Math Unit 5- Geometry

Dear Parents,

We just started our new Unit 5 in Math: Geometry.

Memorization is NOT a goal in the case of vocabulary words and multiplication facts. We encourage you to discuss the ideas and concepts through hands-on activities and conversations (in the home language) about how we use math in our daily lives. 

We encourage to make connections with your home language to help understand the concept.

In this unit students will: 

• Further develop understandings of geometric figures by focusing on identification and descriptions of plane figures based on geometric properties. 

• Identify examples and non-examples of plane figures based on geometric properties. 

• Identify differences among quadrilaterals. 

• Understand that shapes in different categories may share attributes and those attributes can define a larger category (example: rhombuses, rectangles, and others have four sides and are all called quadrilaterals). Expand the ability to see geometry in the real world. 

• Draw plane figure shapes based on attributes.  

• Use data collected to make bar and picture graphs. 

• Find the perimeter of polygons; use addition to find perimeters; solve for an unknown length and recognize the patterns that exist when finding the sum of the lengths and widths of rectangles. 

• Third Grade students will describe, analyze, and compare properties of two-dimensional shapes. They compare and classify shapes by their sides and angles, and connect these with definitions of shapes. 

VOCABULARY:
Vocabulary for unit. 

Visual Mathematics Online Dictionary: This resource includes definitions, pictures, examples, and related words for mathematical vocabulary. 

Congruent: Shapes that have the same size and shape

Parallelogram: A quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides and two pairs of equal sides

Polygon: A closed, 2-D figure with straight lines

Quadrilateral: A polygon with four sides

Rectangle: A 2-D figure with 4 sides and 4 right angles, opposite sides are parallel

Rhombus: A 2-D figure with 4 equal sides and 4 angles (not necessarily equal), opposite sides are parallel

Square: A 2-D figure with 4 equal sides and 4 right angles

Trapezoid: A 2-D figure that has 4 sides and 4 angles, one pair of sides is parallel

Right angle: An angle that forms a square corner

ACTIVITIES AT HOME:

Use grid paper to create congruent shapes.

Identify, describe, and classify different household objects as solid figures.

Identify angles that are less than, equal to and greater than right angles.

Use tangrams to make plane figures.

Cut pieces of yarn to make line segments. Measure each segment in inches (to the nearest quarter inch) and centimeters.

Go stargazing and make imaginary line segments by connecting the stars (points). Create geometric shapes.

Go on a shape hunt! Look for geometric shapes in your home and community. Create a chart to show your findings.

ONLINE RESOURCES:

Shape Sorter: using properties to identify shapes

Geometric Matching: identifying shapes through matching

Khan Academy: 3rd Grade Math topics

Happy learning!

The Grade 3 Team

Week of February 12, 2018

Good morning parents,

It was a busy week of character studies and wrapping up opinion writing! Students also participated in the global school play day. It was great to reflect afterward on all the things students learned from this afternoon of play. Many of our SLRs were included as students were communicating effectively and collaborating constructively. Here is a great article that speaks more about the importance of free play.

Coming up in a few weeks is Student Led Conferences. These are scheduled on Wednesday, March 7 and Thursday, March 8 and may take up to an hour. Your child will be the most important part of this conference, so they are required to attend. Please let me know by Wednesday in an email which day and what time of day would work best if you have a preference. 

Our week starts on day 5. Please note there is NO SCHOOL THURSDAY OR FRIDAY due to Chinese New Year.

Reading

We have begun our new unit on Character Studies. For more information and ways to help at home please visit our Parent Learning Connection Site.

Students will learn that readers grow inferences about their characters based on the character’s actions and words. Readers also notice patterns in their characters behavior, shifting and growing bigger theories about their characters as they continue to read. A reader’s initial theories about a character are usually the tip of much deeper thinking. Readers ask why the characters are the way they are.

Writing

We are wrapping up our opinion unit. Students will work on using the writing checklist to make their writing the best it can be, focusing on using grade level conventions, and saying more about each reason.

Math

We are finishing up our unit on Multiplication and Area. Students will continue to solve multi-step word problems and show their thinking on multiplication by building various area models.

