Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Back to School on January 3rd!!

We had a blast today celebrating the book The Polar Express by. Chris Van Allsburg. We began the day by reading the book and the students visualized a picture in their heads of a picture that was described in the story. They drew a picture on a black sheet of paper with chalk and presented the pictures to the class. We re-read the book and then everyone took an AR test on it. We made multiplication bells with the facts that they were struggling with and read Twas' the Night Before Christmas. They then wrote an imaginary story as if they were the boy in the story. We drank yummy hot chocolate from a recipe that Mrs. Claus herself sent me. We created simile stars and ate pizza for lunch. We ended the day watching the movie The Polar Express. The students also did a artist walk of the heritage projects. These were awesome! I was so impressed with all of the projects. It was great to learn about everyone's heritage. Don't forget that we come back to school on January 3rd, 2011. See you then. Have your child check out the lunar eclipse on http://video.foxnews.com/v/4469887/total-lunar-eclipse/. Enjoy!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Holiday Program

Tonight was the holiday program at school and the 4th and 5th grade chorus did a wonderful job. All of the students will get to see the performance tomorrow during school. I hope this will encourage many of my students to try out for the chorus next year.

In math class today, we reviewed for our multiplication and division test tomorrow. We are also creating multiplication and division holiday word problems. The second group of math students are creating power point presentations to our multiplication songs. We are putting animation and sound with each slide. We will be inviting the parents to see the presentations after the holidays. We are going to put these videos up on teachertube.com. This is youtube for teachers. The students are very excited to have their videos up for all the world to see.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Career Day

Today we had our career day in third grade. We had parents from many different occupations come and speak with our classes. We learned what it takes to become a computer technician and programmer, ballet dancer, pastor, hair cutter, after-school teacher, and paramedic. We are trying to encourage all of our students to graduate in the year 2020 and then go on to higher education. In March, we will be doing a project on colleges and careers. Today we created a 2020 poster with all of our hands. Tomorrow, we will add our own pledge to the poster "I will graduate in the year 2020."

We will have our Polar Express celebration on Tuesday, December 21st. We will have an entire day celebrating the Polar Express. The students will also be turning in and displaying their heritage projects.

We will have a multiplication and division math test this Friday. I sent home a study guide on Monday. There will not be any order of operations on the test.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Studying our Families

We have been discussing our families heritage in great detail in our classroom. They have all brought home a paper that ask the state where they are from and what it is famous for. We are going to map these all out on a giant map in our hallway, that way we can see where are grade level is from. We are also completing the heritage project at home, where the students will discover many things about their ancestors. I am trying to help them become more globally aware. I also want them to start bringing in newspaper and magazine articles that interest them from around the world.

Please continue having your child study their multiplication facts every night. This is vital in having them understand both multiplication and division facts.

We have also been discussing graduating from high school and which college they would like to attend. They have been writing journals about what they would like to be when they grow up, what college they would like to attend, what the mascot at the college is, and what they would like to study at this college. I am trying to encourage all of my students to graduate high school and push toward the goal of going to and graduating from college. They are the class of 2020!! What a neat group to be in.

The information about Polar Express day on December 21st, came home on Monday of this week. Please make sure your child wears their pajamas to school on this day. It will be a fun day for everyone.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Sun, Moon, Stars, Heritage Project, and Properties!

Today we began our study of the sun, moon, and stars. The students are creating lap books for this unit. You will get to see an example of a lap book from Social Studies that came home today. In our lap books, we created a KWL chart to show what we know, want to know, and what we have learned about the sun, moon, and stars. We also read the book Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle. All of the students took an AR test on this book. Ask your child what their AR points and percentages correct are at this time.

In math, we learned the three properties of multiplication. We have been discussing these throughout our multiplication unit, but today I directly taught all three. We will have a multiplication test on Friday. This will have arrays, repeated addition, properties, and multiplication problems and word problems. Please check my website for how to work with your child on these concepts. Continue to work with your child on the flash cards. We will have a multiplication timed test every Friday.

