Welcome back!  I was very impressed with how focused everyone was given the fact that it is the day after a long break.

We have started our first Social Studies unit.  We are reading a book called Winter in Songming and talking about how Zadou's life (the main character) in China is different from the lives we live here.  We will be talking about where his food comes from, how he heats his house, what his family is like, the chores he does, and the beautiful landscape that surrounds his little village.  This will be the foundation for a discussion that we will continue though the winter.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week.  I wanted to let everyone know that over the next couple of weeks we will be studying world cultures.  We wont be going too in depth.  We will mostly be discussing the idea that childhood in the Seattle area looks very different from childhood in other areas around the globe.

I would like to invite any parents who've grown up in another part of the world to come in and talk about your childhood experiences.  We can learn a lot from your story, and the kids always love to see their families come in.  If you would like to come and share your childhood story with us, please contact me to set up a time.  carrie.childs@highlineschools.org (206)631-4950.

Don't forget that we will be having our science fair next week.  Thursday, November 21st at 2:45.  The kiddos are VERY excited.

There is a Math for Parents night coming up next week.  It is at 6:00pm on Wednesday the 13th here at Shorewood.  These nights aren't just geared toward parents of kids who struggle in math.  If you have a student who is at or above grade level in math, you can come and learn more about how you can keep them there!  Come and see what math looks like in the upper grades.

Today is Harvest Festival!

Tomorrow I will be sending home an invitation to our science fair as well as a list of materials.  Please know that you are not obligated to buy any of the materials on the list. The students have planned their science experiments, however, and I would very much appreciate the help.  The list that I am sending home with your student is a list of materials for his/her experiment (not the whole class). 

This week has been great.  Yesterday we had a math talk that I was very impressed with.  We solved the following problem:

Emily had 1,968 balloons to give away at the carnival.  She gave 489 on the first day and 847 on the second day.  97 balloons flew away.  How many did Emily have left over?

We had two great mathematicians offer two different answers, and we analyzed their work and found that while both had done equations that worked, one had made a small mistake in regrouping.  The fact that the class was able to come together and many kids were willing to bravely offer their work up for critique was amazing. It is important to me as a teacher that the kiddos leaving my class understand that mistakes are learning opportunities and that very intelligent people make mistakes.  It is also important to me that they come together and have real conversations about their thinking.  I am very happy to have all of your kiddos in my class.  They are incredible. 

This week we are going to be working more with subtraction strategies.  We are also going to be finishing up our first non-fiction unit in reading.  By the end of this week I am looking for third graders to be.

• Adding and Subtracting numbers in the thousands.
• Making Sense of difficult problems by applying their knowledge to figure out what they need to do.
• Justifying answers by explaining how they found their answer.
• Using text features to quickly navigate non-fiction texts.
• Explaining the usefulness of different text features.
• Finding the Main Idea of non-fiction texts.
• Finding the Key Details in non-fiction texts.
• Summarizing non-fiction including the Title, Writer, Main Idea, and Key Details.
• Asking and answering questions as they read non-fiction.
• Making meaning of new words when they read non-fiction.
• Using the new words they've learned as well as text evidence when they talk about non-fiction.

We are researching for our science experiments.  It is complicated work.  If you have a chance to take your kiddo to the library and encourage them to check out books about rocks and minerals and look for answers to their science questions, it would really help them to develop interesting experiments.

Today we really focused on Science.  We made observations of 12 different rocks, then we got a quick overview of the difference between rocks and minerals, some uses for rocks and minerals, and the rock cycle. 

In math we are beginning subtraction with regrouping.  This week in reading we will be focusing on doing research for our science experiments. 

Our system has been struggling to work with Google's, so I apologize for not having posted in a while.

Next week we will start subtraction with regrouping.  There is also Math for Parents Night on the 16th. 

In reading we are working on reading non-fiction texts.  We are going to be finding the main idea and author's purpose in non-fiction throughout the week next week. As we do that, we are also doing the research that we need to do in order to form hypotheses for our Rocks and Minerals experiments.  We will be using the information that we read in our non-fiction texts to form these hypotheses as well as to write research papers on our topics.

