Third Grade News

Dear Third Grade Families,

We enjoyed our field trip to the Flynn Theater to see “Three Little Birds.”  We are grateful to the Chamberlin PTO for funding this opportunity so that our class could experience live theater and the arts.  Thanks, Chamberlin PTO!

This month, students have been completing mid-year assessments in reading, mathematics, spelling, and writing.  I'm proud of our class for working hard and trying their best!  We took a break to play outside after all of our hard work.

Third grade mathematicians are working to have the X 3, X 4, and X 5 facts memorized.  Please encourage your child to practice at home for five to ten minutes every day!  Have you checked out the IXL math site at home, yet?  A letter was sent home with your child's username and password.  If you need another copy, please let me know (kmcgrath@sbschools.net). It's a great site to use to practice multiplication skills, and we have a free 30 day trial membership.

Third graders have learned to model the standard algorithms for addition and subtraction using base ten blocks this week.  

 January Number Corner lessons are related to fractions and elapsed time.  You can help your child by practicing telling time at home on an analog clock, a clock with hands. A watch would make a great birthday gift!  Help your child to learn about elapsed time.  I'm putting the brownies in the oven at 12:30.  They will cook for 30 minutes.  What time will the brownies be cooked?  Please cut the brownies into twelfths.  What fraction of the brownies did we eat?  What fraction of the brownies are left?  How many twelfths are equivalent to one half of the brownies?

We are in need of cleaning wipes for our classroom.  If you have a spare package to send in, we would appreciate it!  Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Keelin Simpson

Third Grade News

Dear Third Grade Families,

We had a great week in Room 15! Our class is full of amazing thinkers!  Here's some information about what we are working on this month.

Students are working on assessments in reading, mathematics, and spelling in our classroom this month.  The assessments are one way of looking at the progress students have made since the beginning of the school year, and they will provide information about the learning that needs to occur in the second half of the school year.  

Third graders began drafting their nonfiction books this week. They are writing about many different topics from race cars, dogs, and cats to football and baseball.  We have been learning about many ways to structure our writing. Cause and effect, boxes and bullets, and pros and cons are a few of the structures we have learned about.  Students are carefully planning what their books will look like, and they are working hard to use many nonfiction text features to enhance their writing.

I'm excited to see so many students mastering the multiplication facts.  Yahoo!  Way to go, third graders!  Thank you to family members for helping your student to practice the multiplication facts at home.  A few minutes of extra practice each night makes a big difference!  

Students have learned the 0's, 1's 2's, 3's, 10's, and 4's multiplication facts, and now it is time for the x 5 facts.  We can do it!  

In our classroom, we call the x 5 facts "Half Ten Facts."  This is because you can solve a x 5 fact using a x 10 fact. Every student in our classroom knows the x 10 facts, so they are known facts that we can use to solve unknown x 5 facts.  Here's how the strategy works:

Half Ten Facts Strategy
If I know 10 groups of 8 equals 80, then the product of 5 groups of 8 would be half that amount, 40.

10  x  8 = 80
(5 groups of 8 is half of 10 groups of 8, so split 80 in half)  
5 x 8 =  40

Use the Half Tens Fact board game that your child brought home to practice the x 5 facts this week or make your own board game with the supplies that were sent home. You can also make flashcards, use grocery store flashcards, or play math games on Mrs. Simpson's blog to practice the facts at home.  

This week, our class had fun practicing the x 4 multiplication facts using the website www.IXL.com.  Your child  has a free 30 day membership at  this site, and he/she can use the membership at home, too. Students brought home a letter with a username and password this week.  If you didn't receive the letter, please let me know, and I'll send home another copy.  

Directions for IXL
Enter your child's username and password.
Select math.
Select third grade skills.
Select Multiplication Skill Builders and your child can choose to practice one set of multiplication facts at a time.  For example, just the x 4 facts or just the x 5 facts.  However, there are four categories related to multiplication (that are all great) for students to choose from at this site.  

Reminders and More

• There is no school on Monday in celebration of Martin Luther King Day.  
• Third graders will be going to the Flynn Theater on Tuesday. The bus will leave at approximately 8:45 AM, and we will return to school in time for lunch and recess. 
• We are in need of cleaning wipes and soft tissues for our classroom. If you have a spare package at home to send in, it would be greatly appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,
Keelin M. Simpson

Memorizing Multiplication Facts

Dear Third Grade Families,

          Our class is making progress with memorizing multiplication facts.  In December, our class’s goal was to learn the x 3 facts.  Most children have memorized these facts.  Hooray!  If your child hasn’t mastered the x 3 facts yet, don’t lose heart.  Your child will learn them with a little more time and practice.  Keep working on them at home for a few minutes each night.

          Students have learned the 0’s, 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s times tables, and it is our goal to have the 4’s times table memorized now. Students learned that they can use x 2 facts to solve x 3 facts. 

X 3 facts are called  “Doubles Plus One More Set” because of this strategy.

First Step: Start with 2 sets of 8             2 x 8 = 16, so

Second Step:  Add 1 more set of 8        3 x 8 = 16 + 8 = 24.

Now students have learned that they can use x 2 facts to solve   x 4 facts, too!  If I know 2 groups of 8 equals 16, then I know that I can double that 16 to find the product of 4 groups of 8.

X 4 facts are called  “Double – Doubles” because of this strategy.

First Step: Double 8                   2 x 8 = 16, so

Second Step:  Double 16           4 x 8 = 16 + 16 = 32

  

          Please help your child to memorize the x 4 multiplication facts. Your child has learned the 0’s, 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s multiplication facts already.  If you keep that in mind, then you realize that your child only needs to learn six new multiplication facts to have the x 4 facts memorized. 

4 x 0, 4 x 1, 4 x 2 , 4 x 3, 4 x 4, 4 x 5, 4 x 6, 4 x 7, 4 x 8, 4 x 9, 4 x 10

Already Learned                                   Need To Learn                     Already Learned

  

Help your child to learn the x 4 facts by playing the Double-Double board game that was sent home.  You might also write the six unknown facts on index cards or Post-it notes and ask your child the facts at spare moments throughout the day (during a TV commercial, in the car, while making dinner, before bed, etc…).  “What’s the product of 4 x 6?  How do you know?”  Build   x 4 facts out of blocks or cereal, play multiplication games online at Mrs. Simpson’s blog, or use a grocery store set of flashcards to rehearse the facts.

 It might be fun to make up a new board game to practice the facts together with your child.  On Monday, I am sending home a blank copy of the Follow the Path board and some blank game cards for you to use, if you’d like to try making your own multiplication game for practice at home. 

          Please let me know if you have any questions about the multiplication strategies in this notice.  The goal is for children to be able to find the product of an unknown fact more easily by using a known fact, such as a x 2 fact.  

Have fun learning the facts together!

Keelin M. Simpson