The students brought home their Heritage Project's today. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail, call, or write a note. This is supposed to help them learn more about their own heritage, but also allow them to share with the rest of the class, so that we can all learn about different heritages. I want the students to understand just how important where they and their friends came from has helped us to create the community that we live and work in today.

We are also beginning to look at how important it is that we graduate from high school and go on to college. They are the class of 2020. I want them to start thinking about what they truly want to do when they grow up. We are going to begin writing about this in our daily journals and then expand on this in our writing lessons.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Our Heritage is Important!

Today the students and I discussed our heritage and why it is important. Tomorrow, they will be bringing home a project so that they can learn more about their own heritage. I will be providing all materials needed for this project, they just need to use their creativity in how they present the materials. I am very excited about this project and getting to hear about your home countries.

We finished up our multiplication facts through 12. We will continue to take our timed multiplication test each week, so they can make their ice cream goals. We will begin our study of the properties of multiplication, fact families, division, and how it is repeated subtraction. We will learn how to use pictures in division. Please make sure that your child has mastered all of their multiplication facts. Having them learn their multiplication will help them to completely understand division.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Owl Pellets are Done!

Today we finished dissecting our owl pellets. The students placed the bones from their owl pellets on an owl pellet dissection chart. We found some really cool things in our owl pellets. We had entire rodent skulls, tails that were still stuck together, a lot of lower jaws, and one student even found a bird skull. This was a really cool project and I am so glad that the students got to have this experience. If you would like to check out the website that we used in class it is kidwings.com.

The Ted Turkey projects are due this Tuesday. I have had some really cool things in the past few years. I have had cheerleaders, Santa Claus, the Chick Fil A cow, football players, spacemen, army men, robots, and more. Please remember to glue the turkey onto a piece of cardboard or the back of a cereal box to make it more sturdy. Also, please don't just have your child color the turkey. I want them to be creative!! They also must have 7 days of journals and neatness counts.

We will be having Thanksgiving rotations next Monday and Tuesday. The students will go to each of the third grade teachers and participate in a different Thanksgiving themed activity. All of the activities align with our third grade curriculum and the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your family and friends.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Field Trip, Owl Pellets, Multiplication

Our field trip is this Friday to Pineville Park. We will be observing animals in their natural habitats. The students will need to bring a sack lunch with a drink to enjoy at the park. We started dissecting our owl pellets yesterday and we had a blast. We discovered many skulls in our pellets, ball and socket joints, ribs, and vertebrae. We will continue working with our owl pellets next week.

Here are the latest multiplication concepts:

Multiplying by 2

If you are multiplying any number by 2 you can double the other number to get the correct answer. For example: 2x6= , you would add 6+6=12, to get the answer 12.

Multiplying by 5

If you are multiplying by 5 you will count by 5's the number of times the other number tells you to. For example: 5x4= , you will count 5, 10, 15, 20, to get the answer 20.

Multiplying by 10

If you are multiplying by 10 you will write down the other number you are multiplying by and then add a zero. For example: 12x10= , write down 12 and then put a 0 at the end for 120.

Multiplying by 11

If you are multiplying by 11 you will write down the other number you are multiplying by two times, up to the 9's. For example: 9x11= 99.

Multiplying by 9

If you are multiplying by 9, you will place your hands down on the table side by side, the pinkie on your left hand is finger one, then count across both hands to finger ten, which is your right pinkie finger. If you are going to multiply 9x4=, you bend down the fourth finger (the pointer finger on your left hand) and count all the fingers to the left of the bent finger and that is the tens place, all the fingers to the right of the bent finger is the ones place.


Please keep using the flash cards EVERY night!!!

Monday, November 1, 2010

READ, READ, READ!!!