Social Studies

Students will learn about the social organization of ancient civilizations. This includes government, leaders, and laws.

Week of February 5, 2018

Good morning parents, 

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend. Grade 3 was lucky to have 2 parent experts come in and share their knowledge. We learned about the work an archaeologist does and the process archaeologists use when planning and excavating a dig as well as the legacy of hygiene that Ancient Rome left us to learn from and improve upon. What a week! 

Please note that ASAs start this week and the week will start on a day 6. Please make sure your child knows which ASA s/he is attending. 

This week we welcome Akin to 3EV!

A reminder that swimming in PE has begun and you can check the dates in the class documents tab on the class blog. Book order forms went home on Friday. 

Reading

We will begin our unit on character book clubs. Here students will get to know the characters in their book club book, making inferences and noting patterns in their behaviors based on actions, words, and thoughts. We will begin to apply character traits based on this. We will also begin to read aloud fairy tales in preparation for our next writing unit. Reading fairy tales at home in your home language and practice in applying character traits and talking about the characters in the books your child reads would be helpful.

Writing

This week in writing students will learn about petitions as another type of opinion writing. Students can say more by including interviews and surveys they have conducted. They will also learn that writers revise their introductions and conclusions, trying out several different styles before deciding which one will have the biggest impact on their audience. Students will film their videos and share them on their blogs soon.

Math

Students will continue to notice patterns in multiplication tables as well as continue their fact fluency. When learning new facts such as x6, students will develop strategies to become more efficient. Instead of skip counting by 6's students can multiply the number x5 then add x1. For 6x7, think 5x7 plus 1x7. Students will also begin to solve multistep division and multiplication word problems. Ask your child, how do they solve their x4, x6, x8, or x9 facts. Talk about what mental math strategies they could use. Please practice the multiplication and division facts with your child if s/he is not already fluent.

Social Studies

This week, students will learn how geography and location affect ancient civilizations.

Week of January 29, 2018

Good morning 3EV parents, 

What a busy week we had in Grade 3. Students were busy brainstorming questions to answer and projects to create for Genius Hour. It is great to see their creative juices flowing! This will be a shorter week starting on day 2, with Wednesday a day off for Thaipusam.
I will be out on Monday but have left detailed plans for our guest teacher.

Reading

This week students will continue to read a variety of nonfiction and fiction books and discuss their learning with a small group. We will celebrate World Read Aloud Day on Thursday and will Skype with two authors, Deborah Freedman and Debbi Michiko Florence. 

Writing

Students will continue to work on saying more about each of their reasons. Students will learn that when writers write to convince someone they only put in their best, most convincing evidence. We will also begin to use paragraphs as a way to organize their reasons.

Math

We are continuing to work on finding the area of rectangles. Students will learn about the distributive property as a way to solve area problems and as a strategy to multiply using base 10 blocks. Take a look at this progression video to see how we do this. 

Social Studies

We are lucky to have 2 parent experts come in and speak with grade 3. The topics will be archeology and the legacies that ancient civilizations leave us. 

PE- please consult the class documents tab on our website to see when your child has swimming. 

Week of January 22-26

Week of January 22nd-26th
We had a fantastic week of learning in grade 3! As we launched our Ancient Civilization unit, students took on the role of an archaeologist and looked at many different ancient artifacts trying to uncover information about the item. What were they used for? How does it help us understand more about the people from that time period? Students were asking great questions, making connections, and creating stories to explain their reasoning. Nice work, Archaeologists!

This semester, students will have time in their week to explore a topic they are passionate about. We are calling this time Genius Hour. This week, we started by brainstorming different topics we love, things that interest us, ways we spend our free time, types of books we read or shows we watch. This list of ideas will help us choose a topic to explore further. If you would like to know more about genius hour, here are a couple of links we showed the kids.

What is Genius Hour?
Genius Hour in the Classroom
Visit with your child about some of the ideas they came up with this week. What are your passions? Share them with your child? Perhaps you want to have a genius hour project of your own!

This week begins on a day 3.

