Tag Archives: Math

3rd Grade Update

Hi Families,
We are having a great time in third grade! Here’s an update of our learning:

Writing: We continue with persuasive writing. This week we are developing our reasons into paragraphs and we will work on putting together all of our ideas into a speech.

Math: We are moving through unit two and we will learn the 8s multiplication facts as well as practice with word problems. It is very important that your third grader keeps consistent with practicing multiplication facts at home.

Reading: Our mystery unit has us reading like detectives! We are collecting clues in our reading to determine suspects and solve the mystery. We are learning new reading strategies to use while we read mystery books.

Word Work: Our third graders our working on word study and using activities to learn spelling and word patterns. We are also becoming more familiar with parts of speech such as noun, adjective, and verb.

Homework: Right now, third grade homework consists of the reading and math fact log. This should be turned in every Monday. Thank you for helping build responsibility in your child’s learning.

Parent/Teacher Conferences: Conferences will be held virtually on Monday, Nov. 16 and Wednesday, Nov. 18. Please look for an email to sign up for a 15 minute time slot.

Picture Retakes: Tuesday Nov. 3
If your child was not here for picture day, retake day is set for Tuesday, Nov 3. We have extra picture forms in the office if you need one for retakes. If you didn’t like your child’s picture when they came home and you would like them to have retakes, simply send in the picture packet with your child on the day of retakes. Your child will bring it to the ladies taking the pictures and they will be all set. Thank you!!

A QR code was sent home with your child for them to access CLEVER at home. Your child will be able to use this to practice math facts on MobyMax or read on EPIC.

Ms Van Arkel 🙂

3rd Grade Update

Hi Families,

Here’s what’s happening in our third grade class:
Writing: We continue working on persuasive writing. The third graders are learning about word choice and writing to their audience. They have had some great ideas for their speeches!

Math: This week we will learn the 6s and 7s multiplication facts. You will see the math test come home today. Our third graders worked hard on this test. Continued practice with multiplication facts will be very helpful as we move forward. Sometime this week, you will see an envelope of multiplication facts coming home. These are facts that have been in our folders the longest and that should be moved to memory. Please keep these in a safe place at home for continued practice. Thank you!

Reading: Today we launched our Mystery reading unit. Each student was given a mystery book they will be reading. As they read, they will be asking questions to find out the mystery and gather clues to solve it. We will be using many reading strategies to do this.

A few more reminders…

Homework: Third grade homework consists of a reading and math fact log due each Monday. Please look for this to come home and support your child in taking responsibility with this. Thank you!

Math practice page: Students complete a math practice page each Friday. This helps build fluency and accountability with learning multiplication facts. Students work at their own pace and keep track of what fact they are working on each Friday. This has been a great way for students to practice using a growth mindset as well!

Fall Celebration: On Friday, we will do some themed activities throughout the day ending with a snack. Thank you for the donations!
While not required, your child may dress up in an appropriate costume. No blood, guts, weapons. Please make sure this is a costume your child can wear all day and can take on/off by themselves. We are trying to limit the amount of students congregating in the restrooms to change into costumes. Thanks for your help with this.

Parent/Teacher Conferences: Conferences will be held Monday, Nov. 16 and Wed. Nov. 18. These will be held virtually and I will be sending a link for signing up in the coming week.

Birthdays: Just a reminder that if your child chooses (this is not required) to bring in something for the class to celebrate their birthday, we ask that it be a non-food item. Items such as erasers, pencils, bookmarks, etc. work well.

Cold Weather Gear: It’s that time of year when the weather changes quickly. Please send your child in appropriate clothing to go out for recess. As you send hats, gloves, etc. please make sure these are labeled with your child’s name.

Thank you!

Ms Van Arkel 🙂

3rd Grade Update

Third Grade Families,
Here is a quick update of our learning:

Writing: This week we kickoff our persuasive writing unit. Our third graders will learn how to form an opinion statement (thesis) and write reasons with detail to form a persuasive speech.

Math: We begin unit 2 this week and will learn the 6, 7, and 8 facts for multiplication. We will be working on applying all the multiplication facts to word problems and other multiplication and division math problems. You should see a multiplication practice page coming home today with a ‘Not Yet’ or a ‘Got It’ page attached to it. This will let your child know what specific facts to practice to prepare for the practice page on Friday.

Reading: We are nearly done with our first writing unit. We have been learning all about how readers understand a story by retelling the story, using a comprehension check , and using strategies for tricky words. We will move on to our mystery reading unit next week.

