It will be another crazy week, but we will try to fill it with as much learning as possible!
Due to Passover, we will not have homework Monday or Tuesday night. Therefore, we will not have spelling or weekly math due this week. In addition, we will not have a timed math quiz until Thursday.
I will be holding extra help sessions on Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon. This week we will be digging into fractions! Please let me know if your child will be attending.
Hope you had a great weekend! :o)Melanie
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
MCAS
Just a reminder that tomorrow is our first official MCAS test. I have asked the children to go to bed by 8:00 tonight. They should also eat a nutritious breakfast so that their bodies are ready to work hard and persevere.
Although some children are still feeling nervous, most children are excited to begin. Please remind your children that they are smart and we just want them to work hard and try their best.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Although some children are still feeling nervous, most children are excited to begin. Please remind your children that they are smart and we just want them to work hard and try their best.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Adding Fractions
Pattern blocks are incredibly useful learning tools! Today and yesterday we used them to expand our knowledge of fractions. If a yellow hexagon is the whole, then a green triangle is 1/6 because it takes 6 green triangles to evenly fill up a hexagon. Similarly, a blue rhombus is 1/3 because it takes 3 blue rhombi to evenly fill up a hexagon. Finally, a red trapezoid is 1/2, because it takes 2 red trapezoids to evenly fill up a hexagon.
As children manipulated the blocks, they realized they could fill a hexagon using a combination of blocks. For example, you can fill a hexagon with 1 trapezoid, 1 blue rhombus and 1 green triangle. Therefore, we know that 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/6 = 1. We talked about adding fractional pieces. We learned that we can only add fractions (in our head) if the denominators are the same. For example, we can add 1/4 + 2/4 = 3/4. The denominator of 4 is consistent. In the example 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/6 = 1, the children used a model (the blocks) to solve it. They would not be able solve it mentally because the denominators are not the same. However, some very smart third graders realized that 1/3 + 1/6 = 1/2 (because 1/3 = 2/6) so the same problem can also be solved 1/2 + 1/2 = 1. (Sounds like fifth grade fraction studies, don't you think?)
Challenge your child to solve these addition and subtraction problems:
1/3 + 1/3 =
3/4 + 1/4 =
5/6 - 3/6 =
3/5 - 1/5 =
As children manipulated the blocks, they realized they could fill a hexagon using a combination of blocks. For example, you can fill a hexagon with 1 trapezoid, 1 blue rhombus and 1 green triangle. Therefore, we know that 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/6 = 1. We talked about adding fractional pieces. We learned that we can only add fractions (in our head) if the denominators are the same. For example, we can add 1/4 + 2/4 = 3/4. The denominator of 4 is consistent. In the example 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/6 = 1, the children used a model (the blocks) to solve it. They would not be able solve it mentally because the denominators are not the same. However, some very smart third graders realized that 1/3 + 1/6 = 1/2 (because 1/3 = 2/6) so the same problem can also be solved 1/2 + 1/2 = 1. (Sounds like fifth grade fraction studies, don't you think?)
Challenge your child to solve these addition and subtraction problems:
1/3 + 1/3 =
3/4 + 1/4 =
5/6 - 3/6 =
3/5 - 1/5 =
Vocabulary
Room 221 had fun playing jeopardy yesterday and today! Both games were focused on reviewing vocabulary. Yesterday we focused on math, and today we focused on reading and language arts.
Ask your child 3 words they knew for each subject. Remember strong vocabularies make our brains more powerful!
Ask your child 3 words they knew for each subject. Remember strong vocabularies make our brains more powerful!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
This Week
As many of you know, the Reading MCAS begins this week. We will have a brief practice test on Monday. This is fairly short and simply gives the children an exposure to the experience.
The actual test will be administered on Wednesday, March 24 and Thursday, March 25 at 9:00am. The test is created to take about 60 minutes. Some children will be done sooner, and others will take longer. The test is untimed, so the children can take as long as they need.
I am asking all students to be in bed by 8:00 the nights before the test. Please help your children follow this guideline. In addition, all children should eat a healthy breakfast before coming to school each test day.
The room parents are using "classroom money" to purchase healthy snacks for the children. They will be invited to eat lightly when they get to school. After all children have completed the test, they will also be able to eat an "extra" snack and relax for a short time. The children will also get extra recess each test morning in order to run off any extra steam.
This week will look different in terms of homework. Written homework will only be assigned on Monday. There will be no spelling words this week. In addition, there will only be one timed math quiz on Monday. Your children should continue to read (or be read to) for at least 20 minutes each night.
