Halloween

Tomorrow the boys and girls are welcome to wear their costume to school.
Our Boogie-A-Thon time is from 10:55 to 11:30 in the gym.
Please do not send your child to school with any treats to share with the class. The boys and girls will receive a pumpkin shaped peanut - free cookie as a special treat after the dance.
I have some fun Halloween themed activities planned for the rest of the day! I look forward to a spook-tacular day!

Two Digit Addition

Today we began two digit addition. Over the last two weeks we have been working on mastering our basic facts and adding helpful strategies to our math tool belt. Two digit addition and subtraction requires us to recall our basic facts and dig into our tool belt to find the strategy that will help us solve successfully.

Here is an example of a problem we worked with today.

Your child would benefit from solving some two digit addition problems at home. Have them walk you through their strategy and thinking too.
There is an iPad app called "Show Me." It is a great tool for them to record their thinking (both verbal and written). We will be practicing with this app over the next few days!

Story Retell

In reading we have begun the comprehension strategy of retell.

When we retell we tell the:

Characters
Setting
Problem

The main events that take place in the middle (usually four)

Solution (how the problem was solved)

Below is the graphic organizer that we are using to record our ideas while we read.

Find the Missing Number

We have begun to solve questions that requires us to find the missing number. Practicing similar questions at home would be helpful!

For example:

____ + 7 = 15

____ - 9 = 3

Science Test

Madame Pasyk mentioned that there would be a Science test on Thursday. The kiddies will bring their duotang home each night for review!

More Practice...

We will continue to review "there, their and they're" this week. Many of us are not using the correct form in their writing and practice pages. Please have your child practice at home as well.

Below is an online quiz I found for home practice.

Online Practice

Addition Strategies

We have been (pardon the pun)... adding to our math tool belts over the last few days. I have been introducing the boys and girls to different strategies that might help them out for various addition questions. We are trying to rely less on our fingers, counters and calculators and more on our quick mental math strategies.
Here are a few of our new nifty strategies:

1.Doubles(these are just our double facts that we need to work on memorizing)

2.Near Doubles(e.g.7 + 8…

  You can do 7+7=14 + 1 = 15)

3.Make Ten (example 9 + 6 …

  You can do 10+6 = 16 – 1 = 15)
 

These are all wonderful strategies that, with practice, lead to quick mental math. Your child should regularly practice their doubles facts to help them solve doubles and near double questions quickly.

Research Is Underway!

Today we had a chance to begin our research. All kids were so focused and engaged... makes my teacher heart smile!

Prodigy

New questions have been added to the online Prodigy game to match some of the recent learning that we have done. I can see that many kiddies are getting online to work with this wonderful resource! I encourage all kiddos to log on and solve some math this weekend... it can even be played on the iPad!


Prodigy

Research

We have begun a mini cross curricular research activity!
The students will choose a food that they would like to learn more about (we have developed a list to choose from). They will use an online encyclopedia to gather their information. From here they will take basic jot notes and then form a short paragraph about their food of choice.
Today we developed a number of questions to help guide our research. These questions were student generated. Some examples are: what does it look like? Feel like? Taste like? Smell like? What country does it come from? How does it grow? What food group is it in?
There were a number of other great questions that we decided to lump into a category called "interesting facts."
I am very excited to start this activity! We will cover many grade three expectations from reading, writing, media and health... and have lots  fun in the process!

There, Their, They're

Our words of the week are there, their and they're.
Below is an anchor chart I used to help the kiddies know when to correctly use each one.

Learning Goals: Week of October 19

This week our learning goals are:

- to use a variety of strategies to add and subtract

- to correctly use there, their and they're

- to use the reading strategy of visualization

- to write about a main idea

- include interesting details in our writing

- learning skill focus is "initiative"

- in religion we will learn about feelings and relationships (family and friends)

Doubles

I encourage the boys and girls to practice their doubles facts daily at home. They should be able to master these basic facts for quick and easy recall. Knowing these basic facts, will help them use other mental math strategies that we will be introduced to with ease.
We practice our doubles facts up to 12 + 12.

Math - Unit 2

We have began unit two in math: Patterns in Addition and Subtraction.
In this unit, your child will develop strategies for adding and subtracting whole numbers by using addition charts, mental math, estimation, base ten blocks, place value mats and pencil and paper. The ability to use a variety of strategies to add and subtract leads to the development of strong number sense. Numbers are all around us and the skills taught in this unit are essential for daily living (Math Makes Sense, 2004).
Some ideas for home practice:

-     Practice doubles facts regularly (up to 12 + 12)

-     Add and subtract two digit numbers with and without regrouping

-     Solve word problems that require students to show their work and / or explain their thinking

Today during our reading workshop we were introduced to the reading strategy of visualization. This is basically a big word for "making a picture or movie in your mind." When good readers do this, they are better able to understand the text and therefore, make more meaning from what they are reading!
This week's P.O.T.W. is great for practicing this reading strategy as the kiddos can make pictures in their mind of all the crazy "talents" the kids in the poem have.
Reading picture books aloud to your child and not showing them the pictures is also a great way to develop this strategy. Encourage them to make pictures in their mind and have them compare what they saw in their mind to the actual picture in the book.