Homework:
Third grade homework consists of a reading and math fact log. This should be turned in every Monday. Your child should come home with a new one today. I accidentally copied the wrong one to send home so the turn in date should say Monday, Oct. 26 (not the 19th), but since we don’t have school that day, it should be turned in on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Thank you!

Early Release and No School:
This Friday, Oct. 23 is an early release. Dismissal is at 12:15. We do not have school on Monday, Oct. 26.

Fall Celebration:
We will have our Fall classroom celebration on Friday, Oct. 30. I plan to do multiple activities throughout the day as it relates to our content. I have several Fall related word work and math games as well as books for the students to enjoy. While we will not be able to have parent volunteers, I will be sending out a link for parents to donate items for our snack that day. Please let me know if your child has an allergy. Thanks!

If your child chooses to wear a costume to school, please help your child choose a simple costume that can be worn the whole day. The intent behind this is to limit children gathering in the restrooms to change, and limit the number of children needing assistance from teachers and staff to get into their costumes. We invite you to send your children in a costume that includes no weapons or gore, and easily allows your child to participate in regular school routines and procedures. Can they take it off themselves to use the bathroom? Can they fit in their seat at their desk? Can they go down the slide or sit in the swings? Can they wear a mask under their “mask”? Please save bulky, or extravagant costumes for home use, and dress in a fun and simple costume for the school day. Fall or pumpkin t-shirts are a great alternative as well. Thank you for your understanding with this!

Ms Van Arkel 🙂

3rd Grade Update

Hi Families
Here is an update of our learning in third grade:

Writing: This week we are finishing up our narrative writing. We will finish the week learning how to write a written response to a text. Next week, we begin learning about persuasive writing.

Math: We continue to practice multiplication and division facts with word problems and using lots of different strategies. We plan to review on Wednesday or Thursday and take our test on Friday.

Reading: We have been learning all about making predictions and using details when we make a prediction. We will also be practicing giving a retell of the books we read.

A few more things to know………

FOR YOUR INFORMATION
As you see school work coming home there may be a number grade (3,2,1) on some of them.
Use this as a guide:
3- proficient
2- progressing
1- beginning

HOMEWORK:
Third grade homework consists of reading 20 minutes, five nights a week and multiplication fact practice for 5 minutes, five nights a week. We have been talking a lot about goal setting to help us get better at reading and math facts. Lots of our third graders have made action steps to practice facts and read at home as a way to reach their goal. The reading and math fact log should be returned to school every Monday.

Math Fact Cards: You will see your child’s blue fact folder filling up. As your third grader works on their math fact log, please help them choose one set of count bys (one color) flash cards to work on each night. We have learned the 5s, 2s, 10s, 9s, 3s, 4s, so far. It is starting to become apparent which kids are regularly practicing their math facts and which kids are not. Please help your child gain confidence with their math work by practicing these at home.

Math Practice Page:
Each Friday, the third graders complete a math fact practice page. Last week they did the 5s fact page. When your child completes all the problems correctly, they will move on to the next practice page. This Friday, your third grader will either try the 5s page again or will try the 2s page for the first time. Please look for this practice page to come home so you will know what facts to practice with your child.

The next early release Friday is October 23. Dismissal is at 12:15.

3rd Grade Update

Here’s an update of our learning in third grade:
Writing: The third graders have started drafting their personal narratives. They have carefully looked at mentor texts to notice what other authors do to make their writing powerful. They will work to try a lot of these strategies as they finish drafting this week. We will move on to revising and editing.

Math: So far we have learned the 5s, 2s, 10s, 9s, and 3s multiplication facts!! We have been learning lots of strategies for solving multiplication and division problems and word problems. The best way to support your child with multiplication right now is to help them practice their math facts. It is so crucial that they know their facts as we move in to new math concepts. Thanks!

Reading: We are learning the importance of building a reading life! We are learning how to choose good-fit books, how to read as if our books are like GOLD, and we are learning to keep track of progress with a reading log.

Growth Mindset: We continue to talk about how our mindset can make a difference in our learning and in our daily lives. This week, we talked all about facing challenges and I was able to challenge the class with the Coin Flip Challenge! We definitely needed to use a growth mindset with this! We also started talking abut choices and how each choice we make impacts our day and it can also impact ourselves and those around us. We read the book What Should Danny Do? and it reminded our class that each of us has the power to choose!

