Math/Science Week of Sept 30th-Oct4th

Dear Parents,

We have made it to October where things start to slow down a bit!

In Math: 
We will move in to our study of addition and subtraction with and without re-grouping.  Students will add 2-digit and 3-digit numbers in the beginning of the week as a 2nd grade review, and then we will move on to subtracting two and three digit numbers towards the middle and end of the week.  This is a challenging skill for third graders so any extra practice at home is wonderful.  We will practice the very important skill of recognizing when a problem solving situation requires addition or subtraction.  We will use the table below to help guide our mathematical decision to add or subtract in order to solve a problem successfully.  This week we will be really focusing on Combining, Take Away, and Comparative Subtraction Word Problems.

Combine 2 or more groups of things	Addition
Compare 2 groups of things	Subtraction
Take some things away from a group	Subtraction
Find a missing part of a group	Subtraction

Our Fast Fact Friday Quiz will consist of subtraction problems only and will be graded this Friday the 4th. Please see your student’s Tuesday Newsday folder for the Fast Fact quiz from last Friday the 27th of September.  This can help guide your studies at home each night.  Your child is also keeping up with their Fast Fact grades by graphing their scores on a graph in their  green binder each week.  Ask your child to show it to you!   As we begin working with addition and subtraction of large numbers, correct re-call of math facts will be incredibly important.  Students should be studying facts every night for at least 5 – 8 minutes. 

In Science:

This week we will continue investigating matter by experimenting with the changes of matter.  Students will learn about “physical changes” and “chemical changes”.  We will look closely into changing from a solid to a liquid and vice versa this week. Last Friday we conducted a fun experiment called The Great Ice Cube Race to observe one of these changes and discover what a physical change needs in order to happen.  We will assess the students knowledge of the states of matter through an end of unit exam in the coming week.  Students will receive flash cards and a study guide this Monday, so our Science test on Matter will be the following Monday, October 7th.

Don't forget about Open House this coming Thursday night!  It starts at 5:30.  Tickets for the dinner can be purchased online on the PTA's website until this Monday.  After that, tickets can be purchased in the cafeteria on the night of Open House!  See ya there :)

Ms. S