Newsletter
1-23-15
This Week In
Third Grade
Any questions or concerns, please give me a call at home or school
Mrs. Kol: 677-5408
Email: [email protected]
Reminder:
 A/R goal: 2 books, one must be worth one point and one of the must be worth 2
points plus one book report
 Report cards were sent home today
 Math Fact: Review week – a mixture of 0-3 facts
 Cookie Sale & stroopwafle ends Feb 6: remember this replaces the spring sub sale
so your help would be greatly appreciated
 Arts & Crafts intention slips due Thursday, Jan 29.
 Choir begins – this includes 3rd
Week At A Glance:
Wednesday: Math test, pre-spelling pretest
Friday: English, Science, Memory, and Bible tests
Morning Classes:
 Spelling: words on the back
Pretest Wednesday, Test Thursday
Afternoon Classes:
 Bible: Lessons 57-59
Unjust Steward, I’m Tormented, Lazarus
Memory Verse: Ex 20:1-11
Both tests Friday
 Reading: anthologies
Vocabulary: see back
 Math: graphs Test Wednesday
 English: linking & helping verb
 Penmanship: cursive review
Thursday: spelling test
 Gym: Tuesday: remember gym shoes
 Art: Friday
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Library: Thursday
Social Studies: US Regions
Science: deserts & tundra test Fri.
Computers: Monday - typing
Music: Thursday
As God Enables…Growing In Knowledge…Striving For Wisdom…Learning To Serve…For His Glory
Spelling Words:
hinge
germ
cage
magic
range
gym
jam
jog
gypsy
general
stage
giant
fringe
jeep
sponge
gentle
huge
age
jump
gently
plunge
large
page
just
pigeon
Vocabulary:
Shawl: a covering for the head and shoulders
Flax: a plant that is made into thread that is made into linen
Shingles: a thin piece of wood used to cover roofs
Yoke: a curved piece of wood that fits over an ox’s neck
Embroidery: a design or picture sewn with needle and thread
Whittle: to cut away pieces of wood with a knife
Science Review – Desert
Ecosystem: Plants and animals living together in a particular environment
LAND:
Rain-shadow desert: created when winds blow up mountains and drop their moisture
The winds blow down the other side dry, also drying the land creating a desert
Deserts are areas around the world that receive less than 10 inches of rain a year.
Desert lands are made of sand, rock, and various types of desert soil, which support few
plants.
Coldest desert temperature is 128.6 (F) degrees below zero (Antarctica)
Hottest desert temperature is 136 (F) degrees above zero (Sahara)
ANIMALS:
Types: Lizards
Camel
Ground Squirrel
Kangaroo rat
jackrabbit
tortoise
scorpion
and others
How they stay cool:
 Diurnal – active during the day, early morning and late afternoon (jackrabbit,
squirrel)
 Nocturnal – active at night when it is cooler and sleep during the day (elf owl, kit
fox)
 Estivation – ‘hibernate’ during hot dry season (spadefoot toad, rodents, snails, and
spiders)
 Hibernation – sleeping through the cold season
 Migration – movement to another habitat for a season
 Body Fat – fat is needed for energy, but it also prevents body heat from leaving…
 Examples: the camel’s hump, the gecko and mouse’s tails
 Big Ears – Blood circulates and the wind cools the ‘heated’ blood, which returns
in the body
 Examples: jackrabbits, fennec foxes
 Long legs – the legs radiate heat and also keep the bodies off and away from the
hot ground
How they get water:
 Some ‘drink’ by eating juicy cacti and other plants
 Some get moisture by eating other animals
 Some get moisture from seeds – the kangaroo rat bury the seed underground, it
soaks up
o moisture from the soil and when the rat eats the seed it get the additional
moisture
 Migrate – some animals travel hundreds of miles to find new pond or rivers of
water
 Fog – beetles, snakes, and lizards came have fog condense on their bodies, then
they drink it
PLANTS:
Types: Prickly Pear Cactus
Welwitchia
And others
Saguaro Cactus
Yucca Plant
How plants get/save water:
 Some have deep roots
 Shallow and roots widely spread
 Rubbery surface to decrease evaporation
 Ribbed edges to allow expansion to hold more water
 ‘Breathe’ at night to decrease moisture loss
 spines instead of leaves
How plants help the ecosystem:
 nests for animals
 fruit
 moisture for animals
BIRDS & BUGS
Types:
ostrich, roadrunner, beetles, bees, spiders, scorpions
Gila woodpeckers, elf owls, hawks, and others
How they stay cool:
 feathers
 nocturnal
 nests in cactus
How they get moisture:
 Most birds get it from eating bugs
 Bugs sip nectar from flowers of cactus and other parts of plants