*Other important things to know*

Homework: Reading/Math Fact log: A Reading/Math Fact log was sent home with your third grader today (Monday 9/28) This will serve as third grade homework and is meant to support your child in gaining accountability and responsibility as a learner. Last week, your third grader started using a reading log in class and now they will be responsible for keeping track of their reading at home. This reading log will be turned in every Monday. Thank you for your support with this!

Walk a thon!!:
Thank you for supporting our school! Final donation date is Wed, Sept. 30. There’s still time to donate!

Register your Child using School Identifier 5f3d669d605c9, please visit www.getmovinfundhub.com
Event Date: Thursday, September 24, 2020
Final Donation due date: September 30, 2020
Donations can be online through your child’s webpage. Otherwise, donations in the form of cash & checks (in-school donations), should be turned in to the school.

• Please make checks payable to: Georgetown Elementary PTC

• Visit this page for more details!!

Picture Day is this Thursday, October 1
Forms were sent home last week, but we do have some extra in the office if needed! If your child is not at school on Thursday, picture retake day will be Tuesday, Nov 3. If you would like to order your pictures online, you would go to geskusphoto.com/fallorders and you will need this webcode. 264BFISDGVNHA

The next Early Release is Friday, Oct. 23. Dismissal is at 12;15pm. If your child is a car rider, please be at school between 12:10 and 12:15 for pick up. Food Service will be offering a sack lunch on early release days. Children can order a lunch with their teacher in the morning and will have them to take to their destination.

Thanks!
Ms Van Arkel 🙂

Week of March 2

Hi Parents,

Parent/Teacher conferences will be held Monday, March 9 and Wednesday, March 11. Your conference time was sent home a few weeks ago. Please contact me if you need a reminder of your conference time. I look forward to sharing your child’s progress in third grade!

Homework: Study Island homework assignment should be completed by Tuesday evening. An email was sent last Wednesday giving directions about logging into Study Island. These assignments can be tricky and require focus and stamina. This is an assignment for you to support your child in. Help them read carefully and think through strategies for solving the problem. They should use scrap paper to show their thinking. It is important that this assignment is completed by Tuesday night. Thank you!

Reading: March is Reading Month!! It is very important that your third grader continue to build their reading skills by reading daily for at least 20 minutes. During this second half of the year, reading expectations are set a little higher and reading outside of school can help improve reading skills and boost confidence too!

Math Fact Practice: Help your child to continue building math fact skills by practicing math facts for 5 minutes each day. We will only be doing our Friday practice pages for a few more weeks. I have seen many students making great progress because they have been doing lots of practicing. Way to go!!

FRIDAY, MARCH 6 is an early release day. Dismissal is at 12:15pm.

Here is an update of our learning:
Writing: We finished up our literary essays and completed our post assessment of opinion writing. We will be spending some time on learning to write a constructed response and practice our test taking skills in preparation for MSTEP.

Math: We are beginning our next unit this week and we will be studying Geometry. We will study rays, angles, quadrilaterals, etc.

Reading: We are in the middle of book clubs and each club has been reading a book and studying the characters. They have been discussing what their character is learning and how they are moving across the story mountain of their book.

Social Studies: We have started to learn about Michigan History. We are studying the Three Fires, the Native American groups, that lived long ago in Michigan.

Third Grade Update:

Here’s what we’ve been up to in third grade:
Writing: We are just beginning our writing unit and the students started making goals for themselves as writers. We are learning about writing true stories. This week we started to learn strategies for when we struggle with thinking of ideas to write.

Math: Our first unit of math is multiplication. We started learning the patterns for 5s and your child should be bringing their flash cards home to practice. To help your third grader with multiplication equations, say the equation like this: 3 x 5 as ‘3 groups of 5′.
We have been learning to write a multiplication equation and show it in a few different ways. For example: equal groups, repeated addition, and array.

Reading: We have learned all about our classroom library and we have talked about the different genre choices. We have spent some time filling our book baskets with good-fit books. We are working on building reading stamina to read independently. Next week we will start making goals for our selves as readers that will build a positive reading life.

Social Studies: During social studies we are spending a lot of time learning about what it means to be a classroom community. We are learning our S.O.A.R procedures and are learning about concepts such as acceptance, how we use our words, and being a good friend to others. We have been enjoying some great read aloud books that help us learn these lessons. Next week we will take a closer look at Growth Mindset.

