Mrs. Walworth's Web Page
Birds of a Feather
AchieveTogether
Welcome Parents & Students!
Welcome to February! As second quarter ends, we are now officially half way through 3rd grade. To help your child prepare for what will come this quarter, please make sure that they are reading at least 15 minutes nightly and working on FCAT Explorer whenever they can. Just a reminder, there are also many games and activities on the classroom website which review or practice skills that we are working on in class. Also, don't forget to check out the Macmillan reading website. They have a host of extension activities for each weekly story.
Practice makes perfect! We are going to be working on Rhymes and Times in conjunction with our multiplication chapters in the math book. Please keep practicing facts any way you can. Some fun ideas are:
*Make a set of cards with multiplication facts and another set with matching answers. Mix them up and pace them face down to play a matching game.
*Using a deck of playing card, play a modified version of War. Each players turns over two cards and then must multiply them together. The person with the highest product (or multiplication answer) gets all 4 cards. Continue play until one person has gotten all cards or until time is called.
*Multiplication.com has many fun games, flash cards, worksheets to help you practice
As students learn new tricks for multiplication, I will post them here. Here are the tricks we have learned so far.
0 zero is always the hero -- any number times zero is zero
1 one time a number is the other number 1 x 3 = 3
2 two is double the other number 2 x 3 = 6 ( or 3 + 3)
5 minutes on the clock 5 x 3 = 15 min.
3 x 4 12 knocks on the door
6 x 7 rings are new, shiny and bright all 42
10 "Use Wizard Wand" Move zero from ten to the other number
11 Write the other number over each one in 11 - there's your answer (does not work with 11 x 10 , 11, 12 11 x 4 = 44
12 Do the same as 11 and then change the x to + and add the numbers together
12 x 3 = 33+3=36
Students are currently working toward their 4th compliment party for the year. Keep up the great work with behavior and work habits.
Keep checking back to this website. I will update this approximately once a month with new information or when an important event or website pops up. You can bookmark it on your computer at home too! This way you and your child will have access to resources such as FCAT Explorer, Spelling City, Treasures website, Math website, and any other sites or information that relate to our curriculum this year.
Mrs. Debra Walworth
Look What's Coming....
1/29 Green Science Program
2/2 Report Card Day
"Soaring High" Awards
2/5 Go Active With Ronald McDonald
2/5 Caring for Critters Week 1
2/12 Caring for Critters Week 2
2/12 FIRST PROGRESS REPORT FOR 3RD QUARTER
2/14 Valentine's Day
2/15 Presidents' Day NO SCHOOL
2/16 Inservice Day NO SCHOOL
2/19 Caring for Critters Week 3
2/22 Writing Prompt for 3rd Qtr
2/25 Skating Party
2/26 SECOND PROGRESS REPORT FOR 3RD QUARTER
2/26 Caring for Critters Week 4
3/2 Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss
3/5 A+ Celebration :)
3/12 THIRD PROGRESS REPORT FOR 3RD QUARTER
3/26 LAST PROGRESS REPORT FOR 3RD QUARTER
3/31 AR REPORT/ NEW GOALS
Dear Parents,
Often parents ask what they can do to help their child be more successful. Here are a few tips.
**Read nightly with your child. Take turns reading so they can hear how stories should sound. You can even play a game of 20 questions about the reading to see who can get more answers right --you or your child. Make reading a pleasurable experience for you both. Then they will get excited about it too!
** Review basic facts such as addition and subtraction. Knowing these facts will help your child make a smooth transition into multiplication and division. Students should be able to say facts without counting on their fingers. Work on mental math while riding in the car, shopping, or anytime you have a couple of seconds.
** Do the fluency passages nightly. Students in third grade should read about 78 words per minute at the beginning of the year. However, by the end of third grade, reading fluency should be about 110-120 words per minute. This is on grade level material. Remember fluency passages are found on your child's weekly note.
**Finally, use FCAT Explorer. This is a free program put out by the Florida Department of Education. It does a wonderful job at helping kids with word decoding, vocabulary building, and comprehension. This is a valuable tool! Did I mention it is FREE too! Students have been given user names and passwords already.
HERE'S WHAT WE ARE STUDYING....
Reading: Review of main idea, author's purpose, sequencing, fact / opinion, and cause and effect. We will be working weekly on inferencing and author and me questions. Test taking skills will also be a weekly focus.
Math: We are wrapping up data collection. Multiplication and division will be the primary focus. We will also be doing daily mini lessons to identify basic shapes and geometry concepts.
Language: Spelling patterns will be getting increasingly difficult. Tenses of verbs and use of verbs in sentences is next. We will soon be defining and using adjectives.
Social Studies: Daily Geography. Government services, taxes, and branches of the governement are wrapping up this month. We will then move on to American culture and states.
Science: Students will learn about the water cycle and natural resources. We will also study our planets place in the solor system and galaxy. After that, we hop into matter and energy.