Please encourage your child to read every single night for 30 minutes. This is a daily homework assignment and it will only help them to improve their fluency and comprehension skills if you have them read every single night. Your child can read silently to themselves or out loud to you. If they are reading out loud to you ask them some comprehension questions about the story from the reading tab in the FROG binder. Thank you for your help.


Multiplication With Arrays


When students use an array to show a multiplication number sentence it is VERY important that they remember the first number in an equation is number of groups and the second number is number of things in each group. For example for the equation 6x2=12, the array would look like this
**
**
**
**
**
**
and for the equation 2x6=12, the array would look like this
******
******





Please pay close attention to which number shows the number of groups and which number shows the number of things in each group.

Properties of Multiplication

1. Zero Property of Multiplication: Any number times 0, ALWAYS equals 0. 6x0=0; 0x12=12.

2. Identity Property Of Multiplication: Any number times 1, equals that same number. 5x1=5; 1x11=11.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Multiplication Flash Cards!!

I want to remind all parents that it is your responsibility to work with your child on their multiplication flash cards every night. They will be taking a timed test every week for the chance to earn an ice cream party. I will be teaching your child the concept of multiplication. I will make sure that they understand why 5 x 6=30. Yesterday they learned how to use repeated addition to solve a multiplication problem and today they learned how to draw a picture to represent each number sentence. Ask your child to show you how they would draw a picture to solve 12 x 2=.

Today we also had our vision checked by the school nurse. Many of our students may need to go to the doctor to have their vision checked further. Please ask your child if they were one of the students that had their orange card kept by the school nurse. If their orange card was kept that means that the nurse saw that they may need further testing done by their doctor.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Multiplication Is Here!!!

We started multiplication today and man are the kids excited. I hope that excitement continues through the next six or seven weeks as we move through all of the multiplication and division facts. All of the students are bringing home a letter today that tells them in which order they need to study the multiplication facts. The first timed test will be next Friday and it has the 0, 1, and 2's facts on them. They must complete 40 problems in 3 minutes. Please remember that I will teach them the why of the facts, you need to help them memorize the facts by using the flash cards each night. Today we learned: Multiplication as Repeated Addition

We discovered today that all multiplication is, is repeated addition. For example: 4 groups of 3 is written as 4 X 3=. The 4 is the number of groups and the 3 is the number of things in each group. The students would add up 3+3+3+3=12, so 4 x 3= 12.

They could not believe that they already knew how to multiply. Please continue helping with this at home. I have enjoyed meeting with all of you at conferences.

Monday, October 18, 2010

What's My Rule?

Today the students learned how to use in/out boxes to discover what a rule is for a given set of numbers. Right now they will only have addition and subtraction as a rule. For example if a rule is -5, the in box may be 15, the out box 10, the in box 20, the out box 15, and they have to figure out that they are subtracting 5.

The second math group will have a test on Thursday and the first math group will have a test on Friday. Please review over the properties of addition, fact families, what's my rule, and finding missing numbers.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Properties of Addition

Today the first math class took their math test and they will be learning the properties of addition tomorrow. The second math class went over the math test in small groups to correct their answers and then had a mini lesson on the properties of addition.

Properties of Addition


Commutative Property: No matter the order of the numbers the answer remains the same
Example: 3+4=7 4+3=7 so, 3+4=4+3

Associative Property: No matter how the numbers are grouped the answer remains the same.
Example: (2+1)+5=8 2+(1+5)=8 so, (2+1)+5=2+(1+5)

Identity (Zero) Property: When a number is added to zero the answer is that same number.
Example: 3+0=3

On Tuesday we went to Ms. Jones and Mrs. Surridge's classrooms to enjoy the SMART boards. The kids all got to touch the SMART board and then we watched some bones videos on the Discovery Education site. We will be trying to get into play with the SMART boards as often as we can.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Review Day!!