What a wonderful Open House!  Thank you all for coming. 

This week we are working in non-fiction texts.  We are using them to help us ask and answer question about the world around us.  We are emphasizing rocks and minerals so that we can get research done and start our science experiments. 

In math we have started addition with regrouping (up to 10,000). 

We started a new read aloud book.  It is called The Witches by Roald Dahl.  Please don't let your child read this book at home (or watch the movie) as it will ruin the surprise and make class time a little boring for them.  This book is hilarious and scary and very entertaining.  Read aloud is the quietest time of day for us by far because they are all SO engaged in the story. 

Thanks again! 

See you all soon. 

I hope everyone had a delightful weekend.  Today we talked about using non-fiction texts to answer questions.  Today's discussion was specifically about choosing a title that you believe is likely to have the information that you need.  Over the next couple of days we will be using a table of contents and an index to do the same thing. 

The book fair is underway! 

Picture day is tomorrow!

Open House is tomorrow as well, so I will see you all at 6:30. 

We had a 1/2 day guest teacher today because I was pulled for professional development.  I hear that the class was delightful, but talkative. 

I am very happy with this class.  We are getting to know each other, and we are getting excited for science!  We are going to work hard to do our own science experiments this year.  I plan to invite families to come in and see our hard work sometime in November.

We started working on rounding numbers today in math. 

In reading we are working on summarizing.  This week I will start sending home homework journals.  These are due on different days for different kids.  The day of the week written on the front of the journal is the day that it is due back to me in class.  The will be due starting next week.
Each week your student will be expected to write about what they are reading at home.  I will be writing back each week with questions designed specifically to extend your child's thinking to the next step.  This is an important part of the homework as it is similar to having one on one tutoring with me.  Please make sure that the journal is turned in on the proper day as it becomes difficult for me to offer instruction taylored to your students needs if everyone turns them in on the same day.  :)

Thanks everyone. 

Today was a very relaxed day.  I've noticed that there are some great mathematicians in this class!  One of the things that they are doing that is extremely important is that they are waiting and thinking before they jump to an answer.  A lot of questions in math (and in life) are more difficult than they look at first.  Stopping to think is a very important skill, and we will continue to encourage and practice it in third grade. 

Hello Families,

In math we are working on mental math strategies.  I tried to explain to the kids that this chapter is all about doing math in your head, and that what we are working on right now is a strategy that may or may not work well for them right now (since everyone is different).  While these are only strategies, they are good strategies, and it is important to expose the kids to the process of doing math efficiently in their heads.  If your child comes home worried because they don't understand the math chapter that we are working on right now.  Please help me to keep them relaxed about it. 

PTA is looking for help with popcorn!  If you have some free day time hours, popcorn day is a great way to get to know other parents.  Please contact me if you would like to hear more about that.

We took our first math test today, and the class did an excellent job staying voice level zero and doing their own work.  We had choice time for people who turned in their homework.  In our class, choice time needs to be something directly related to what we are learning in third grade right now, and they need to be able to justify for me that what they are doing is academically relevant. 
We ended the day today by talking about how we find main events in a story.  It was a wonderful Friday.

I am so happy to have the students that I have this year.  These guys are a wonderful bunch.  They are quirky and talkative and they really think outside of the box.  Thank you for sharing them with me!

Today we read a story called Enemy Pie  by Derek Munson.  We used this story to practice the skills I blogged about yesterday, but we also used this book as well as The Raft to discuss one way to find the main idea of a story.  Your child should now be able to identify the main idea of some stories by identifying a lesson that the main character learns.  This is a slight extension from what they learned yesterday because they are now able to identify this lesson not only as something the character learns, but something that the author is trying to teach us as well. 

In math we worked on applying the math skills we've gained to solve more difficult problems.  Problem solving is an area of mathematics that we have been working hard to teach.  Our first problem solving step, which we focused on today, is to make sense of the problem we are looking at.  We are making sense of problems right now by finding good places to start, identifying points that we get stuck on, and trying multiple ways to look at a problem.  We will extend on these strategies for making sense of a problem throughout the year. 

