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