Please make sure to review the math concepts that have been taught over the past month with your child. The second math group will have their test on Tuesday and the first math group will have their test on Wednesday. The test will include the following concepts: rounding, estimating sums and difference, two and three digit addition with and without regrouping, two and three digit subtraction with and without regrouping, fact families, and missing numbers. Please review the vocabulary of each concept with your child. The entire test consist of word problems and they will have to figure out whether they add, subtract, round, or regroup. Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to seeing you at conferences next week.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Midterms and Conference Sign Up

Midterms came home yesterday. Please remember that these grades only reflect a short period of time. These grades also do not include the class participation grade that they will receive at the end of the quarter. If your child has a zero for any assignment, this means that they have not turned in that assignment me. They can still receive partial credit if they turn in the assignment.

The conference sign-up sheet came home yesterday. All parents must sign up for a conference in the first quarter. Please return both the conference sign-up sheet and midterm report on Monday.

Editors Only: Stories Pictures Files Shortcuts Discuss Prefs Admin Bulletins Calendar Logoff Help

Math Topics

Place Value
The students have been learning place value and that each number has a value depending on where it is located in a number. We used the place value chart to show the differences in the ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands places. The students discovered that the number: 4, 568 has different values. Such as the 8 in the ones place is 8, the 6 in the tens place has a value of 60, the 5 in the hundreds place has a value of 500, and the 4 in the thousands place has a value of 4,000. We used place value blocks to show how different numbers can be made and changed.

Forms of Writing Numbers
Standard Form: This is a fancy way of saying a regular number. (4, 568)
Expanded Form: The number is stretched out to show the different place values. (4,000+500+60+8=4,568)
Word Form: The number is written down in words. (Four Thousand Five Hundred Sixty Eight)

Compare Numbers Up to 10,000 Place
Greater Than: >
Less Than: <
Equal To: =
Remind your child that the "alligator" always chomps down on the larger amount.

Order Numbers Up to 10,000 Place
Students will need to order numbers from least to greatest or from greatest to least.

For example: 1, 246; 5, 824; 1, 252
Greatest to Least: 5, 824; 1, 252; 1, 246
Least to Greatest: 1, 246; 1, 252; 5, 824

Another way they may ask a question like this is:

What is the smallest possible number you can make from these digits?

5 4 3 8

3, 458

What is largest possible number you can make from these digits?

5 4 3 8

8, 543


If you are comparing the two numbers 10, 546 and 10, 559, the students will look at the biggest place value first and compare. If the number is the same, then we say the alligator can't make a decision and they need to move to the next place value and so on, until the alligator can choose the biggest number. 10, 546 < 10, 559 Read this number as 10, 546 is less than 10, 559.

Rounding to the Nearest 10

549

Step 1: Underline the 10's place. This will help you decide which two tens 49 falls between.
Step 2: Draw an arrow underneath the four. Write 40 below the arrow. This tells you it could round down to 40.
Step 3: Draw an arrow above the four. Write 50 above the arrow. This tells you it could round down to 50.
Step 4: Circle the 9. This tells you whether you are going to round up or down.

0, 1, 2, 3, 4 Hit the floor. (Round Down)
5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Raise the vine. (Round Up)

Step 5: The 9 is in the round up category so the number would round up to 550.

Round to the Nearest 100 Place

You will follow the same steps as above, but underline the 100s place to tell you which two 100s it could round to, and circle the tens place to tell you to round up or down.

Estimating Sums
(Rounding) (Add)
When you estimate a sum, you will round the numbers either to the nearest 10s or 100s place. You will then add the two rounded numbers together to get an answer that is an estimate of the sum. Tests will ask this question in many different ways such as "Fred has 245 stickers and Bob has 546, about how many stickers do they have altogether?" '' Estimate the sum of 126+245 to the nearest 100."

Estimating Differences
(Rounding) (Subtract)
When you estimate a difference, you will round the numbers either to the nearest 10s or 100s place. Then subtract the two rounded numbers to get an answer that is an estimate of the difference.