Today we read one of my all time favorite books, The Raft by Jim LaMarche.  We are using this book to practice using text evidence (observations), and making inferences about characters.  An example of this from a student in class is: "I infer that his grandma already knew about the raft because it says that she wasn't surprised to see it and because she brought down a life jacket, which is my observation."  We are also using this story to talk about how characters grow and change over the course of a story.  Knowing how characters grow and change in our stories helps us to find the theme, or main idea of a story. 

These are excellent skills for your child to be practicing at home when they talk to you about the books they are reading.  Making inferences about characters seems to come naturally to most kids this age, but it can be fun and challenging when you ask them 'what happened, or what did the author say to make you think that?'. 

Homework is coming home for the first time today.  The homework will be due on Friday. 

Tomorrow in math we will be comparing and ordering numbers based on their value. 

In reading we will finish finding just right books, and start taking about how to keep track of our reading in our reading journals. 

We have been talking a lot about observations and inferences.  These are two words that we are going to be using a lot in science as well as in reading.  We are also learning about the scientific method, and how to make a hypothesis. 

Important words for kids to be using this week are:
Observation
Inference
Justify
Apply
Comprehend

These are all words that we will use a lot in third grade, so this week we are working on truly understanding their meaning.

We had a wonderful first week of school.  We are just starting to get to know each other, but I can tell already that this is going to be a fun year.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.  Email will be the most reliable for me, but I will always return phone calls a.s.a.p. 

In math we are reviewing place-value.  One important concept in our chapter on place-value is understanding the difference between a digit and a value.  We will continue to work on this next week.  We will also be comparing and ordering numbers next week (least to greatest or greatest to least).   The way that we teach math these days is very different from the way most of us learned it, so if you ever have questions about what I am teaching or why, please ask!  On September 18th I will be at the parent math night at 6:00.  I hope to see you all there.

In reading we are working on finding Just Right Books, and using text evidence.  We have been reading the book Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume.  Text evidence is very important in third grade.  It is no longer enough to say "I think Peter is polite".  We are now looking for students to say "I think Peter is polite BECAUSE he said that he liked his gift so that he wouldn't hurt Mrs. Yarby's feelings."

Next week in reading, we are going to start talking about non-fiction texts.  It is important for kids to read and understand non-fiction.  We will be working on vocabulary strategies, finding the main idea, and navigating text features to answer questions (probably through the end of September).

    Welcome to Ms. Childs' class! I am so excited to be starting a new school year with you. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Washington State University (Go Cougs!), and a Master's in Teaching from City University of Seattle. This is my third year teaching 3rd grade here at Shorewood. I was proud last year to run the After-School Drama Club with Mr. Moody and Mrs. Walle.  I hope that some of you will be joining us for that on Wednesdays after school (starting in October.)
     We have a lot to learn and do in 3rd grade, so I hope you are ready for a year of hard work and tons of fun! I will be using this blog to keep you updated on what is happening in our classroom and around our school. I will do my best to keep you posted a couple of times a week so that you can support your child's learning experience at home. I have also added links to some fun learning sites for kids. These sites are related to our curriculum for third grade and geared toward your child's education.

~Ms. Childs

I haven't been good about updating my blog lately!  I apologize.  We have been very busy.  We've finished our biography reports, and I think you will be happy to see that the students have collectively (with my assistance) written a rubric and self-assessed their own writing.  With the new rubric, you will be able to see what exactly makes the difference between a 2, 3, and 4 biography report.

In math we have been working on geometry. 

In science we designed an experiment to test the hypothesis that:

Window sill planter boxes will make plants grow biggest in the classroom. 

We had a great day back.  Next week we are going to be finishing our social studies unit with a Salmon Ceremony.  I will be sending a flyer home tomorrow with some more information. 

This Wednesday is parent math night.  These nights are for all parents at Shorewood.  We really appreciate seeing you there, and it can help you talk about the math we are doing with your kiddo.  I know that the way we teach math now is a bit different then the way that most of us learned to do math, and coming to these monthly math nights can really help us adults to understand why math is taught the way it is now. 

Spring Break next week!  Have a wonderful week. 

We had a wonderful day at the zoo yesterday!  Thank you for all of your support.

In reading we are working on gathering information from non-fiction texts by identifying the text structure then using an appropriate graphic organizer to organize information.  The text structures we've learned are Sequence and Order (events or how to), cause and effect, problem and solution, compare and contrast, and descriptive. 

In math we are working on metric measurement.  This is a nice review of our base ten system as well so we have been reviewing our regrouping skills along the way.

In science we are designing and building our own musical instruments.  This afternoon and tomorrow we will work on presenting them to each other. 

If you would like to hear more about our day today, you could ask your kiddo about:

The instrument he/she is designing.
    How will in change pitch?

What is most exciting about going to the zoo tomorrow?

What in infrasound and what type of animal communicated using it?

How many centimeters are in a meter?

How many meters are in a kilometer?

This is a big week for us.  We are beginning a new math chapter on metric measurement.  We are going to be learning about the prefixes centi-, hecto-, deci-, deck-, kilo-, and mili-, as well as the root words gram, meter, and liter.  We will be putting all of these words together into a place value chart for metric measurement, then using these measurements to measure objects in and around the classroom.

On Wednesday we go to Woodland Park Zoo.  Please do not sent money with your kiddo.  We have told all of the third graders that we will not be buying things from the gift shops, or getting snacks there.  Make sure that your kiddo has a lunch packed.  It would be helpful for us as well as your child if you could send the lunch in a disposable bag.  We will be walking all around the zoo, and we will not want to be carrying our lunch boxes everywhere. 

We are very close to earning our next button party!! 

Today we read a Great Body Shop about drugs.  There might be a few questions.  Just so you are aware, this Great Body shop discusses the fact that caffeine and medicine are drugs as well.  There may be questions about why it is okay for adults to drink coffee and children to drink soda and okay for us to take medicine from the doctor, but not okay for people to do other kinds of drugs.

Today the students are helping me write about our day.  This post is in their words.

We are writing this stuff on blogger.
Today was epic like pie, but we miss Diego.
Today was really weird.  It was cloudy then sunny then stormy then sunny then cloudy again.  We had a lot of rainy day recess.  We felt lazy today.

We learned how to use the teacher's rubric to grade our reading journals.

Today we did the MAP test and it was hard.  We did the MAP test today instead of math, which was actually reading and not math.  We finished the MAP test.  It took some people longer than others to finish the MAP test.  The MAP test was hard, but we did our best.

Today we reviewed character traits, and how to use text evidence when are identifying them.  We also learned what word roots are.  We talked a bit about the roots cycl, graph, and phon.  We added prefixes and suffixes to those roots to make them into familiar words.

In math we estimated and measured capacity in cups, pints, and quarts.  Tomorrow we will be converting measurements of capacity.

Today we learned about how columns of air can vibrate to make a sound, and about how the length of that air column can determine the pitch of the sound.

In the Tuesday folders should be a few pieces of work from last week.  I sent home last week's reading center work, a test on fractions, and some of the work that we did for measurement of length.  The fractions test was very difficult, so please don't be too alarmed by it.  There is a pink letter explaining more about that in the Tuesday folder as well. 

Today we shared the story Raven by Gerald McDermott.  We had a discussion about whether Raven or the Sky Chief are evil characters in the story.  We did not come to a consensus about either character, but we had a good conversation about it. 

I math we measured things in pounds and converted those measurements into ounces.  We also learned what a ton is. 

If you would like to hear more about our day today, you could ask about:
Character traits of Raven
The Incredible Shrinking Rat
Who are the settlers and what did the tribe decide to do about them?

Report cards are on their way to you.  There are actually 4 weeks of reading work, not 5.
Have a great weekend.

Today we worked on converting customary measurements of length, and tomorrow we will begin learning about customary measurements of weight.

