May 18th, 2020-Portfolios and Music Videos

Hello Families!

The kids should have brought home their “School Days…” portfolio today.  We had fun looking through them, and now their final homework assignment is to share them with you!  Please help your child keep their book forever as a reminder of the fun we had this year!

Also, the links below are to the music videos from the year.  They are downloadable, so I hope you can download them and save them forever on your devices.  Like the portfolio, they will be great keepsakes from your child’s third grade year.

1-The Beginning

2-Wonderful World

3-Patriotism

4-Embryology

5-Fun and Games

6-Fossil Dig

7-The End

Thank you again for everything this year, especially giving me the privilege of being your child’s teacher!

Eric Wachter

May 17th, 2021 – The End

Hello Families!

It’s hard to believe the end is upon us.  What a year it’s been!  Through the pandemic, safety protocols, face coverings…you name it…we endured it.  It has been a year I won’t soon forget, with a group of kids I will long remember!  It’s been a pleasure being their teacher, and I hope you and your child have fond memories of our time together!

Classwork

This week we will do some fun activities to end the year in all subject areas.  It will also give a few kids a chance to get caught up on any last assignments.  There will be no spelling words and no homework this week.

Music Videos

One last reminder about the collection of music videos we’ll watch during the last week of school.  I will post downloadable links to each video, so you can save them to your device.

Or, you can send a flash drive to school (at least 2 GB), and I can download the videos onto your drive.  Either way, I hope you can save these videos as a great keepsake from your child’s third grade year.  

Zoom Schedule Adjustments

May 19th-From 9:00 to 9:30, the in-class kids will take part in “Moving Up Day,” when they visit 4th grade.  There is no Zoom for this activity, so Zoom kids will begin their day at 9:40 at Music specials.

May 19th-At 2:00, the in-class kids will start cleaning their desks and help tearing down the room, packing up, etc.  Zoom kids are encouraged to clean their “school” areas at home, and will end their day at 2:00

May 20th-The in-class kids will honor the 5th graders by taking part in the annual “Tunnel Walk” tradition.  Then, we have P.E. For specials following the Tunnel Walk festivities.  Therefore, the Zoom kids’ last day will begin at 10:30.

May 20th-The in-class kids will spend the afternoon of the final day watching a movie.  Unfortunately copyright laws prohibit us sharing  a movie via Zoom, so the Zoom kids will not be able to watch. 🙁  Therefore, the Zoom kids’ last day will end at 12:00.

Thanks for reading, and once again, thank you for allowing me to be your child’s teacher.

Eric Wachter

May 10th, 2021 – Test Week

Hello Families!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you amazing moms!  I hope you all are having a great weekend with your family!

Reading and Math

This week the kids will wrap up their final reading and math units for the year.  We’ll spread out the testing of both reading and math so it’s not too overwhelming for one day.  I anticipate there will be math homework on Monday, Tuesday and perhaps Wednesday before the math test.  There will be no more spelling words this year.

Music Videos

Just a reminder we’ll be enjoying a collection of music videos during the last week of school.  I will post downloadable links to each video, so you can save them to your device.

Or, you can send a flash drive to school (at least 2 GB), and I can download the videos onto your drive.  Either way, I hope you can save these videos as a great keepsake from your child’s third grade year.  

Zoom Schoolwork to Return

Just a reminder, the Zoom kids need to return the following assignments.  We should be done with all of these by the end of the week.

• Personal Narrative (Final draft, rough draft, notes, storyboard, etc. I’ll take it all! :))

• Unit 6 Reading Test (TDA Notes, TDA, Vocabulary)

• Unit 7 Math Test (Three different colored pages, Multiplication and Division fact quizzes)

• Portfolio Items (Time Capsule, Crystal Ball, Letter to Self, Coat of Arms)

Zoom Schedule Adjustments

May 11th-From 10:30 to 11:00, the in-class kids that are interested in playing a string instrument will get fitted for their instruments.  There will be no Zoom at this time.