Adding Two-Digit Numbers

Rule 1: Line up the numbers by place value.
Rule 2: ALWAYS start in the ones place.
Rule 3: Work from top to bottom.

Example 1: 25+32= Have your child line up the place values and then add 5+2 and then 2+3.

Example 2: 37+45= When you have to re-group ("carry" to us who went to school more than 10 years ago), I still have my kids start in the ones place and add up 7+5=, but when they get that answer I have them arrow over to the right and write down the answer to the ones place to make it easier for them to put the ones with the ones and the tens with the tens. Then add the tens place, starting from the top with the re-grouped one and working our way down to 3 and then 4.

Adding Three Digit Numbers

** The rules remain the same.**

Example 1: 342+232= Add 2+2, then 4+3, then 3+2.

Example 2: 546+245= Add 6+5, arrow over to the right and write down the 11, put the one in the ones place and the other one above the tens place, add the 1+4+4, then add the hundreds 5+2.

Example 3: 268+379= When you need to re-group twice, have them arrow over to the right for the ones place and over to the left for the tens place. Add 8+9, arrow the 17 to the right of the ones, put the 7 under the ones place and re-group the 1 over the tens place, add from top to bottom in the tens place 1+6+7=14, arrow the 14 to the right of the plus sign, place the four under the tens and the one on top of the hundreds, finally add the hundreds from top to bottom 1+2+3=6.

Subtracting Two and Three Digit Numbers without Regrouping

1. Line up the place values.
2. Start in the ones place.
3. Ask yourself can I subtract these two numbers. If yes, then subtract through the place values. If no, please see subtracting with regrouping.
4. Check your work by adding the answer to the second number. If you get the third number, you are right!!! If you do not get the third number, then go back and check your work.

Example 1: 49 17
-32 +32
_____ ______
17 47

Example 2: 145 13
-132 +132
_____ _____
013 145

Subtracting Two and Three Digit Numbers With Regrouping (Borrow and Carrying for the old school people like me!)

1. Line up the place values.
2. Start in the ones place.
3. Ask yourself can I subtract the bottom number from the top number. If no, then you need to go next door to the tens and borrow one ten. Cross out the number in the tens place and make it one less, add the ten that you borrowed to the number in the ones place and subtract.
5. Check your work with addition.

Fact Families and Missing Numbers

With addition and subtraction fact families there are always 2 addition number sentences and 2 subtraction number sentences.

For example:

3, 5, 8

3+5=8
5+3=8
8-3=5
8-5=3

When looking at fact family problems students may also have to find a missing number.

For Example:

560- * = 235

so, they would need to subtract 560-235= 325.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

HELP! My child doesn't get it. What can I do?

I hear this all the time from parents. My biggest suggestion to you is to check out my website, blog, the FROG binder, and now studyisland.com. This is a wonderful resource for you to use at home with your child. This allows them to practice both reading and math skills that they are learning in class. Most students usernames are: first name.last name Ex. jenna.patrick and their passwords are study. If this username does not work for your child, please have them ask me for their specific username.

The skills we have been learning over the past two days are:

Subtracting Two and Three Digit Numbers without Regrouping

1. Line up the place values.
2. Start in the ones place.
3. Ask yourself can I subtract these two numbers. If yes, then subtract through the place values. If no, please see subtracting with regrouping.
4. Check your work by adding the answer to the second number. If you get the third number, you are right!!! If you do not get the third number, then go back and check your work.

Example 1: 49 17
-32 +32
_____ ______
17 47

Example 2: 145 13
-132 +132
_____ _____
013 145

Subtracting Two and Three Digit Numbers With Regrouping (Borrow and Carrying for the old school people like me!)

1. Line up the place values.
2. Start in the ones place.
3. Ask yourself can I subtract the bottom number from the top number. If no, then you need to go next door to the tens and borrow one ten. Cross out the number in the tens place and make it one less, add the ten that you borrowed to the number in the ones place and subtract.
5. Check your work with addition.