Happy Reading!

Patterning Problem

We have continued to work on patterns in a hundreds chart this week.
Today we solved a similar problem:

Suppose you counted by 2s from 65 to 87. Would you say the number 73? Explain your thinking.

A hundreds chart may be a helpful tool!

Practice Pages

Tonight each child is bringing home their Practice Page homework duo-tang. Practice Pages go home most Tuesday and Thursday nights. They are always a review of concepts and skills already taught and practiced in class. Therefore, they should never require teaching or help from mom and dad.The students are expected to complete the Practice Page neatly and return it to school the next day. I have explained that if there is ever a time that they cannot complete their homework, that decision is up to mom and dad and requires a note in the agenda. Thanks so much for your support in this area.  

To, Too, Two

We will be focusing again this week on the words to, too and two. I have noticed that we could use the extra review and practice to be sure we use them correctly.

Math Tests Ready!

The math tests are all marked and ready to go home!
We all did really well and I can see a lot of growth that has taken place since the beginning of the unit!
You will notice that I have not put an actual level grade on the tests. I am a very anecdotal marker. I prefer to give the children lots of descriptive feedback versus a letter or number grade. I have found in the part that we get fixated on the numbers or letters. Level four kids see a 4 and do not think there are any next steps to work on. Level 2 kids seem to get discouraged and want to give up. The descriptive feedback ensures that all students receive both "did wells" and "next steps." I think it also helps develop a growth mindset, something we are working hard at developing.
The comments throughout the test and the language in my descriptive feedback are usually clear as to where your child sits on the achievement chart levels. However, if you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I hope that everyone ate lots and enjoyed the beautiful weather we have been blessed with!

Now... Go Jays Go!!

We could use....

Some parents have been asking what our classroom could use.
Donations of the following would be helpful:

- baby wipes or disinfecting wipes (Lysol/Clorex etc.)
- boxes of Kleenex
- hand sanitizer

Portable life means no sink. I try and wash down desks as often as possible and have the boys and girls clean their hands often. The above items will help us stay clean and healthy in Portable 4!

Thank you!

Patterns in a Hundreds Chart

In math we have begun a mini unit in patterning. This tends to be one of the students least favourite math units so it is sorta nice to get it out of the way nice and early in the year. In this unit students will:

- identify and describe patterns on a hundreds chart

- identify and describe patterns on a number line

Today we solved a problem similar to the following:


Use the hundreds chart. Start at 42. Count on by 10s. What patterns do you notice?

What's The Big Idea?

Yesterday during our Writer's Workshop we learned that good writers always stay on topic. You can easily pick out their main idea. In fact, it's almost as if it pops right off the page!
An important part of the writing process is planning. For the first three weeks of school we worked on writing "super" sentences. These are sentences that are detailed and interesting. We used charts to help us organize our ideas.  
Now we are learning that a web can be useful tool to organize our ideas. First I modelled how to make a web using my doggie Champ as my main idea. The kiddies then picked a manageable topic of their choice and got to work on their own web.
Today they worked on putting all their web ideas together to write a polished paragraph. I look forward to reading them all!

We survived!

We survived our first math test of Grade Three! We all worked hard to complete it and are very happy it is done! I am so proud of all my chickadees for their hard work throughout this unit.

Learning Goals - Week of October 5

A short but busy week ahead!

- We will find and explain patterns in a hundreds chart
- We will identify verbs
- We will identify and define contractions
- We will write mini paragraphs and stick to a main idea
- We will read fluently
- We will correctly use to, too and two
- We will prepare our hearts for thanksgiving
- We will learn about the Learning Skill of collaboration

Happy Monday Y'all!

Don't forget...

Tomorrow is math test day! We reviewed some more today and the boys and girls seem in great shape!

Ear Buds

I am requesting that the boys and girls bring in a pair of ear buds / earphones for classroom use (these can even be purchased at the dollar store). We will begin using the classroom computers and iPads next week. Having our own earphones will help minimize distractions.
Please send them to school in a small ziplock bag labelled with your child's name.

Thank You!

Math Test Practice #2

Here are a few more questions to practice for Monday's math test.
The kiddies are also encouraged to log on and practice their skills on Prodigy Math.


When is 1000 a small number? When is 1000 a large number? Explain your thinking.


Round the following numbers to the nearest ten

94
98
72
75
55