May 10th to 14th-The in-class kids will take part in a series of Junior Achievement lessons.  The lessons will run from 2:30 to 3:15.  The JA volunteer will be hosting this meeting via Zoom, which unfortunately means the Zoom kids cannot log on and participate.  Therefore, the Zoom kids’ days will end at 2:30 each day this week.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Eric Wachter

May 3rd, 2021 – Portfolio Week

Hello Families!

Wow…the end is near.  It’s hard to believe, but we are down to the last three weeks of school.  This year, in some ways, has been the longest year ever (thanks, Covid!).  At the same time, the days have just flown by.  All I know is I get a little sad every year that our time together is coming to a close.  Thus, we’ll have to be sure and enjoy the last three weeks!

Portfolios

This week, the kids will complete several activities that will be part of their year-end “School Days…” portfolio.  The portfolio is a compilation of all the kids’ best work, includes photos and lots of memories from the year.  It has long been a tradition in my class and someting I’m always excited to compile. The kids will get their portfolios the last week of the year, and I hope they keep them forever!

Music Videos

Another tradition in my class is celebrating the end of the year by watching a series of music videos.  The videos are compiled with pictures from the school year, set to music.  It’s a fun way to reflect on the year and hopefully allow the kids to keep some lasting memories.

I will post all the links for you during the last week of school.  I hope you choose to download them, and save them as memories from your child’s third grade year.

I would also be happy to download all the videos onto a flash drive, if you prefer that method of saving them.  Just send a flash drive (at least 2GB) to school with your child, and I will put all the videos on the drive.  Then, your child can take it home the last week of the year.

Reading

This week in reading (Unit 6, Week 5), the kids will practice lots of poetry.  We’ll also take a final fluency reading during the week.  It always amazes me to see the growth in words read correctly from the beginning to the end of the year.  You can expect one last spelling list to come home Monday evening.

Math

In math class, we’ll continue with Unit 7.  This week the kids will spend the week practicing how to identify and classify a number of different geometric shapes. I anticipate homework on the following evenings.

Monday-Homework 7-4

Tuesday-No Homework

Wednesday-Homework 7-5

Thursday-Homework 7-6

Friday-Homework 7-7

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Eric Wachter

April 26th, 2021 – Wildlife Week

Hello Families!

I hope you all had a nice, family weekend and are ready for a new week to begin!

Reading

This week in reading (Unit 6, Week 4), the kids will practice rereading again, and do a lot of comparing and contrasting of different exotic animals in a variety of expository texts.  The kids will also begin a week long project of creating a Google Slide book on African cats.  This is definitely a week for animal lovers, to be sure!  You can expect a spelling list to come home Monday evening.

Math

In math class, we’ve begun Unit 7, our final unit of the year.  The first few lessons have to deal with metric and customary volumes of liquid and mass.  Then, we’ll transition into some lessons about geometry.  If all goes well in the lessons, I’m anticipating homework on the following evenings.

Monday-Lesson 7-1

Tuesday-Lesson 7-2

Wednesday-No Homework

Thursday-Lesson 7-3

Friday-No Homework

Writing

In writing, the kids have either finished or are about to finish their Personal Narrative stories for the quarter.  Once those are complete, we’ll have a few creative writing lessons to work on to finish out the week.

Hat Day

Tuesday is hat day again!  The kids are welcome to wear a hat to celebrate the day.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Eric Wachter

April 19th, 2021 – Astronaut Week

Hello Families!

It’s hard to believe we are down to the last month or so of school.  Just crazy how fast time flies.  I hope you all had a great weekend and your kids are recharged for the homestretch!  

Reading

This week in reading (Unit 6, Week 3), the kids will practice rereading, solving problems, root words and adverbs as we read a variety of biographies on famous astronauts.  The stories are really cool and will hopefully inspire some future astronauts and scientists!  You can expect a spelling list to come home Monday evening.

Math

In math class, we’ll begin the week doing a bit of review work on Unit 6.  Then, we’ll take our Unit 6 Math Test in the middle of the week.  If all goes well, we’ll begin Unit 7 on Friday.  Due to the test, I only anticipate homework on either Monday or Tuesday evening, depending on how the review lessons go.