Here are a few pictures from our week:

CHOOSING BOOKS AND SORTING THEM BY GENRE

MATH REVIEW

BUILDING ARRAYS

Third Grade Update

Hi Parents,
We’ve had another great week in third grade! We continue to practice procedures in the classroom, cafeteria, recess, hallways, etc. Tomorrow we will practice our SOAR procedures on the bus.
Here is an update on a few things to know for third grade:

Math:
We have started learning some strategies and patterns for multiplication. We start with the 5s facts. Throughout the year, it will be very important that students be practicing their multiplication facts at home. We work on multiplication at school, but students need continuous practice with the basic facts so they can complete the math work at school.
There are a few ways students should be practicing at home:

FLASHCARDS: We cut out the 5s flashcards today and your child has a yellow math fact folder. This folder should be kept in your child’s daily folder and should be coming home each night. This folder will be filled up with flashcards over the next few months. It is not so helpful to try and practice the whole pile of flashcards in one sitting. Instead, choose one color count-bys that your child is struggling with and just practice those for that night. Then choose a different color on a different night. This will help mastery. A recommended order of practice is: 5s, 2s, 10s, 9s, 3s,. As the flashcard folder gets full, we will start to take some out and keep them at school.

MOBYMAX: students have been working on MobyMax math fact practice at school. They are reviewing addition and subtraction facts and when they have mastered those, they will move on to multiplication and then division. Students can access Mobymax at home for practice. Let me know if your child does not remember their password.

Please take a look at the math parent letter:

REMINDER:
Puzzle Piece Homework due tomorrow: Each student in our class is special and unique and together we make a great team! Each student is part of the puzzle that is our class. On Tuesday, we read a book called The Crayon Box That Talked. This reminded us that each one of us is a special part of our classroom community. Students were sent home with a puzzle piece homework assignment today. Please read this over with your third grader. This should be brought back to school by next Friday, September 6.

Thank you!

Update: Week of May 13

Here is an update of our learning in Third Grade:

Writing: We will be studying public issues and will be working on writing about a Michigan public issue.

Science: We started studying animals last week. We have read about 5 animal groups- mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish. We are reading about and studying the 4 Bs that go with each group- Body Covering, warm/cold blooded, how they breath, and the babies.
Today, we had a great time going out by the pond to make some observations. We saw ducklings, birds, geese. It was great to see our science lesson come alive!!

Math: We began a new unit and are reviewing and working on word problems. We are specifically focusing on word problems with unknown addends and factors.
As we work on word problems, it is evident that multiplication facts have not yet been mastered for some third graders. It is very important that multiplication fact practice continue through the remainder of the year and especially throughout the summer.

Reading: We continue to read biographies and finish our biography projects.
***If your child has not brought in the quote and photo for their biography project, please help them get this information soon. If you don’t have a printer at home, I can help with that at school.

FIELD TRIP INFORMATION: I have contacted the 4 classroom chaperones. There will be more information coming regarding specific details for the day of the field trip.

Thank you for the kindness shown to me during Teacher Appreciation Week last week! It is a blessing to teach your kids!

🙂

3rd Grade Update! Week of 9/24

Dear Parents,
Here is our weekly update for the week:

HOMEWORK REMINDER:
Your third grader should continue with daily reading and math fact practice. Your child should have the 5s, 2s, and 10s multiplication facts in their folder. Please make sure the yellow multiplication folder stays in the blue Homework folder so it can go back and forth to school and home. Consistent practice is crucial as we move on in our math lessons. Look for the 9s facts to come home this week.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDER:
If you are still planning to order, you may still do that tonight. I will submit the order this week so let me know if you are planning to order, but are unable to do that tonight. Thanks!

School Picture Day is on Thursday.

WALK-A-THON:
Please look for information to come home today regarding the Walk-a-thon. Support from you, your friends and family, is greatly appreciated. This is our main fundraiser for our school! More information can be found on our SCHOOL BLOG.
PLEASE NOTE: 3rd grade walks 9:45-10:30am. I believe the page that was sent home listed a different time.

Popcorn Day:
Popcorn Day is on the final Friday of the month. This is made possible by YOU – your donations at Open House funded the purchase of the popcorn/oil. Parent volunteers come in each Friday to pop the popcorn and deliver it to classrooms.

EAGLE’S Spirit Day:
Friday is Eagle’s Spirit day in celebration of the homecoming football game. Everyone is encouraged to wear blue and gold to support the team on game day.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
As you see school work coming home there may be a number grade (3,2,1) on some of them. See below to find out what this means.
Use this as a guide:

3- proficient

2- progressing

1- beginning

Thank you!! 🙂