4401 N. Henderson Rd.
Arlington, VA 22203
703-228-6288
Fax: 703-228-8544
Thursday, May 23, 2013

3rd Grade

  • Follow our journey at the Outdoor Lab

    Posted by Jennifer Flores at 5/20/2013
    We hope you enjoy this video from our trip to the Outdoor Lab!
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  • Busy, busy, busy

    Posted by Jennifer Flores at 4/25/2013
    Third graders are so busy these days!  
     
    Earth Week:  On Tuesday we had a lovely, chilly, lunch on the lawn.  Five parents were able to join us and the children really enjoyed taking  a break from the regular routine.  Today they were treated to some great activities after lunch with a Farm to Table theme. Information about just what happened will come home tomorrow.  On Friday we hope some of you can join us to pull weeds and mulch at our biannual Garden Work Day. Come on over from 3-5, we can use all the help we can get!
     
    Cycles:  As a follow up to our unit on cycles we have become overrun with animals.  We currently are the owners of 5 budding tadpoles and too many Painted Lady caterpillars to count.  We look forward to watching them grow.
     
    Math:  We have been enjoying some really hands on units in math over the last month.  We have measured length, weight, temperature and volume with both the customary and metric systems.  Ask your child about the cup, pint, quart song...I stuck it in their heads...hee hee!  We then transitioned to a unit on geometry.  We have been working with blocks and shapes to count faces, edges and vertices.  Keeping track of all our paraphernalia is challenging!  Today we tested our Fact Fluency skills.  Tomorrow you will receive a note about how your child did and what multiplication or division tables they should be studying.  Beginning today, students will be tested each Thursday and reports about the fact tests will go home each Friday.  I really appreciate your help in helping your children master these facts.
     
     
    Pedometers:  In conjunction with the PTA Wellness Committee we have embarked on a pedometer project.  Using pedometers donated for Family Gym Night we are counting the amount of steps we take each day, recording those numbers and totaling them up.  Mrs. McIntyre will convert our numbers to miles for us.  We are hoping to be active enough to "walk" across the USA!  Phew!
     
    Matter: Following our cycles unit we began a study of properties of matter.  We observed solids, liquids and gases.  We completed many experiments and demonstrations to determine if these states of matter keep their shape and keep their volume.  We have introduced the concept of atoms and what atoms look like in each state of matter.  A few students will be presenting projects to the class about atoms and two other states of matter: plasma and Bose-Einstein Condensate.  Should be a great learning experience for everyone!
     
    SOLs:  The time for testing is sneaking up on us.  We have been busy preparing for these tests in class.  We are working on test taking strategies: rereading, highlighting, crossing out wrong answers and checking your work when completed.  In the coming weeks we will begin practicing on computers to get used the online tools for highlighting and crossing out.  We will also practice the logging in procedure, get familiar with the layout of the test and how to get back to work to check it when they feel done.  Mrs. Bratt spoke to third graders today about the importance of using all the strategies that we teach them in class.  
     
    Field Trips:  Monday April 29th we head the Planetarium.  Tuesday we are off to the Outdoor Lab to study Simple Machines.  Students will need a lunch for the Outdoor Lab trip.  Please get those permission slips in ASAP.  Both trips are free.
     
    Thank you for your continued support from home!
    Happy Spring!
    Jen Flores 
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  • Happy Valentine's Day

    Posted by Jennifer Flores at 2/12/2013
    What have we been up to?
     
    Math:  
     
    We are still very busy working on multiplication and division.  We have studied the concepts behind the equations, the relationship between the two operations and have practiced real world applications each week.  Thank you so much for your support in helping your child learn their times tables.  As they master them they will move on to division.  Be asking about another assessment next week some time...I'm sure the kids will be excited to tell you they passed!  
     
    Next week we begin a unit on fractions of a whole and fractions of a set.  We will learn how to compare, add and subtract fractions with like denominators.  Whenever you are cutting something up please take a minute to discuss fractions with your child...apples, cake, sandwiches etc...
     
    Reading and Writing AND Social Studies:
     
    We are mid way through a unit on biographies.  We have been practicing determining important facts in the text and using those facts to summarize what we have read.  We have learned about Rosa Parks, famous firsts among women, Jackie Robinson, Mia Hamm and Cesar Chavez.  Still to come...Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr., Abe Lincoln, George Washington and Thurgood Marshall.
     
    In individual reading groups children have been practicing the same skills with texts at their reading level.  We have learned about Julia Morgan an architect, Nelson Mandela and Faith Bandler, and Ancient Mathematicians such as; Euclid, Archimedes and Al-Kwarismi  just to name a few!  
     
    During writing time students have chosen a famous person to write about.  They are mid way through their research into planning another great three paragraph essay.  They are so excited about the variety of people they have picked! 
     
    We will have a chance to revisit these skills when we study Explorers in the spring.
     
     
    Upcoming events:  
     
    Valentine's Party:               February 14 ( Thank you Aubrey and Jessica for planning!)
    Discovery Lab:                    February 22 and 25 ( visit the Discovery Web site to see and hear about it)
    Science Discovery Night:    February  28 ( Boards for sale, 4 dollars at the school store)
    Stem Book Fair:                  March 1
    PT Conferences:                 March 7 and 8 ( send that orange form in)
    Swimming:                          TBA  ( start rounding up a suit, towel and goggles if you want)
    Spring Break:                      March 25-29 ( woo hoo)
     
     
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  • October

    Posted by Jennifer Flores at 10/19/2012
    It was so great to see everyone at conferences.  Thank you for making the time to come!  When parents and teachers work together great things happen!
     
    Since most of you know from conferences what we have been working on I wanted to update you on what is coming up next for us. 
     
