Today we started our Multiplication unit.  Students will learn about the concepts of multiplication and how to use skip counting, repeated addition, multiple groups and arrays (diagrams of rows and columns) to solve multiplication problems.  A few learners have already started memorizing multiplication facts while others have worked on reviewing addition and subtraction, but everyone will begin Multiplication Math Racers on Monday 11/1.  Today we listened to this book during math class to kick off our unit.

The main character loves to count and doesn’t think she needs to memorize her multiplication facts. After a crazy dream where she tries to count everything and realizes it takes too long, she is convinced to learn multiplication.

All the children seem so excited to begin this new learning! They will be setting monthly goals for how far they hope to progress with their math facts. Thank you in advance for all the time you will set aside to help your third grader practice flashcards and meet these goals!

Please sign up for a parent/teacher conference on either 11/11 or 11/12. You can choose to meet in-person or virtually.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094FA4AE2FA1F94-mrs8

Yesterday the Bowmansville Fire Company and Fivepointville Ambulance Company came to Brecknock for Fire Prevention Day.  The fire fighters shared some important safety tips with us and then everyone was invited to climb through the fire truck and ambulance to check them out. Every learner got to take home a bookmark, cup, and fire helmet too.

Here are the important fire tips that were shared.

• Campfire safety: Remember to Stop, Drop and Roll if your clothes catch on fire near a firepit or campfire. No rough housing near the fire.
• Make sure you have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors at your house.
• Have a fire extinguisher on hand for small fires.
• Clean out your chimney. Lots of fires start as chimney fires.
• Close bedroom doors to keep fires from spreading easily through the house.
• Make sure to have a designated meeting spot outside your house in case of an emergency.

Next Monday is the kick off of the Global Read Aloud. All around the world teachers are reading aloud the same book to students in different schools.  This year’s chapter book for third grade is Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott. We are looking forward to hearing the book and making connections with students around the country and world.

Today we did a Mystery Meet to figure out where the class is that we will connect with weekly. We connected via Zoom and took turns asking yes/no questions to narrow down the location of each school. We started with “Are you north of the equator?”  Next we asked “Are you in the United States?”  Once we knew they were in the USA we asked questions like “Are you west of ____?” or “Does your state start with the letter ____?” We looked at the big projected map and discussed and voted on our next question after hearing their response and then one of our learners asked their class through the Zoom connection. We narrowed it down and guessed correctly that they are in Michigan!  They almost got our location with their final guess of New York.

We will connect with Mrs. Bielecki’s Third Grade class at Horizon Elementary School in Holt Michigan via Flip Grid each week.  Ask your third grader to tell you about it!