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Logging into Clever-- Please use this link to find directions for logging into Clever at home.
Clever Instructions for Families
Reading 20 minutes a day at home is important. This could be done daily or as a total of 80 minutes 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 will help them develop reading for meaning skills and further develop their vocabulary.
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.
Xtra Math- 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. Within the program, students have 3 seconds to type an answer. If this is not completed, the program reinforces their learning by giving the correct answer, having students read the correct answer, and typing it in before moving on. We will be introducing this program next week and having 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 the students to work on. Spaced 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 or algebra in the higher grades.
ELA- Over the next several weeks students will build background knowledge about frogs. They will closely read excerpts of a complex text to answer several research questions, and write informational paragraphs answering these questions. When reading, students will use text features to find information about a topic, look at connections between sentences and paragraphs in an excerpt of text, and analyze illustrations to further their understanding of a text.
How can you support your student at home? Talk to your child about the frogs he or she is studying and what makes them unique. Read narrative and informational books about frogs. Consider discussing the following questions to prompt conversation:
Where do amphibians live?
What are some differences between amphibians and reptiles?
What makes amphibians unique?
How is water necessary for amphibians to survive?
Math--We will be completing Unit 2 in math this week, and we are about to start Unit 3. Unit 3 reviews and extends students thinking about place value, multi-digit addition and subtraction, and problem-solving. Students will begin by being introduced to rounding 2 & 3-digit numbers to the nearest 10 and 100. We will extend these concepts to use rounding to estimate and check answers to multi-digit addition and subtraction problems. Students will also be introduced to the standard algorithm for addition and subtraction.
Feel free to use the free Math Vocabulary Cards app that accompanies our math program for additional support in practicing multiplication. You can find these at mathlearningcenter.org/apps. Another great resource is IXL Fact Fluency Zone. Fact Fluency Zone can be found under the learning tab, and includes fluency games, worksheets, and videos. You can access IXL through this link https://www.ixl.com/signin/nashoba You may need to log into google to use this link.
Science--We are currently working on the science unit for forces, motions, & magnets. In this unit, students explore the forces all around them. They investigate the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces, the pushes and pulls of bridge structures, and the effects of friction on the motion of objects. Students also explore the power of magnetic forces and investigate firsthand how these forces can be used to help us in our everyday lives.
Social Studies--As we continue to learn about Massachusetts, we will be extending our learning to discover more about the history of Bolton. We will be reading a series of biography passages that the Bolton Historical Society has shared with us about some of the many interesting historical people with ties to Bolton. We will begin with Mary Whetcomb of Lancaster (1666-1733) who lived an extraordinary life. She was taken captive during a troubled time in early colonial history, but was also a respected healer in her community. We will also learn about Bolton resident, Caleb Wheeler, Jr. (1791-1875, who was a selectman and a town moderator. Both helped shape the early history of our local communities.
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