Important Announcements

1. The children were very excited to meet their new classmate, Anna today. I know that you will all join us in welcoming her and her family to Topsfield.
2. There is no assigned homework this week. Children are encouraged to read for pleasure and practice math facts. 
3. Wednesday is an Early Release at 12:00-No lunch

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!

News for the week of 11/12/18

We have been very busy in Room 215! Math- The students were asking why facts such as 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 are called squares. So we did a little investigation and built area models to find out why. Ask your children about what we discovered.

During math, the class used area models and manipulatives to learn multiplication facts. Students also practiced using known multiplication facts to solve unknown multiplication facts. 

Reading-We finished the Global Read Aloud "A Boy Called Bat." The children loved it and are looking forward to reading another book in the series. Our current read aloud is "The World According to Humphrey." During reading, we continued to discuss a character's traits and feelings. We also examined how a character's actions contribute to the sequence of events. The children also learned about plot and how most stories have a problem, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.
Writing- The students are wrapping up their personal narratives and I am conferencing with each of them before we share them as a class. 
Social Studies- The class is currently working on a research project. Each child chose to learn more about the Wampanoag or Pilgrims and the topics they wanted to teach others about. Students are using videos, books and our Social Studies text as resources.
Tuesday was National Kindness Day and the students participated in an online challenge to learn about digital citizenship and safety.

Homework

Homework will be a little different for the next two weeks. The third graders will focus on learning their multiplication facts using a system called Multiplcation in 7 Days. Starting Tuesday night, students will practice an assigned group of facts. Each night, Students will bring home a letter explaining that night's assignment and flashcards to practice. Any opportunity you have to practice facts with your child will be helpful. We will be using multiplication for the remainder of the year, so efficiency with facts is very helpful.

This is just one way that we will practice and learn about multiplication. Students will also build models, draw arrays, and use repeated addition to demonstrate understanding of multiplication.

HOMEWORK 

Tonight - Read for 2o minutes

Tuesday-Thursday -Read for 20 minutes and practice the facts assigned for that night