It's back to school and back to work for my third graders

It was so nice to see everyone who was able to come today!  If your child was absent, he or she will have work on his or her desk when they return.  There won't be a whole lot, but some.  I did not put anything else on Seesaw for today.  I have to count any children who didn't do their assigned Seesaw activities absent for each day.  So if your child hasn't completed his or her work, please have them do so.

We played a concentration game using genres and examples.  They enjoyed it.  They also reinforced what we have been learning about for a bit.  I walked around listening to each group as they played.  The discussions impressed me. They were rationalizing why one was not a match, or why it was.  It was a great teacher moment! 

We also went over yesterday's area and perimeter activity.  We made a few more examples and added them to our math notebook.

We also matched multiplication facts to their products (A product is the answer to a multiplication answer.).

Then we took our spelling test.

Have a great weekend!

 Can't wait to see all of you tomorrow.  And remember, if you want to order from Scholastic, tomorrow is the last day.  I was able to come back a day earlier, but I am subbing for Mr. Mastin.

Here's the work for Thursday at home

Sorry this is late, but I do have Thursday's assignments scheduled. 

There is one on area and perimeter. One is a review of nonfiction text features. The last one is a writing activity.  It is one I came up with.  I think they will enjoy this.  

I can't wait to see my Crystals Friday!

Students to work on multiplication and division fact families

For Wednesday, I have put three assignments scheduled on Seesaw.  One is a genre review, another is a cause and effect activity, and the last is on multiplication and division fact families.  

An example of a multiplication and division fact family:

• 7 X 9 = 63
• 9 X 7 = 63
• 63 divided by 9 = 7
• 63 divided by 7 = 9

There isn't a division sign that the children are familiar with to type.  

I can't wait to see everyone on Friday!

I did get the test results back, and they were negative.  Thank goodness!

Three assignments scheduled for virtual class on Tuesday

As on Monday, I have scheduled three assignments for Tuesday.  Two are math related, and the other is about adjectives.  Unlike Monday, I scheduled these correctly.

I hope everyone is doing well.  I miss each and everyone of you.

How did you spend your Monday?  I cleaned floors, did laundry, and looked at the Seesaw assignments done by some of you.  

Here are the assignments for today's virtual classroom

 

I have scheduled three assignments on Seesaw for today. There are two on area/perimeter and one that deals with subject and verb agreement. We haven't talked a lot about area/perimeter, so I thought this would be a good time to practice. Remember: Area is the space an object covers. For example, if there were three rows of four square units, then the area would be 12 square units. Area is always squared. The perimeter is the distance around an object. The same item I used to describe area, would have the perimeter of 14 units. Perimeter is not squared. On the subject verb agreement activity, read the sentence aloud at least three times. (Or you can have someone read them to you.) You can tell if the sentence is written correctly, then it will sound right. I am going to try to tape myself reading another chapter from our book Pippi and put it on Seesaw! I was tested Friday, and hope to get the results today. I hope all of you are doing well.

Teacher gets tested in Oklahoma City

I hope everyone had a great Friday and did Xtramath.

I went to Oklahoma City to get tested. I am hoping to be able to get back to school before next Friday. I know I won't have any Crystals with me, but I can get a lot of work done. I also trust the school internet more than mine.

Look for a couple of activities on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Class to enter quarantine -- and write about their first day

Well, we almost made it through the year without being quarantined.  I will tell you about our day first, then I will tell you the plan.

We started our day with some silent reading.  

We also did our play several times, until all had a chance.  They enjoyed that so much.  I will find us some more.  We reviewed more of our figurative language, focusing on idioms and a tad on hyperboles.

We did some more multiplication practice. We worked together on a game similar to a wordsearch, except that it was equations.  We looked for numbers that were arranged to make a true equation.  For example, if there was a 2, 12, and 24 next side-by-side, then we colored it in, then wrote the full equation (2 X 12 = 24) at the bottom of our page. 

Okay, the plan for virtual.  I will post activities every day on Seesaw.  However, I will not start until Monday.  All I want the children to do tomorrow is to read at least thirty minutes during the day, go to Xtramath.org, and write about their first day on quarantine. And we will take our spelling test on the 29th.  So they can keep studying those.  

Please feel free to text, or message me through Seesaw.  We will get through the next few days together!  

Third graders work with idioms and hyperboles

Today was a good day, and I even remembered Wednesday folders! As you go through them, please look carefully over your child's work. I write notes often, and it is important to go over their work with them.  

We had another multiplication puzzle to start with.  They are getting very good at these.

Then we read a play that had multiple idioms and hyperboles in them.  Tonight your child brought his or her copy to practice the highlighted parts.  They do not need to memorize them, but they need to be able to read them fluently.

We were able to go to the computer lab for some Istation time in math.  We first went to xtramath.org, then Istation. Afterwards, they had a few minutes to play on Prodigy.

We didn't measure Alex Alligator, as he didn't look like he grew much.  I want there to be a significant growth before we measure the second time.  This gets them excited.

Have a great evening!

Students gaining more sophisticated view of literary genre

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  It was great seeing everyone back at school!  Although, I think the children needed, and enjoyed, their extra day off.

We started with another multiplication puzzle.

