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Homework- To grow as readers and mathematicians, it’s important that students dedicate 30 minutes each night, Monday- Thursday to homework. Homework will begin Monday, September 22nd.
Reading 20 minutes a day at home is important. This could be done daily or as a total of 80 min. per week. We want the students to choose high-interest, “good fit books.” The goal of reading daily is not only to grow as a reader but also to instill a love of reading. We don’t assign students books to read at home, but trust that they’re choosing a book that they enjoy, and it will help them develop reading for meaning skills and further develop their vocabulary. Our weekly library visits are also a great time to select a “good fit” book that can be completed within the week.
Math fact fluency is the building block for higher-level math concepts, and by the end of third grade, students should know by memory all products of two one-digit numbers (3.0A7). Students should spend 5-10 minutes each night practicing their multiplication facts up to 10x10. Math fact fluency also helps students solve more complex math problems more quickly. If they have mastered their math facts, these concepts will be significantly easier, and they will be better equipped to solve them at a more efficient speed. The benchmark for trimester one is that students will “Know from memory all products of factors 0,1,2,5,9, and 10.” They can practice in a number of ways. Traditional flash cards, reciting facts aloud, writing them on paper, or using an online program. We suggest that students start with 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10.
Ways to practice your facts:
Make flashcards/fact triangles
Print fact practice sheets off my website under the tab (At Home Resources)
Say them aloud (driving in the car, waiting for an appointment, etc.)
Play a math computer game that involves facts. Timestables.com
Play Loops and Groups (Game taught during Math) Game recording sheet under tab (At Home Resources)
Xtramath- In math, we use the online fact program XtraMath to monitor their progress. It is an online fact fluency program that helps students develop quick recall and automaticity of their basic math facts. Although it is a timed fluency program, we remove the visual timing elements from the screen so that students are not distracted or become anxious by this. The program reinforces their learning by giving the correct answer, having students read the correct answer, and typing it in before moving on. We have already introduced this program and have had each student take the placement quiz to determine their initial fluency score. Once the placement quiz is completed, each day, students will be given a two-minute progress quiz to check what progress they have made. Based on this progress quiz, students are given an individualized set of 10 facts for them to work on. Repetition is used to solidify knowledge of these particular facts. Students are asked to complete a full round of XtraMath each day, which is 10 minutes or less. Students with a strong foundation of basic math facts will have an easier time when they begin to tackle more advanced math, like fractions, area, and algebraic thinking.
Toys, Fidgets, and Trading/Playing cards- We noticed in the third grade that a lot of toys, fidgets, and stuffed animals have been coming to school. We encourage you to have your child leave these items at home. Many times, they are lost at school, but more often, they become a distraction to your child and the others around them during the day. If these items do come to school, students will be asked to keep them in their backpacks or their cubbies to use during recess times. If they become a distraction during learning time, teachers will collect them and hold onto the item until the end of the day. We are having a lot of discussions about what a tool is vs. a toy, and what that would look like in the classroom. Thank you so much for your help with this.
ELA- Reading- In EL Unit 2, students move from analyzing challenges others face in accessing schools to more specifically analyzing challenges others face in accessing books. Students closely read excerpts from My Librarian Is a Camel by Margriet Ruurs, which describes ways people living in different countries around the world access books.
Writing-In the second half of the EL unit, students switch gears to begin writing informative texts. Using what they have learned about reading informational texts in the first half of the unit, they plan, write, revise, and edit an informative paragraph describing how people in a particular country overcome the challenge of access to books.
Math- In math, we have been reviewing strategies of basic addition and subtraction, as well as addition and subtraction strategies for double-digit problems. Multiplication is being introduced currently in our Number Corner Calendar activities, and as we move into Unit 2 during mid-October, we will be practicing and learning much more about the foundational skills of multiplication. For this reason, students must practice their multiplication facts as part of their homework starting next week.
Science- In science, we began a unit on weather and climate. Recently, we completed a lesson that helps students identify different types of clouds. We have learned about cumulus, cumulonimbus, stratus, and stratonimbus clouds. Next time you're outside, ask your child to tell you about the cloud types! We’ll begin thinking like engineers this week as we explore the design process. We will look at the effects of natural hazards such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and dust storms. In the activity, Design a Windproof House, students build paper house models. Then, using limited materials, students design multiple solutions that will make their houses sturdy enough to survive a wind storm, and compare the merits of their solutions.
Social Studies- During our first few social studies lessons, we have been reading our text, The Massachusetts Story. We have focused on The Land We Call Home with the big question: How can we locate and describe places in New England and Massachusetts? Our discussions have been about the landscapes of the different areas of Massachusetts. Ask your child about how the land changes as we move west from Cape Cod to the Berkshire Hills. Over the next few weeks, each student will also design their own compass rose that will be used when we create our map of Massachusetts.
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