SPELLING: Week of May 11th

This week's patterns:

-tion, -sion, -cian

Here is our list:

1. question
2. vacation
3. mention
4. translation
5. auction
6. addition
7. edition

8. discussion
9. mission
10. permission
11. profession

12. magician

SPELLING: Week of May 4th

This week's patterns:

Simple Machine Words

Here is our list:

1. simple
2. machine
3. design
4. pulley
5. wedge
6. inclined plane
7. wheel
8. axle
9. lever
10. screw
11. push
12. pull
13. load
14. force
15. fulcrum

SPELLING: Week of April 20th

This week's patterns:

Review "r-controlled vowels"

Here is our list:

1. circus
2. thirsty
3. thirteen
4. person
5. hermit
6. Vermont
7. turnip
8. urgent
9. outburst
10. garlic
11. target
12. barber
13. forty
14. forests
15. absorption

Watch Out Words
16. packed
17. pact
18. paste
19. paced

SPELLING: Week of April 13th

This week's patterns:

Compound Words

Here is our list:

1. uplift
2. meanwhile
3. afternoon
4. railroad
5. homemade
6. handmade
7. bookkeeper
8. raincheck
9. lifelike
10. underestimate
11. textbook
12. notebook
13. washroom
14. bedroom
15. daylight
16. pancake
17. carpool
18. lifesaver
19. weatherproof
20. soundproof

MATH: Transitioning to the "Partial Products" Multiplication Strategy

On homelink 9-4, students have their first opportunity to practice the Partial Products Strategy at home. We've been transitioning to this multiplication strategy over the last two class periods, as this strategy will give us more "room to grow" so to speak, when we get to two digit x two digit problems.

So far, we've used Partial Products to solve one digit x two digit problems, as well as one digit x three digit problems.

I wanted to give a step by step example of the strategy, as it is quite different from the traditional algorithm we parents learned growing up.

I'll use the same problem we used from the earlier post: 6 x 23.

First, we record the problem vertically.

We still break apart the two-digit number into it's basic parts: 20 and 3, and we show that we will multiply both by the other factor, 6.

Then we solve both parts, lining up our products along the ones-place so it's easy to add together.

Last, we add up our products for our final answer.

Let me know if you have any questions!

SPELLING: Week of March 30th

This week's patterns:

Suffixes
-ful (full of)
-ible (able to)
-ness (state or quality of)
-less (without)

Here is our list:

1. delightful
2. respectful
3. forgetful
4. joyful

5. convertible
6. flexible
7. reversible
8. invisible

9. darkness
10. loudness
11. cleverness
12. cheerfulness

13. worthless
14. breathless
15. cloudless
16. ageless

Watch Out Words
17. rode (past tense of 'ride')
18. road (like a street)
19. rowed (with a paddle)



 

Math: Beginning One Digit x Two Digit Multiplication

We can solve multiplication facts, like 6 x 3 = 18.

And recently, we've been working to solve extended facts, like 6 x 20 = 120. In extended facts, we use our knowledge of facts to solve problems using multiples of 10, 100, and 100.

Now we are taking it one step further, to solve a one digit x two digit problem, but where the two digit number is not a multiple of 10.

Here’s an example of the type of problem I’m talking about: 6 x 23.

In class today, we learned how to solve this problem by applying what we already know. We showed our work in a concrete way, as follows.

First, we broke apart the two-digit number into 20 and 3. If we multiply each of these parts by 6, and then put the parts back together, we’ll get our answer.

Next, we record our work of multiplying each part by 6. We use our fact power to multiply 3x6 and our knowledge of fact extensions to multiply 20x6.

Finally, we take our two parts, 120 and 18, and add them back together to come to our final answer.

We start out with this visual strategy as a bridge towards the "Partial Products" algorithm, which will eventually become our main strategy for multi-digit multiplication. I hope this helps on the home-front as your child is moving into some new territory.

SPELLING: Week of March 23rd

This week's patterns:

Closed Prefixes (prefix ends with a consonant)
un-, im-, in-, mis-, dis- (all meaning "not" or "opposite" of base word)

Open Prefixes (prefix ends with a vowel)
re- (meaning "again"), pre- (meaning "before")

Here is our list:

1. unafraid
2. unintentional
3. imperfect
4. impolite
5. inactive
6. incomplete
7. mislead
8. mispronounce
9. distrust
10. dismount

11. repaint
12. renumber
13. rebound
14. preschool
15. prepaid 
16. pretest

Watch Out Words
17. vein  (like a blood vessel)
18. vain  (only worried about looks)
19. vane  (like a weather vane)

SPELLING: Week of March 16th

This week's patterns:

-tial
-cious
-tious

Here is our list:

1. spatial
2. initial
3. partial
4. essential
5. potential

6. delicious
7. precious
8. suspicious
9. spacious
10. vicious

11. cautious
12. nutritious
13. superstitious


Watch Out Words
14. knew
15. new
16. pour (like you pour some water)
17. pore (tiny opening in your skin)

SPELLING: Week of March 9th

This week's patterns:

'qua'
'y' as /i/
'cial'

Here is our list:

1. quacks
2. quality
3. quart
4. quadrangle
5. quantity

6. gym
7. symbol
8. myth
9. crystal
10. system
11. mystery

12. social
13. facial
14. special
15. glacial
16. crucial

Watch Out Words
17. sore (ouch!)
18. soar (fly!)
19. whether
20. weather (rain...)

