Newsletter - 1/9/12

Mrs. Tofel is our school counselor. She comes into our class every other Wednesday to talk with our kids about different social issues.

She is starting a new topic of celebrating families. She is introducing our students to families that may be the same as theirs, or very different. The children are watching a video to spark their discussions about mixed race, blended, single parent, and same-sex families.

All of these families are represented at Llewellyn. We want to be able to talk openly and respectful to people who may have a different family structure than our own.

Could you spare….

….some yogurt cups. We use them when we do art…the regular size ones work really well!

Rocks and Minerals

We have started learning about Rocks and Minerals. Ask your child about the 3 different kinds of rock; igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. They should be able to tell you all about them!

Writing in Third Grade

What do we look for in 3^rd Grade writing? There are several things that teachers look for when evaluating whether a student is writing on a 3^rd Grade level or not. Here are some of the criteria:

1. A story must have a beginning, middle and a real ending. A story should be complete, and not leave too much to the imagination of the reader.

2. Stories should have a main idea and supporting details.

3. A variety of different words should be used, as well as interesting words used to paint a picture.

4. Sentences should be punctuated correctly and have correct capitalization.

5. Most (not all) of the words should be spelled correctly.

6. There should be a sense that the writer is trying to entertain or engage whoever is reading their story.