Snapshot 1-22-18

Here is this week's snapshot if  you are unable to get the e-mails. You can download the *.pdf file by clicking beneath the snapshot picture the below. All snapshots will be available in *.pdf form on the "Weekly Snapshots" page {here} once they are sent out and posted!

Beginning this upcoming {Friday, January 26}, Mrs. Castle and I are going to start implementing a new incentive plan! Students who complete all assignments that are due that week with high quality will be able to choose to visit Mrs. Castle's room for free reading time, or my room for math/science activity time. Mrs. Castle and I will switch off every other week and host Fun Fridays in our classrooms during lunch.

Click {here} to direct download this week's snapshot!

Week of: January 22, 2018

Dear Parents,

We have a lot coming up these next few weeks of school! Due to our mock STAAR testing days Monday, January 29 and Tuesday, January 30, we will not have lunch visitors. Lunch visitors will resume Wednesday, January 31. Please see the list of dates below for what we have going on at school over the next few weeks as well as dues dates for next week’s scheduled homework.

Upcoming Dates
Monday, January 22	Monday Tutorials begin (3:30 – 4:00)
Monday, January 22	Explorers begin (4:00 – 5:00)
Tuesday, January 23	9s Timed Test
Tuesday, January 23	Unit 7 & 8 Social Studies Curriculum Assessment
Tuesday, January 23	Tuesday Tutorials begin (3:30 – 4:00)
Wednesday, January 24	Class Group Pictures
Monday, January 29	3rd Grade Mock STAAR – math *no lunch visitors
Tuesday, January 30	3rd Grade Mock STAAR – reading *no lunch visitors

Upcoming Assignment due dates
Tuesday, January 23	Math Classwork: Exploring Multiplication with Base Ten Blocks
Wednesday, January 24	Math Classwork: Going Bananas for Multiplication
Friday, January 26	Science Investigations/Classwork: Sheep in a Jeep investigation tables and conclusions finished
HOMEWORK: Monday, January 22	Math homework: Countdown to the Math STAAR, Series 1 P5 and P6 {front and back} Science homework: Unit 6 Vocabulary/Unit 7 Guided Practice {front and back}
HOMEWORK: Monday, January 29	Math homework: Countdown to the Math STAAR, Series 1 P7 and subtraction with regrouping {front and back} Science homework: Unit 7 Guided Practice and Unit 7 Check for Understanding {front and back}

*number of classwork assignments may change throughout the week based on classroom needs

 

THIS WEEK IN MATH:

We are continuing one digit by two digit multiplication.  Your child has learned quite a few different methods for multiplying.  They are being encouraged to work the problem using two different methods because checking by doing the problem the same way twice often leads to making the same mistake twice.  Some of these methods are the traditional algorithm, using the distributive property and partial products, the partial products box, the traditional set up with partial products, and base 10 notation with partial products.  This week, we revisit rounding as we learn to estimate to multiply numbers.

**Showing Work: Please double check to make sure your child is showing their work on their math homework.

Students have gotten much better at showing work on classroom assignments, but a reminder from home will help to reinforce that justifying our answers is an expectation.

Math Resources to Help at Home

Division Math Practice – In this drag racing game, your child can practice division facts while racing against the computer or other players.

Students in third grade must master their multiplication facts with automaticity.  This means they are to recall these facts quickly.  Each Tuesday, we have a two minute test over the facts we have studied for the previous week. We will have our timed multiplication test Tuesday, January 23 over 9s through the twelfth multiple. Next Wednesday, February 1, we will test over 11s.

SKILL PRACTICE WEBSITES

Free Training Tutorial - Division - This link will take you to the division page. If you would like to practice other skills with your child, you can search through them on the website’s home page.

Regrouping is definitely a skill that needs to be reviewed often in addition and subtraction.  Many of our students are showing a need for this.  Under Subtraction, there is a two-digit with regrouping basketball game that would be a great practice if your child wants to strengthen this skill.

That Quiz  - Under Integers, click Arithmetic.  Adjust length, level, and time as needed.  Click the box for multiplication to let your child practice their facts.

Multiplication – Lots of free and entertaining games to practice multiplication facts.

Education Galaxy – Use the skills practice section for math to practice multiplication facts.

Turtle Diary Division Games - Use these games to practice division and multiplication facts. Change the topics or grade level to review different skills, or bump up to a more challenging level!

 

THIS WEEK IN SCIENCE:

In science this week, we will finish our unit on force and motion. We will continue looking at pulling, pushing and gravity, as well as magnetism as the types of forces we are studying.

We will start working on our STEAMposium balloon powered cars on Tuesday this week! We will be looking at the engineering design process, walking through the steps of the engineering design process, and coming up with design plans and ideas for creating a working balloon powered car.

We will be needing recyclable materials to make our balloon powered cars. Any materials that you have at home that could be sent would be greatly appreciated. As of now, we have enough materials for about half of one class.

PRACTICE AT HOME:

One of the activities we did in during our first week of force and motion was walking around the room and placing a sticky note on objects that we thought used a push or pull, then we discussed it as a group. This could be done as just a discussion on the way home from school, with different objects around the house, at the grocery store, etc. The kids notice several of our science topics at lunch and can’t wait to share their observations!

RESOURCES FOR PRACTICE

Science Kids - Force in Action– Using a car on a track, test out different slopes, weights and parachutes to see what it takes to get the truck to the end of the ramp. There is even a place to record your observations on a table! You can find the full list of science games on their homepage {here}.

Study Jams - Force and Motion – Play the video on force and motion, and test yourself over various force and motion questions. There are also other videos and slideshows that talk about other areas related to force and motion (Newton’s laws, simple machines, gravity and inertia) that you can find {here}.

Education Galaxy – On the top right, have your child go up one level on the drop down menu. Then go to My Study Plan and choose science.  Practice Force.

Discovery Education – There is a large supply of video, interactive learning, questions, and an interactive glossary for vocabulary that is always helpful for whatever we are learning in science.  All content in this resource is searchable.

Balloon Powered Car Game - This is a downloadable game from PBS Kids that lets kids create a virtual balloon powered car! The game walks you through creating your car with different materials of different sizes, then testing your car to see the distances your car traveled based on the materials and sizing of the materials used.

Thank you so much for your dedication to helping your child learn.

Sincerely,