Math Game Idea!

I am going to work really hard to help students become more flexible and fluent with their understanding of numbers. This starts with fewer flash card and speed-based assessments and more practice, work, and fun with numbers.
It amazes me how smart your children are but how unsure they are of what they know. It is common for us to have a math conversation and they often say, "well, I think" or "maybe its..." They are so unsure of themselves and I really want to build their confidence.
Many of them have a really good base of knowledge. I hope to build on that but we need to build their confidence in what they know and rote memorization of steps and facts won't get them there. There is a place for some memorization but often times this can come in different ways. Below is an excerpt from an article:



"People with number sense are those who can use numbers flexibly. When asked to solve 7 x 8 someone with number sense may have memorized 56 but they would also be able to work out that 7 x 7 is 49 and then add 7 to make 56, or they may work out ten 7’s and subtract two 7’s (70-14). They would not have to rely on a distant memory. Math facts, themselves, are a small part of mathematics and they are best learned through the use of numbers in different ways and situations. " ~ Jo Boaler

If you'd like to read more of this article, click here.

Here is a link to a game we learned today that is fun, easy, and builds fact fluency.
Pepperoni Pizza Multiplication

Highlights as We Approach 2017!

We had a great day! Kids have a few little gifts wrapped up for families so be sure to get those out of backpacks and under the tree! Also, we did a locker clean out today. Kids are bringing home as much as they could. :)

I have updated the snack information with calendars for January, February and March. Please take a peek. I will try to keep you reminded on your child's day but you can check back here anytime by clicking on the snack information tab and clicking the images. This really helps me out. I often have to provide a snack 1-2 times per week. As much as I love your children it does get challenging for me to always have a full cupboard. I do REALLY appreciate how thoughtful families have been when it comes to the allergies we have in our classroom. All your cooperation and care has been amazing. 

Here is January!

Click image to enlarge.

Take a look at the past few weeks!

Our door decoration completely kid created using imagination and creativity!

Emmalee, Graci, Jordyn, and Kristen (not pictured) created the letters for our door decoration. 

We won the "Golden Note" award!

Sydney was our super star reader this time around!

Graci--Our top Kind and Caring student!
Also, Kristen was our student of the month for third grade! (not pictured)

Party Plan

Hi families! 

I bet you've been wondering what our plan for next Tuesday will be. 

I've got it here for you. 

Party Food and Plan

Next Tuesday, December 20th we will have an end of 2016 celebration. This week we are reading stories from the Little House on the Prairie picture book series. This ties in with our current social studies unit. On Tuesday, we will watch the first episode from the television series to get a better idea of what life was like back in "the old days."

We will snack on some safe movie snacks/treats. We made a plan today and decided who would bring what items to the party. Please check with your child, if he/she opted to bring something it should be written in your child's planner.

Gift Exchange

We will also have a gift exchange. We talked at length about this and how it will work. Students will be gifting each other with school supplies. We brainstormed many options (pens, markers, crayons, notebooks, pencils, erasers, scissors, paints, glue, etc.). I ask that students please try to spend right around $5.00 on their gift. I also mentioned, because this is VERY short notice, that anyone who is unable to supply a gift will be given some items to wrap for the exchange. I am happy to provide these items. If you know in advance that it will be too challenging to purchase items for the exchange please let me know. I will do the shopping this weekend.

If students could please send the wrapped up school supplies labeled with their name and the words "to a boy" or "to a girl" by next Monday that would be great! Girls will exchange with girls and boys with boys. We will play a fun game to exchange the gifts so please do not put another students name on the gift.

I will be adding more TenMarks Assignments soon! 

Quick Update

Though it may not be necessary, I did want to apologize for my frequent absences and lack of communication lately. Just as I would be understanding of you I’m sure you are understanding of my situation. Please know that I am in the midst of playing catch up and sifting through a lot of paperwork to prepare for report cards. The end of the trimester is Friday and report cards will be coming home sometime after December 8^th. This week I am focusing on checking in on several skills to see where some holes may be and will attempt to fill them before assessment time.

Reading:

This week I will do a quick assessment to see if students have jumped a level. If it appears they have moved I will try my best to do a full assessment prior to report cards. These assessments are very time consuming but I will do my best.

Writing:

I am hoping to do a final essay this week to score on Friday. I will be looking for paragraph development, strong opinions supported by reasons and evidence, as well as good structure, punctuation, and capitalization.

Math:

We are reviewing everything this week. I will be developing a review for students to use prior to a check-in assessment. We have taken three quizzes this trimester. Those scores along with fluency checks for multiplication and the review assessment will all determine the final grades on the report card. I will send the review home by Friday and we will have the review assessment early next week to give us plenty of time.

Social Studies:

Students took their unit one test today. We will begin our new unit sometime next week.

Spelling:

Students have had two spelling tests as well as multiple check-ins during writing conferences to give me a good reference for spelling progress. We did not get a new list in November so students will receive a short list of 6-8 words in December to be tested before the winter break.

WHEW! We Are BUSY!

The kids and I had a fantastic week! Halloween was a super success and they really did an amazing job even with all the distraction of candy, costumes, and craziness.

Snack Helpers Next Week:

M-Owen (Happy Birthday)

T-Maddie

W-Celina

Th-Drew

F-Jordan

Writing

We are in the throes of our persuasive essay unit! The class worked on some flash drafts, brainstorming topics, leads, and intros this week! We also worked on using a "boxes and bullets" strategy for planning and discussed the difference between statements and opinion statements.

