Monday, December 2, 2013

Resources for Parents & Classroom News!

  Welcome Back!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed some time with family, friends, and loved ones.  I enjoyed getting to meet with you over conferences to talk about your child at school.  I am thankful to work with such talented kids and supportive parents!

Recommended Resources Following Conferences
Here are more math skill practice games and websites, book lists for budding readers, and other resources to help support your child’s learning.  Click on the links.

High-interest Chapter Book Titles for 2nd/3rd Grade Readers:

Fish Finelli by E.S. Farber
The Life of Ty: Penguin Problems, by Lauren Myracle
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Claude in the City by Alex T. Smith
Murilla Gorilla by Jennifer Lloyd
Calvin Coconut: Hero of Hawaii by Graham Salisbury
The Great Cake Mystery by Alexander McCall Smith
Marty McGuire Digs Worms! by Kate Messner
Unlikely Friendships for Kids by Jennifer S. Holland
A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton
Iva Honeysuckle Discovers the World by Candace Ransom 
Stella Batts by Courtney Scheinmel
Lulu and the Duck Pond by Hilary McKay
Violet Mackerel by Anna Branford  
Aggie and Ben, Good Dog, Aggie, Aggie the Brave, by Lori Ries


Math Support Games and Websites (compiled by Math Learning Center, publisher of our Bridges Mathematics curriculum)

Basic Addition
Speed Grid Addition Players select two numbers from a grid that equal the given sum. Timed game.
Math Lines The player races to pair numbers that add up to 10. Before your child plays, review the pairs of numbers that add up to 10. Site contains ads.
Basic Subtraction
Speed Grid Subtraction Players select two numbers from a grid that equal the given difference. Timed game.
Larger Addition
Falling Problems A beat-the-clock game in which the player has to decide whether an addition or subtraction combination will be less than or greater than 10. In a more challenging version, the player decides whether an addition or subtraction combination will be less than or greater than 100. This game is great for developing number sense and estimation skills.
Larger Subtraction
Falling Problems A beat-the-clock game in which the player has to decide whether an addition or subtraction combination will be less than or greater than 10. In a more challenging version, the player decides whether an addition or subtraction combination will be less than or greater than 100. This game is great for developing number sense and estimation skills.
Basic Multiplication
Times Square This game provides practice with multiplication facts as players race to be the first to get 4 products in a row on the game board. Use "guest pass" to enter game list & play against the computer.
Factor Dazzle Players score points for finding all the factors of target numbers set by their opponents. Your child may need some support to get started. Use "guest pass" to enter game list & play against the computer.
Multiplication Grand Prix Up to 4 players compete in this race car game by entering basic facts. Students can race one another or play against the computer.
All Basic Facts
Math Magician Specify facts to practice. Select from addition, subtraction, multiplication & division. Timed. 
Money: Subtraction with Decimal Numbers
Making Change The player finds the difference between a price and the amount of money paid. Then the player shows that change using the fewest coins and bills possible. Talk to your child about some ways to calculate the amount of change mentally. For example, can he or she add up from the price to the amount paid to figure the difference? Site contains ads.
Telling Time
Bang On Time The time is displayed in words. A player stops the clock when hands are in the correct position.
Watch and Learn An extensive list of links to games and activities to practice telling time.
Fractions
Identifying Fractions Game Identify which picture of a pizza represents the given fraction. Use arrow keys to choose the correct pizza. Select from 4 levels of difficulty. Turn off timer and sound if desired. One or two player game. Site contains ads.
More Games
The sites below contain some of the best games for elementary math students to play at home. Look through the sites to find other games for your child.
ABCya!
BBC Bitesize (skip money games on this British site)
Calculation Nation (register or use guest pass; for upper elementary & middle grades)



No Wapato Park Field Study this Thursday
We have so much going on with guest speakers and special programs these next two weeks (Writer-in-Residence Rosanne Parry, LCREP salmon lesson, a watershed clean-up presentation from beachwalkproject.com, Classroom lessons and Tribal Heritage Night with Grand Ronde members) we’ve decided to push our Wapato Field Study to Dec 19th.  


What We’re Working On in the Classroom:

Math – This week we launch our unit on 2D Geometry!  In this unit your  child will identify, classify, describe, and compare 2 dimensional shapes, recognize shapes that are congruent (same size and shape) and similar (same shape), identify right, acute, and obtuse angles, learn attributes and ways to classify triangles and quadrilaterals, and calculate perimeter.  There will be a ton of new vocabulary - there are many words that we use almost only in geometry class. These words are important  because they let us name shapes and talk about them in precise ways. You can go to  www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/materials/parents/parents3.asp to find a PDF of vocabulary words for this unit to refresh your memory and keep conversations going at home!

Writing – We are finishing editing and publishing our Chinook Stories, as well as learning some writing lessons from our guest teacher, writer-in-residence Roseanne Parry!  The author of acclaimed children's novels Written in Stone and Heart of a Shepard will be teaching two classroom lessons in the third grade this week, as well as hosting a Family Write Night in the school cafeteria on Thursday evening!  Super exciting!

Reading – After a week off, we are getting back into routines of Silent Reading, Partnered Reading, Guided Reading, and Reader’s Notebooks.  Sticking with chapter books from start to finish was a major goal discussed for many students during parent-teacher conferences; you can reinforce this at home by asking your child about what they are reading.

Social Studies -  We are creating Native Plant informational signage and displays for our tribal night, learning more about native fishing methods, and will be assembling Topic Books to reflect on our Chinook learning.   We are so excited for Tribal Heritage Night next Thursday December 12th!  

Science – This Friday, guest teachers from the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership will be coming to our classroom to teach a lesson about fish anatomy.  The children will dissect a small trout during this lesson - it is pretty amazing for most kids.   If your child feels a bit squeamish about dissecting a fish - no worries - we can find an alternative activity in another room. 

That's the news for now!  
Fondly,
Asa





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