Reflection Letter

We had a "busy" dismissal today due to our assembly. Some reflection letters may not have made it into backpacks. If not, please look for them on Monday.

Congratulations!

A big shout out to our third graders for a job well done at our assembly this afternoon! The audience understood that it's important to listen and notice all points of view! They understood through the fabulous retelling, powerful debate, active skits and upbeat song. Third graders should be proud!

:o)Melanie

Inferring

Do you remember being asked to make inferences when you were in third grade reading groups? I do. And although I was considered a strong reader, I had no idea idea what an inference was.

We've been working hard to take the mystery out of inferences, because we make them every day. To make an inference you use your schema (background knowledge - the stuff that's already inside your head) plus the clues that you see (or hear) around you. For example, if I hear my dog scratching at the door, I can infer that he wants to go out.

Readers do the same thing with texts. They use their schema plus clues from the text or the illustrations. We learned that readers can infer in three different ways:

1. Infer the meaning of an unknown word
2. Infer to make a prediction
3. Infer to deepen our understanding of what's happening in the text

Share the inferences you make as you read with your third grader!

Multiplication Challenge

My husband offered me this brain teaser at lunch the other day. (I was successful on the second try! No hints! :o) I thought you might have fun trying it with your children. It will help them practice their understandings of multiplication. They can certainly use a calculator - we haven't taught them to multiply any more than single digits. Let me know what you come up with!

There are 7 girls on a bus.
Each girl has 7 backpacks.
There are 7 big cats in each backpack.
There are 7 little cats for every big cat.

How many legs are on the bus?

State Projects

Excitement is in the air as we prepare for the state fair on Thursday, February 11. The children are researching their state in school. As they finish their information gathering, they are beginning to write a paragraph that convinces visitors to come to their state.

At home, children should be researching one special feature of their state. As stated on the assignment sheet, it can be a landmark, landform, or any special attraction. The paragraph children write at home should focus completely on their diorama.

We can't wait to see you on the 11th!

Antonyms

Antonyms are the antonyms of synonyms... Huh? We learned this week that an antonym is a word that means the opposite. Up and down are antonyms.

Challenge your third grader to find antonyms for words that you share. For example, if you say "small," they might say "large." You might make up a story using antonyms for all of the adjectives. Have fun with it! :o)

Postcards from the Continents

Click here to check out all we learned on our "visit" across the world!

Arrays

An array is a rectangle arranged into equal rows. We learned that an array is one form of multiplication. For example, if I have 3 rows with 5 squares in each row, I have a multiplication problem. I can find out how many squares in all by multiplying 3 x 5. (You probably learned this as finding the area. We will make that connection in a couple of months.)

Today we discussed that the dimensions of the rectangle are also the factors. Thinking about the previous example, 3 x 5 are the dimensions of the rectangle, and also factors of fifteen.

This morning we began to practice identifying factors of a number. I challenged third grade mathematicians to find the factors in pairs. For example, if I am finding the factors of 18, I know I should start with 1 because 1 is a factor of every number. I will automatically identify 18 next because 1 x 18 = 18. Next, I will list 2 as a factor because 18 is an even number, and I know that all even numbers are multiples of 2. I figure out what to multiply by 2 to get to 18, and realize that 9 is also a factor of 18. I continue in this way until my possibilities are exhausted.

Challenge your child to find the factors of 12 or 24 at home!

Tri-fold Boards

To assist us as we prepare for the state fair, Room 221 needs three tri-fold presentation boards. These can be purchased at Staples or other office supply stores. We would appreciate any donations.

State Fair

Hopefully your children are busy at home preparing their dioramas and paragraphs for the State Fair. Over the next couple of weeks I will give the children one night per week without written homework to give them additional time to work on it. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

The children are working equally hard at school. While we are focusing in on one small aspect of their state at home, we are looking at the entire state at school. The children have completed research sheets to gain general information. We are learning about agriculture and manufacturing. We are learning that states became parts of our nation at different times.

This information will be compiled and shared on a large display board that will represent each region at the state fair. They will be displayed along with the children's dioramas. Together the children will look carefully at their collective states and analyze why they are grouped together. Most importantly, we want children to understand that where people live in our country affect how they live.

We hope you can make it to our state fair on Thursday, February 11 at 9:00 in the Miriam Kronish Performance Center.