Thank you for checking out my website and blog. I do my best to get to it everyday, but sometimes life gets in the way. Thank you for understanding.

***Please look for conference sign up sheets to come home next week!!!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Grades and Addition

Please take a close look at the grading sheet that came home with you from open house or today from school with your child. This will help you to understand how the 1, 2, 3 grades from second grade transfer to A, B, C, D, and F's in third grade. We realize that this is a huge transition for both you and your child. Please stay patient with both them and me. If your child is struggling with a concept at night on homework and is screaming, crying, and you are ready to tear your hair out or want to kill me for assigning such a horrific thing, please write a note and let me know that you couldn't go any further and your child needs help. Do not let you or your child get to such a huge frustration level. My goal is to have them get frustrated with me at school and come home to practice and show you their success at home.

Estimating Differences
(Rounding) (Subtract)
When you estimate a difference, you will round the numbers either to the nearest 10s or 100s place. Then subtract the two rounded numbers to get an answer that is an estimate of the difference.

Adding Two-Digit Numbers

Rule 1: Line up the numbers by place value.
Rule 2: ALWAYS start in the ones place.
Rule 3: Work from top to bottom.

Example 1: 25+32= Have your child line up the place values and then add 5+2 and then 2+3.

Example 2: 37+45= When you have to re-group ("carry" to us who went to school more than 10 years ago), I still have my kids start in the ones place and add up 7+5=, but when they get that answer I have them arrow over to the right and write down the answer to the ones place to make it easier for them to put the ones with the ones and the tens with the tens. Then add the tens place, starting from the top with the re-grouped one and working our way down to 3 and then 4.

Adding Three Digit Numbers

** The rules remain the same.**

Example 1: 342+232= Add 2+2, then 4+3, then 3+2.

Example 2: 546+245= Add 6+5, arrow over to the right and write down the 11, put the one in the ones place and the other one above the tens place, add the 1+4+4, then add the hundreds 5+2.

Example 3: 268+379= When you need to re-group twice, have them arrow over to the right for the ones place and over to the left for the tens place. Add 8+9, arrow the 17 to the right of the ones, put the 7 under the ones place and re-group the 1 over the tens place, add from top to bottom in the tens place 1+6+7=14, arrow the 14 to the right of the plus sign, place the four under the tens and the one on top of the hundreds, finally add the hundreds from top to bottom 1+2+3=6.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Open House!!

Open House!

Third grade open house will be this Tuesday night and the presentation will begin promptly at 6:30 in Mrs. Denten's classroom. Mrs. Elam and I will then be giving a short presentation and you will receive the opportunity to tour your child's classroom. Please refrain from bringing younger children to the presentation. We look forward to seeing you there.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Estimating Sums

Today we learned how to estimate sums. I told the students this is a fancy way of saying rounding two numbers and then adding. Some students are still struggling with basic rounding to the nearest 10 and 100. Please continue to review these concepts.

Estimating Sums

(Rounding) (Add)
When you estimate a sum, you will round the numbers either to the nearest 10s or 100s place. You will then add the two rounded numbers together to get an answer that is an estimate of the sum. Tests will ask this question in many different ways such as "Fred has 245 stickers and Bob has 546, about how many stickers do they have altogether?" '' Estimate the sum of 126+245 to the nearest 100."

Thank you to everyone that has paid the $6.50. We still have a few parents that need to pay. Please pay as soon as possible or send in a note letting me know that you are unable to pay at this time.

Third grade open house is next Tuesday. I will get the time for this to you tomorrow. Thank you for being so understanding while I was out for my recovery from my surgery. I am so glad to be back. This is such a wonderful class and I truly enjoy working with them.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Over the past few days we have been learning how to compare numbers up to the 10,000 place, round to the nearest 10s and 100s. I have listed how to do each skill with your child. We will have a test this Friday on these concepts plus place value, standard, expanded, word form, and values of numbers.