Most importantly, I do not want your children to feel stressed about MCAS. It is important that they know we believe they will do well. Please encourage them to work hard and do their best. However, also remind them that no matter how they do on MCAS, we know they are smart children!
Thanks for your cooperation. Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.
The actual test will be administered on Wednesday, March 24 and Thursday, March 25 at 9:00am. The test is created to take about 60 minutes. Some children will be done sooner, and others will take longer. The test is untimed, so the children can take as long as they need.
I am asking all students to be in bed by 8:00 the nights before the test. Please help your children follow this guideline. In addition, all children should eat a healthy breakfast before coming to school each test day.
The room parents are using "classroom money" to purchase healthy snacks for the children. They will be invited to eat lightly when they get to school. After all children have completed the test, they will also be able to eat an "extra" snack and relax for a short time. The children will also get extra recess each test morning in order to run off any extra steam.
This week will look different in terms of homework. Written homework will only be assigned on Monday. There will be no spelling words this week. In addition, there will only be one timed math quiz on Monday. Your children should continue to read (or be read to) for at least 20 minutes each night.
Most importantly, I do not want your children to feel stressed about MCAS. It is important that they know we believe they will do well. Please encourage them to work hard and do their best. However, also remind them that no matter how they do on MCAS, we know they are smart children!
Thanks for your cooperation. Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Fact and Opinion
As we read and write non-fiction texts, (we are still plugging away at our feature articles) it's important for children to know the difference between facts and opinions.
A fact can be proven or checked. For example, "The necklace has 13 stones on it," is a fact because the number of stones can be checked by counting.
An opinion can have different answers from different people. It can not be checked or proven. For example, "The necklace is beautiful," can not be checked. I might think it's beautiful, somebody else might think it's horrid. One person's answer can not be proven true.
Challenge your child to distinguish between facts and opinions while you're eating breakfast together tomorrow morning! It can be fun! :o)
A fact can be proven or checked. For example, "The necklace has 13 stones on it," is a fact because the number of stones can be checked by counting.
An opinion can have different answers from different people. It can not be checked or proven. For example, "The necklace is beautiful," can not be checked. I might think it's beautiful, somebody else might think it's horrid. One person's answer can not be proven true.
Challenge your child to distinguish between facts and opinions while you're eating breakfast together tomorrow morning! It can be fun! :o)
Mixed Numbers and Improper Fractions
I had so much fun watching the "lightbulbs" turn on in math today. When I was a kid, I would never have believed that fractions could be fun, but it was a blast today! The children worked diligently and enthusiastically figuring out how mixed numbers and improper fractions work.
Yesterday we learned that if we share 7 brownies with 4 people that each person would get 1 3/4 brownies. 1 3/4 is called a mixed fraction. It's a whole with a fraction left over.
Today, I asked third grade mathematicians to compare fractions to a whole. I asked if a fraction was more than a whole, same as a whole or less than 1 (a whole). We noticed that fractions like 2/3, 3/4, 1/2 are all less than 1. We noticed that fractions like 5/5, 8/8, 6/6 are equal to 1. (Any time the numerator and denominator are the same, the fraction is equal to 1. Finally we learned about fractions that are more than a whole - 9/4, 8/6 etc... We made the generalization that if the numerator is larger than the denominator, the fraction is automatically larger than
1. Ask your third grade mathematician to draw you a picture proving these ideas.
Next, I challenged the students to turn 17/4 into a mixed number. I reminded them that a mixed number had some wholes and some fraction of the whole. Most students solved the problem by drawing out squares split into fourths, but several children made the connection to division and were able to solve it mentally!
Finally, I assigned the mixed number 3 2/5 and asked third graders to find the equivalent improper fraction. Most problem solved the problem by drawing 3 rectangles divided into fifths, but even more of them used multiplication and addition to solve this problem.
I was very proud of our mathematical minds today. Challenge your child to convert mixed numbers to improper fractions and improper fractions to mixed numbers. At the third grade level it is very appropriate for them to draw pictures to help them solve the problem.
Have fun! :o)
Yesterday we learned that if we share 7 brownies with 4 people that each person would get 1 3/4 brownies. 1 3/4 is called a mixed fraction. It's a whole with a fraction left over.
