Math Test

Our unit test for multiplication and division will be on Tuesday. The kids are in really good shape for this. They probably could have even wrote it this week! I have sent each kiddie home tonight with a practice test that will be very similar to the "real thing." I will not be marking this, it is for home support only.

Math Test

The boys and girls will write a math test sometime next week. To prepare they should continue to sing the times table songs (as this will also help with division too). I will send home a review that students may work on at home. This will be optional and will not be marked, but will be helpful for study purposes. I will discuss a test date with Miss. Tomac and post details tomorrow!

Problem Solvers!

Each day the kiddies prove that they are amazing, and today was no different!
During math we were presented with the following problem:

We tackled the problem in pairs or groups of three. The thinking that was taking place was amazing! As you can see this problem is multistep and requires the kiddies to both multiply and divide. All groups identified that there was more than one step to solve the problem.
 
After we solved the problem, I took our thinking to another level. We traded our work with another group and began looking closely at another groups thinking, strategies and answers. As a group the students were to identify the stars (what the group did well) and the wishes (next steps). They gave the work a level and we posted the work around the classroom by level.
 
Finally, we came together at the carpet and discussed our thinking and defended the level we gave the work.

This was a great activity, not only for problem solving but also for us to see and discuss other peoples' thinking. I feel like by the end of our 60 minute lesson we all felt more confident about problem solving and packed our "tool belts" with even more strategies.

I. Love. Math!


Welcome Miss. Tomac!

Today we were all very lucky to meet Miss. Tomac, the teacher who will be replacing me while I am on maternity leave. She was here all day to observe classroom routines and procedures. We were  able to meet and discuss curriculum and the learning goals for the remainder of the year. I feel very confident that Miss. Tomac is the perfect match for our little family in Room 209. She is full of enthusiasm and is passionate about teaching. Just last week, Miss. Tomac finished a Grade Four long term occasional position that she has been in since September. This is wonderful, as she will know exactly where the kiddies are headed for next year!
I am feeling great (and breathing a huge sigh of relief) knowing the kiddies are going to be left in such great hands!

Last Day

I shared with the boys and girls yesterday that this upcoming Friday (February 28th) will be my last day. The last six months with these chickadees has been such a blast, it will be hard to say goodbye! I will be in for visits of course and back next March with an open door!

Baby Ashleigh Turns Three!

Moms and dads... where does the time go?!? Today our (not so little) baby turns three!

Busy Bees!

Over the last few weeks we have been very busy bees in our literacy blocks! Here is an overview of what we have been buzzing about doing:

Word Study: we just wrapped up a unit on idioms, we have been working with plurals (es, ies and s endings) and of course our regular POTW work

Writing: we are wrapping up our procedural writing unit by creating a class cookbook, we have begun a mini unit on writing quotations and will begin comparative writing

Reading: we just finished up with the reading strategy of "asking questions", we continue to read passages and respond to questions that require us to support our thinking with evidence from the text

Sometimes I can't believe how efficient we are and the amount of learning that takes place in a day... our "Fun Fridays" are definitely much deserved!

Division

This afternoon we began learning about division. Just like many of our math concepts, I teach the boys and girls a number of different strategies for them to put inside their imaginary tool belts. This way, when they are problem solving, they can dig out the strategy that they like to use best. I strongly urge the kiddies to continue to practice their multiplication songs and facts. Being able to recall multiplication facts quickly, helps make division seem that much easier! We now know a song for the three, four, six and as of today... seven times table.

The seven song goes to the tune of "Happy Birthday." Give it a try!

7, 14, 21,

28, 35, 42, 49,

56, 63!

Class List

Some kiddies asked today if I could post a list of the names of kids in the class for Valentine's cards.
Here they are:

Chris
Abby
Ava
Isabella
Aydin
Luc
Jacob
Kylie
 Luke 
Summer
Veronica
Zhenya
Silvia
Sophia
Sierra
Ivan
Kyle
Jorge
Leo

100 Days Smarter!

Tomorrow we are officially 100 days smarter!
It is hard to believe that it is already the 100th day of school. Time sure does fly when you're having fun! I am not sure there are many jobs in this world where people can say that they have adored the last 100 days. I am so lucky to be one of the few that can say I HAVE! I love my group of chickadees and the 100 days of smiles that they have brought me.

Moms and dads tell us...

What do you wish you had 100 of?
What would you not want to have 100 of?

I know I would love to have 100 pairs of shoes.
I would not want 100 toilets in my house to clean.

What's An Array?

Today is math we learned all about arrays.

An array shows objects that are arranged in equal rows.
We can use an array to multiply.

Use an array to solve the following problem:

Mrs. Linse planted bulbs in her garden.
She planted 4 rows of 6 bulbs.
How many bulbs did Mrs. Linse plant in all?
Show your work and write the multiplication sentence.

Procedural Writing

We have been very busy writing different procedures over the last few weeks. It is a writing unit that we all seem to be enjoying a lot too. I know that I sure do love reading them! This week we are working on our final procedure. We are writing a simple recipe. I will collate them all to make a class cookbook. I'm telling ya... this is torture for an eight month pregnant lady! I read these and am instantly hungry! They all sound so delicious! I can't wait until our book is finalized and ready to make it to my kitchen...ummmm I mean our classroom shelf! ;)

Multiplication Is Repeated Addition

Over the last few days we have been learning that multiplication is repeated addition.

Take a look at the following picture:

As a multiplication sentence you write

4 X 6 = 24

You say " 4 groups of 6 equals 24"

As an addition sentence you write:

6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24

Providing your child with some multiplication sentences to write as addition sentences and vice versa would be beneficial for some extra practice.

Here is a link to a video that helps explain this concept further (it is the first video)

Multiplication Clip

Multiplication

It is the time in math that all kiddies have been waiting for... our unit in multiplication!
I don't know what it is or why it is, but all grade three kids LOVE when we begin this unit. The smiles on their faces is priceless. It is absolutely adorable!

We learn cutesy songs throughout the unit to help us memorize our times tables. In fact, have your chickadee sing the 0 or 3 times table song to you tonight at the dinner table! It makes for some good entertainment ;)

Throughout the unit, we learn that  multiplication really is just a quick way to add (we call multiplication and addition very close cousins), we learn other neat strategies to multiply (ask tonight about "plates and cookies") and then we jump into division.

It is a great unit with lots of opportunity for problem solving.

Here is one to try:

Mrs. Linse has 3 strips of stickers. On each strip are 7 stickers. How many stickers does Mrs. Linse have altogether?
Write both the multiplication and addition sentence to go with this question.

Reading Response With Evidence

Over the last five months we have worked on a variety of reading strategies that have helped us become better readers. All of these different strategies have taught us how to make deeper meaning of the texts that we read. Now that our "tool belts" are stuffed with great strategies, we are ready to independently read passages, answer higher level comprehension questions in the form of multiple choice and respond to a question that requires us to provide evidence from the text to support our thinking. These questions we refer to as "Reading Response With Evidence (RRE)." We have learned that these types of responses require us to

- include part of the question in our answer
- include the "phrase that pays"  I know this because...
- support your answer with evidence (proof) from the text

We completed a whole class example last week and will continue to take baby steps until we are all confident with doing these on our own!

Here is an example of a "Reading Response With Evidence" type question:

What is one word you would use to describe Henry, from the story Henry's Freedom Box? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

It's That Time Again!

Looks like February has brought along some cold and flu bugs. We had a good chat today about hand washing and washing down our desk tops after lunch each day. Sometimes, if the teacher is not looking, we skip these important routines. Although I am all about sharing... these germies and buggies can stay with their owners!