Multiplication Application

Why is it so important to learn our multiplication facts? 
I bet you don't realize how frequently you use multiplication to solve day to day problems.

For example, Raana was preparing for her birthday and needed to buy goodies for her party. She invited 26 friends to join in her celebration. When she went to Target she found the most precious notepads she was certain her friends would treasure. They came in packs of 6. How many packs does Raana need to purchase to have enough for all of her friends? 

Multiplication is a skill you will be grateful to have perfected! 

Can you create some word problems that require multiplication for a friend to solve? 
Your word problem must include at least 3 sentences. Practice you writing and vocabulary skills by writing strong sentences! 

 

Blogging is a great way to practice and improve our 

writing skills. One way to refine your writing and

 blogging comments is to use compound sentences.

 

What is a compound sentence?

1. A sentence that combines two shorter sentences (so has TWO subjects) 

2. It joins the two sentences with a conjunction (and, or, but, so) 

3. The comma goes BEFORE the conjunction.

 Here are some sample compound sentences, and they

 are all about Thanksgiving!

(Hey, that's a compound sentence!) 

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in

 November, and many families gather for a traditional

 feast. 

In 1620, the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, 

Massachusetts, but they had really planned a trip to 

Virginia. 

 The Massachusetts winter was extremely cold and

  harsh, so everyone had to work together to survive. 

The Wampanoag Indians helped the struggling

 Pilgrims, so they were able to harvest crops for their 

first feast. 

Modern Americans dine on turkey and stuffing at home, 

or they make a reservation at a local restaurant.

 

Here is a link to the BrainPop video about Thanksgiving. 

As Thanksgiving break approaches, tell us

 about your

 plans. What are some thing that you 

learned about Thanksgiving? 

Be sure to include at least two 

COMPOUND SENTENCES.

Learning Our Multiplication Tables 

We have been working hard on practicing our multiplication facts. During Math Menu we have different activities that help us further our understanding and practice our multiplication facts. 

We play bingo games with our partners. 

We use arrays to complete challenging tile tasks.

These algebra tiles expand our thinking about how we can apply our multiplication and use different operations at once. 

Multiplication Machines help us with our accuracy and fluency. How fast can you correctly complete the whole machine? 

As a class we have been working on other ways to help us remember the facts. One excellent way is by rehearsing a catchy song or rhyme. 

Can you sing along to this multiplication rap to help you learn your x3 facts?

This song uses rhyming to help retain the x4 facts!

 

How about this song? It has a memorable tune that helps me remember my x8 facts!

 

How do you prefer practicing your multiplication facts? Why do you think multiplication is so important to learn? 

 

Nouns Galore

We have been learning all about identifying singular and plural nouns. What does singular and plural mean? You may hear a familiar word in the word singular. I hear single.

singular = one 

plural = more than one

Usually we simply add a s to the end of a word to make it plural. However, some nouns are exceptions, or words that don't follow this rule. 

Here is an example of a sentence using a plural noun. 

Jacob had 3 boxes of delicious golden apples to share with his class. 

What noun follows the simple rule of adding a s? 

apples

What plural noun is an exception to the rule? 

The plural noun is boxes. 

Since the word box ends in with a x to make it plural you must add es.

There are also nouns that change completely to new words when made plural. These are called irregular nouns. That is because they are certainly not regular. 

Watch this BrainPop video and see if you can identify the plural nouns. Click on the link below the picture. 

 

BrainPop Plural Nouns

username: chaparrales password: brainpop

 

Write three to four sentences to a friend using at least 5 plural nouns. Challenge yourself to use plural nouns with ch, sh or x or even using irregular nouns. Remember the rules! 

 

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon week is all about making healthy choices to maintain a wholesome life! Being healthy is an important part of life. Without our health it would be impossible to do the many eventful things we adore including interacting with friends, playing sports or even learning!

We created Haiku Decks to share our ideas on how to make healthy choices.

Red Ribbon - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires
Copy of Red Ribbon - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires
Red Ribbon Week - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

In class we also discussed how making healthy choices is not just about having a healthy body or our physical health. 

We believe it is just as important to make healthy choices for your mind and heart. For example, having a positive attitude is a great way to influence your mood and emotions. Also it is important to share your feelings with friends and family and not keep things bottled up inside. 

Taking care of your mental health and emotional health is part of having a positive impact on your overall health. 

What are some ways you take care of your health? Can you think of some examples on how to take care of your health? Remember to focus on the things we should do not the things we shouldn't do. Tell us how it keeps you healthy physically, emotionally, or mentally. What are some things you plan on doing this year to make sure you stay healthy?  