Order Numbers Up to 10,000 Place

Students will need to order numbers from least to greatest or from greatest to least.

For example: 1, 246; 5, 824; 1, 252
Greatest to Least: 5, 824; 1, 252; 1, 246
Least to Greatest: 1, 246; 1, 252; 5, 824

Another way they may ask a question like this is:

What is the smallest possible number you can make from these digits?

5 4 3 8

3, 458

What is largest possible number you can make from these digits?

5 4 3 8

8, 543


If you are comparing the two numbers 10, 546 and 10, 559, the students will look at the biggest place value first and compare. If the number is the same, then we say the alligator can't make a decision and they need to move to the next place value and so on, until the alligator can choose the biggest number. 10, 546 < 10, 559 Read this number as 10, 546 is less than 10, 559.

Rounding to the Nearest 10

549

Step 1: Underline the 10's place. This will help you decide which two tens 49 falls between.
Step 2: Draw an arrow underneath the four. Write 40 below the arrow. This tells you it could round down to 40.
Step 3: Draw an arrow above the four. Write 50 above the arrow. This tells you it could round down to 50.
Step 4: Circle the 9. This tells you whether you are going to round up or down.

0, 1, 2, 3, 4 Hit the floor. (Round Down)
5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Raise the vine. (Round Up)

Step 5: The 9 is in the round up category so the number would round up to 550.

Round to the Nearest 100 Place

You will follow the same steps as above, but underline the 100s place to tell you which two 100s it could round to, and circle the tens place to tell you to round up or down.

Please remember that $6.50 is due this Friday for the Time for Kids magazine and owl pellets. I will be out for the next three days. I am having surgery tomorrow and then will be recovering at home.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Comparing Numbers and First Reading Test

Today we learned how to compare numbers up to the 10,000 place value. Please check out how I taught this concept below so you can help your child at home.

Compare Numbers Up to 10,000
Place
Greater Than: >
Less Than: <
Equal To: =
Remind your child that the "alligator" always chomps down on the larger amount.

If you are comparing the two numbers 10, 546 and 10, 559, the students will look at the biggest place value first and compare. If the number is the same, then we say the alligator can't make a decision and they need to move to the next place value and so on, until the alligator can choose the biggest number. 10, 546 < 10, 559 Read this number as 10, 546 is less than 10, 559.

The class took their first reading test and began working on their first reading passage using test taking strategies with Mrs. Elam. Mrs. Elam gave props to both Mekhi and Sophia on how well they did with the test taking strategies. There will be more information coming home to you about test taking strategies in the next nine weeks. I hope you all have a wonderful labor day weekend. Please remember that we are off this Monday, Thursday, and Friday. Take care.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

First Math Quiz.

Today we took our first math quiz on place value and the different ways to write a number. I will grade these tests and get those grades back to you on Monday. As I walked around the room the students seemed to be doing really well on the test. We did not get to our new knowledge today, so tomorrow we will look at greater than, less than, and equal to. We will also look at putting numbers in order from least to greatest and greatest to least. Please continue to work with your child daily on their addition flash cards.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Place Value, Addition, and AR Oh My!

Today was the second day of our place value study in math. Today the students learned the three different forms of writing a number: Standard, Expanded and Word Forms. Standard Form is just a fancy way of saying "regular number", Expanded Form is like taking a rubber band and stretching the number out into the individual place values, and Word Form is writing down the way you say the number in words.

Example 1:
Standard: 126
Word: One Hundred Twenty Six
Expanded: 100+20+6=126

Example 2:
Standard: 1, 924
Word: One Thousand Nine Hundred Twenty Four
Expanded: 1000+900+20+4=1,924

You can have your child practice by drawing out some place value blocks and having them write down the number in the different forms. Mix it up a little bit by writing 4+900+20= and then having them write down the answer. They love to give problems like this on the EOGs.

