Weekly Update: January 10, 2020

Happy New Year 3B Parents!

The class worked very hard this week on MAP testing and performed very well! We are looking forward to getting back into a regular routine next week!

Important Upcoming Events:

• Monday, January 20^th---MLK Day No School
• Friday, January 24^th—Progress Report

*We are in need of Secret Readers for next week-If interested, please sign up using this link.

Math: We have been working through Topic 6. This topic continues to focus on strategies to help the students memorize basic math facts. This week we have worked with facts  6, 7 and 8. Students learned how to break down larger facts into 2 smaller, well-known facts. For example:

7X6= (5x6) + (2x6). They know 5x6=30 and 2x6=12 and they add 30+12=42 so 7x6=42. This is known as the distributive property of multiplication. 

We have begun testing students on their knowledge of multiplication facts. A letter will be coming home detailing our Multiplication Ninja Program!

Multiplication Fact Practice Suggestion: As mentioned in an earlier post, while apps are great supplemental resources, I still believe that the best method for learning multiplication facts is using flashcards! I taught the class how sort through their stack of flash cards and isolate only the cards with the fact they are currently working on memorizing. I then showed them how to put them in order from 0-12. For example, if they were studying their 4’s facts, I would have them take out all of the cards with 4 as a factor. Then put them in order, 4x0, 4x1, 4x2, etc. Then I taught them that they should start with memorizing 4x0 and then add 4x1 into the mix. They should be able to easily recall the product of both facts before adding 4x2. Now, they must shuffle and work through the three cards until they easily can recite all of the products before adding 4x3. The process will continue until all of the facts 0-12 are in rotation. I’ve seen this method work wonders!

Regardless of which method seems to work best for your child, it is crucial that students are practicing their facts every night.

Students have been working on finishing up their Array Gingerbread Houses from before Christmas break. For this project, students are solving multiplication word problems and using grid paper to cut out arrays that demonstrate the product. These grids are then placed inside the windows of the house.

We have introduced our new classmate: Multiplication Murphy. He is very helpful when it comes to writing and reading multiplication word problems!

Religion: This week, students learned about the four marks of the church: Catholic, One, Holy, and Apostolic. They also learned that the Peter was the first Pope of the Church and that Pope Francis is one of his successors. Students were also taught that bishops are successors to the Apostles and that they lead dioceses.

Writing: Students finished up their bulletin board writing projects this week. They published their fact-based opinion pieces proving that Martin Luther King Jr. was a great man! Check out our new bulletin board: