Tag Archives: multiplication

Third Grade Update

Hi Families,
Here’s what’s happening in 3rd grade:

Writing:
Last we we started working on literary essays. We are writing about a text that we read by forming big ideas and giving reasons that connect to the text. The students will be working more independently on writing another literary essay this week.

Math:
We have been learning about units of measurement and have been practicing using a ruler to measure to the nearest inch, half inch, and quarter inch. We have also been learning about liquid units of measurement as well as units to measure weight.

Reading:
We are using the book Because of Winn-Dixie to make observations about the main character of a text. We are noticing patterns in the character and using these observations to make predictions and form big ideas and theories. This week, the students will start to work in book clubs and discuss some new characters.

Multiplication Fact Fluency:
Since we had a snow day last Friday, we will do our practice page this Friday. Please remind your third grader to continue practicing their facts so they are feeling confident. As a reminder, it is so important that multiplication facts are practiced regularly. This will help your third grader be prepared for our upcoming math concepts as well as fourth grade concepts.

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Classroom Transformation:
We had a great time on Tuesday as our class transformed into a Construction Zone and the students completed 10 challenges that helped them practice measuring to the nearest inch, half inch, and quarter inch. Thank you to The Lifetime Learner for this awesome resource and thank you for the donations from parents!
Here are just a few pictures:

 

 

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  🙂

Update: Week of October 28

Hi Third Grade Families,
Here is an update of our classroom learning:

Writing: We have been learning about persuasive writing. Our third graders have been learning about writing a thesis statement and using reasons and explanations to support their opinion. They have been learning writing strategies to address their audience as they write, too!

Word Study: In our word study groups, we work on sorting our word cards. We spend time learning about spelling patterns, vowel patterns, word endings, etc. We work with our words on an eight day rotation!

Math: We are in the middle of unit 2 and we are working on 2 step word problems. It will be important for your third grader to build their confidence in their basic multiplication facts so they can apply what they know to the 2 step problems.

Reading: We are into our mystery unit and we are having a lot of fun. Each third grader was delivered a mystery envelope last week. They soon learned that the envelope revealed their mystery chapter book they would be reading. Each student has been reading and collecting clues and noticing the suspects in their books to solve their mystery. The class even got a visit from a detective during one of our reading lessons!  🙂

Social Studies: This week we are learning about the landforms and bodies of water in Michigan.

Conference Times: Please look in your child’s homework folder for your conference time. Those were sent home today. 

Homework:
Reading and Math Fact Log due every Monday.
Please help your child remember to sign on the days they read and practice facts. 

Fun at the Football Game: We had a great time cheering on Jackson and the varsity football team last Friday! Go Eagles!!

Book Order: If you plan to order from the Scholastic Book Order, please do that by tonight. Thank you!

Fall Party: Our fall party is on Thursday. We will only be able to have 8 parent volunteers for our party. I have contacted our 8 volunteers. If you signed up to donate, please send in your item by tomorrow. thanks!
If your third grader will be bringing a costume to wear, please send it in a bag labeled with your child’s name. Please no blood, weapons, etc. thank you!

Looking forward to a great week in third grade!

 

Update: Week of October 21

Here’s an update of our learning in third grade:

Writing: We started a new unit this week! We will be learning about persuasive writing. We will be collecting ideas to share our opinion and learning writing strategies to write an essay.

Math: We have started our second math unit. We are learning the 6s, 7s, and 8s multiplication facts. We are working on applying our knowledge of the basic facts to math word problems and area problems. Practice pages went home today. Please help your third grader practice for the next one on Friday.
Homework:
Reading and Math Fact Log due every Monday.
Please help your child remember to sign on the days they read and practice facts. 

Reading: We had a lot of fun solving a Halloween mystery today! This launched our next reading unit: Mysteries! We will be reading mysteries and using clues from the text to solve the mysteries within our books.

Social Studies: We have started our Michigan Geography unit. We have learned what Geography is and we are studying absolute location and relative location. We are using the map to learn how to use direction words such as: North, South, East, and West.

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Writing Celebration: Last Friday we celebrated the completion of our personal narrative stories. Each student  identified a line in their story that they were most proud of. Each student shared their line and then we had a writing museum. We walked around the room to read each others writing and notice the great things each writer did to make their story so powerful. The students had a lot of encouraging words for their classmates!
Take a look at a few pictures from our celebration!

Scholastic Book Order: An October book order went home today. If you plan to order, please do this online by next Monday, October 28. As always, thank you for your orders as it allows our class to earn free books!

Football Game this Friday: One of the varsity football players has been volunteering in our classroom on Fridays. As part of this program, our class is invited to cheer him and the team on at the beginning of the football game this Friday! I sent an email about where and when to meet this Friday. I’m looking forward to seeing our class there!

Turkey Trot: October 29

Picture Retakes: October 29 . If your child is getting retakes, be sure to send in the original picture packet that was sent home today.

Math Tests: The unit 1 math test was sent home today. Please review this with your third grader and reflect on areas to keep practicing as we move forward in math.

Ms Van Arkel 🙂

 

 

 

3rd Grade Update

Parents,
We have been working hard in third grade! We continue to learn lessons of growth mindset, SOAR expectations for the classroom and school, and goal setting for the year!

REMINDER: EARLY RELEASE is tomorrow. Dismissal is at 12:15pm.

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. Don’t forget to log on to MobyMax to practice math facts, too!

MobyMax contest:
Students can earn points when they pass levels on MobyMax. When they earn 200 points, they earn a ticket toward the raffle.

