Third Grade News

Hello, Third Grade Families!

Third graders have been working hard and trying their best on the SBAC assessments so far this week.  Thanks for helping your child to get plenty of rest, eat a healthy breakfast, and arrive at school on time. 

Students are enjoying chewing a piece of gum during SBAC testing.  If you have a pack of gum to contribute to our classroom supply, please send it in.  Thanks!

There are no homework worksheets this week.  Please remind your child to read for twenty minutes each evening and work on memorizing the x 7 multiplication facts.  We are in the home stretch.  A little more practice and we will have the multiplication facts memorized!  Keep up the great practice at home.  Practicing the facts for just 5 – 10 minutes  each day at home can make a big difference. You can do it!  You are almost there!

Mark your calendar.

The Chamberlin Fun Run will be held on May 19^th.  Third graders will be participating in the Fun Run from 10:30  AM – 11:15 AM.  Family members are welcome to attend to cheer on the runners or run together!   

The Chamberlin Family Picnic will be held on June 6^th. 

We are in need of cleaning wipes for our desks.  If you have a package, please send them in.  Thank you!

Sincerely,

Keelin M. Simpson

Dear Third Grade Families,

         May has been a busy month in third grade.  I am so proud of our class for all of the hard work and effort that they are putting into memorizing the multiplication facts. The students of Room 15 rock!  We updated the multiplication table below by shading in the Half Ten Plus One More Set Facts (x 6 facts).  When we looked at the updated multiplication table below, we could see that there are only nine facts left to learn!

          So what's our next step?  It's time to learn  the x 7 facts! It's interesting that the x 7 facts are the only set of facts that are not given a special name based on a certain strategy.   Perhaps this is because there are several ways to solve the different x 7 facts.  Here are two strategies that your child might use to solve the x 7 facts. Both strategies are based on using a known fact to solve an unknown fact.  

Strategy 1:  Use a x 5 fact and a x 2 fact.

What is the product of 7 groups of 8  or 7 x 8?

Step one - I know that 5 groups of 8 (5 x 8) equals 40.                            5 x 8 = 40

Step two - I know that 2 more groups of 8 (2 x 8) equals 16.                   2 x 8 = 16

Step three - Add the products to find the product of 7 groups of 8.         40 + 16 = 56

                                                                                                           So... 7 x 8 = 56

Strategy 2:  Start with a x 6 fact and add one more set.

What is the product of 7 groups of 8  or 7 x 8?

Step one - I know that 6 groups of 8 (6 x 8) equals 48.                                   6 x 8 = 48

Step two - I need one more group of 8 to have seven groups of 8.                 48 + 8 = 56 

                                                                                                                So...  7 x 8 = 56

         Keep up the great work of practicing the multiplication facts at home!  We are in the home stretch with only nine new facts to learn!  Way to go, third graders!  Thanks to all family members for helping your students to practice at home.  Please let me know if you need your child's username and password for www.IXL.com. It's a great site to go to for multiplication fact practice.  

        We had a great final week with Miss Schweikert!  We have enjoyed learning with her this semester, and we had fun watching Because of Winn -Dixie with her today.  Miss S. enjoyed all of her gifts, cards, her teacher's bag, and her special snack.  We wish her the best of luck in her future teaching endeavors.

         Students took SBAC practice tests this week to learn how to use the computer tools and practice with the types of directions and tasks that will be on the actual tests.  The best way to help your child prepare for the testing sessions next week is to make sure he/she gets to bed on time and eats a healthy breakfast in the morning.  

        Remember that your child's homework this month is to practice multiplication facts and read each at home each day. After working hard on testing at school, our hope is that children will play outside, enjoy the fresh air, and relax when they arrive home instead of working on worksheets of homework.  

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

Sincerely,

Keelin M. Simpson

         

          

         

         

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

February News

Dear Third Grade Families,

Students in Room 15 have been working hard this month.  Here's some information about what we are learning about.

Third graders have been learning about nonfiction text features and ways that authors structure nonfiction texts from question and answer and cause and effect to pros and cons and sequential order. Students have been looking for these structures as they read a variety of types of nonfiction texts including informational books, narrative nonfiction, and biographies. Ask your child to tell you about some of the famous people (Thurgood Marshall, Frederick Douglas, Rosa Parks,Clara Barton,  Martin Luther Kin g Jr., Helen Keller, and Abraham Lincoln) he/she has been reading about.

Our nonfiction reading practice extends into social studies time as we read to learn about Native Americans.  So far we have learned about the Inuit of the far north and the Makah of the northwest coastal region.  Children read to learn about how the Inuit lived in the past and made comparisons to how they live today.  Third graders are learning about food, clothing, shelter, and cultural traditions, of  the Native Americans living in different regions across North America as well as conflicts between Native Americans and European settlers.  

Students are learning to use Google Slides on their Chromebooks to show what they have learned about Native Americans. Our class has learned to import pictures and add text boxes within Google Slides. 

Mathematicians are working hard to learn a variety of strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems with larger numbers.  Students have learned about rounding, making estimates, and solving word problems with multiple steps. 

You can help your child with math at home by spending five minutes each day working to memorize multiplication facts.  Students have learned the x 0, x 10, x 1, x 2, and x 3 facts.  This week, students are practicing the x 4 facts.  There are only six facts that need to be learned:  4 x 4, 4 x 5, 4 x 6, 4 x 7, 4 x 8, and 4 x 9. Play the x 4 game that was sent home, make flash cards, write the facts on post-it notes and stick them on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, or your bedroom door.  Keep the facts in the tv room and practice during commercials.  Keep a set in the car to practice on the way to the store.  A few minutes of practice here and there makes a big difference when it comes to memorizing math facts.  You can do it!  Keep up the great practice!

We will be exchanging Valentine's Day cards on Tuesday, February 14th.  If your child would like to participate in the exchange, he/she should bring in a card for every member of our class.  

Please remind your student to wear painting clothes or bring an old shirt to wear over his/her clothing the week of February 20th as we work on a project involving paints.  

We are in need of cleaning wipes for our desks.  If you have a package to spare, please send them in. Thanks!  Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Keelin Simpson

School Celebration!

Chamberlin students have filled the hive for being respectful, responsible, and safe at school.  Students have chosen Tropical Day for an all school celebration. Students should wear summer/tropical clothing to school tomorrow, Wednesday, February 8, 2017.  Please be sure to bring outdoor gear for recess!

We are out of cleaning wipes for our classroom. If you have a spare package, please send them in. Thank you!

Learn the Double-Double (X 4) Facts

Dear Third Grade Families,

          Our class is making progress with memorizing multiplication facts.  In January, our class’s goal was to learn the x 2 and 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 x 0, x 1, and x 2 facts.  and 3’s times tables, and it is our goal to have the x 4 facts memorized now. Students have learned that they can use x 2 facts to solve x 4 facts. 

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 in your child's weekly homework packet.  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.

          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