Today we reviewed some of the things that we learned about rocks and minerals earlier in the year, and we watched the Planet Earth video about caves.

If you would like to hear more about our day today, you can ask your kiddo about:

What animals live in caves?
How do people get in and out of caves?
What rock are most caves in?
How long would it take to briskly was 5 miles? (at about 20 minutes per mile)
How many feet are in 3 miles?
How many yards are in 3 miles?
What is the perimeter of a 6 ft square yard? What is that perimeter in inches?
What is the area of a 6ft square yard?
What makes the difference between a summary story that gets a 3 for a grade and one that gets a 4 for a grade?

Report cards are going to be coming home on Friday.  Inside each report card envelope there should be 5 reading work packets that represent 5 recent weeks worth of reading work.  There should be 3 health quizzes (that number might vary depending on absences).  There should also be 3 math tests and a results sheet from our last MBA (it is a single sheet of paper with what looks like a temperature gauge telling you if your child falls into the red, yellow, or green category for math.  I appologize that no art is coming home at the momment.  We are still enjoying it here at school.  The report card envelope needs to be signed by you and sent back to me. 

Next Wednesday is our parent math night!  I hope to see some of you there. 

In April we are going to the zoo.  I appreciate all of the offers of help with our field trip.  I have as many parents as I am allowed to take with us already confirmed for the trip.  There are a lot of things that we could use help with here in the classroom, however.  If you would like to come and help us out, please let me know!

If you want to hear more about our day today, you can ask your kiddo about:

What is a prefix?
What tools can you use to measure length?
How can you turn a ruler into a musical instrument?
What is ST math?

Happy Tuesday!  Thank you to the Hochman family for the new books you donated to our classroom library!

Today we worked on story summaries.  We discussed how to make sure that you have the theme, plot, and personal response all included in your two summary paragraphs.  The homework journal summaries have been pretty good, but I am hoping to see more around the theme of the story, and the personal response to the story.

In math we worked on customary measurement.  We are rounding measurements to the nearest inch or 1/2 inch.  For example, if something is 3 3/4 inches, then it is about 4 inches.  We are also converting inches, feet, yards, and miles.  For example, if a football field is 50 yards long, how long is it in feet?  How long in inches?

To learn more about what we are doing in class you could ask your kiddo about:

The ship that we spotted on the horizon.
The trader that bought our artwork and hand made clothing.
How are pitch and volume different?
Who is the Rough-Faced Girl?

It sounds like the class got along well with Mr. Liu.  Today we did a science experiment to explore where high pitch noises and low pitch noises come from. 

Happy Friday! 

It has been a long week with a lot of fun and new activities.  We had a little bit of a rough time with the guest teacher being in the room yesterday, so we had a long discussion about self-control.  Ms. Anderson from the library took the class over today for a few minutes and gave a glowing report on their behavior.

Today we worked on finding equivalent fractions.  Next week we will finish up our chapter on fractions.

Since today is the first day of Women's History Month and we are learning about sound in science, we read an article about JoAnn Falletta who was one of the first female orchestra conductors.  

Next week we will be talking about tall tales during reading.  We will have a guest teacher on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Today we had Ms. Lane teaching for the first half of the day while I proctored a test in another room.

Our field trip yesterday was wonderful, and I was very proud of how the class did.

Happy Monday! 

In reading we are still working on analyzing fiction texts.  One of the stories we are reading this week is a narrative poem.  The lesson in the poem is not simple to figure out, and I am very pleased with some of the work I am seeing done so far. 

Today we started our official chapter on fractions.  I anticipate this chapter going quickly because we have already been exposed to fractions quite a bit this winter. 

Today we worked on an art project showing what we've learned about Early Northwest Coastal art.  Our goal was to make our art with the proper colors and shapes as well as using symmetry. 

Tomorrow we will be doing a science experiment and discussing how sound travels through different materials and why.

Hello!  Sorry that it has been a while. 

This week we finished our unit on multiplication and division story problems.  We will be moving into Fractions next week.

