The kids have an orange parent letter with them this weekend.  The study sheets are identical to the sheets we use in school to practice and test each other.  They are one tool for your child to use to become fluent with multiplication and division facts.  Feel free to supplement with flashcards or online practice.  The signature sheet is just a record keeping tool to help guide at home practice.  It is important to note the order in which we present the different factors though.

On Monday, I will be sending home information about a very useful online site that I am recommending all students use.  The lower elementary grades will be using it as well, so next year there will be continuity in our approach to fact fluency.

Enjoy the weekend.

Carter and his dad have been working hard.  Check out what they made to help you memorize your five facts.  Try pressing on ‘shuffle’ to have the facts mixed up.

Carter’s blog

I know it is Wednesday, but there is a little math homework this evening. Your child should have Homework 7-2 with him/her. The problems have been solved, but there is a ‘Study Plan’ at the top.  Each day that there is homework, the kids will set a goal for how to practice their multiplication facts that evening.  It is meant to be a very quick routine, using the practice chart from homework 7-1.  They need to have someone sign the homework helper spot to show that they really did accomplish their goal.  I appreciate your help with this.  A more formal practice system will come home next Monday.

Be sure to check out the orange parent letter that came home this evening. You will see that we cover multiplication as repeated groups, arrays and area.   Today, we only talked about repeated groups.  The one other thing we did talk about, was how to use count-by’s to solve a multiplication problem. When you see your child counting on his/her fingers to solve a multiplication problem, it’s okay. To solve a problem like 4 x 5, the kids should count by 5, raising a finger for each count-by, until 4 fingers are raised.  This is one of our acceptable strategies until facts are memorized

A formal at-home practice routine will come home following our third lesson.

Unit 5 has come to an end.  Tomorrow the kids will review the concepts presented in the unit in preparation for Friday’s test.  The kids will be asked to compare and order 3 and 4 digit numbers , read a bar graph, round numbers, and count coins. Most of the kids seem very secure on the skills.  The classwork has actually gone beyond what they will be asked to do on the assessment.  If you’d like to help at home, the best thing to practice is counting coins, especially when the amount is more than a dollar.  For extra rounding practice they may want to visit this website. Rounding website .

Your child may come home tonight and tell you about their new blog. They are so excited!  We are not ready to roll them out for public viewing.  In fact, they haven’t even had a chance to post to them yet.  I have two students writing practice posts tonight to see if the system works.  As it is set up now, all posts have to be approved by me before they hit the web. I will send a letter home when we are up and running to explain how they work and the rules and expectations that should be followed.  Until you receive the official announcement, the kids should hold off on posting. In fact, most will not have the correct information that will allow them access to the site.   This is a lesson in patience for them.

We don’t study the Detroit Lions in third grade, but the kids do practice reading, writing and computer skills using topics that interest them. Lincoln and Trevor wanted to learn more about Calvin Johnson, and now you can learn more too by clicking on the link below.

Calvin Johson

The kids practiced their reading fluency while learning about the voyageurs and their trade meetings with the Ojibwas of Michigan. We thought it would be fun to record the story.  Listen to the story of Giji and Nabek, two Ojibawa children, as they watch the traders come ashore and trade goods with their parents. The narrators will help to set the scene. The link below will take you to the podcast.

Far Away Visitors

There will be a test on Monday.  If you want some extra review, visit the Discovery Education video site.  Remember kids, you have the password and user name on your review sheet.   There is a Magic School Bus video, Inside the Haunted House, as well as other sound videos. If you want to revisit the video with the homemade instruments, it was called,  A First Look: Sound.  You will have to type the title in the search box that will come up once you have entered the site. Here is a picture of the search box.  Don’t type the title here!

As promised kids, here are few more homophone riddles for you.

1. Not strong for 7 days

2. Wearing armor in the dark

3. Swallowed a number

and the hardest one….

4. To find how heavy the path is

Click here for the answers.