Nonfiction Reading and Writing Celebration

Dear Third Grade Families,

Our celebration of nonfiction reading and writing was a success! We would like to thank all of our guests (friends, family, and staff members) for coming today to take a look at our biography posters, Google Slideshows, and totem pole art. We enjoyed sharing our work with you.  

Thank you to family members who brought in snacks for us to share, too!

           

                    

     

                       

                         

                  

                   

               


We are in need of cleaning wipes for our classroom.  If you have an extra package at home, please send them in. Thank you!

Sincerely,
Keelin M. Simpson

Learning the Multiplication Facts

      

Dear Third Grade Families,

We are looking forward to seeing you on Thursday, March 30th, at 10:15 AM for our classroom celebration.  We have finished reading biographies and studying nonfiction reading strategies. Students created a biography project to share with you.  If you are able to bring in a healthy food item to share at our celebration, your contribution would be appreciated.

Room 15 is full of hard working mathematicians! We have been working towards memorizing the multiplication facts, and students are making terrific progress!  So far, students have been assigned to memorize the x 0, x 1, x 2, x 3, x 4, x 5, and x 10 facts.  We took a look at all of our hard work on the multiplication table below, and we cheered about what the chart reveals!

The facts we have learned are colored in.  The facts that we have left to learn are white.  There are only 16 facts left to be memorized!!!

This week our goal is to learn the x 6 facts. We call the x 6 facts "Half Tens Plus One Set Facts."  The x 6 facts are named that way because of a strategy that can be used to solve them.  This strategy involves using a known fact, a x 5 fact, to solve a x 6 fact.  Here's how it works: 

What is the product of 6 x 8?

Step 1  -  I'll start with a fact I know.   10 groups of 8  = 80.                  10 x 8 = 80.

Step 2 -   From there, I can figure out that 5 x 8 is half of 80.                  5 x 8 = 40

Step 3 -   6 groups of 8 is just one more set of 8 than 5 x 8.                      6 x 8 = 40 + 8 = 48

(If you know your x 5 facts, then you can start on the second step.  5 x 8 = 40, so 6 x 8 = 40 + 8).

Help your child to practice at home. Make a set of flashcards or buy a box at the grocery store.  Play the multiplication games that were sent home or remind your child to log in  at www.ixl.com and practice the multiplication facts.  Write the most challenging facts on Post-it notes and stick them on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, or a living room end table where they'll be seen more frequently. Practicing for 5 to ten minutes each night will make a big difference.  Keep up the great work, third graders!!!

We celebrated our hard work with some outside time in the snow!

We are in need of cleaning wipes and soft tissues.  If you have a package to spare, please send them in.  

Sincerely,

Keelin M. Simpson