Asalaam Alaikum Parents of Third Grade,

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

Welcome back from Spring Break. I hope you all are well rested. We are in our last and final trimester for the year. We're going to have a  really busy this month. Our Annual Poetry Night is this Friday, 4/06/2012. Our class has been working on their poetry writing. They have learned how to write many different styles of poetry. MashaAllah they are all great poets! We look forward to sharing them with you and your family on Friday at 6:00 p.m. Please come and join us in this fun annual event. There will be refreshments and light snacks for sale. Students reciting poetry need to promptly be here at 5:30.

It is that time of the year again, trimester exams are starting this week. Language Arts for third grade will be this Friday, March 2nd. The exam will cover comprehension skills, context clues, point of view, reading a glossary and index, reading an encyclopedia, reading and following a diagram, and writing. Students will have to know how to write the different types of writing, such as a Persuasive, Descriptive, Expository, or Narrative. We have been practicing these skills throughout the trimester. We will also be reviewing it in class this week. InshaAllah the students will do well on all their exams.

March

As for the month of March, our class will working on a poetry unit. We will be focussing on writing the different types of poetry such as Alliteration, Acrostic, Free Verse, Hyperbole, Haiku, Limerick, Shape, and Personification poems. They are very excited for this poetry unit. We are getting ready for the poetry contest and for the annual Poetry Night happening on April 6th, 2012. Our class will be compiling a book of poems from each student. The poetry contest deadline is April 12, 2012.  Students will send in their best poem and insha'allah win. If your child wins, his/her poem will be published in the anthology book and possibly get a check for $25.00 if they are the top winners. Students and teachers from across the nation will read your childs poem. They'll be famous poets!

Alongside with the poetry unit, we will also be practicing and reading from our textbook, and work in the Practice and Grammar workbooks. They will continue to build the skills of comprehension, spelling, writing, and grammar. Homework will also change weekly for this month. Have a great March!

February 2012

Hope you all had a great New Year! February is filled with many events. The Spelling Bee was a great success to our 3rd grade class. Umbre Khan who was up against grades from middle and high school defeated and won the Spelling Bee in our school! We are all so proud of her especially her friends from third grade! They were all nervously rooting silently for her in the final round. When she made it they all cheered with great joy and excitement. Congratulations Umbre for winning!!!  

 The rest of the events for Language Arts in third grade is the essay contest coming up soon. Students get to enter a non-fiction essay that no more than 250-300 words. Third grade is the youngest grade that can compete in the national essay contest from Creative Communications. Last year there were a few winners from our school.

We have been working on our writing skills and listening to winning essays. The inspirations will get their brain juices flowing and motivated. Can't wait for the final essays! This week will be writing week!

There's new stories and adventures to read and learn from this month from our textbook. There will be slight changes in homework this month. A few pages will be marked out and new pages will be added in. Students will be focusing more on comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills. It will be posted, so take a look at the new changes weekly.

Third grade will be prepping and taking practice reading tests for the OAKS on the computer. We want make sure that they're comfortable using the computer for the test. They have taken three practice writing tests already, inshaAllah they'll all do well!

January

Happy New Year 2012!

Welcome back to a new year! May this year bring you great health, iman , and happiness.! I hope you all had a wonderful and restful Winter Break. Some of us went south and some of us had a staycation... like me. I had a great time spending it with my family and friends.

As for January, there are new stories to read, stories to write, gear up our skills for OAKS testing, book reports, and fun projects to do. I will be sending a home weekly read aloud story worksheet. These are building comprehension stories. Our students need to practice their reading skills aloud. Your child will be reading a story to you, please aid him/her if she needs help on filling out the questions. I will be sending these out starting next week 1/9.

Teacher Jawad has added the Spelling Bee list to our website. Please print out a copy and study for the Spelling Bee that's happening around the corner. It is going to be held on February 2, 2012 happy spelling!

November

November is a very busy month for us in 3rd grade Language Arts. The students have been working hard on homework and studying their materials. It has been a good 1st trimester. The schedule, routines, and homework are now set in place for the rest of the year. Students are now more organize and know the expectations from our class. 

This month has been a little off schedule due to the wonderful events at our school. We had school pictures, the Energy Fair, Mini Hajj, Eid Break,  and now 1st trimester exams. 

Our class has been working on reading comprehension, the four types of writing: Narrative, Persuasive, Expository, and Descriptive,  writing, abbreviations, common and proper nouns, story elements such as, setting, character, beginning, middle, and end, conclusions,  spelling, and vocabulary. There was a lot to learn and the students had a good amount of practice. They know their Language Arts pretty well. 

 Language Arts trimester exams will be on Friday, 11/18. 

Here's the study guide for Language Arts. 

Know the four types of writing: Narrative, Persuasive, Descriptive, and Expository. The student have written this in their notebooks, so they can study from it. 

Story Elements: Setting, Characters, Beginning, Middle, End, Conclusion.

Spelling

Vocabulary from previous spelling packets (City Green, Dream Wolf)

Reading Comprehension 

Abbreviations

Happy Studying! Insha-Allah you will all do well on your exams!

Fall has definitely set in, which means October is here! The beautiful colors of fall has filled the streets, neighborhood, and farms with its warmth. Fall fruits and veggies are in abundance ready for harvesters. The orchards, pumpkin patches, and hay rides waiting for guests to arrive. So go on out there, visit and support a local farm. There are so many great activities to enjoy with your families. No wonder October is my favorite month!

As for October, our class has a full schedule ahead of us. Many tests will be taking place to the students previous studies in September.

Teacher Jawad has officially given our class the Spelling Bee list. This exciting academic event will be taking place on February 2, 2012. Third grade will be the youngest participants in the Bee. This is a great opportunity for our students to brush up on their spelling skills and learn new words. Encourage your child to participate; it'll be a great experience! To download and print the Spelling Bee Packet, go to the resource page.

October's Agenda in Language Arts:

Readings from Textbook, Comprehension, Spelling, Writing Narrative and Persuasive Stories, grammar: Sentence Structure, Prefix

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