Math and Science Week of March 2-6

Hi Parents,

Happy Boosterthon week!  What does that all mean?  I don't know either, it's my first Boosterthon!  We will  just figure it all out together.

This week in Math we are starting with the fraction quiz.  The field trip day last week pushed us back a bit and we had to alter our plans.  Tuesday and Wednesday we will begin with fractions on a number line.  You will see something similar come home for HW this week.  Fractions on a number line in it's simplest form looks like this:

This is when we in introduce students to what a mixed number is.  A mixed number is a whole number WITH a fraction.  In 3rd grade, students must be able to understand a number line being divided into 2,3,4,6,and 8's!  Thursday and Friday we will introduce the Metric Measuring System.  Students will measure lots of things around the room in centimeters and become familiar with the words millimeter, centimeter, meter, and kilometer. 

We will have a fast facts test on Friday as well as a Problem of the Week.  

In Science we will be continuing to learn about Natural Resources and conservation.  Your child SHOULD have a Natural Resource flow chart in their red hw folder to study.  It was brought home on Thursday night last week.  They will need to be able to fill out a blank flow chart on their own by this coming Friday the 6th, as well as know why do we use wood for houses, cotton for clothing, etc...  What does renewable/non-renewable mean?  Why conserve?  What are the three R's?  There will be a few multiple choice questions that they will be responsible for answering on this short quiz. 

Here is a video/song about the three R's that's fun and catchy!

Let's take care of earth.

Love,
Ms.S

Math and Science Week of February 23rd

Parents,

Wow!  What a busy week last week all crammed into four days!  This week we will also have another field trip.  Our WITS program that has been teaching our kids to write will be taking us to the Menil museum.  It will be a neat experience for the kids for sure.

In Math this week we will still be working on fractions.  Monday and Tuesday we will work on making equal fractions, Wednesday and Thursday we will use our knowledge of fractions to compare them.  The students will have pictorial models in order to make a decision of greater than, less than, or equal to.  On Friday, we will have an all encompassing test on fractions.  The pictures below will explain how students make equal fractions and compare fractions in 3rd grade.

      

There will be a Problem of the Week due on Friday as well as a fast facts test grade that will go in the grade book.

In Science we are learning about Natural Resources (renewable and nonrenewable).  This week we will take common things like a cheese sandwich and/or a teddy bear and break down what the objects are made of and whether the materials are renewable or non-renewable.  We also will discuss how this applies to conservation and the Three R's, Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle.  We will discuss ways to conserve and discuss how we can take care of our earth.

Important things to remember about this week:
Tuesday-Book Fair Dinner
Wednesday-Donuts in the morning sponsored by the Dad's Club
Thursday-WITS field trip
Friday-Go Texan Day

Love,
 Ms. S

Math and Science Week of Feb 16th

Parents,

I hope your Valentine's was spent with loved ones and that your three day weekend was fabulous.  Here were are in mid-February and we are truly gearing up for STAAR Math now.  The kids took the practice STAAR math test last Tuesday and that has given me some great data to work with and help your child individually.

In Math this week we are still working on fractions.  There are three golden rules that we learned last week about fractions.
1. Fractions are ALWAYS equal parts.
2. The denominator is ALWAYS the total number of parts.
3. The bigger the denominator, the smaller the piece.

These might seem super simple, but they are very important rules in 3rd grade we have to remember.  This week we will dive into discovering adding fractions with like denominators like the picture below.

The second thing we will discover this week will be equivalent fractions.  1/2=3/6=4/8 and etc...

We will use a fun game called Taco Fraction this week and next to learn how to make equivalent fractions. 

Please continue to study fast facts with your child.  The kids are making wonderful progress this year.  It is fun to see.   The majority of the kids get hung up on the doubles test for a while.  So PLEASE hit the studying hard!  This week will not be recorded in the grade book.

In Science we just ended our unit on Slow and fast land changes.  We are moving on to Natural Resonances, what is renewable and what is non-renewable.  I like this unit because we discuss the importance of recycling and taking care of our earth.

