It has been a week full of exploration, multiplication and choices. We’ve had some changes so we’ll see Mrs. Fremeau during lunch Mondays and Fridays, but she’ll spend the majority of her time in 2I (Mrs. Ibey had her baby) and 3CL. Miss DiPietro will be joining our classroom. We met her yesterday and enjoyed having her in our classroom.

S.E.L. Focus – Responsible Decision Making

            This week we focused on the decision making pillar of S.E.L. We discussed what being responsible means and ways we could show we were responsible. Some of the children were surprised that putting things away, taking care of supplies, or walking quietly through the halls are all ways of showing that we are responsible. We talked about not blaming others or saying that our behavior was caused by someone else. That is a challenge.

The three statements that are guiding our self-evaluations are:

• I am accountable for what I do and for how I act and behave.
• I do the right thing at the right time.
• I know others can trust and depend on me.

The class did decide that we should have a behavior plan of some kind. We had a long and important conversation about how this could work. The class was very candid and didn’t want those who find it difficult to manage themselves or make responsible choices to be blamed for that. “If they feel bad and disappointed, they’ll never learn.” Each of the children wrote down what they thought we should try. Next week we’ll develop a plan and set some reasonable goals to see if we can become more aware of our decisions and more self-managing.

Managing Mastery of Multiplication

            We’ve been learning how multiplication is a quicker way of adding equal groups or sets. It’s repeated addition. We’ve been reading and creating arrays. We know about the commutative property and are sure the 6×5 is the same as 5×6. We began to develop our fact chart so we can keep track of the facts we know and the facts we still need to work on. At first it seemed that learning 100 facts would be impossible and then we began to fill in our chart. We all know the 1’s facts. We all know the 2’s. We all know the 5’s and the 10’s. That’s 40 known facts. And because we know the commutative property we know all the “turn around facts” as well. It turns out we know 64 of those 100 facts already and that doesn’t include things like 3×3. We decided it was a doable project. We’ll begin with the 3’s next week.

This week we also learned about the distributive property so we could tackle using multiplication with larger amounts. We looked at large arrays and discovered ways of breaking them apart into manageable groups – blocking off rows of 5 or 10. You’ll see some examples in your child’s work this week. We also practiced using this property in problems – if there were 6 pumpkins and each pumpkin had 123 seeds, how many seeds would there be altogether?

As you go through your weekend, challenge yourself to see how many places you can find arrays – in windowpanes, floor tiles, food packaging… It’s surprising how many you’ll find when you begin looking. It will be a great way for the children to see that multiplication is all around them.

Bit and Pieces –

• We are continuing our animal research and are planning our classroom zoo. Paper mache is so much fun!
• We’re learning about geography, continents and habitats.
• Each week since the beginning of school we’ve been learning to look at our world as a scientist We observed, drew and painted leaves. We followed the scientific process from hypothesis to conclusion with our Raisin and Soda experiment. And we looked at shells to document what we know and what we wonder. Asking questions is something that drives innovation and creation. We are going to grow from those experiences as we begin a science unit about Invisible Forces.
• Enclosed is our next book order. If you’d like to order books please send to order in by next Wednesday.

Thank you for connecting with what we are doing in our classroom. Thank you for checking 3E News and your child’s blog. Thanks for commenting. It means the world to them to know they’ve made connections with you. Also, thank you for talking with your child about the positive ways he or she can add to our classroom community. We can feel the difference. Our classroom feels more like a place where learning can happen. Hopefully we’ll keep growing so we can work together to do better and better things.

Self-Management – our S.E.L. focus this week

There are five areas of social emotional learning. They are called pillars because all academic learning stands upon their framework.   They are self-management, self-awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision making, and social awareness. Of course they all work together and are closely intertwined, but we’ve been focusing our discussions on self-management this week. That means we’ve been trying to be more aware of our own feelings. We’ve listed good and bad feelings and the in between feelings. We tried to think about making choices that lead to positive outcomes. And lastly we’ve tried think about goals we’d make for ourselves in this area that would help promote both social and academic growth.

I think many of you would be proud of the effort your son or daughter is making to think about how his/her choices affect others. We certainly can and will make more growth in this area, but this week more and more children are choosing to stay focused on the task at hand. More and more of our class are working at transitioning smoothly from one activity to another. And more and more of our class are feeling proud of changes they are making.

Global Geography

We’ve begun to learn about the continents and how varied, and yet, similar they are. We’ve been reading about them and looking at them on maps. We’re learning terms like equator, hemisphere, and peninsula. We’re also learning how people fit into geography and create neighborhoods, towns, counties, and countries. We’ll combine this learning with what we are learning about our animals.

Reading and Writing Like a Scientist

We’ve been researching and learning to take notes about what we understand as we read. Learning from informational text is a challenge. There are many words that we can pronounce and read through that we do not understand. We are learning what to do in this case. Scientists are specific, so we need to be as well. We are practicing observation. We are learning to be more descriptive and precise, but that takes time.

