Math Mania!!!

This week in math, students are working to review addition of 3 digit numbers, involving composing. We expect that all Grade 3 students will be able to solve these addition problems using a variety of strategies- and we hope that they demonstrate mastery of at least 2 strategies. Frequently, these 2 strategies are the "Mom and Dad" method- as one student called it- or the "Traditional" method, as I call it. Students line up the numbers vertically and add them up, beginning with the ones place. They "put the one up" when they compose a ten or a hundred, but they often do not know and cannot explain why they are doing that.

We teach strategies like the break apart method and "Draw It" to help them to be able to "see" why they are "putting that one up".

This is a review from Grade 2 and we will only be spending about a week on this. If your child is not fluent with their basic addition facts and does not add large numbers efficiently, please continue to practice this at home.

Here is some awesome collaboration going on during our math time- students worked in pairs and trios to determine if they needed to compose in a series of challenging addition problems and created a poster to demonstrate their understanding.

Just a reminder- Scholastic Book Orders are due on Monday, September 21st!!! You may use the link to the left of the screen to order online using the parent code "GYFMB" or you can send me cash or a check made out to Scholastic Books with your order form.  These books are reasonably priced, tax-free with free shipping and you help all third graders get more books in their classrooms as well by ordering!!!

Welcome to a NEW YEAR!!!

I am so happy to beginning my 12th year at W.T.Page ES and my 5th year in Grade 3! It has been a great first week of school so far, with my 20 new Penguins- with lots of learning, "getting to know you" and team building activities and creation of our classroom rules and expectations.

I look forward to meeting parents at Back to School Night next Wednesday, September 9 from 7-8:30pm. We will discuss the curriculum your child will be learning this year, classroom and homework expectation and it will give you a chance to see your child's classroom up close and get to know me a bit better.

Please teak some time to check out my blog and familiarize yourself with how it has been used by my students for the past 2 years- it has over 5,000 hits! On the left, you can find helpful sites for parents and students to use.

This year, W.T.Page's instructional focus is reading, specifically guided reading. Being a strong reader is so important! Did you know:

• Out-of-school reading habits of students has shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year. 
• The more types of reading materials there are in the home, the higher students are in reading proficiency, according to the Educational Testing Service.
• The imbalance between reading and television has a significant effect on academic results, the Michigan researchers found. Every hour of weekly reading translated into a half-point increase on test scores, while each hour of TV watching corresponded with a tenth of a point drop in scores.

Click here to get some ideas and tips on how you can help your child become a stronger reader.

Just some food for thought- looking forward to meeting you all at Back to School Night!!!