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

LOOKING AHEAD:

Next Week is SPIRIT WEEK:
Monday (23rd): Pajama Day
Tuesday (24th): Crazy/Mismatched Socks
Wednesday (25th): Crazy Hair
Thursday (26th): Picture Day (dress your best!)
Friday (27th): Blue and Gold

SEPT. 26: picture day

SEPT. 27: Walk- a- Thon

OCT. 29: Turkey trot .  More information can be found HERE

 

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

 

 

 

 

Update: Week of April 15

Here is an update for our week ahead:

MATH: We will be reviewing for our math test and will have the test tomorrow, Tuesday. A review will come home tonight. This test will cover geometry, classifying quadrilaterals, area, and perimeter. We will be moving to fractions next.

READING and WRITING:  We are working on our biography research. Your child has chosen the person who they will read about, research, and write about. We will be working on this over the next few weeks. Last week, a bright yellow paper went home explaining how to help your child gather more information and sources for their research. Please start to send this information in with your child this week. Thanks!

Math Practice Page: This Wednesday will be our last weekly practice page. I explained to the class that this does not mean we stop practicing multiplication and division facts! Math facts should still be practiced using flashcards and/or MobyMax. It is so crucial that this is consistent especially through the summer months so your third grader is prepared for fourth grade math.

Reading Log: Book- It reading logs are done for the year. Again, this does not mean that reading practice stops. The hope is that your third grader is starting to develop a habit and routine of becoming an independent reader. Please help them to make 20 minutes of reading part of their daily routine. Consistent reading will be helpful in building reading skills!

Scholastic Book Order: book order packets went home last week. If you plan to order, please place your order online by Wednesday, April 17. Thanks!! 

MSTEP TESTING:
Grade 5 – April 16 – 25

Grade 4 – May 7 – 16

Grade 3 – April 30 – May 2

IMPORTANT TESTING DAY TIPS:
  1. Get plenty of sleep.

  2. Arrive to school on time.

  3. Bring:  2 healthy snacks and a water bottle.

  4. Remind your child that all of our learning all year long has prepared us for these tests.  This is our opportunity to show what we know!

 

Hudsonville Public Schools 19th Annual  Student Art Show!!

The Reception for Georgetown Artists is on Monday, April 22 from 5:30 – 7:30

The show is open on weekdays from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM from April 22 – May 1

Stop in to view all of the amazing art Hudsonville students have done! There is a lot of talent to check out!!

 

 

Update: Week of February 25

Parents,
Here is an update for the week:

Writing: We will be practicing some constructed response writing before moving on to Literary Essays. We will be learning to answer a question about a text with complete sentences and detail.

Math: We are learning to use different strategies for 3 digit addition and subtraction. We are practicing with word problems too. We are also working hard with rounding to the nearest ten and hundred.
Please continue helping your child with multiplication practice with flashcards and MobyMax.

Social Studies: We begin learning about the French in Michigan and about the fur trade.

Reading: We will be practicing reading a selection and responding with a written response. We will move on to Biography reading next week. Please continue to support your child as a reader and encourage them to be reading 20 minutes at least 5 days a week. Keep track of this on the monthly homework reading calendar.

Other Announcements:

**Conference appointment slips went home last week. Make sure you found the bright yellow paper in your child’s folder. I look forward to sharing the progress your child has made.

**We have an Early Release on Friday, March 8. Dismissal is at 12:15.

**If you haven’t registered for the KIDS HEART CHALLENGE, please do so as soon as possible.  If we can get 50% of our school to register, we receive $500 in PE equipment.  No cost to register! More information can be found HERE.

Thank you!

 

Update: Week of February 18

Hi Parents,

Here are a few things to know this week:

Social Studies Homework: We have been studying the people of The Three Fires. We have studied the Ojibway and Potawatomi in class. Tonight’s homework assignment requires your child to read about The Odawa and complete the chart. They have done this two times in class so they should be aware of the procedures for completing this. This assignment is due tomorrow, Tuesday 2/19.

Conference Appointment Slips: These will be coming home on Friday. Look for the bright yellow paper in your child’s folder.

Multiplication Practice Page: Please check in with your third grader on what facts they should be practicing for Wednesday.

Thursday, February 21: Jet’s Pizza Night- make sure you mention our class! We could win a pizza party!

Friday, February 22: Popcorn Friday.

Update: Week of November 12

Parents,
Here is some information for the week:

Social Studies quiz: We have been learning about how we modify and adapt to our environment. We will have a short quiz tomorrow. You will see a review page coming home today.

Multiplication Practice Page: We will have our next practice page on Wednesday. Pages were sent home on Friday. Your child has been keeping track of their progress and should know what facts to practice for Wednesday.

MobyMax Fact Fluency practice: At conferences, I gave you an update of your child’s fact fluency scores for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We spent the first part of the year reviewing addition and subtraction fluency. Since it is a second grade concept, our hope is that student’s have those facts mastered and have moved on to practice multiplication and division. Starting this week, I will move all students to  multiplication and division on MobyMax. If your child still needs some practice with addition and subtraction, please continue practicing at home.

PE CARES Food Drive continues through November 16.
Please consider donating non-perishable food items that will all be given to Love Inc. in Hudsonville.  The class that brings in the most items will be given a thank you and traveling to Hudsonville Bowling Lanes for a bowling party!!!! Thanks for your help.

Book List: At conferences, we discussed your child’s reading progress and their good-fit level. I am sending home a list of book titles suggestions. Use this as you help your third grader choose ‘just-right’ books. Look for this green paper to come home in daily folders.

Coming Up: 
November 15: PTC meeting- 6:30 in the library
November 16: Last day for PE Cares donations.
November 19: Culver’s Night  5-8pm
December 13: Holiday Program at Fair Haven church – more details to come!
December 14: Early Release – 12:15 dismissal.