Book Club Revolution!

So a few of our boys found several copies of a book in the library today. They decided to each check-out a copy and start their own book club. (Ahh, music to a teacher's ears, right?)

I invited them to use a round of Daily 5 every few days to meet together to talk about their book. They were pretty excited, to say the least. When I let the rest of the class know about the book club the boys had started, the idea spread like wildfire!

Many students used a Daily 5 today to organize a book club of their own. Currently, we have three different book clubs, reading three different books, and several more students thinking about starting one this week.

As a class, we took a few minutes to set up some "ground rules," because while book clubs are fun and a powerful way to improve as a reader and learn from other readers, there are some stumbling blocks that can get in the way sometimes. Here are some of the things we decided on:

• It's a commitment. If you decide to join a book club, you are committing to read the book. Think carefully about your interest-level in the book before making the commitment.
• You don't have to be in a book club.
• It's not just a club. We must be extremely careful that people don't feel excluded, but also recognize that book clubs are normally rather small, 4-6 people usually.
• Set up a schedule.  Make sure the group knows what to read and when.
• Meet once or twice a week to talk about what's happening in the book.

Wow, it's an exciting time to be a third grader. Have your child let me know if he/she wants to be part of a book club, and I'll help to get one set up!

Book-Clubbers... UNITE!

Wear Red on Friday

Students are invited to wear read on Friday to help support Riley Hospital. Here's a message from Jennifer Schwab (CCS Community Liason), with the details:

"Each year, our schools participate in fundraising campaigns that benefit some wonderful charities and we are so proud of all the wonderful work our students, staff and families do to support this giving-back effort. 

On Friday, February 13, we wanted to invite your school to participate in “Wear Red for Riley Day,” and help raise funds, as a district, to benefit Riley Hospital for Children in support of the CHS Dance Marathon. 

Students and staff participating would pay a dollar (or a donation of their choice) to wear Red for the day to support Riley Hospital for Children."

SPELLING: Week of February 9th

This week's patterns:

'eu'
'ch' (tricky sounds: /k/ and /sh/
'ar' (when sounding like /er/)

Here is our list:

1. neutral
2. sleuth
3. maneuver
4. feud

5. school
6. scheme
7. chord
8. chorus
9. orchid

10. chef
11. chaperone

12. pillar
13. cellar
14. burglar
15. regular
16. popular
17. poplar

SPELLING: Week of February 2nd

This week's patterns:

'augh' (usually followed by 't')
'gn' (begins or ends a word)
'ei'

Here is our list:

1. caught
2. taught
3. naughty
4. daughter

5. gnaw
6. sign
7. align
8. assignment
9. gnat

10. either
11. weird
12. protein
13. vein
14. reindeer


Watch Out Words
15. woman
16. women
17. lose
18. loose 
19. where
20. were
 

SPELLING: Week of January 26th

This week's patterns:

'ough' (usually followed by 't')
'wr'
'ui' (in the middle of words)

Here is our list:

1. brought
2. fought
3. thought
4. rough

5. wrong
6. write
7. wrist
8. wreck
9. unwrap
10. wrestle

11. fruit
12. juice
13. bruise
14. cruise
15. suite

Watch Out Words
16. people
17. arrange
18. answer
19. laugh

SPELLING: Week of January 20th

This week's patterns:
ph
-stle
-ey (at the end of multi-syllable words)

Here is our list:

1. phone
2. phrase
3. graph
4. sphinx
5. dolphin
6. typhoon

7. rustle
8. castle
9. whistle
10. hustle
11. nestle

12. hockey
13. chimney
14. kidney
15. Hershey
16. monkey

Watch Out Words
17. beauty
18. friend
19. because
20. minute

"Overdrive" information coming from the CCPL

The following is a note from Miss Teeple, our Media Specialist...

Dear 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th Grade Families,

The Cherry Tree Media Center is pleased to share with you that during the week of January 26^th, the Carmel Clay Public Library (CCPL) will be joining us at Cherry Tree during your child’s media special. They will be sharing information about Overdrive, a simple, method for reading eBooks on computers and tablet devices.  Students will be invited to bring in their personal device, in accordance with our school BYOD policy.  Bringing a device is OPTIONAL, and students without a device will be able to participate using a school computer.  The CCPL has requested that if a student is able to bring his/her library card number, or a parent’s library card number, this will enhance our time with them.  They do not need to bring the actual card.  A post it note, with the library card number, is sufficient.  For more information, or to download a CCPL Library Card application, please visit our Media Center webpage by clicking HERE. 

Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have prior to their visit.

Thank you!
Miss Teeple
bteeple@ccs.k12.in.us