Dodeca~HUHHHH???
Today in math class we began a new unit on geometry. In this unit we will be defining 3 and 2 dimensional shapes. We will also be diving into different classifications of triangles and quadrilaterals. Today we build many 3D shapes paying special attention to vertices, faces, and edges. It was quite a fun thing to do! Feel free to download and print off some of our 3D shapes to make at home by clicking the link below.
On Monday I will take a snapshot of my grade book to make progress graphs for parent teacher conferences. These graphs will show your child’s performance over time relative to themselves, and the graphs will show how your child is performing compared to the typically learning third grader. Our district report card will cover how your child had done achieving curricular benchmarks. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Can’t wait to see you all at conferences!
Field Trip News for Parents and Students! Read Me!
On Monday we will be heading out of town for our all school field trip. We will come to school, have reading class and art class, then get on the buses for our play. We will be eating lunch at or destination, so please send along a completely disposable bag lunch.
Have a great weekend, kids! Can’t wait for our exciting day on Monday. 
Online Grade Book News
This is a post for parents mostly, but also for any students that are interested. After looking at our new report card yesterday at an inservice, I realized that the current grade book is designed for the old report card. To make this sync a bit more, I am going to rewrite it and publish it later. The grade book may not be updated for a week or so, but check back later. I will also post when it is all set to publish. Thanks for your understanding on this matter.
Also, is anyone getting two emails instead of only one when I post? Let me know by commenting to this post if you are getting multiple emails sent to you. I am and don’t know if it is because I am the admin, or if it is a site wide thingy. Thanks!
This is a "Math" Post With Four Pictures!
This post today is for parents, but also a review for my students. In math we have been working with expanded form and with base 10 blocks. Last week we added using the base 10 blocks. this week we are representing the base 10 blocks with expanded form (ie. 146=2100+40+6) in our addition. This is the long way around to the standard algorithm. We will get there, but I want to make sure that we all know exactly what is happening when we regroup. So, today here was the work, 10 problems, and the general solution method that we practiced.
Tomorrow we will be reviewing this and working some more with addition using standard form. Soon enough we will be transitioning into the standard algorithm.
Work:
Solution Sample:
Planner Notes:
Class Act Math
Today we pushed back science to begin our big boy and big girl class act math. After exploring the commutative, associative, and identity properties of addition, we used our math text to do 40 problems! I told the kids to take home their math to share it with you so that you can look it over. Tomorrow there will be not math because there is an early dismissal, so this extra time could be beneficial as we get into the written aspect of mathematics. I tend to jump right into algebraic representations with young kids simply because they can do it.
Kids, what properties are listed below? Comment your answers below.
- 1+5=5+1
- 2+3+5=5+5
- Chicken+0=Chicken
Here is the work for the day:
What is a Correction?
Thought I would take a minute to share with you how we handle corrections in the third grade. On most work kids must work to get all problems or sentences perfect. If there is an error that needs to be corrected I will stamp a red x on the paper. After the work is corrected, it is turned in to me in my correction bin by my desk. If all is correct I will put a signed letter M on the red x. If there are still more corrections to be made, I will stamp it again until I am able to sign the perfected paper.
Hope that helps, here is the work for the day.
Online Grade Book Password Request Form
Download the following file and print it off. After printing it off, fill it out and send it to school. I will write the password for your child’s access to the Online Grade Book. Please remember that this resource is intended to maintain motivation and accountability in school. Click the link below to download the file:
[Download not found]Email me if you would like me to send home of of these forms with your child.
read moreFor Parents: Homework Sheets
Today I will be sending home only a few homework sheets. These are simply notes for parents that summarize work that has not been completed yet. This could be because of absences, corrections, or because the work simply was not finished. If a sheet comes home please help your child complete the work and check for quality. If a sheet does not come home, your child is all set! Note that these sheets usually do not include the work that is listed in the assignment planners. If you have questions, email me!
Here is the work for the day:
Wow, what a first day!
Kids, thanks for a wonderful first day. I have noticed that you are a hard working group of kids. Oh, the places we’ll go!
I want share some things about our schedule. Below is a list of important classes and on which day of the week they occur:
Art: Monday
Music: Tuesday and Friday
Phy Ed: Tuesday and Thursday
Media: Wednesday
Computer Lab: Wednesday
Book Checkout: Wednesday (all books need to be returned on Wednesdays)
Just a note on the planner below: The kids are to use a circle to indicate work that is not finished and brought home and a check mark to indicate work that was finished in class. Below is an example using those symbols.
Teacher’s Note: We did not finish our compass roses in class, we will work on them tomorrow! Compass roses are not homework.
Homework Tips
Here is a bit of information on homework. In my class almost 90 percent of kids take home no work every day. Out of the remaining 10 percent, about 5 percent have less than 15 minutes of work to do. The other 5 percent tend to have quite a bit more. It is my practice to give kids an appropriate amount of time at school to finish their classwork. Whatever does not get finished is the responsibility of the student to finish and turn in at the beginning of school the next day. I found this information in regard to homework and would like to share it with all of you.
“Schools should teach kids how to learn, and parents should teach them how to work by establishing work rules and work ethic at home.” – Dr. Mel Levine, Co-Founder and Co-Chair, All Kinds of Minds
Homework provides an opportunity for parents to reinforce and build upon what a child learns at school. Follow these tips to help your child achieve success during homework time.
1. Set a consistent time each day for doing homework. During this time, distractions should be limited (e.g., television should be off; other family members should be doing quiet work too).
2. Encourage your child to make a homework checklist. The checklist should include estimating how long each assignment will take, setting priorities, collecting materials for the first task, setting a timer, completing the task, collecting materials for the next task, resetting the timer, and placing the completed assignments in his backpack.
3. As needed, provide assistance to help your child get started on a task. Support might include providing the first sentence of a paragraph or clarifying directions.
4. Help your child make a list of all the materials he needs to gather before starting his homework.
5. Provide materials only as they are needed. For instance, instead of distributing an entire package of pencils, give your child two pencils at a time.
6. Break large tasks into smaller, shorter, or simpler “mini-tasks.” Allow your child to take a brief break after completing each mini-task.
7. Before beginning homework, encourage your child to decide which assignments can be done without assistance and which require the help of an adult. The simpler assignments should be completed before the more complex tasks.
8. Ask, “Why do we need to learn this?” and answer it seriously. Connect the concept with “real life” to establish relevancy and interest. If you need help making the connection, ask your child’s teacher.
9. Check work in progress. If an assignment that is given on Monday is due on Friday, ask your child to show you what she has finished each day or to show you a plan of what will be done each day between Monday and Friday.
10. Encourage your child to follow a writing process. For instance, use the C.O.P.S. proofreading strategy (capitalization, organization, punctuation, spelling) to create a checklist.
read moreEducational Links:
Marchionda.org Forums Private online forums for educational collaboration.
Online Grade Book! Click the Icon Below!