Weekend Adventure

It's everyone's favorite - Weekend Adventure! There is a new FCA for tonight's paragraph. I had a difficult time explaining it to the children this afternoon, so I thought I would post it and maybe you could help if your child doesn't understand.

The first FCA is "what's the point?". Some children have been writing paragraphs that give a fabulous hook and tell the when and where of the story, then leave the reader hanging. I told the students I often think to myself, "Yeah??????" when I finish reading one of these paragraphs.

For example, a child might write:

"The smell of brownies greeted me as I walked into my aunt's house. We go to my aunt's house every Sunday for dinner. I couldn't wait to eat. I knew it would be delicious."

This paragraph had a fabulous hook, but didn't go anywhere. So I challenged third grade writers to include "the point." What's so important that made you write about this small moment? Sometimes the problem is simply that the paragraph isn't developed enough. If the writer has left out many details, the reader may not be able to figure out what the point is.

Finally, I modeled how I would write a paragraph. I'll include it here so you have a model for yourself.

"Where's my debit card?" I shook my head as I searched through my wallet for the third time. I was standing at the register at Costco. There was a carriage filled with groceries across from me. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to bring them home because I couldn't pay for them without my card. Apologizing to the cashier, I closed my wallet. I wandered away, with my eyes on the ground - pondering.

Happy writing!

Multiples and Factors

Today we learned 2 new vocabulary words related to our concentration on multiplication. A factor is one of the numbers we multiply together. For example, in the number sentence 2 x 4 = 8, 2 and 4 are factors.

Multiples are a little trickier to explain to third graders. We understand it as an answer to a multiplication sentence. For example, in the number sentence 2 x 4 = 8, 8is a multiple.

We also learn that multiples are the numbers we count when we skip count by a certain number. For example, 2,4,6,8,10,12,14, etc... are all multiples of 2.

Happy multiplying! :o)

Geography Geniuses

Has your third grader told you about the state they will research? We have begun learning about the states in our country! Our study will culminate with a State Fair on Thursday, February 11 at 9:00. (Please save the date! :o)

Each child will focus on one state. They will be asked to do research at home and at school. Ask your child which state he/she is studying. Look for at-home project assignment in your child's folder tomorrow.

Synonyms

A synonym is a word that means the same or almost the same. For example, mad is a synonym for angry. Third graders learned about synonyms this morning at meeting. You can ask your child to name some for you.

You can have lots of fun with synonyms in the car or at home. You might play "I'm thinking of a Word" and use synonyms for clues.

I'm thinking of a word that is a synonym for smart. Do you know what it is?

Multiplying x2

If third grade mathematicians remember the doubling rule in addition (2 + 2, 3 + 3, etc...) then they will be experts at the 2s tables! This morning I reminded the third graders that multiplying by 2 is the same as saying two groups of... This is of course the same as adding our doubles.

For example, 2 x 4 is like 4 + 4 which equals 8.

This should make studying the 2s tables much easier, because most kids already have these memorized!

Weekly Math

Weekly Math did not make it into children's backpacks this afternoon. They will bring it home tomorrow, Tuesday, January 12. It will still be due on Friday, January 15. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Timed Quizzes

Beginning Thursday, many of your children will begin their timed multiplication quizzes. Those children did not receive flashcards this week because the first quiz is only x0 and x1. The children learned today that any number times zero is always zero. For example, 4 x 0 = 0. They also learned that any number times one is always that number. For example, 4 x 1 = 4. So although each child should practice the concept a bit, I don't think it will require a lot of studying.

Any child that continues to work on addition or subtraction quizzes will continue with that concept until they are complete. As they complete these quizzes, they will move on to multiplication.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Getting Organized

There was a flurry of papers this morning as we sorted through our folders to get ourselves organized. You can expect to see a lot of "extra" papers coming home today that got lost in the confines of our desk.

We are going to work hard to put everything in its place as we are working so that we can always find what we need. I notice that the children stay organized best (as do I) when they have routines to follow. For example, at the end of every day, the children are asked to check their folders for unfinished work so that they don't get too far behind.

Homework

I am using the Weekend Adventure as an assessment this week, so don't be surprised when your third grader comes home without it. In its place, our word wizards should complete the crossword puzzle using homophones we have learned so far in third grade.

Homophones are sets of words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. For example, right and write are homophones. I expect third grade writers to spell 'right,' when they are referring to something that is correct or to the direction. Alternatively, I expect them to spell 'write' when they describe what they do with a pencil.

You can find a list of the homophones we have learned so far on our website.