Fantastic February News

Monday the children will be taking their first fraction test.  This is a formative assessment, and we will continue to work with fractions for a couple of more weeks.  We will be comparing and ordering fractions, as well as finding equivalent fractions. The following vocabulary will be important for this work:

equivalent fractions:  fractions that name the same number

simplest form:  a fraction with a numerator and a denominator that cannot be divided by the same divisor, except 1

We have started another round of book clubs, this time focusing on a study of the mystery genre.  Ask your child about the vocabulary we have been using, and about the story they are reading.  These discussions go a long way towards helping them master the skills we are working on, and create wonderful memories for you and your child.

In writing the children have finished their opinion writing, dabbled a little in writing fables, have written some touching "I Am From" poems, and will be replying to their pen pals this week.  Look for these projects in their portfolios in the next week or two.

In science we are conducting some light experiments this week, and then will be testing light and sound the following week.   In social studies we are continue our study of Massachusetts.

This week our school is celebrating Read Across America.  Room 20 will have several guest readers coming to the classroom.  Be sure to ask your child who the visitors were each day.  I will post pictures of these visitors next week.  Finally, Parmenter School is celebrating "Dress like your favorite character day" on Friday.  This activity is optional, but I am looking forward to seeing all of our favorite characters come to life.

Hydroponic garden

Shortly before vacation we gathered the third graders and showed them our new hydroponic garden unit. This week we planted seeds in the rock wool cubes, and began our journals. Ask your child to tell you about these activities, and the observations that they make in the coming weeks.

Math Challenge

Mr. Kelley recently sent out a math challenge to the staff at Parmenter School.  I am proud to announce that I was the winner.  Mr. Kelley then created a student version of the challenge.  I am posting this link in hopes that your children will try it.  Good luck and enjoy!

The Latest News

We have been REALLY busy in room 20 lately.  Recently "Atomic A" came to present the Vibes Program to the third grade.  This is a wonderful experience when the children perform all kinds of experiments to learn about sound.  Here are some pictures from the program.

Thank you to the PCC for making this program possible.

We have recently completed book groups across the third grade.  Each student was put in a club with students from all three third grades, and they read the same book, and then came together to discuss the stories.  This was a huge success!  Children worked very hard to prepare for their discussions, and enjoyed their conversations immensely.  They really deepened their understanding of the books by listening to each others ideas. Here are a few pictures of that.

We have written quite a bit of haiku inspired by the book Dogku by Andrew Clements.  We will be submitting these poems in a contest in the hopes of getting them published in a book! I will keep you posted on the results.

We have also been doing quite a bit of opinion writing.  The children have learned how to make a claim, or thesis statement, support it with strong reasons, make a counterclaim, and write a concluding statement.  Many of their topics are things that may interest you!  Be on the lookout for these to come home shortly after vacation.

In math we have just finished our study of multiplication and division, and are moving on to fractions.  We will continue to practice facts, and I encourage you to play games at home to strengthen your children's fluency with addition and multiplication facts as these are the foundation for everything else we do in math.

Here are the standards we will be addressing in the fraction unit:

3.NF.A.1  Identify and divide regions into equal sized parts, identify and draw fractional parts of a region, identify fractional parts of a set, write to explain whether an answer is correct or not
3.NF.A.2a Locate and compare fractions on a number line
3.NF.A.2b Identify fractional parts and mixed numbers on a number line, identify and draw fractional parts of a length

Vocabulary for the fraction unit includes:

Halves - two equal parts of a whole
Thirds - three equal parts of a whole
Fourths - four equal parts of a whole
Fifths - five equal parts of a whole
Sixths - six equal parts of a whole
Eighths - eight equal parts of a whole
tenths - ten equal parts of a whole
twelfths - twelve equal parts of a whole
fraction - a symbol that names the part of a whole, a part of a set, or a location on a number line
numerator - the number above the fraction bar in a fraction, it tells how many equal parts
denominator - the number below the fraction bar in a fraction, it tells the total number of equal parts
unit fraction - a fraction with a numerator of 1
benchmark fractions - commonly used fractions such as 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 and 3/4
mixed number - a number with a whole number part and a fraction part

I will be sending home a fraction game next week.