Reminder: ASA sign-ups will close on Monday, January 22nd at 10:00 am sharp!

Reading 
Students will continue analyzing different nonfiction books. We will be determining what makes a quality children’s nonfiction book. Some of the elements we will look at are: infographics, back matter, layout, interest level, and more. This week we will also be working in nonfiction reading book clubs to read, discuss, and ask questions of a shared reading. 

Writing 
Students will continue writing persuasive speeches. The focus this week will be on gathering and organizing information about their opinion. We will also be working on elaborating our writing by proving through showing rather than telling their reader. 

Math 
We will continue our multiplication and area unit. This weeks focus will be on breaking apart numbers to multiply more easily (ex. 12x8= (10x8) + (2x8)). This is called the distributive property. We will also continue to explore using square units to measure area, solve real-world problems dealing with area, and continue to reinforce our addition/subtraction/multiplication/division facts. Please continue to help your child practice these at home! 

Social Studies 
As we dive deeper into our ancient civilizations unit we will take a closer look at the different features of successful civilizations. 3EV will be looking closely at Ancient Egypt. We will start by looking at how location impacted Egypt. Then students will be choosing a civilization to study independently.  

Please see the Class Documents tab for the new swim schedule!

BONUS- Math Games your child may enjoy:

Multiplication War card game

Roll 2 numbers and write the fact families (4,2: 4x2=8, 2x4=8, 8/4=2 8/4=2)

Fact Triangles

Dice Games

Here are some math games on the computer:

Mathbreakers https://www.mathbreakers.com

Motion Math http://motionmathgames.com/

Dragon Box http://www.dragonboxapp.com/

Refraction http://play.centerforgamescience.org/refraction/site/

Wuzzit Trouble http://innertubegames.net

Mancala http://www.coolmath-games.com/0-mancala/

And so much more on our Parent Learning Connection Site!

Free Dress Fridays

Hello everyone and happy new year!

For the rest of the semester, we are going to be donating the money raised from Free Dress Days to the Chin Refugee School that we have been supporting recently. We helped them by donating lots of books, backpacks, school supplies, and water bottles. We also have helped them with their rent. 

We are going to continue to support them. They are a wonderful organization and we want to make sure they are able to run their school without worries of paying their rent or having to buy school supplies for their students.  

Thank you to every family who donates on those fun Fridays. It means a lot the people we help.

Cheers, 

Max Mangelsdorf

Red Hat Coordinator

Week of January 15th-19th

Week of January 15th-19th

Happy New Year! It was so much fun seeing all of the kids this week and reconnecting as a class.
I hope that you all had a relaxing and rejuvenating holiday. All of the kids were excited about seeing their friends, sharing stories, and getting back into a class routine. With a new year, we talked a lot about
setting goals and resolutions. As a class, we decided to each think of one little
word to use as our year-long motto. Be sure to ask your child about their word!

We started our persuasive writing unit and the kids are all excited to convince others in the class,
in the school, and perhaps at home. So please be prepared for all of the persuasion that might be happening this month.We are all very excited for a fabulous second semester and we welcome many new families to our third-grade community. Please reach out and help them all feel welcome!

In 3EV we welcomed Maria this week (who actually attended ISKL in grade 2, so she is a familiar face to many).

This week begins on a day 4

Reading Students will be analyzing different nonfiction books. We will be determining what makes a quality children’s nonfiction book. Some of the elements we will look at are: infographics, back matter, layout, interest level, and more.

Writing Students will continue writing persuasive speeches. We will be looking at different strategies to collect ideas.We will consider our audience to include our most persuasive reasons. As we get back into our writing routines, we will focus on editing as we go to ensure our readers understand.

Math We will continue our multiplication and area unit. Important concepts we will continue to explore this week are using square units to measure area, solving real-world problems dealing with area, and continue to reinforce our addition/subtraction/multiplication/division facts. Please continue to help your child practice these at home!

Social Studies We are launching our People of the Past Unit, which is a study of ancient civilizations. We will be taking a deeper look into how we learn about the past and how the past continues to influence us today. If any of you have any expertise in this area, we would love to have you share this with the kids!