I just posted a comprehension strategy for you to work on at home called visualization. This is being able to create mental pictures inside your head while you are reading a text.
News of the week: With the weather getting a lot cooler, please make sure you are sending jackets or coats with your kids, as well as possibly hats and gloves. Recesses get cold, especially with the wind. Also, I have seen a lot of children this week, not just in our classroom, wearing shorts and flip flops. Unfortunately, I think this season is over. We want everyone to be in school everyday and not gone due to illness. Please check what your child(ren) are wearing before they leave the house if possible. THANKS!
This week Emerson has started to pass out "cards" for students who are caught showing the Marion Way. All year we have been teaching lessons about the Marion Way- showing respect, responsibility, and kindness. Some students spotted doing these things will receive a card from an adult in the building who witnessed their action. Not all students will receive cards as we are trying to motivate students to ALWAYS do the right thing. Cards given to students will be place in a jar in our classroom then totaled on Wednesdays. Those cards will be sent home on Thursday in your child's brown envelope. Hopefully they can still remember why they earned it! :)
On a different note, we were informed yesterday morning that the 3rd graders from Starry and Emerson will be going to Jefferson High School on Tuesday afternoon to watch the Playtime Poppy performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We have also begun to read this book as our class read aloud to help the students get more acquainted with the story.
Just a reminder, notes went home last week if you were planning on sending something for our "Emerson Idol" lunch next Wednesday. Please let me know if you are unable to send something.
Math- If you have not seen them yet, Multiplication Monsters, are starting to arrive home.
These provided a great opportunity for all 3rd
grade students to use their listening to direction skills.
Students can use
these independently to quiz themselves over their multiplication facts.
You could use the
monsters to create a family game where the student and another person at home
quiz each other.
This year in math we have
covered basic addition and subtraction skills. These were necessary to review
as some students still struggle with the basic facts. In 3rd grade
we teach a wide variety in our math curriculum and these facts are very
important for your child to have or be working on mastering.On top of that, we have
reviewed and practiced place value, comparing, ordering, rounding, as well as
adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers. Packets from your child’s
workbook should be coming home soon.
All of these skills build. We
are currently learning multiplication. As the students found out multiplication
is actually the same as repeated addition. 3x4= 3+3+3+3=12. We also have
introduced using a multiplication table. Other tricks we have discussed
are: Anything x 0=0; when you multiply x1 it is like a copy machine, the
same number that goes in, comes back out; multiplying by 2 is the same
as doubling the number or adding it twice, 7x2=7+7=14, we have also
practiced skip counting by 2; when students multiply by 3, the answer
will add to be a multiple of 3 as well, 3x4=12 1+2=3, 3x5=15 1+5=6,
3x6=18 1+8=9, to make it easier to multiply x4, we multiply by 2 and
double or add that number twice, 5x4=5x2+5x2; when multiplying by 5, we
skip count by 5's or take a look at the clock. If you can read the
minutes on a clock, you can multiply by 5! :)
Today we
multiplied by 6 and 7. There are not really tricks for these, but to
make them easier we discussed drawing a model, or starting with a fact
you know and using repeated addition or subtraction to get to the fact
you need. 6x6=6x5+6=36.
We will continue to practice
basic facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and soon division all
year in third grade.
However, if you see your
child struggling or know your child is struggling in math, building their basic
facts can be a quick and fun way to help them achieve. Flashcards are great! I
am in the process of creating some different sheets of flashcard games, which
the whole family can play. These monsters are a tool for you to use at home;
because I know you are all busy, but all teachers do appreciate any additional
support you can give your child at home.
Reading- This week we are reading Science Magic by Alison Alexander and Susie Bower. This selection presents five step-by-step scientific experiments that have a sense of wonder. Each experiment is accompanied by photographs, illustrations, and diagrams. All of these are followed by an explanation of what makes them "magic." Strategies we have used with this text are how to follow steps in a process as well as how diagrams and illustrations can help us understand the text better.
Last year, I did a lot better job at keeping my parents informed when and what we were reading for
Text Talk stories, and frankly it has slipped my mind. I am so sorry. For those of you who are interested here is what we have read and are currently reading, if you don't really care feel free to skip down to writing. :)
So far this year we have read Wolf!, 3 Questions, and Rats on the Roof, vocabulary words associated with these texts are achieve, concentrate, confidence, emergencies, industrious, passion, advance, drenching, injure, insecure, priority, uncertain, collaboration, ferocious, lumbered, queasy, relocate, and seadfast. This week we are reading Montezuma's Revenge by Cari Best. It is about a family of three who leave their dog Montezuma home while they all go on vacation to the beach. Montezuma decides to see revenge by inviting another dog called WILD BILL to their house for a day. After that Montezuma was never left home during vacations again. Words we are discussing are coaxed, frustrated, mesmerized, misery, regret, and revenge.
Writing- In writing we have been working on turning an OK sentence into a better sentence by adding more details to the sentence. For example and OK sentence might be, My dad works at night. A better sentence might be, My dad works for General Mills on the night shift. (My dad doesn't really work at General Mills). This week we have been using writing time to get ready for the school wide assembly next Tuesday. We will be showing off our "Respect Rap," which a poem about respect with a little attitude. We have also been writing in detail about what respect means and how we can see it and feel when we or someone else shows respect.
Social Studies- Mrs. Clark has begun to teach the students in their Map Champ Atlas. In this atlas they will be completing a series of lessons involving maps, globes, history timelines, and the branches of government. The majority of the lessons will involve informing and comparing the 7 continents and major oceans. You will even be informed about an ocean you may not have already heard of, the Southern Ocean. It was something new to me when I started teaching these lessons 7 years ago! :)
For an after note, those of you that had volunteered to help in our classroom, we have been rearranging our literacy block in the afternoons, and I have an associate who is completing most of my volunteer work one on one with students. If I find we need additional help I will contact you in the next few weeks.
Mrs. Jodie Yuska
