Weekly Wrap Up

Do you know about the website, multiplication.com?  It’s free and has fabulous games for students to practice their multiplication facts. Now that we are well into our study of multiplication, your child should be including multiplication into his/her fact practice at home. As a reminder, we only go up to the 10’s in third grade, although I go ahead and teach them the 11’s, and strategies for the 12’s. Also, as a reminder, the math program we use does not teach the facts in sequence. Unit 5 covered 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10. Unit 6, which we will start towards the middle of next week, will cover the rest. After that, we move on to division!

As the holiday season approaches, we often spend a great deal of time thinking about giving to others. At this time of the year, students and their families often like to give gifts to their teachers. This is certainly a very thoughtful and well-appreciated gesture. However, I feel that when one gives, the more people that can receive, the better. So this year, if you and your child would like to give, instead of giving me a gift please consider giving classroom a gift that all of the children can enjoy. If you want to do this, but need ideas, I’ve asked the kids to help me brainstorm a list of things they’d like to have in the classroom. From that list I created an Amazon wishlist. You can find it here: http://a.co/0dyF07a. Please don’t feel obligated to get anything from that list, I just wanted to put together something from the students that has what they wish they could have in their classroom.

Please make sure your child’s name is marked on their coats, hats, gloves, scarves, etc… Things can get left behind in specials classes or in the cafeteria, and can be more easily returned or found if there’s a name in them.

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Social Studies: Cultures Across CT
• Math: Multiplication
• Reading: Structures of nonfiction texts, finding the main idea in nonfiction texts (this is one of our big 3rd grade skills that we continually work on)
• Writing: Organizing information to begin writing nonfiction (information) texts

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Weekly Update

I can’t believe that it’s just about February already!  February brings not only new learning, but also fun and activities for Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, the 100th Day of School, and Chinese New Year, 

For Valentine’s Day we’ll be celebrating with cupcakes and Minute to Win It games. For children who want to bring in Valentines, I sent home a list of all students in our class. I just ask that those who do bring them, please bring one for every person in the class, that way no one feels left out and we don’t have hurt feelings. We will open the Valentine’s at our party on the afternoon of the 12th. While you’re welcome to send in goody bags if you want to, please don’t feel that you have to. Keep it easy and inexpensive for yourselves!  :)

Some projects take longer than others, and our information books are one of those projects. They aren’t quite ready yet, although we’re very close. Keep your eye here or on our class Twitter account for an announcement when they have been published. Our division math Educreation (an iPad app) projects are finished, and those will be posted here and your child’s blog by the end of the weekend. I’ll also announce it on our class Twitter account when they are posted.

Thanks for all of your help and support ensuring your child’s mastery of math facts. The math fact test score report went home today. Please sign it and have your child return it on Monday. If you have any questions about your child’s scores or progress, please let me know. It’s very important that any child with scores below 80 work on studying their facts.  The order of priority is: subtraction, addition, multiplication, and then division.

Here's what we're learning next week:

• Reader’s Workshop: Tackling unknown vocabulary in our reading
• Writer’s Workshop: Finish Information books and take information writing post assessment
• Spelling: Unit 18 - Words home on Tuesday, test on Friday 
• Math: Topic 8, Division

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. Together we are partners in your child’s education!