This week we all did an experiment with seltzer and raisins. What happens to the raisins when we put them in a cup of seltzer? Some of the children had done this before. For others it was a first time. Their descriptions of the process will serve as our jumping off point for learning how to record observations with detail and data. Experimenting is fun!

Bits and Pieces:

• How is homework fitting into your life? I mean that sincerely. In 3rd grade we are hoping to instill in children the need for quiet time and focus on assignments. We hope that homework is completed in 35 minutes or less a day . We want kids to relax. We’ve chosen “due on Friday” to insure that families can enjoy their weekends. If you find a “due on Monday” time works better for your family – by all means do that.
• We worked to understand the difference between the set (repeated addition) model and an array with multiplication. We are all pretty sure of the commutative property with multiplication.
• We met with Mrs. Marriotti this week to learn more about mindfulness and dealing with frustration and disruptions.
• At the end of last week we met with Deputy Fire Chief, Jason Lajoie. He spoke to us about Fire Safety and gave us calendars created by the state. He encouraged our third graders to participate in this coming year’s contest. It would be great if that is something your child would like to do. The artwork must be completed by February 24th. If you’ve misplaced that information I have another copy and could send it home again.

 

Our week has been full of reading, writing, research and discovery. We’ve been learning to research and write on the computers. We’ve been working in centers to observe as scientist and to develop logic and a sense of fair play. We’ve been exploring the practice of mindfulness and considering ways to work more effectively together to maximize learning.

Self- Awareness and Self Management

– our S.E.L. focus this week

            Thank you for talking to your child about the choices s/he is making with regard to behavior. We’ve been talking about it a lot in class. It seems that when it is on our minds all the time, all of us are able to assess ourselves and monitor how our choices affect others. When we stop talking – many lose their self-awareness and then their self-control. Please keep checking in at home. Ask your child how s/he did with talking during lessons or trying to be funny at the wrong time or doing the right thing at the right time or staying focused.

One of the things that came up though our discussion of how feeling calm helps us learn was the idea that all learning grows. “I Messages” were mentioned as something done in first grade or kindergarten. It was surprised many of the children to hear that they should still be using them. If it works and it’s efficient, it’s a strategy that should still be used.

We talked about what it means to be present. We know if each of us adopts this habit, we’ll all be better able to learn. We’ll be more successful. Here is a list of things the class said they would choose to be more present and to help our classroom became a place where everyone feels successful.

• I will have peace in my heart.
• Cleaning up trash at the beach.
• I will listen when others talk.
• I will do my work correctly.
• I will have more love and peace in my heart.
• “This is a good book.” “Thanks.”
• I will fold my hands so I’m not distracted.
• I will sit down.
• I will be calm.
• I will not laugh when others are talking.
• I will sit calmly on the rug.
• I will raise my hand instead of yelling out.
• If you see someone is hurt, get some help.
• Listen to others and don’t interrupt them they they’re talking.
• Listen.
• Listen all the time.

Arrays and the Commutative Property

We have continued our exploration of multiplication this week by learning about arrays. We know that arrays are rectangles made of columns and rows. We’ve learned that you read them down the left side and across the bottom. So

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would be read as 3 by 5 or 3 groups of 5 or 3×5.

We used what we are learning to create arrays showing the commutative property. 3 of 5 makes a long, low array, while 5 of 3 makes a taller more narrow array. You can see our work in the hall outside our classroom on Multiplication Main Street.

Bits and Pieces –

• We have continued to work on blogging and blog posts. Some of the children have submitted second posts while others are still working. We have a 45 minute writing session dedicated to blogging each week and then the children have the choice to write in their journal or work on their blog during the independent writing block. Some have chosen to blog, while others have chosen to write in their notebook. That is the reason for the difference. Please keep checking and leaving comments as often as you can. It is very motivating.
• We’ve begun work on our zoo. The children are researching both in books and from online resources. We are learning more about online research in both technology class and in the library as well. With Mrs. Wyman’s and Ms. Schmidt’s help we are learning about many different information resources and about ways we can use them to learn more about our animals and their habitats.
• Fire Chief, Jason LaJoie came to the classroom this week to talk a bit about Fire Safety. He talked about “Stop, Drop and Roll” and what we need to do in cases of emergency. He talked about when to listen to your inner voice and make choices that you know are right. He sent home calendars featuring last year’s Fire Safety contest winners and encouraged children to participate in this year’s calendar project. If your child would like to submit and entry and you need any supplies or further information, please let me know. It would be fun to have some North Hampton artwork in the 2017 calendar.