Who Will Visit on Character Dress Up Day?

Photo by Mrs. Yollis

 

This Friday is Character Dress Up Day at our school! 

 In class, we have been talking about the various characters we have read about! This brainstorm helped some of us decide who will be on Friday.  Some people are characters from our reading textbook like Anthony Reynoso, Ms. Gernsblatt, or Mulan. Others are from chapter or picture books. I've heard that Cam Jansen, Katie Kazoo, and even Harry Potter will be in attendance this Friday! 

Have you decided what character you will transform into this Friday? 

 Leave a comment as if you are the character! What name tag will you be wearing? What props will you use in the classroom? Tell us a little about yourself! Who are you excited to meet?

Bones

In honor of the horrifying holiday of Halloween we have started

 learning all about the incredible skeleton system. Have you ever thought about what our bodies would be like without bones? Watch the video below for a great song all about bones!

We had a special guest in our classroom named Barneby Bones. He was quite helpful while we built our very own mini skeletons. 

Mrs. B and Francis hanging with Barneby Bones! Photo by: Zoe

This diagram shows some of the most common bones in our bodies and their names. When you comment, please be sure to use the correct name and spelling for the bone you are discussing.

What is the main purpose of our bones? Which bone do you think is most important and why? Have you ever broken any bones?   

 

When you are done posting a comment practice naming the bones by playing this game. 

Name that Bone!

  

Celebrating Traditions

Celebrating Traditions

 A tradition is something that family, friends,
or another group of people has done for many years and continues to do on a regular basis.

 *     *     *     *     * 

The story for this week is "The Keeping Quilt".

 In the first story, "The Keeping Quilt," by Patricia Polacco, the author retells the story of her family's handmade quilt. In the story, a Russian immigrant mother and family arrive in the United States. She plans to make a quilt from a basket of old clothes, telling her daughter, "It will be like having the family in back home Russia dance around us at night."  The quilt is passed along from mother to daughter for four generations. It becomes a Sabbath tablecloth and a wedding canopy. It even becomes a blanket for new generations of children. "The Keeping Quilt" is a heart-warming story about one family's tradition.

Please share a family tradition. It can be an annual party, a holiday, or any traditional event.

Please include details about: special foods,  decorations, songs, and/or activities.

 Your comment should be 4 to 6 sentences long. 
 Students: Your comment is due on Monday, October 13th!

Delightful Dictionaries

What is the purpose of a dictionary? 

Both writers and readers use dictionaries as a wonderful resource. 

When readers come across a word they don't understand they can use a dictionary to: 

*find the definition or meaning of a word

*find examples of how to use the word

Writers can use the dictionary to help them:

*spell a word correctly

*use the correct part of speech or word form

*Find useful examples that can help them use the word in their own sentences! 

Dictionaries also have plenty of other interesting information! Look at the picture below. Some dictionaries include an interesting fact about each letter on the first page of its entries. 

Dictionaries also include labeled illustrations!

Illustrations are always labeled and sometimes even give history on where the word came from! 

For example, did you know that the word "aardvark" 

comes from Africa and means "earth - pig"? 

Aren't dictionaries intriguing! 

(ooh that's a high vocab word! Look it up in a dictionary to find out what it means!)

Now that we all agree on how fabulous dictionaries are we need to learn how to use them! 

There are many parts to finding a word in the dictionary. Use ABC order and the guide words. 

Guide words tell you what the first and last word on the page is. So you need to use your brain to figure out if your word falls in between the guide words. 

 The guide words here are foghorn and food chain. Is the word fork on this page? 

Here is an educreations made by some students on how to understand and dictionary entries! 

What are some new and intriguing words you can find in the dictionary? Provide us with the most common part of speech and its definition!

Subject and Predicate

 

This week we have been identifying, or finding, parts of a sentence. We learned that each sentence has a subject and a predicate. The subject tells who or what the sentence is mostly about. The predicate tells what the subject is, has or what it is doing.

Here is an example.

Sophia had a wonderful day at soccer practice.

The subject is "Sophia". The predicate is "had a wonderful day at soccer practice."  

Watch this video for a fun song about subjects and predicates. 

 

Try writing a super sentence and ask a friend to identify the subject and predicate. Be sure to check back so you can see if your friend responded! 

Check the example above for how to format your comment.

Perplexing Puzzles

Over the last few weeks we have been working on number riddles! We used different strategies to solve them including looking at hundred chart patterns and using process of elimination. 