Today we started our unit on Sound.  We discussed what vibrations are.  We also discussed the different categories of instruments and which instruments fall into each set. 

In social studies we discussed common characteristics of different Native American art pieces from the Pacific Northwest, and next week we will be making our own Native American style art works.

Today we had our second class party.  We earn them during moments when the whole class is meeting expectations.  The students voted and chose to have a "nap time".

We started using bar models for multiplication.  These seemed easier for the class in general than the addition and subtraction models. 

During reading we talked about the grandmother in The Raft she is a very interesting character, and we discussed the fact that they boys problem (not wanting to be at his grandma's house because it is boring) is a problem for the grandmother also. 

Tomorrow we will be discussing the theme of The Raft, and moving into multi-step story problems for multiplication.

I spent a long part of the weekend reading student's responses to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, I have a Dream.  I was so impressed with the insightful, meaningful responses that these kids had.  Bravo!

Today we read Jim LaMarche's The Raft.  It is the story of a little boy who has to spend his summer in the country.  At first he is apprehensive.  He thinks the country is boring because his Grandmother's cabin there has no T.V.  Then he learns to appreciate the natural world around him through his exploration of the river on a raft he found.  By the end of the story the boy finds himself feeling quite happy and at home in the country.

In math we are going to start working on bar models for multiplication and division.  We will also continue talking about fractions.

Today during reading we talked about how the solution to a problem in a story is usually very closely related to the theme of the story.  For example in the story Stellaluna, Stellaluna solves her problems when she learns to be herself, and the theme of that story is BE YOURSELF. 

In math we learned what a remainder is and how to solve division equations that have them.  We will be practicing that skill more tomorrow with some fun challenges for those who've mastered the idea.

We also started making our longhouses today.  Not only is this a good activity for learning about Native American culture, but it is also a wonderful chance to practice math skills.  We were measuring and calculating to make rectangular prisms with roofs that fit.  We will also be measuring the area and perimeter of our long houses later on.

Tuesday folders are coming home today.  There is a book order in it for you to look at!  Spring break is fast approaching.  If you want some new books to read together, you can order them from the February catalogue and have them before the long break. 

We had a wonderful science assembly!  Thank you PTA!!

We had a couple of great conversations today.  We talked for a while about the setting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech.  We had a nice discussion that concluded with us talking about how if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech didn't have the historical context that it did, it wouldn't have changed us the way that it changed us.  Despite the fact that the speech is a non-fiction text, I tied it into our fiction texts.  We related his story to the idea that characters are affected by their setting.

We also talked about photography, and how to make visually interesting photos that make a statement.

I apologize that it has been so long since I've posted for you.  We have been working extra hard.  We had a great day today.  We earned lots of buttons for our class button jar, and we got 5 minutes of extra recess because we were so focused all day today.  It was a great way to end the week.
We will be doing a book of our poetry and photography for the PTA auction.  For more information please email me.  carrie.childs@highlineschools.org.

Today we had a nice talk about why authors often use bridges as metaphors for working together and for friendship.  I heard students say that authors use bridges because bridges connect things, you can walk across a bridge to get to people at any time you want, and that bridges are like friendships (sometimes long, sometimes short, sometimes strong like a freeway overpass, and sometimes weak like a rope bridge).

We took our final test on multiplication.  Over the next couple of days we will be talking about division. 

Tomorrow we will have a guest teacher for the second half of the day.  I will be in the building, but I will be doing some professional development with some colleagues.

I was in a toy store this weekend looking for a gift, and I came across some GREAT math board games that we learned in class today.  One is called Pie in the Sky.  It is a fractions game that focuses on equivalent fractions.  The other one is called Mathable.  It is similar to Scrabble, but it uses math equations.

We talked today about what current events means, and some current events in the news right now.  We then read an article from Time for Kids about how bugs might be the food of the future.

Yesterday we learned a little more about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  I was very proud of the thoughtful discussions that these kids were able to have about his life and his contributions to our nation.

