A Note from
Mrs. Jordan
January 26, 2015
Curriculum Update
Math
It is essential that the
children learn their unknown multiplication facts at home in order to become
more confident and capable when it comes to division. This month, the children have learned a
variety of strategies to solve multiplication and division problems. They should continue to work on fact fluency
at home.
They will be using
division to solve real world problems. In
class, the children created their own word problems and we created a packet of
division problems to work on. We are developing
an understanding of long division. In
third grade the children are able to use base ten blocks to help them solve these
difficult problems. It is exciting to see the progress that the children have
made so far this term in math.
Reading
I have been very pleased
with the effort that the children have been putting into their reading. We have been working in small groups to have
book discussions. I have also been teaching
the children how to answer open response questions. They will continue to work on writing
accurate responses with details from the variety of genres that they are
given.
Over the past few weeks we
have read books related to the Underground Railroad, slavery, segregation, and Martin
Luther King Jr. We are working on
finishing our reflections about these stories on Kidblog. Ask your child about one of the books we have
read; Henry’s Freedom Box, White Water, These Hands, Wille Mays,
Martins Big Words, and the biography
Martin Luther Jr. These stories help us to understand what life
was like during slavery and in the south before and after the Civil War. We talked about the power of words and
actions. You would be surprised by the
empathy that 8 and 9 year old children possess. Our discussions have been
wonderful!
Writing
We are wrapping up
opinion/ persuasive writing. We are
focusing on writing about different book genres and how to answer questions
with supporting details from texts. We
have also been using kidblog as a tool to share our understanding and
thoughts.
Science
We are studying matter. We will be learning about the three forms of
matter; solid, liquid, and gas. They
will learn the difference between a physical and chemical change. We will be doing some experiments in class to
solidify our understanding.
Thank you for sending in supplies for
experiments!
Coming Soon-
I will be sending home a letter about Valentine's Day. We do exchange Valentines. Look for the letter in your child's folder this week.
SNOW DAYS- Today, we talked about fun things to do if it snows. Please feel free to email me pictures of your "Snow Day Adventures" and I will post them on our blog.
Wish List
I am working very hard to keep our classroom
sanitized. I have been using wipes
daily. I have also been reminding the
kids to wash their hands throughout the day.
If anyone would like to send in Lysol wipes I would greatly appreciate
it. Also, the kids and I would love some
tissues and foaming hand sanitizer.
As always, I thank you for
your continued support!
Mrs. Jordan