Today we were practicing ordering numbers from least to greatest. We tried taking a picture but some of our numbers were not visible because of a glare. 

For example, in the picture below, R's and J's numbers may be difficult to read. 

 

 In this picture, the S's number is a 4 digit number. The digit in the thousands place is blurry. In ___, 176 what digit could be in the thousands place?

Also, A's, O's and J's numbers are 5 digit numbers but the digit in the ten thousand place is blurry. 

A's number: __ 8 , 765

O's number: __ 9,998

J's number: __ 9,999

What could those digits be? 

Can you think of a riddle? 

Your riddle must include at least three clues. Here are some different clues we have worked on:

-This number is odd

-This number is even

-The ones digit it three more than the tens digit

-The number equals the sum of the hundreds digit and ones digit 

-The number is between 5 and 7

Direct your riddle to one friend. Ask them to solve the riddle using your clues. Your clues must make a number that fits within the number line! 

Incredible Inferences About Characters

An inference is an educated guess. When you gather clues from a story and combine it with what you already know, you can help yourself better understand the text. 

Good readers make inferences while they read. Inferences can be made to learn more about the character of the story.

Readers can make an inference from what the character is saying or the dialogue.

 Based on the dialogue we can infer that Pigeon is jealous of Duckling. In the first speech bubble there is an exclamation mark and question mark which means he is surprised and asking with a lot of emotion. In the second speech bubble we can infer that the Pigeon is a bit of a sore looser. Rather than being happy for Duckling he is complaining.

Sometimes you can discover more about the character by looking at the pictures of the story. 

 From this picture we can infer that Elephant and Pig really enjoy reading. We see that Elephant and Pig are smiling and interested in their book. We can infer that Pigeon does not like his book or does not like to read. He is not smiling! He isn't even looking inside of his book. 

Good readers can even infer the story's setting or where the character is!

"Pigeon stood in the puddle of mud. There was a strong smell in the air. The flies swarmed around him. He heard the oinks in the distance." 

Can you guess or infer where pigeon is these clues?

-puddle of mud

- flies swarming

- oink sounds

I know that pigs oink, and love mud. I also know that flies swarm around things that smell. I could infer that Pigeon is in a pig pen or at a farm. 

Look at this picture and read the caption below!

"Thank goodness I found my newspaper! It was hidden in the huge pile of leaves!" - Brutus

What are some things you can infer about the character from the picture?  What are some clues that tell you more about the character?

Please be sure to explain your inference like an equation! 

 clues + what you already know = your inference! 

Check out the example for help!

Our Punctuation Creation

In class we have been learning about the four different sentences and the punctuation marks that are used for each type.

 We used strong vocabulary to name our sentences. Today in class we made an educreations together to demonstrate our learning. Check it out.

We also talked about how great comments usually end with an interrogative sentence. This gives other bloggers an opportunity to respond back to you! 

Can you write a comment about your favorite type of sentence?  

Tell me why it's your favorite type of sentence. Provide an example. Be sure to use strong vocabulary when naming your sentence. Also use the correct punctuation marks!!! Try ending your comment with an interrogative sentence so someone can respond to you!

What do responsible students do?

This week we talked a lot about the responsibilities of being a third grader in Room 9. In order to create a class pledge and determine our classroom rules we answered 4 important questions.

First, we shared why we thought school was important. Most of us said that school is important because it helps us learn.

I wanted to know why learning was so important. As a class we decided that learning helps us prepare for college or jobs, so we can make money. It teaches us how to make good friends, and discover our own talents. Most importantly it makes our lives better!

Next, I asked Room 9 to tell me what they hope to learn this year. After categorizing our answers we found 5 major themes.

1. Math - multiplication and division

2. Technology including blogging

3. How to become better writer's including writing in cursive

4. Science

5. How to improve our reading skills. 

Since we all agreed that school is important and listed all of the things we are eager to learn, we needed to come up with some specific behaviors that will help us reach our goals. 

We sorted our answers into categories and found that listening and being respectful were the most important. We also talked about our attitude toward our learning and our responsibilities as students. Once we put all of our ideas together we created our classroom pledge!

 

A few ways to show you are a responsible student is by the way you act on the carpet. Brutus and Tank helped me demonstrate some key behaviors. 

Always raise your hand before speaking!

Stay in one place and don't distract other learners!

Keep your focus on your learning!

In your opinion, what is the most important thing you can do to be a responsible student? What are your personal strengths as a student and what do you think you need to work on?