April 30, 2012

Singapore Math 3A Families:

This week in math, we are beginning to learn long division.  The kids seem to understand the multiplication algorithm and are doing a wonderful job on in-class assignments.  It is crucial that they continue practicing their multiplication facts for both multiplication and division.  Things will get more difficult as we progress through the rest of the year, and I want them to have a solid understanding of those concepts.  This said, please practice math facts with your student every day for at least 10 – 15 minutes.  I remember when my kids were younger, we played multiplication and division games in the car with them everywhere we went.  We would throw questions at them as rapidly as we could to give them as much practice as we could.  The kids do a nice job in class, but they can always use the reinforcement at home.  Please check your child’s homework.  If they have a word problem, they need to be drawing the model (not just answer the questions).  I’m seeing homework coming in that is incomplete.  The models have not been drawn.  This is an important part of Singapore Math, and by not doing the models, the students are not getting the necessary practice that they need.  They should be feeling comfortable with model drawing by now, and I told them that these models are even more fun than the addition/subtraction models.

Homework for the week: 

Monday: p. 55-58, Exercise 3; Test B

Tuesday: WB 98-99, Exer. 13

Wednesday:  WB p. 100-101, Exer. 14; P. 59-60, Exer. 4 (TEST ON THURSDAY)

Thursday: Test Day!; Additional practice worksheets

Friday:  WB p. 102-103, Exercise 15

Thanks much for all of your support.  If you need anything, please contact me.

Mrs. Winkler

April 23, 2012

April 23, 2012

Testing is over and we are once again working very hard to learn new concepts.  The students are so excited that we’ve finally made it to multiplication and division.  It is so much fun and they really know their facts. 

In spite of that, please note that we still have much to cover before we finish up the school year.  Therefore, the kids will be learning double time.  We are doubling up on our lessons so that we can finish the book this year.  Hopefully, with a great deal of help from all of you, we can succeed.  Although the students do great with their basic facts, they are once again faced with drawing bar models with their word problems.  For some reason, they either like or dislike the models. There is no in-between for them.  I think the models for multiplication and division make much more sense and have really worked with the kids on these over the last few days.  Please keep encouraging them with their modeling so that they have lots of practice. 

What can you expect over the course of the next few weeks?  The students will be covering more material in class; therefore, there will be more homework.  I know they are up to the challenge.  They seem to whip right through their classwork, so I don’t think this will be a problem for them. 

What do I need from you and from your child?  As the saying goes, “Patience is a virtue”.  Please be patient during this time.  Allow your child more breaks during homework if he or she gets overwhelmed.  Don’t hesitate to email me if there are any problems.  I will certainly address any problems as soon as I can.  Also, remind your child that if he or she needs additional help, I am available.  I am holding your child to the highest standard possible in getting his or her work done, both timely and accurately.  In addition, I will continue to hold your child to the highest standards, both academically and behaviorally in class.  I realize it is the end of the year and that students are getting anxious to be finished with the school year; however, this is an extremely critical time for our class, one I’m sure you want your child to get the most benefit from.  Any disruptions in class (i.e. blurting out, talking with neighbors, playing with things on their desk, etc.) will result in your child missing out on important academic minutes while he or she goes through a quiet recovery in the hallway.  Because we have so very much to cover in a limited time, it is crucial that every student be on time to class, have his or her math materials on a daily basis, turns in homework at the beginning of class, and pays attention and participates in class at all times.

This week:

Monday, 4/23/12                                 WB p. 81-85; Exercises 6 – 7

Tuesday, 4/24/12                                 EP p. 53-54; Practice Test B
Wednesday, 4/25/12                           WB p. 86-87, Exercise 8
Thursday, 4/26/12                               WB p. 88-93, Exercise 9 - 10
Friday, 4/27/12                                    WB p. 96-97, Exercise 11 – 12

Thank you for your continued support. 