We took our first addition timed test today. The students must be able to complete 100 addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems on individual tests and then mixed up in five minutes by the end of the school year. Please have your child begin practicing their addition flash cards every day.

We have started STAR testing to find out our AR reading levels. As soon as all of the students have finished testing I will send home the information that you will need to know about your child's reading level.

Monday, August 30, 2010

First Day of Class Switching!

Today was the first day that we switched classes. The students had math with me first and then went to Mrs. Elam for their reading instruction. Gracie had this to say about today, "Today in reading we learned our vocabulary words, like chores and permission. We stapled up cards on the board for friendship. We used place value blocks in math to do problems with them like 39 and we kept adding up by 10's. We learned ones, tens, and hundreds place values. If there is a 9 in the hundreds place it is 900. We also went up to the 1000's as a challenge." Gracie really did a great job in summarizing what we did today in math. We used the place value blocks to discover the different values of our ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands place values. We saw that in a number such as 396. The 6 is in the ones place and its value is 6 ones, the 9 is in the tens place and its value is 90, and the 3 is in the hundreds place and its value is 300. The students learned they can use flats=100, rods=10, and cubes=1 to show the correct amount in their number. They also learned the expanded form of writing a number: 300+90+6=396.

I forgot to ask Taniah on Friday what she wanted to say on the blog. Today she said that "Even though people are different you don't have to treat them differently or be mean." I'll leave today with that wonderful quote.

Friday, August 27, 2010

FROG binders!

Today we created our FROG binders. This binder contains your child's homework log, behavior, reading tips, math tips, AR information, Study Island information, and extra notebook paper for doing assignments at home. Please check the binder on a daily basis for any new information from me. Make sure your child brings the binder back to school everyday with their homework and any notes to me inside. I forgot to ask today's helper what she wanted to say on the blog, so I will be blogging for her and Monday's helper on Monday. Thanks for a great first week and see you next week.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Rights and Responsibilites Handbook

Today we went to an assembly on the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook. The children were great during the assembly. Vianca said this about the assembly, " We learned that we should stay safe, don't bring stuff to school that we're not supposed to. Don't write on the bus." She also said that she learned that everybody is different no matter what. We had our first specials today. We went to Media and checked out our first library book and went to the science lab. We were told that we were the best class the science teachers had seen so far. It felt good to get such a nice compliment. The "brown bag" project is due tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

First Day of School

Today was a wonderful first day of school. I had so much fun getting to know your children. Our first project is due this Friday. It came home today! Your child will need to fill up their bag with items that describe them off of the list that is attached to the bag. They will have to present their bags this Friday. My first student blogger is Sarah B. Sarah had this to say about the first day: "We learned addition and subtraction on our papers. We learned to always be nice. Just because there is one simple detail you don't like about them doesn't mean you can't be friends. " Well said Sarah. I look forward to hearing what our children have to say each day.

Jenna Patrick

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Open House

Students and Parents,
It was wonderful to meet all of you at open house on Monday night. I am really looking forward to this school year. I heard from so many parents and students that you are excited for the school year to begin. I spoke with so many of you about the importance of third grade in elementary school and how much of a challenge it is for our students. We also discussed that is a fun year, because we get to do so many neat and new things. I shared with many of you that I will be team teaching with Mrs. Elam next door. If we did not speak about this let me tell you now what will be going on: Your child will have me for math, science, and writing. They will have Mrs. Elam next door for reading and social studies. The team teaching method is new for all of us and so is the new five day schedule with rotating specials. Please bear with me and Mrs. Elam as we work through all the kinks, but we are sure this will be the best way to meet your child's needs. See you tomorrow!!!

Jenna Patrick

Monday, July 12, 2010

Welcome Back!

Welcome to third grade. I am hoping that this blog can be used by my students to tell what they have learned each day at school and for them to post that days homework assignments. That way your child can never answer the question, "What did you learn at school today?" and say, "Nothing!" You will always know exactly what your child has learned.

Thank you for joining me on this web journey.