Writing

In writing, the kids will finish their rough drafts during the first part of the week.  Then, by mid-week we’ll start turning those drafts into a polished, final copy of their Personal Narrative.  As I’ve mentioned, there are a lot of good topics and I’m eager to see what the kids can produce!

SOAR Coupon Challenges Met!

This week the kids will celebrate two SOAR coupon challenges.  On Tuesday, the kids can wear a hat to school.  Then on Thursday, we’ll take a bonus recess at the end of the day.  Zoom kids can log off a bit early that day, and go outside and play, too!

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Eric Wachter

April 12th, 2021 – Weather Week

Hello Families!

I hope you had a nice weekend and are ready for a new week!  Thanks so much to those of you that sent headphones and water bottles with your kids last week.  That is really helpful!

Reading

This week in reading (Unit 6, Week 2), the kids will again practice making and revising predictions and understanding the theme of a story as we read a variety of weather related stories.  We’ll also keep exploring adjectives and review idioms.  You can expect a spelling list to come home Tuesday evening.

Math

In math class, we’ll continue our work with story problems.  The lessons this week are one day lessons, so I anticipate homework every night of the week, except Friday.

Monday-Homework 6-6

Tuesday-Homework 6-7

Wednesday-Homework 6-8

Thursday-Homework 6-9

Friday-No Homework

Writing

In writing, the kids will take their notes and organizers and begin writing the rough draft to their personal narratives.  The topic/prompt is “A Special Experience.”  I’ve seen a lot of good work thus far, and I’m excited to see what the kids can produce!

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Eric Wachter

April 6th, 2021 – State Math Test Week

Hello Families!

I hope you had a great weekend and got a chance to enjoy the nice weather.  So glad Spring has finally arrived!

Math

Testing season rolls on in 3rd grade this week, as the kids will take the Nebraska State Math Test on Tuesday and Thursday of this week.  

In math class, we’ll continue our work with story problems.  Due to the state test, I only anticipate a single homework assignment on Wednesday.  

Reading

This week in reading (Unit 6, Week 1), the kids will practice making and revising predictions, understanding the theme of a story, root words and adjectives as we read a variety of mythical stories.   You can expect a spelling list to come home Tuesday evening.

Writing

In writing, we have begun the process of writing a Personal Narrative story.  We’ll choose a topic for the prompt, “A Memorable Experience,” and begin the process.  This project usually creates some good stories, so I’m looking forward to what the kids produce!

Headphones and Water Bottles

Just a reminder that kids are welcome to bring headphones from home to use with their Chromebooks.  My supply has run out, so if you have an old pair at home you can send with your child, that would be great.

Also, we still can’t use the drinking fountains due to COVID, so a water bottle from home comes in pretty handy.  With the temperatures creeping up, it would be helpful to bring one from home.  

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Eric Wachter

March 29th, 2021 – Test Season Continues

Hello Families!

This week the kids will wrap up Unit 5 in reading.  We’ll take our unit test on Wednesday and Thursday.  There is no spelling this week due to the unit test.

In math, the kids will continue on with Unit 6.  This unit is primarily word problems, and applying the strategies we’ve practiced all year using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  If all goes well, I anticipate homework on Monday and Wednesday evenings this week

In writing, we’re in the process of learning about a Personal Narrative.  We’ve been writing some short narratives for practice, and will end the week picking a topic for our big narrative project this quarter.

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Eric Wachter

March 22nd, 2021- Unit 5 Math and State Reading Test Week

Hello Families!

This week will bring lots of testing to your child’s classroom.  On Wednesday and Friday, the kids will take their Nebraska State Reading exam.  This test is a summative assessment on what they have been taught this year.  Then, on Tuesday and Thursday, the kids will take their Unit 5 exam in math.  I wish these didn’t have to occur in the same week, but sometimes that’s just the way things work out.

We will have a spelling list this week, but I only anticipate a review homework in math on Monday evening.  They will have enough on their plates the rest of the week, so I intend to give them a little break from homework.

Zoom families…please note your child will not Zoom in for the test on Wednesday or Friday morning, from 10:30 to 12:00.  The rest of their Zoom day should be fairly routine the rest of the week.

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Eric Wachter