    We switch from science to social studies for a bit.  We will be working on Geography for about three weeks.  Students will study world and US geography and learn how to use a grid map system.  
     
    In math we return our focus to addition and subtraction with a focus on word problems.  We will learn to identify types of word problems as well as solve them.  We will also talk a great deal about balanced equations as we work on solving these problems. 
     
    During Reading we have been focused on questioning.  We are still learning and practicing classifying questions as either red, yellow or greeen.  Each type of question requires different thinking and learning to identify them makes answering the questions much easier.  We will turn our attention now to finding the main idea in pieces.  We will also determine the details that support the main idea.  This ability to analyze a piece of writing assists students in better comprehending the piece.
     
    In Writing we continue to free write with focus.  We have been looking carefully at what makes a complete sentence and trying to apply that consistently during our writing time.  We will shift our focus now to adding more description to our writing and will focus on adjectives and robust vocabulary choices.
     
    Our United Nations Assembly is on Wednesday October 24, 2012.
    Our Halloween Party and Parade are on Wednesday October 31, 2012.  
    Keep an eye out for communication from our room parents, Aubrey and Jessica for more party details.
     
    As always, if you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me!
    Take care,
    Jen
     
     
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  • Busy First Two Weeks

    Posted by Jennifer Flores at 9/16/2012
    I hope to see everyone on Wednesday night for Back to School Night.
     
    I have uploaded a video of one of our lessons last week.  Thanks to Dr. Sullivan for taking the photos and thanks to Ms. Hines for the materials!
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  • Welcome Back Mrs. Flores' Class!!

    Posted by Jennifer Flores at 8/31/2012

    Hello everyone!

    Welcome to third grade! 

    For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Jen Flores.  This is the beginning of my 21st year of teaching.  I have taught third, second and first grade here at Barrett for 17 of those years. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s of Education Degree in Multilingual/Multicultural Education.  

    Email is the single best way to communicate with me. Please feel free to email me with any concerns or daily information at  Jennifer.flores@apsva.us. If you would like to speak with me in person, send a note or email in so we can find a mutually convenient time.  Mornings are hectic around here so stopping by before school is NOT the best time for us to chat.  I am also happy to call you at work or home to discuss anything.  Again, just send me a note or email and we’ll find a good time.

    This year your child will have ONE Daily Take Home Folder.  Each day the folder will go home with checked work, homework or flyers.  There will most likely be more on Fridays, but check the folder every day.  You should also use the folder to send homework, notes and money (in envelopes) to me in the morning.  Folders will be sent home for the first time Tuesday. 

    I will be posting information and photos on this page each month.  It is ambitious to get going in September so start looking for photos and updates in October.  I’ll let you know when I post new things. If anyone would like to start a Yahoo Group for all of us to communicate I would greatly appreciate it.  Let me know if you are interested.

    I am planning on having a small snack time each day because our lunch time is close to 1:00. Your child should bring a small nutritious snack from home that they can eat with their hands because it is likely they will be working too.  We have a water fountain in the room that children may use throughout the day.

    I am looking forward to working with all my old and new families.  It is going to be a great year.  Send back your first day packets ASAP and I’ll see you soon.  

    Monday

    Tuesday

    Wednesday

    Thursday

    Friday

    8:30-9:15

    Science or Social Studies

    8:30-9:15

    Science or Social Studies

    8:30-9:15

    Science or Social Studies

    8:30-9:15

    Science or Social Studies or Discovery Lab

    8:30-9:15

    Science or Social Studies 

    9:15-9:45

    Word Study

    9:15-9:45

    Word Study

    9:15-9:45

    Word Study

    9:15-9:45

    Word Study or Library Lesson

    9:15-9:45

    Word Study

    9:45-10:45

    Reading

    9:45-10:45

    Reading

    9:45-10:45

    Reading

    9:45-10:45

    Reading

    9:45-10:45

    Reading

    10:45-11:30

    Academic Prep and Library Checkout

    10:45-11:30

    FLES

    10:45-11:30

    FLES

    10:45-11:30

    FLES

    10:45-11:30

    FLES

    11:30-12:30

    Math 

    11:30-12:30

    Math

    11:30-12:30

    Math

    11:30-12:30

    Math

    11:30-12:30

    Math

    12:30-12:40

    Agendas

    12:30-12:40

    Agendas

    12:30-12:40

    Agendas

    12:30-12:40

    Agendas

    12:30-12:40

    Agendas

    12:40-1:25

    Lunch/Recess

    12:40-1:25

    Lunch/Recess

    12:40-1:25

    Lunch/Recess

    12:40-1:25

    Lunch/Recess

    12:40-1:25

    Lunch/Recess

    1:30-2:15

    Writing

    1:30-2:15

    Writing

    1:30-2:15

    Writing

    1:30-2:15

    Writing

    1:30-2:15

    Writing

    2:15-3:00

    Music

    2:15-3:00

    PE

    2:15-3:00

    Art

    2:15-3:00

    Academic Prep

    2:15-3:00

    PE



     

       
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  • Happy Summer, Are You Ready???

    Posted by Jennifer Flores at 8/18/2012
    Happy Summer Friends!
     
    Are you an almost fourth grader?  Are you an almost third grader?
     
    I hope you are having a great summer no matter who you are!
     
    Remember to write in that journal 10 times, read and record those books and do that math packet!
     
    I can't wait to see all of you in a few short weeks.
     
    For my new friends, once I have our schedule for the year I will post it, so check back at the beginning of September!
     
    Enjoy the last blast of summer.
     
    Can you find me in my family beach picture?
     
    jennifer.flores@apsva.us 
     
     
    family  
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