Ms.

Gutierrez

Grade 3

WEEKLY NEWS
Juliette Low Elementary School | Friday, March 11 | Issue 16

These Past 2 Weeks

The class worked very hard
these past two weeks! They
worked in groups to apply
fractions to a number line.
Through personal edits, peer
edits, and conferencing with
me, the class has increased
their level of writing and are
now coming close to
illustrating their realistic fiction
stories. The class is also putting
their finishing touches on their
book reports and I look
forward to the students
sharing with their classmates!
Report cards will be coming
home Monday, March 14. Sorry
for the delaya busy Friday
afternoon led to my forgetting!
Dont forget: we have one
week left until Spring Break!

How to Reach Me
gutierrez.elisa@ccsd59.org
(847) 593-4383
http://low.ccsd59.org/
teachers/gutierrezelisa/
(In the top right corner you will
see Connect with Ms.
Gutierrez. Click on the W to
link to my website!)

Book Reports Quadramas

Through meeting with their book clubs, the class focused in on
story structure and events. Questioning each others favorite
parts, diving into why a character felt, behaved, or responded in a
particular way, and tracking cause and eect deepened the
students understanding of their characters, the story, as well as
fiction writing in general. It was great to see the students push
each other, refer back to the text when asking or answering
questions, and discuss literature. They have spent the last two
weeks responding to key parts of the story through written
responses as well visually with their quadramas (think diorama,
but with four parts). The ability to visualize a story, using details
given or gleaned from the text, deepens a readers understanding
of a story. The reports are turning out beautifully with thoughtful
written work.

Ms. Gutierrez

Grade 3

Fractions on a Number Line

Read Across America

In celebration of Dr. Seuss
birthday, we had a day focused in
on literacy and reading last week.
We had a guest reader come into
read The Lorax, Carmen shared
her book for Star Student, we
were able to Skype with an
author to learn more about the
writing process, and the students
got to read their independent
books. It was a wonderful day
that allowed us as a class to
spend focused time on getting
lost in books.

Calendar Reminders
March 15: No School (Teacher
Institute)
March 16: Extended Specials; 3rd
Grade Performance 1:15pm and 6pm
March 18: 2:35 Early Release
March 21-25: Spring Break!

The class has been working in three groups to place fractions on a

number line over the last several days. In previous grades,
students have seen fractions in a shape (think circle, square,
rectangle, triangle). In third grade, the focus for fractions is to see
them as part over whole because fractions can be represented by
the shapes kids have seen, or as on a number line or in a set.
Transferring the understanding from shape to number line is
tricky because it challenges the visual understanding students
have had about fractions. This project has required students to
not only see that fractions are pieces of a whole, even if that
whole is a line instead of a square, but also use their division and
measuring skills to accurately label their lines. The biggest
challenge the students said they faced was being precise in their
measuring, which led to a wonderful discussion on why precision
and accuracy matter for fractions. This hands on learning
experience is especially wonderful for visual learners who are
needing to see fractions in a new way. Fractions on a number line
helps students understand the relationship between fractions in a
new way and lays the groundwork for our study of equivalent
fractions and comparing fractions, which we will focus in on
during the two weeks before and after Spring Break!