3B Newsletter
April 2015
Expo Night!
We partnered up with mathematicians from Mrs. Adams' first grade class last week during Take Your Child to Work Day.
We are Mathematicians
Please encourage your child to practice his or her multiplication facts daily. You can find copies of the 5 minute quizzes on my eBoard. Please use flash cards, eBoard resources, fact triangles, or other games to practice.
You child has learned a couple of algorithms to solve multiplication equations. Lattice multiplication is a 3B favorite. The students also learned how to use the partial product algorithm. In third grade, the students are encouraged to use the strategy that works best for them. Your child should be able to comfortably solve:
- 1-digit numbers by multiples of 10
- 1-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers
- 2-digit numbers by multiples of 10
- 2-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers *
Here are skills that spiraled back around in this unit:
- comparing fractions
- solving number sentences involving parentheses
- drawing rectangles with a given perimeter and finding its area
Math Do Anytime Activities
Practice those multiplication and division facts. Use flash cards, eBoard resourcess, triangle facts to help!
Have your child write three different number sentences using parentheses that equal 16. Some examples are:
- 1 x (32 - 16)
- 4 + 4 + (8/2)
We are Writers!
This week, we listened to The Glass Slipper, Little Red Cap, and Three Billy Goats Gruff. We also read different adaptations of these stories including Prince Cinders and Cindy-Ellen. As we read, we investigated two things:
- What changes did the author include?
- Why did the author make these changes?
Once we understand the many ways authors adapt fairy tales, we'll be ready to write our own adaptations of Three Billy Goats Gruff or Little Red Cap. Later in this unit, we'll be able to choose any fairy tale to adapt!
We are Readers!
We learned about Philip Currie. He explored Canada's badlands in 1997 and found albertosaur fossils. Despite the heat, lack of water, and pesky mosquitoes and sand flies, he kept searching for the fossil site- even when his team left him alone and headed back to their campsite. We concluded Philip Currie was a determined fossil hunter.
We learned that there were more than 22 albertosaur skeletons discovered near the Red Deer River. We know they needed fresh water to drink. We concluded that these dinos may have lived and traveled together.
Did you know? Here are some fascinating facts your children shared with one another this week.
- Tyrannosaurus rex and Albertosaurus were both members of the tyranosaurid family.
- Philip Currie is still alive.
- Our world is an amazing place!