Math Centers (and how they saved my life) Kidding. But only kind of....

Ahhhhh math.  It happens at the time of the day when we are all a little (ah-hem) tired.  Lunch has been eaten, we have relaxed for read aloud and then BAM! It's time for math and time to get our brains back in gear.  That can be hard.  Even for the teacher!  So, this year we have been trying something new.  Math Centers.  So far, I am in love!  We start our math time with me teaching the lesson and main concept to the whole class.  This takes 20 to 25 minutes.  Then, we break into our groups.  Every student gets to go to each center each day.  It keeps things moving and there isn't time to get bored or too far off task!  Our 3 centers are:

Teacher Time:  This is where students get to practice the concepts of the lesson in a small group with me.

Another center students rotate to is called Lesson Work.  This is where they do a review Math Box page from their math book.  This is done independently or with our para, Mrs. Vogt.  Once kids are done with the page and have checked it, they have been playing math games.  This week we have played addition Top-it.

Students playing Top-it.

The favorite center by far is the iPad center!  Students have been practicing their math facts on the Xtra Math website.  When they are done, they can play a math game on Hooda Math.  It is amazing how quiet this center is as everyone is totally engaged.

So, there you have it!  A peek into our math time in the afternoon.

Starting next week, we will be practicing our multiplication facts and taking a timed test on Fridays.  I'm glad we have fact practice built into our day.  I think that will really help the kids master their facts faster this year!

Until next time,
Mrs. Lafferty

Science Fun

We have been studying the scientific method in preparation for starting our unit on water next week.  To practice the steps in the scientific method, we did a few fun experiments!  Here are a few pictures of our experiment with water, pepper and dish soap.  It is called "Pepper Freak-out"!  Ask your kiddo if they can tell you what Quick Hide My Piece Of Candy stands for.  If they can't remember, I'll tell you the answer at the end of this post....:)


First, we gathered our supplies:

Then, we sprinkled pepper all over in the water.

Next, we had a brave soul put the q-tip of dish soup in the water...!

 We were all amazed as the pepper "freaked out" and ran away from the soap!

I wish I had taken pictures of the first experiment we did.  We used milk, food coloring and dish soap.  The milk ran away from the dish soap and make the food coloring into a tie-die awesome creation on our plate.  It was pretty cool!  You can try that one at home with your kiddo for fun. :)

Mrs. Lafferty

Fluency Pictures and Tip, Tip, Tell, Re-ask

Since I wasn't able to upload the video of us doing our fluency practice, I took a few pictures the other day of kids reading with each other.  They are doing a GREAT job of whisper reading and recording errors and correct words per minute for their partner.

This morning we also spent some time learning a strategy for helping each other figure out answers without just TELLING the answer right away.  I thought I would share it with you as parents so you could use it at home when you are helping your child with homework!  It is called Tip, Tip, Tell, Re-ask....

If they don't answer a question correctly, give them a tip. "Think of what sound that letter makes..." (or whatever applies to what you are doing)

If they don't answer correctly again, give them another hint or tip.

If they are still stuck, just tell them.  That's ok!  Sometimes you just have to be told what the right answer is.  But, here is the most important part:

Re-ask!!!

Always ask them to repeat the answer back to you, now that they know it.  It's the repeating that helps them cement the information in their brain. :)

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Lafferty

Getting into the swing of things...

We have spent the first days of school learning all the routines that will carry us through the year.  One of the things that we have spent some serious time learning is how to practice our fluency!  This little video shows our class doing an awesome job of using whisper voices and reading to a partner.  One person is the "recorder" and the other person is the "reader".  Partner A reads for one minute while partner B listens carefully for accuracy, marking any works that are not correct.  Then, we switch jobs.  Partners read the same story all week.  The goal is to read more words correctly each day.  We are graphing and recording our progress.  It has been fun to see how quickly they picked up this routine!

****Rats!  For some reason Blogger doesn't want to cooperate and upload my video tonight.  I will try again another night.  Sorry!!!*****

I took this picture to help remind me where all my kiddos sit when we gather at the rug.  I thought it would be fun for you to see where your child sits!

And, last but not least for tonight (since tonight is the first night reading logs went home).  My kids laugh every time I say "researchers say..." BUT IT'S TRUE!  Researchers say that the best way to become a better reader is to just plain READ!  Here is a little visual that I found on Pinterest.  This pretty much sums it all up!

Happy Reading!
Mrs. Lafferty

Trying new things

I am excited to be trying something new...a class blog!  I have been thinking about doing this for a while now, but just hadn't taken the time to set one up and figure out how it all works.  I want this to be an easy way for you as parents to see what is happening in our 3rd grade classroom.  I hope the posts that I share will also be a conversation starter for you and your child about their day and what they are learning!  

I'm looking forward to an exciting year!
Mrs. Lafferty