Today we read a story and graphed the plot using our personal level of engagement.  We also practiced what we learned yesterday about three digit by one digit multiplication with regrouping (357x6).

We still need practice on our multiplication math facts!

Today we talked for a while about why it is important for us to learn about the sadder parts of our nation's history.  We talked about how we can learn from the mistakes of the past to keep our future safe and bright.  Have a good MLK holiday.

We are moving into the concept of multi-digit multiplication now.  It is a difficult concept, and takes some practice.  Yesterday we began with the idea that if you know what 2x4 is, then you can do 20x4, or 200x4  just as easily.  Today we started working with two digit by one digit multiplication (without regrouping).  So we did problems like 23x3, and 42x3.  The goal here is for students not only to understand how to solve that problem, but also to understand why you are multiplying the ones by 3 and then the tens by 3.  Understanding the concept will help them when we move into multiplying with regrouping!

We are going to be building a tribal village as well as some totem poles in the coming weeks.  If you have any pipe cleaners, felt pieces, paper towel rolls, or Popsicle sticks around the house that you could donate to our learning process I would greatly appreciate it! 

We are working hard in our leveled reading groups, and covering a lot of math concepts lately. At this point in the year it is very important to know our addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts like the backs of our hands!

We are also practicing our communication and problem solving skills in our social studies unit on Early Northwest Coastal People.  In order to complete this unit we need to be able to work well as a group.  The better each clan does of working together, the more successful that clan will be in our tribe. 

We are working our way into division now!  We are using multiplication facts that we know to help us divide.

We are working in fiction texts now for reading.  We are talking a lot about characters, setting, problem and solution, and main events.  If your child is reading chapter books with complex characters, it is great practice to analyze those characters with them.  One great thing to talk with them about is how characters change over the course of a book.  Complex chapter books usually have characters that learn and grow from the experiences that they have in the book.  Pointing out the lessons and growth of the characters is wonderful practice for advanced readers.  It is also great to talk about what steps a character takes to solve his/her problem.

Happy Friday!

Next week we will be continuing our work with multiplication facts.  One of the skills we are practicing is using what you already know to help you find answers to more difficult problems.  For example, 6 x 12 can be hard to remember, but if you know that 6x2=12 and 6x10=60, then you add them together to get 6x12=72. 

We have also been talking a lot about character traits and settings.  Knowing the difference between physical characteristics and personality traits seems to be our challenge area.

Happy New Year!  Here is a brief description of what we are going to be working on in the beginning of the New Year.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the PTA's Box Top competition.  Please don't forget to bring in those box tops and labels for education!  I know it takes a bit of time, but it really does help our school out a lot!

Today we began our unit on fiction in reading.  Over the next few days we are going to be working on identifying character traits and physical characteristics.  We are also going to be using the character traits we identify in order to make predictions about character actions.  We will also be looking at how characters change over time.  Then we will be fine tuning our skills at finding main events.  We will also be looking at settings.  We are going to spend a nice long chunk of time talking about main ideas and finding the moral of stories. 

We also began our new read aloud Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell.  I know kids get excited about this book and want to start reading it at home, but I would really appreciate it if they didn't.  Reading our read aloud ahead takes away from our enjoyment and learning opportunity.  We have a separate read aloud for reading group time.  It is The BFG by Roald Dahl.  We will be using these read aloud books to support our work on fiction texts.

We are working on multiplication now.  We are going to be using numberlines, array models, and area models to represent multiplication facts for 6's, 7's, 8's, and 9's.  In addition to multiplication we are going to be learning about bar graphs, pictographs, and line plots.  We are also going to be looking into area, perimeter, and 3 dimensional shapes. 

We will also continue to look into the culture of Early Northwest Coastal People, learning about how to stay healthy be reading The Great Body Shop, practicing non-fiction texts and learning about current events with Time for Kids, and learning about the Science of Sound.

I know it sounds like a lot of information to cover over the next few weeks, but we can do it!  Remember that every day of school counts, and we have so much to cover that missing days leaves students feeling behind and confused.  Stay healthy!

I look forward to starting off my new year with you guys!