We read a nonfiction book about penguins.  It was a hit.  What I enjoyed thoroughly, was the fact that my Crystals were able to point out and identify different nonfiction text features.  Their reading assignment for the night is at least pages 4-17.  

We played our genre game again.  Genre is something we cover all through the year, as it needs reinforcement. Another good thing about the game we play, is that it gives the children a chance to read aloud, but the passages aren't long so that they get frustrated.  It also reinforces listening skills.  I heard much improvement over last week's games.

Each child was given his or her spelling lists for the week.  I changed some of their lists to make them a better "fit" for them.  Some were struggling with the list they had been using.  I have four different sets of spelling lists.  I hope this helps those who were struggling.

In science we started an observation.  I bought an alligator that will grow when wet.  We measured it and wrote about what we could observe today with him dry.  Then we put him in a large tub, and covered him in water.  We will measure tomorrow, then do the math to see if he grew overnight.  We also talked about the broken ruler trick.  As your child about this. 

We are still raising money for the book vending machine.  The class with the most at the end will get to be the first children to choose a free book.  

We received another Flat Stanley from our friend in Fort Worth.  This Flat Stanley got to visit the TCU campus and football stadium!

 

Class studies subraction of large numbers and vocabulary, takes first spelling test of the year

We had a fabulous Friday. Some did bring home a math page to redo.  I don't know if some forgot how to add and subtract large numbers, or what.  But I didn't take a grade on them because there were several that didn't do well.  However, we do learn more from what we get wrong, than what we get right.......just like scientists. Remember, if one of the corners isn't cut on an assignment, it didn't go into the grade book.

We had a quiz over our vocabulary from The Chalk Box Kid and used the words in a crossword puzzle.  We were also able to get some silent reading time in.

We finished our read aloud, The Castle in the Attic. Everyone loved it.  Ask your child to tell you what he or she remembers about it.

We had our first spelling test of the year.  Some did well.

We did a quick math quiz.  We also got onto Istation math.

Have a great 3 day weekend!

Playground issues lead to review of behavior expectations

Today was an interesting day. We were very busy and successful, but there were a lot of issues on the playground and such.  There must be something in the air.  We reviewed our behavior expectations today.

We started with a vocabulary practice warm-up.  We also played our "I Have, Who Has" game with the different genres. 

We revisited prefixes today, as well.  

We were able to do some more practice using our spelling list.  We did some phonics and comprehension practice with them today.

We worked on some of our multiplication facts today.  We added several to our notebooks.

We started our social studies folders today.  We discussed, and matched, geographic tools and their jobs.  

Thank you to those who have already sent change for the school book vending machine.  Our jar is getting heavy! I am putting in money every time one of my Crystals put money in, I make a contribution, as well.

Third graders study branches of government

First, let me apologize, as I forgot to send Wednesday folders home today.  We had a fire drill, and that threw me off.  This week we will have Thursday folders.

We did have a very busy and productive day. We started with a multiplication puzzle.  

We made our spelling words out of Play-Doh.  We also did some practice pages using our words.

We played "I Have....Who Has" using genre cards.  This was a hit.  It always moves slowly the first couple of times.  We will try again tomorrow.  

We did some comprehension practice and read a short passage about Annie Oakley.  There were a few questions to answer.

We read part of our social studies weekly newspaper today.  It was about government, and its three branches.

Have a wonderful Wednesday with your family!

Third graders learn about multiplication strategies, new vocabulary, and the science of video games

We had a terrific Tuesday!  We started with a math quiz over large digit addition and subtraction.

We read a new book about the tree in Rockefeller Center.  I know it is a Christmas book, but it just came in.  Ask your child about this sweet story.  

We also worked with vocabulary from The Chalk Box Kid.  We had to glue the correct definition to the correct word.  We were allowed to use our books and dictionaries.

We worked with multiplication today, applying some of the strategies we have learned about.  

We also watched a science video about how electronic games were made.  When it said that people got paid to test games, many mentioned wanting that to be their job.  

Have a great evening. 

A new book and some new math skills: Monday in third grade

We had a marvelous Monday!  Again, we were very busy, but we accomplished a lot today.

We started by warming up our fine motor skills.  We used Play-Doh to do this.  I saw many creative creations!

We read a realistic fiction book today.  The Chalk Box Kid is an older book, but still loved by all!  After reading and discussing it, we made our own chalk pictures.  Your child's reading assignment for tonight is a story of his or her choice from the school text.  

We covered a couple of skills in math today.  First, we reviewed subtraction with 4 digit numbers.  After subtracting each problem, we then added our answer to the number subtracted. If we got the number that we started with in the subtraction problem, then we knew we were correct.  For example. 5,213 - 1,234 = 3,979.  Then we took 3,979 and added it to 1,234. Since 3,979 + 1,234 = 5,213, we know our answer is correct.

We also went over more multiplication strategies and songs.  

We were able to get in some Istation time today, as well.  

I am sad to say that spellingcity.com has given their business to another company, and it is not what I bought, so I have requested my money back.  I tell you this only to let you know we won't be using spelling city anymore.  I will see if I can find a replacement.  The children loved it, and it improved their spelling skills.  I will miss it!