Thing to remember this week:

Monday-President's Day-no school

Wed-Field Trip to the Science Museum 8:45-12:45

Friday-3rd grade planning day, all teachers will be absent

Love,

Ms. S

Math and Science Week of February 9th

Parents,

Progress reports went home today (Friday the 6th) and will need to be signed over the weekend and returned on Monday.  If your child was absent or left early on Friday, they will receive their progress report on Monday.

Happy Valentine's Week!!  In Math on Monday we will review specific skills that we have learned this year such as place value, comparing numbers, ordering numbers, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, graphing, time, elapsed time, temperature, and patterns on a number line.  The kids will work in partners to solve some STAAR like Math questions together.  On Tuesday will be the Math practice STAAR test and on Wednesday will be the practice Reading.  We will treat these days like a test day.  The students may only read or rest when they finish their test.  On Thursday we will begin our unit on Fractions.  Thursday will be unit fractions only (1/2,1/3, 1/4, etc) and on Friday we will identify non-unit fractions of a regional model (2/3, 5/7, 3/8,etc). Picture explanation below of what a regional model is:

There will be no written homework in Math for the week.  Students are asked to study their fast facts for their fast fact test this Friday that will be entered in the grade book.  They are also told to study their flashcards and study guide on slow and fast land changes.  The flashcards and study guide are tan in color and were sent home on Thursday (2/5) via the red HW folder.  There will be a Science test this Friday (2/13).  

In Science we are wrapping up fast land changes.  We have so far looked into earthquakes, volcanoes, and hurricanes.  This week will will discuss landslides and have a day where we play a game to help us get ready for the Science test on Friday the 13th.  

For the Valentine's party this Friday, I have asked the kids to TRY and come up with something other than candy for their friends.  It is not prohibited to pack candy with a Valentine card, but we are encouraging Valentine pencils, stickers, erasers, tattoos, etc...instead.  I have also told the kids to not buy me candy or chocolate even though I have a sweet tooth. One year I got over 20 boxes of chocolate on Valentine's Day between the two classes I teach!  It was a dream and a nightmare all at the same time :)

Things to remember:
Tuesday-STAAR Math 8:30-12:30, lunch @ 12:45, specials @ 1:15
Wednesday- STAAR Reading 8:30-12:30, lunch @ 12:45, specials @ 1:15
Friday-Valentine's Party @ 2:15

Math and Science the Week of February 2nd

Here we are in February already.  Time is soaring on by.  We have a full week of learning planned!

In Math you might have noticed that we sent home homework last week about telling time to the minute.  This week we will take that knowledge a little further and learn how to determine Elapsed time.  The strategy that we will learn and teach the kids can be seen in the YouTube video below.

Towards the latter end of the week we will work with the kids on Patterns in a list and Patterns on a number line.  In each of the types of patterns, students will subtract "neighbors" to find the rule of each patterns.  A pattern can repeatedly increase, repeatedly decrease, or grow exponentially.  Patterns in a list are shown below:

Patterns on a number line are shown below:

There will be a Problem of the Week due this Friday as well as a Fast Facts test.  This week's fast facts test will not be entered into the grade book.  

In Science last week we finished up learning about the slow land changes of weathering and erosion.  We briefly moved on to fast land changes and discussed earthquakes.  We discussed as a class how the earth's crust in which we live on floats on top of liquid mantle.  All students were shown videos of how our earth's crust is like a jigsaw puzzle and made up of tectonic plates.  We talked about how these tectonic plates build up pressure among fault lines and cause earthquakes.  The kids were really intrigued by this.  This week we will go on to volcanoes and discuss the relationship between the tectonic plates and volcanic action.  We will also dive into landslides and learn why they too are also considered fast land changes.  

Important dates to keep in mind this week:

All week is Counselor Appreciation Week!  We Love Mrs. Glass!

Monday 2/2- The 100th day of  school

Tuesday 2/3-A STAARY STAARY NIGHT 5:30-6:30; 3rd grade teachers will discuss the STAAR test in detail with parents in the library.

Wednesday2/5-Spring pictures today, Scholastic order due for February order in Skrivanek's HR.

Friday 2/6- Progress reports go home.

Love,

Ms. S