Reading

The class finished up Winn Dixie and we watched the film on Monday. Through the beginning of the week, we used favorite characters and connected it to our essay unit. Students also wrote some reflections about the book and we discussed themes and characters. We began a new chapter book on Tuesday! 

Math

We are working hard to become fluent multipliers! We continue to work on seeing the relationship between multiplication and division. This week we worked on strategies for multiplying by 3's and 4's. Students also worked to create equations with two operations!

Twitter INFO

I have a classroom Twitter account but have found it difficult to get to my computer during the day to capture moments. It's a little easier on my phone, which is connected to my personal account. So, that said, if you want to check out my personal Twitter page @Betsy_writes you will see occasional tweets. I also tag @FPE_Olivet and #EagleNationPride.

Math Practice Idea!

I wanted to share with you a fun resource for multiplication fact practice. Check it out!

Visit: http://www.math-salamanders.com/times-tables-practice.html

1. Enter your name
2. Choose a set of multiplication values.
3. Choose your timer (jigsaw mode lets you build a puzzle as you go).
4. Choose “Individual.”
5. Press start on the right side. 

Mid-October Check-In!

Carnival Basket Update!

Thank you to those who have already sent in items for our "Teacher Survival Kit" carnival basket. Here is a list of some items we could still use!


Motrin (or other pain reliever)
Dayquil (or other daytime de-congestant)
Bandaids
Notebook
Gift Cards:
(Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Subway,
Willow Tree, Tim's Pizza, Bigby, Starbucks)
Post-it Notes
Sharpies
Mints
Hand Lotion

Check out the information about third grade music and recorder purchases in your child's STAR Binder.

Don't forget to peek at the snack calendars. They are located at the top of this page if you click "Snack Information" and scroll down. Images of the snack calendar are near the bottom. If you click the image, it will enlarge for you to read. Thanks for being great snack helpers this week!

Next Two Week's Snack Helpers:
Monday--Aliyah   Tuesday--Emmalee   Wednesday--Mason  

Thursday--Kendall (1/2 Day)   Friday--No School

Monday--Mrs. Hubbard   Tuesday--Kristin   Wednesday--Tristan   

Thursday--Rayden   Friday--Kendon

Writing

The past two weeks, the class has been busily working on finishing up our personal narrative unit. Students are in the middle of working on publishing their pieces. Some students have chosen to type their stories. We learned how to use Google Docs and Google Classroom this week. I am leaving the link to directions on how to access the Google Doc from our Classroom account. If you click the link (here) you will find step by step directions telling you how to access the document. Students are not required to access this at home but several shared interest in working on their published pieces over the weekend so I wanted to offer this option.

Extra Tips: Your child's "G Suite for Education username" is the last 6 letters of their last name, first initial and then the following, ".2026@olivetstudent.org" Your child has logged into this account several times at school and it should sound familiar. If you are struggling to get your child to his/her document I'm happy to help. Just email me a message.

Example of G Suite username: hubbarb.2026@olivetstudent.org

Students should know their password as well. I will not publish that here, but if you need help, send me a message. 

Once a student is signed in it should take him/her to the "classroom." Click our classroom name (Hubbard 2016_17), then click the document. All students typing their stories have begun already so it should pop up and your child should be somewhat familiar with what to do from there. 

SIDE NOTE: I instructed the class that parents are not to edit/revise or re-work their entire story. These are third grade stories and should look like a third grader wrote them. I told students to tell parents not to "fix" their story even if they notice several spelling or punctuation errors. Parents can point out 2-3 fixes but nothing more. The point of this whole process is for each child to work to improve but none of them are perfect and their writing shouldn't look like an adult wrote it. Thanks for respecting these rules. If you have questions or concerns please ask me for clarification. I am happy to share and talk with you any time. 

Reading

Keep up the reading at home! Students are going strong during our reading block. This week we created plot timelines to show the progression of our stories and the most important events. Take a look near our classroom when you visit for conferences next week! 

Math

Students had their first math quiz this week. They did a great job applying what they have learned so far! We continue to work on mastering multiplication facts for 1's, 2's, 5's and 10's. Remember that students can work on becoming fluent with these facts at home as well as work on Tenmarks for practice! Student login information for Tenmarks is taped inside their planner!

Word Work and Grammar

Students did a great job last week on their first spelling quiz. The words, favorite and people were tricky but several got them correct! Way to go! This week for spelling we did two quick check-in quizzes to re-check spelling levels in preparation for conferences. We will be adding to our word list next week and students will also have their own individual assigned words to practice at school (and at home if they wish). I am most concerned with students ability to spell words that come up frequently in their writing and their ability to apply spelling patterns across words as they use them. Frequent spelling tests do not assess the ability to actually use the words in writing so I am frequently checking in to see if there is carry-over.
In grammar this week we finished up our work with nouns. Students should now have a great understanding of common nouns, proper nouns, abstract nouns, concrete nouns, and pronouns.

Conferences

Everyone has been assigned a conference time! If you forgot your day/time or need to reschedule please contact me as soon as possible! Also, if you have any questions or concerns that you can share with me beforehand I can be as prepared as possible. Please email me if needed!

Working Together

Student's Writing Goals

Our plot timelines!

Have a Great Weekend!