We will be very busy in room 3 this year! Reading Throughout the year, we follow the units of study in The Reading Workshop by Lucy Calkins. We study a different every 1 to 2 months. Depending upon each unit, students read the same book in a book club or read books of the same genre at their independent reading level. Students respond to their reading orally and in writing. This year I hope to use computers often as a tool for students to read and discuss what they are reading. Students write about their thoughts as they read, questions they have, and strategies that they use while reading. The following are the units we will be studying this year.
September: Building a Reading Life October: Mystery: Foundational Skills in Disguise November-December: Reading to Learn: Grasping Main Ideas & Text Structures January: Character Studies February: Research Clubs March-April: Biography Book Clubs May-June: Social Issues Book Clubs
Writing Our year with writing is very similar to reading. We will follow the units of study in The Writing Workshop by Lucy Calkins. The following units are the units we will be studying this year.
September: Crafting True Stories October: Changing the World: Persuasive Speeches, Petitions, and Editorials November: The Art of Information Writing January: Literary Essay February-March: Information Writing: Reading, Research, and Writing in the Content Areas March-April: Poetry May-June: Fairy Tales
Science Topics Life Cycles Inheritance Survival Weather Magnets Social Studies Topics Massachusetts' State Symbols and Regions Wamponoags Pilgrims Puritans The American Revolution Math If you have questions or want to learn more about the way math is taught, please do not hesitate to ask. There are many positives to the way math is taught and I am amazed at the strategies that the students have and are capable of using to stretch their minds.
3rd Grade Math Skills By the end of the year, students should be able to: Add and subtract fluently within 1,000 with the unknown number in any location (i.e. 256 - ____ = 132) Round numbers to the nearest 10 and 100 Tell time to the nearest minute Solve problems involving elapsed time Memorize multiplication facts up to 10x10 (Big Sha-Boo-Zee expectations are 12x12) Solve multi-step word problems involving the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) Measure to the nearest 1/4 inch Solve problems involving scaled bar graphs and pictographs Find area (related to multiplication) and perimeter of rectilinear figures Recognize attributes of shapes with a focus on quadrilaterals Model and compare fractions using equal parts of a whole or on a number line The Big Sha-Boo-Zee Please encourage daily practice for the Big Sha-Boo-Zee. The Big Sha-Boo-Zee is a way to encourage students to memorize their multiplication facts. Research shows that students should begin by learning strategies to help them become fluent with the more difficult multiplication facts, which we learn throughout the school year. The belief is that by repeated practice of these strategies, they will develop a deeper understanding of multiplication and also memorize the facts. This is why we have broken down the tables by report card standard.
Below you will see a list of multiplication tables that your child should have memorized and passed before each report card.
After students pass the Big Sha-Boo-Zee, they have the opportunity to face the Golden Sha-Boo-Zee challenge. This challenge includes 50 random facts all mixed together!
At the end of the year, we will have a celebration for the students who passed the Big Sha-Boo-Zee and Golden Sha-Boo-Zee! Memorization of multiplication facts up to 12x12 is an expectation by the end of third grade. The sooner our students memorize the facts, the better off they will be in their years to come!