Hello 3rd Grade Families! As you may have heard, I was out sick on Friday with the cough and cold many of the kiddos have had. I hope their Friday went smoothly with the sub and I look forward to seeing their smiling faces tomorrow morning! Math Test We originally scheduled our math Unit 2 test for Monday, but will now have the review Monday and test on Tuesday. Please look for your child's test review to come home tomorrow. There is also a review on Think Central, but many people, including myself, have had a hard time signing on. Students will need to be able to multiply multi digit numbers with precision and be able to make an area model and estimate to support the validity of their solutions. They can use any method that they choose, but should be cautious about using the short-cut method if they tend to make simple computational errors. Potlatch Friday Please be sure to send your students money or pay online for this Friday's potlatch celebration and last Friday's speaker. We are still in need of adult helpers throughout the day, as we are engaging in some pretty complicated endeavors, including weaving. We also need people to bring in food to make our celebration a success. Please email me if you are willing to help out. Thank You It is a bit late, but I realized I did not thank the volunteers who helped to make our Halloween Party such a success. Thank you for your time and support! We really did have a fun day!
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Happy Friday!
Lots of exciting thins are happening this time of year! I have a few things for you to look for in Friday Folders this week. 1. Turkey Project- Please look for the turkey project in your child's Friday Folder. They need to show you the "Get Ready-Do-Done" plan sheet (a strategy developed by Sarah Ward) and the backwards planning we did on sticky notes in their planners. The purpose of the sticky notes is for them to break the large project into manageable parts, doing a little each day. They should either move or remove the sticky notes as they work on the project. If they put off the work, the notes will pile up, acting as a visual reminder that the work is piling up as well. 2. Guest Speaker- Look for a green sheet detailing an upcoming guest speaker and special event. 3. Empathy Discussion- We watched a short video and held a discussion about empathy today. Students brought home discussion questions to talk with you about this at home as well. They do not need to be returned to school, but rather are meant to spark conversation. 4. Math- We are taking a bit of extra time with multi digit multiplication. Many students do not yet have a solid conceptual knowledge of multiplication and are not ready for the standard algorithm, aka the "short cut method". Students can memorize the steps in the method, but without an understanding of why they take each step, become lost and forget the procedure, with nothing to fall back on. We are working on building area models and using expanded notation to develop this essential conceptual knowledge. Therefore, we have not had new homework lesson on Think Central. Students can practice these skills at home on Khan Academy, Front Row or Moby Max. Some students do understand how to use the "short cut method" and can explain how each step corresponds to a model. These students have worked on an enrichment project for the past week. Next week we will all learn and practice the "short cut method" and Think Central will have new work for them to do. Optional Math Homework Last Friday students glued instructions to log on to Think Central, the optional homework site, into their planners. All student user names and passwords are correct, and we practiced logging in at school. If they are having trouble, please help them to check capitalization, as the login is case sensitive. Some also struggled with typing the underscore key. Additionally, as we work with multi-digit addition and subtraction, it is apparent that many students do not have their addition and subtraction math facts committed to memory. Please have you student practice these facts, along with multiplication and division facts, for 10 min each night. They will need to have them memorized in order to succeed in math this year and in years to come. There are many great sites on our class website that are perfect for fact practice. Pokemon Cards We started the year by allowing Pokemon cards on the playground, as long as they were not showing up in class or becoming a distraction. Now, however, they have become a problem as students are taking lots of extra time transitioning back from recess because they are trading in the halls, etc. For this reason. I ask that students do not bring their Pokemon Cards to school at all, with the exception being Fridays for use during Friday Fun. Special Treats If your child has a food allergy, you may send a few replacement treats for them to enjoy if a classmate brings in treats that they cannot have. I can keep some treats sealed up and labeled in my cupboard, or a few in the teacher's lounge freezer. If you do not want your child to have replacement treats, you do not need to send anything in. Social Studies Tomorrow we will begin our first day of the Social Studies Unit "Life in the Big City". All four 3rd grade classes will be mixed to form groups that will rotate through each classroom. Mrs. Kelly will teach "Denver: Past and Present", Mr. Vigil will teach "Mapping and Geography Skills", Mrs. Bullis/Ms. Wells will teach "Urban, Suburban, and Rural Life: A Comparison Study" and I will teach "Local Government, Elections and the Individual's Role". It is a wonderful time for students to gain experience with other teachers, and get to know students from other classes. We will be in our rotations Monday-Thursday, with Friday being our day to enrich or extend learning with our own classes. This unit will be exciting and meaningful! Thank you for your support and have a fabulous week!! 3rd GT follows the 45th grade curriculum for math, reading and writing, with differentiation as needed. We follow the 3rd grade curriculum for science and social studies, with enrichment and extensions. Please see our class website for additional information not contained in the attached presentation. Please look in Friday Folders for important information on homework and passwords.
Your students have been doing an amazing job being model citizens of our school community. On several occasions they have been complimented by staff members for being respectful in the lunchroom and hallway. Please celebrate this success with you child! We have done quite a bit of work with growth mindset, and I thank those of you who chatted with your child about the Class Dojo videos on mindset. If you didn't get a chance, ask you child what growth mindset is all about! Please contact me if you have any questions. hope you and your families have an amazing weekend! We have done lots of work this week setting the tone of our classroom community and for our year ahead. Students discussed why we come to school and created a class mission. They came up with some pretty insightful ideas. I can tell we will do great things together this year!
Our 3rd Grade Mission
Hello!
Our class news will usually be more official, but I wanted to get a few things out before the weekend. First, Friday Folders will not be coming home this week. Next week please look for them with detailed information on our classroom expectations and procedures. This will include a link to the parent login for Class Dojo that will be used to track behaviors. We have a short snack time in the morning where students can eat a snack at their desks as we transition into writing. Many students are hungry, so I encourage you to send a quick and healthy snack with your child eat day. Additionally, they are allowed to keep water at their desks to drink. One of our classmates is missing a silver martial arts medal that he brought to share today. He thinks it could have slipped into other child's bag by mistake, so please be on the lookout. Finally, enjoy the weekend! It's been a fabulous start to the year! |
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