, Industrial New England, with a focus on the textile mills in Lowell, MA, as well as taking a look at modern-day Boston and the state of MA.

***MYSTERY BOOK PROJECT***

Time Frame: Select mystery book by Monday, March 15^th.

Your project is due by Wednesday, April 7^th.

Your goal, after reading your mystery book of choice, is to create a “mystery shoe box book report”. Of course the first thing you will need is a shoe box. You will need to cover your shoe box with paper. Next you will need to:

1. On the cover (top) of the box, illustrate an exciting scene fromthe book. Neatly print or type the title and author. (Remember to underlinethe title of your book.) Print your name in the bottom righthand corner of the cover.

2. On one of the side panels, write 10 vocabulary words fromyour book--words that you think are interesting,challenging, or unusual. Write the definitions of the words. Itis a good idea to make a listof interesting words whileyou are reading.

3. On another side panel you will need to describe the setting(time and place). Also list all of the main characters. Use three words to describe each oftheir physical characteristics and three words to describe their personality.

4. On another side panel of the box, answer these questions:

A. What was that case that neededto be solved?

B. What were some of the clues?(include at least three)

C. Who solved the case?

D. How was the case solved?

5. Lastly, place a smallobject inside the shoe box that represents an important element ofyour mystery book. On the final side panel, list five words that describe the object withoutnaming what it is.

Mystery Shoe Box Book Report Grading Rubric

1. Cover (top):

Didyou carefully illustrate your scene?

Didyou neatly print the title and author?

Isyou name on the front?

(5points) __________

2. Side panel:

Did you include 10 vocabulary words?

Are the definitions complete and neatly written?

Have you given an adequate description of the time and setting?

Have you used 6 interesting words to describe you main characters?

(8points) ____________