Mrs. Winkler

April 1, 2012

Hello 3A Math Families,

The students are doing a wonderful job.  We are nearing the end of Unit 2 covering addition and subtraction. This week, we will continue subtracting to the thousands by renaming several times, subtracting whole thousands, and reviewing for our test.
Homework this week:

                        Monday                       WB p. 55-56, Exercise 14

                        Tuesday                       WB p. 57-58, Exercise 15

                        Wednesday                 Worksheet, p. 39-40 (Test tomorrow)

                        Thursday                     Test Day! No Homework!

Have a wonderful week!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please email me.
Warm regards,

Mrs. Winkler

Week of February 20, 2012

Hello Math Families!

We continue to work diligently in math, learning new concepts. When I tell the students that we are going to be learning how to add and subtract, they give me a funny look as if to say, “Excuse me?” We learned strategies for mental addition and subtraction last week. This week, we will be learning sum, difference, greater than, and smaller than. These will be introduced in relation to model drawing. The students will be drawing their models to gain further understanding of addition and subtraction.

Our schedule this week:

Monday 2/20/12 Holiday, no school.

Tuesday 2/21/12 WB Exercise 4, p. 32-33

Wednesday 2/22/12 WB Exercise 5, p. 34-35

Thursday 2/23/12 WB Exercise 6, p. 36-37

Friday 2/24/12 WB Exercise 7, p. 38-39

*As always, there may be additional worksheets as needed. Our test over this chapter is planned for Monday, 2/27/12. In anticipation of the test, I might be sending additional homework over the weekend if we don’t complete it in class this week.

Thank you for your continued support. Have a great week!

Mrs. Winkler

Week of February 6, 2012

Hello 3A Math Families,

Wow!  We are already at the end of our first unit in Singapore 3A.  The students have been having a great time with place value up to the 10,000s.  They’ve really done a great job too!  We have started rounding numbers to the nearest tens place and will learn rounding to the nearest hundreds and thousands place before the week is out. 

We will be having a test on Thursday, February 9^th covering Chapter 3.  Then we’ll turn around and have our unit test on Friday.  It is going to be a fast-paced week. 

 Look for your student’s math book mark for their homework schedule. 

 Have a great week!

Mrs. Winkler

January 30, 2012

Hello 3A Math Families:

Wow!  That is so exciting to say….3A!  Way to go to all the kids.

This week, we will continue working on numbers to 10,000.  We spent some time reviewing late last week about place value and actually took what we already know about place value as we added thousands and ten thousands to the mix.

We will continue to work on place value this week.  We will also be able to determine which numbers are greater than or less than another number, be able to accurately identify numbers if we add or subtract by 10 or 100.  Please continue working with your children every night on their math problems.  It is very important that they are able to share things with you in order to reinforce the concepts they are learning in class.  It is always helpful to give them additional practice problems relating to their homework.

Please note that I am planning on a few tests this week – Wednesday and Friday. 

Homework:

Monday, 1/30/12 - Practice:  WB Ex. 2, p.10-11; EP:  Exercise 1B, p. 7-8

Tuesday, 1/31/12 - Practice: WB Ex. 3, p. 12-13

Wednesday, 2/1/12 - Practice:  Exercise 1C, p. 9-10

Thursday, 2/2/12 - Practice: WB Exercise 4, p. 14-16

Friday, 2/3/12 - Practice:  Additional PV worksheets. 

This will be a short unit, so our end-of-unit test is currently planned for the week of February 6^th.  If that changes, I will let you know.

It is a pleasure working with your children.  They are really excited to be in 3A. 

Mrs. Winkler

Wrapping up 2B this week!

We are nearly there.  The students will be taking their cumulative test for 2B on Wednesday.  I hope they’ve been studying at home and can demonstrate to you the concepts they have learned so far.  They were given a practice test last week for homework and were given several nights to review each of the concepts.  Please make sure that they concentrate on the areas that give them difficulties. 

The new 3A materials have arrived in the classroom.  You will soon see a different workbook coming home with your student for homework. We will start with place value.

As always, it is a pleasure working with the children.  I love watching them come up with different solutions to problems that we have in class. 

Mrs. Winkler