 

This was a full and busy week. We had pictures on Monday, and the Shelter in Place Drill on Tuesday. We worked on our informational writing prompt, worked through a “3 minute” reading assessment and gave our best effort in a basic fact check for addition. Those things were a bit different and stressful for some. On the exciting side of things, we began our animal research project and began building our animal models for our zoo exhibit. We also were able to get all children started on their blogs. Many have completed their first posts, while others are still in the drafting process and will post soon.

Writing Process

Writing grows in so many ways. This week the children completed their informational writing prompt. This, combined with the narrative prompt they completed a few weeks ago, and the persuasive prompt they will be completing in another few weeks will establish their baseline expectation as a 3rd grade writer. We’ll grow from there. There is a lot to do as a writer in 3rd grade and so we write in many ways.

One writing opportunity is blogging. These pieces are designed to be short and illustrated with photographs and scanned images. The children have been working toward posting on their own blogs since the beginning of school. First we looked at our class blog and the blogs of past students to learn about what blogs are and could be. Next we wrote a blog post on paper.   These were illustrated and are ready for comments. This practice will be done with post-its. In the computer lab our next step was to learn about commenting. There are five parts to a quality comment: be positive, be specific, ask a question, add some information and use proper grammar. We practiced commenting and finally this week, Mrs. Wyman helped us set up our individual blogs. Our goal will be to submit a post for review every week so please check out our blogs often and leave a comment. These comments are concrete proof to the children that there is an audience beyond themselves and their teachers. It is motivating.

A second writing opportunity comes in artist-writers’ workshop. This is a designed as a quiet reflective time to create. At this point in the process, children have selected a small ceramic animal to copy and put in a setting four times. Each time they used a different medium: crayon, colored pencil, marker and watercolor. The goal was to make each image identical and to discover how each medium worked in our sketchbooks. Then next step was to select an image to copy. We’ve been sticking to animals at this point. Some children have created one picture, in the same time that others have created three or four. We are at the place where we will look at our work and write about it in two different ways. First we will write about the creative process, what we see and the choices that were made. And second we will use our pictures as a springboard for a story. This could be a personal narrative of how the picture was created, or it could be a fictional narrative inspired by the subject of the picture.

Learning about Informational Writing

We spent time this week reviewing and examining the features of informational texts. Now we have both organizational choices to make, as well as selecting the text features we wish to include in our writing. We looked at headings, captions, tables of contents, and indexes. We looked and emboldened words and glossaries. We looked at how illustrations, diagrams and charts add even more information to the words. We also looked at different examples on informational writing. We read many books, but we also looked at the trading cards designed by the Franklin Park Zoo. We began to design our own Zoo Trading Cards. We are looking forward to beginning our research process so we will be able to create and share our own informational pieces to teach you all about the animals in our zoo.

Learning How Multiplication and Division are Reciprocal

This week we learned more about multiplication and examined the patterns of repeated addition. We made function or ratio charts to see how the patterns grow. We also connected multiplication and division.   We looked at sets of things and broke them up into equal groups to show what the process of division. We’ve begun to look at sets of dot stickers to see if we can discover which operation is represented. When there are many groups that have the same amount of dots, it is multiplication. When there is one large group broken into smaller groups, it is division. When there are many groups of various sizes it is addition and one a portion of a larger group is shaded over it is subtraction. As I write this to you, it seems obvious, of course that is what we see and know. But for the children, this understanding is growing along with the strengthening number concepts. You can help by pointing out how math is all around. For example, if you purchase yogurt in fours or applesauce in sixes ask your child if he or she can figure out how many you’ll use in a month, if you use one or two packs in a week. If you know how many miles it is from your house to the practice field, ask your child to calculate the miles you’ll travel in a week or a month. At first they may be drawing out or tallying each thing, but later they’ll become more efficient. Thank you for helping bring math to life and showing that it is all around us.

Bits and Pieces –

• We’ve been reading The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White. We’ve met both Sam and Louis at this point. We are excited to look back at the predictions we made at the start of the book and update them now that we have more information.
• We’re continuing our conversations about the Theory of Multiple Intelligence and learning more about how we are smart. We are learning about pie charts and a working to graph how we are smart.
• Mrs. Haight helped us began making our paper mache animals for our zoo. We are excited about that!

In an around all of this work, we also talked a great deal about expected behaviors for 3rd grade. There is a lot of interrupting, to the point of interfering with learning and safety. We would appreciate you have a chat about this. Please don’t let your child tell you tales of what other children are doing. Please encourage them to think of how to do their best work when things are challenging. Continual shushing or asking others in the middle of a lesson to stop is as distracting as the distraction. Deciding to argue rather than ignore or physically move is a distraction too.  Walking through the group rather than around. Choosing to become angry and argumentative during table work, rather than allowing someone to believe something that may not be true is a disruption too. There are things we can all (me included in this) do to make our classroom more peaceful and successful. I know we can. We have a wonderful class.   We will grow in self-control and social awareness, just as we grow as writers, readers, artists, scientist, explorers and mathematicians. Thanks for your help!