Take Down the Walls

The Room 221 community did it again! They blew me away yesterday as we cleaned and packed up for another summer. They worked tirelessly for more than 90 minutes. They were so focused and organized we were able to accomplish more than any class before them.

Special thanks to Kathy Lesanto, Jacquie Sherman, Marisa Rufo, Vicki Brown, Leslie Healey, and Martha Cohen Barrett for coming to help. It is sooooo appreciated! :o)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

In May we began a wonderful novel titled "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin. The children have been enthralled as I read aloud to them each day. They have been begging for more! Unfortunately, we ran out of time. We were unable to finish this wonderful story. I encourage all of you to find it at the library or local book store and share the rest of it with your third grader. I promise you won't regret it!

Third Grade Good-byes

The end of third grade. Your children have made it with flying colors! We ended our final day in third grade by reading "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss. I know that each and every one of your children will go far! They are capable of so much. I wish I could have them back every year. I hope they will all come back and visit.

It has been such a pleasure working with this third grade community. Each child is such a gift and I can't thank you enough for sharing them with me.

A huge thank you to all who have supported us this year! There are so many parents that came in countless times to do anything and everything I could ever ask. I couldn't get it done without you.

Thank you especially to our room parents Kathy Lesanto and Misti Perkins. They dropped everything and came running every time I emailed. You are both wonderful! Thank you.

Have a safe and happy summer! :o)Melanie

Boston Museum of Science

We had a fantastic time at the museum yesterday. If you haven't already, be sure to ask your third grader to share a few things that they learned. Special thanks to Misti Perkins, Sarah Roostaie and Jen Woodman for joining us! :o)

Electricity Investigation

Throughout our electricity unit third grade scientists have asked thoughtful questions. Mrs. Rizzutto, director of the Needham Science Center came and helped us sort our questions into two groups. Some of the questions were "researchable." That means we could find the answers by asking someone, searching on the internet or searching in a book. The questions we were focusing on were "testable." That means third grade scientists could safely find the answers by using scientific equipment.

Today third grade scientists worked in groups to answer some of those questions. They figured out which materials they needed to use. They described the set up and wrote the directions so that any other scientist would be able to repeat the investigation.

Finally, they gave it a try. Third grade scientists used many different size batteries, different kinds of wire, light bulbs, motors, and switches to answer their questions. Mrs. Rizzutto, Mr. Claus and I were very impressed by the way the children collaborated. They problem solved and asked further questions. Many groups started thinking of new questions based on their original results. They are truly scientists!

Ask your third grader about their electrical investigation. :o)

Multiplying 3 Digit Numbers

There have been several questions about multiplying 3 digit numbers by 1 digit numbers.

Let's try 326 x 8:

First, multiply 6 x 8. Write the product under the multiplication problem.
Start with the ones place.

6
x 8
48

Next go to the tens place. Multiply 20 x 8. Write that product under the first product.Be sure to line up the tens and ones.

16
x 8

48
160

Finally go to the hundreds place. Multiply 300 x 8.Write that product under the rest. Be sure to line up the hundreds, tens and ones.


300
x 8

2400

Add all the products together.

48
160
2400

2608

The product of 326 x 8 is 2608.

Sorry, I can't figure out how to do underline on this. Hope it's not too confusing... :o)

Mitchell Pen Pals

Last Wednesday our friends from Mitchell came for a visit! We've been writing back and forth all year, so it was so exciting to meet them in person! We played a fun math game together and even got to play on the playground. Ask your third grader to tell you about their pen pal.

Book Commercials

Room 221 readers should work for Scholastic! They can sell their favorite books. Check out their book commercials!

Extra Help

I will be holding our last extra help sessions on Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon. We will be reviewing a variety of concepts and strategies! Please let me know if your child will be attending.