Third Grade News - February, 2013

Students should have memorized their multiplication facts through ten at this point and be working on division facts. If your child is not at this point, its time to spend some extra time with flashcards, or online practice programs, to get up to speed. They will struggle horribly in fourth grade math if they are not fluent with the basic facts.

This month, third grade will begin learning about the distributive property and how it can help in multiplying larger numbers. There will be lots of hands-on practice with base ten blocks. Asking your child to explain it to you is a good way to check for understanding!

We will also continue our number talks and constructed response practice to strengthen students' basic number sense. Thanks to all those parents that were able to attend the Curriculum Night. Hopefully, that gave you a better idea of math under Common Core.

In Language Arts, Reading and Writing, we will be looking at point of view and different sentence structures ( simple, compound, and complex). Our writing focus continues on narratives, informational, and opinion pieces. Read aloud books and reading groups reinforce good reading strategies and story development.

In Science and Social Studies, we have completed our study of Georgia habitats and the adaptations of the organisms that live in each. We are beginning our unit on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Our field trip to the Little White House this month will be a highlight of this unit.

A word about handwriting. Cursive is a third grade standard in Georgia. While some students may not be quite developmentally ready for this, all students should have small (as compared to kindergarten print), legible handwriting. The intermediate grades require much more in terms of writing, as does Common Core, and students that cannot write easily and legibly will struggle.

 

Finally, continue to read the What's Happening school newsletter and school emails, as well as your child's daily folder to stay informed on your child's progress and school activities. Information on Valentine's Day will be sent home by individual teachers.