Lastly, we will have a little Valentine celebration Friday before vacation.  Please send your child in with a special snack. They may also bring valentine cards for their friends, if they wish.  I ask that if your child does bring cards, please make sure there is one for everyone.  I will send home a note on Monday with classmate names.

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful snow day!

Writing Day

Today we celebrated Writing Day.  The children have worked hard to earn 20 magnets, and voted to have a day where we write all day long!  They did an incredible job building their writing stamina, and enthusiastically writing for the whole day.

Here is the website for The Exquisite Corpse.  This is not as morbid as it sounds!  Read the explanation, and then read or listen to the stories created by some very famous authors.

Here are two videos of the children participating in this activity. The first shows the children hard at work.  The second shows them reading their stories after all of the other students had added their parts. As you can see, they were quite engaged, and really enjoyed the activity.

Later in the day we read The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris van Allsburg.  The children then wrote stories to go along with the pictures in the book.  Here are some pictures of the children creating their masterpieces.

Here is Chris van Allsburg website, where you can find all kinds of information including books he has written and videos of him discussing his books.

Happy New Year!

Welcome back!  We have had a terrific start to the new year.  The students seem rested and ready to learn new things. 

We have started a new unit in math.  The following are the vocabulary terms needed for the next two units:

division:  the operation that tells how many equal groups there are or how many are in each group.

dividend:  the number to be divided

divisor:  the number by which another number is divided

quotient:  the answer to a division problem

The standards that we will be covering include:

3.OA.A.2.Use models to solve division problems involving sharing and record solutions using division number sentences

3.OA.A.3  Use multiplication and division facts to find the value of an unknown in an equation

3.OA.B.6  Use multiplication tables to solve division problems

3.OA.B.6 Relate multiplication and division facts by using fact families

3.OA.O.3  Write and solve number stories involving division

3.OA.D.8  Solve multi-step problems

The children are very excited to be starting division.  It is important that we continue to help them master their multiplication facts as this will obviously help them with these units, as well as build a strong foundation for future math work.  To that end, I have switched all students to multiplication on Xtramath.  We have also started very focused individual fact practice. Children should be reviewing their specific flashcards each evening.

I have sent home a new math game that should help with this goal, as well.  Look for "Winter Cover It" in your child's folder.  Enjoy!

What's New in Room 20

 

We have been SO busy in room 20!  The students are really enjoying learning how to multiply.  I have met with each child to check their flashcards, and we have narrowed the pile down to specific cards that the students should be studying.  Please look in your child's folder, and encourage them to practice the cards as often as possible.  They have a pile of cards that they know, and a pile of cards that they should practice.  We have discussed that the cards that they know should be looked at occasionally so that they remember them, and the ones to be practiced should be practiced several times a day.  Throwing out math facts while driving in the car or waiting in a long line is a great way to pass some time with your child.  We will be updating those piles as the children learn the cards, and replacing them with new facts as needed.

We are in the middle of reading The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes.  This book has a plethora of rich vocabulary words, and we are focusing on noticing new words, and playing with them so that we increase our word knowledge.  Please reinforce this concept by talking with your child about new words that you come across during your time together.

We have been writing informational texts.  We are using everything we learned from reading information texts, such as text features and text structures, to organize our writing, and make it more interesting.  Look for the published pieces in portfolios after the break.

 

We are continuing our study of Colonial America.  We have been looking closely at the Pilgrims and the Puritans and seeing how they are alike, as well as how they are different. Ask your child to tell you some of the things they have learned, specifically about what jobs the children would have to carry out for their families in that time period.

The children and I have spent time recently discussing third grade expectations.  They have reflected on what has been going well this year, and what could be going better.  I am currently meeting with each child to discuss this, and every child will bring home a plan that they have created for themselves with their report card.  Please be looking for these in your child's folder on Monday.

Wishing you a relaxing time with family and friends.  See you next year!