Today, I asked third grade mathematicians to compare fractions to a whole. I asked if a fraction was more than a whole, same as a whole or less than 1 (a whole). We noticed that fractions like 2/3, 3/4, 1/2 are all less than 1. We noticed that fractions like 5/5, 8/8, 6/6 are equal to 1. (Any time the numerator and denominator are the same, the fraction is equal to 1. Finally we learned about fractions that are more than a whole - 9/4, 8/6 etc... We made the generalization that if the numerator is larger than the denominator, the fraction is automatically larger than
1. Ask your third grade mathematician to draw you a picture proving these ideas.
Next, I challenged the students to turn 17/4 into a mixed number. I reminded them that a mixed number had some wholes and some fraction of the whole. Most students solved the problem by drawing out squares split into fourths, but several children made the connection to division and were able to solve it mentally!
Finally, I assigned the mixed number 3 2/5 and asked third graders to find the equivalent improper fraction. Most problem solved the problem by drawing 3 rectangles divided into fifths, but even more of them used multiplication and addition to solve this problem.
I was very proud of our mathematical minds today. Challenge your child to convert mixed numbers to improper fractions and improper fractions to mixed numbers. At the third grade level it is very appropriate for them to draw pictures to help them solve the problem.
Have fun! :o)
Monday, March 15, 2010
Challenge Question
As we discussed Puritan communities this afternoon, a student asked: "Where did they get the wax for the candles?" (I do expect them to know that they couldn't go to Stop & Shop down the street! :o)
Instead of answering the question, I challenged the kids to find out by researching tonight at home. They can check in a book, search online or ask you. We'll be excited to hear the answers tomorrow!
Instead of answering the question, I challenged the kids to find out by researching tonight at home. They can check in a book, search online or ask you. We'll be excited to hear the answers tomorrow!
History of Needham
Third grade historians are having a blast studying the history of our great town! So far we have learned about the Puritans arriving in the New World and their settlement in Dedham and eventually Needham. Today, I asked the children to respond to the following prompt:
Tell me 3 things that are wrong with this statement.
Puritans came to Needham directly from England because there was not enough food in England. There was plenty of food in Needham because nobody had lived there before.
Ask your child to tell you how they responded. You will be impressed by how much they already know!
Tell me 3 things that are wrong with this statement.
Puritans came to Needham directly from England because there was not enough food in England. There was plenty of food in Needham because nobody had lived there before.
Ask your child to tell you how they responded. You will be impressed by how much they already know!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Extra help this week
I will be holding extra help sessions again on Wednesday morning (7:50-8:20)and Thursday afternoon (2:35-3:05). This week we will focus on naming factors. For example, finding all the factors of 24 - 1,2,3,4,6,8,12,24.
I am happy to see as many children who are interested. I only ask that you notify me to let me know that your child is coming.
I am happy to see as many children who are interested. I only ask that you notify me to let me know that your child is coming.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Reminder - Family Science Night
The Needham Science Center is hosting another family science night. It's Thursday,
March 11, 6:00-8:00
There are so many things for you to see and do. Check it out!
March 11, 6:00-8:00
There are so many things for you to see and do. Check it out!
No Written Homework
I inadvertently forgot to put homework in the mailboxes this afternoon. Therefore, there will be no written homework due tomorrow. However, children should read, work on Weekly Math, study their math facts and spelling words.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Feature Articles
In Writing Workshop, we continue to focus on feature articles. Each child has chosen the topic that they want to research and then write about. It was exciting to see inquisitive brains at work as children developed questions they want to answer. Finally, they turned those questions into subtopics. Subtopics are the smaller topics within the larger one that researchers want to focus on in their article.
As many researchers began taking notes today, we learned about plagiarism. It's important that children learn not to copy exact sentences from their research. We practiced pulling out "fact fragments" - the most important words from a sentence that contain the chunk of meaning. This is a skill the children will be developing for years to come.
Ask your child to tell you a subtopic they decided to focus on and one fact fragment that they recorded about it today.
As many researchers began taking notes today, we learned about plagiarism. It's important that children learn not to copy exact sentences from their research. We practiced pulling out "fact fragments" - the most important words from a sentence that contain the chunk of meaning. This is a skill the children will be developing for years to come.
Ask your child to tell you a subtopic they decided to focus on and one fact fragment that they recorded about it today.
Sorry for the short notice! I will be holding extra help sessions again on Wednesday morning (7:50-8:20)and Thursday afternoon (2:35-3:05). This week we will work on line plots. Many children could benefit from review of line plots so send them my way! :o)
I am happy to see as many children who are interested. I only ask that you notify me to let me know that your child is coming.
I am happy to see as many children who are interested. I only ask that you notify me to let me know that your child is coming.
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