Mrs. Unger’s Classroom Newsletter
Rosa Lee Carter
Elementary
Ashburn, VA
December 1st, 2015
Issue 4
December News
We have a very exciting next three weeks in third grade! Remember to dress your child
accordingly, we will be going outside unless the temperature falls below freezing.
We will be starting our simple machine unit and completing some STEM activities. We are also
working on our fictional writing unit. We will continue to work on multiplication and division
over the next few weeks.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am looking
forward to a great quarter!
Winter party
We will be having a winter party the week before winter break. More information will be
coming. If you would like to volunteer to help with this, I am sure our room moms would love
your help! We will be contacting you soon with more information. If you have any old puzzles
(missing pieces are fine), old cereal boxes, wrapping paper or craft making material (like
stickers), please send them in!
Book Orders
Book orders are due to the scholastic website by this Friday! This is a great time to order
holiday gifts. If you want to order them secretly, just email me, and I will set aside the
books and you can retrieve them from the office when they get here.
Multiplication and Division
We are finishing our multiplication and division unit this week. It is extremely important that
your child knows their times tables up to twelve. The mobymax.com website has some math facts and
math skills reviews that are useful. You may also want your child to visit the following website:
https://sites.google.com/a/solteacher.com/olteacher-com/home/third-grade-virginiasolresources/math-sol-resources/third-grade-math-sol-3-10-multiplication This site has a ton of games
and math fact activities that your child may enjoy using. Remember, not only do they need to know
their math facts, but also how to use them on a number line, in missing number relationships, in showing
repeated addition and subtraction, as well as completing a missing number equation.
The unit test later in the month will include math facts with the previous information, simple 2 digit
multiplication problems and division with simple remainders.
Unger, pg. 2
PTO and Calendar of Events
 Chili Bowl: December 4th
 Winter Festival: December 11th
 Holiday Shop: December 15th-16th
 Holiday Party: December 17th
 Winter Break: December 21st-January 1st
Information on all events can be found on the school’s
webpage.
Bookopolis
A parent sent me this website information (Thank you!) and I wanted to share it with
you. It is a website similar to Goodreads. This is a kid site where students can review,
rate, summarize and write a report on books they are reading. I think this is an
excellent tool for students to write about what they are reading. They can also read
recommendations from their friends and other students throughout the country. I
created accounts for all the students. Their login in MOST cases is their first name
followed by their last initial. Some students it’s their first name and last two letters of
the last name. The password is their lunch numbers.
Tip of the Month:
When having your child complete their nightly reading homework, make sure that they are
using sticky notes or keeping a notebook nearby to help them jot down the main idea and
details from each section. This is a great time to ask what his or her favorite lines were
from within the text. See if your child can find a quote from the text that creates a
beautiful image in their mind.
Reminders:
1. Please remember to make sure your child is dressed appropriately for recess every
day. Unless the wind-chill falls below thirty two degrees, we will be going outside.
2. Independent reading homework can be any book of your child’s choices, RAZ kids
books or books found on the Reading A-Z site, as well as Moby Max reading activities.
3. If your child is going home a different way on a particular day, please be sure to send
a note, not an email. I don’t always get to my email before passes are made. Also, if I
am out, the substitute needs to be aware of the change.
Unger, pg. 3
Review Websites
Simple Machines
(Game and activities)
http://edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/
This Months’s Topics
Math:
1. Division
a. dividing numbers 0-12 using a variety
of methods
b. finding remainders
http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/InventorsTo
olbox.html
http://www.mikids.com/Smachines.htm
c. patterns between multiplication and
division
2. Patterns and graphing
a. Identify and continue a pattern
Math fluency games
http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/
b. Collect and organize data
c. Construct and interpret line plots,
picture graphs, line graphs and bar
graphs
http://resources.oswego.org/games/
Multiplication Practice
www.honorpoint.com
http://www.fastertimestables.com/cool-times-tablessongs/ (Catchy songs)
http://resources.oswego.org/games/SumSense/summulti
.html (problem solving facts)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers
/multiplication/timestables/game.shtml (math fact
practice)
A+ Math
http://www.aplusmath.com/
http://freerice.com/#/multiplication-table/17475
Video Game Multiplication Site
www.bigbrainz.com
BUNCH of multiplication games
http://www.gamequarium.com/multiplication.html
http://www.southbridge.k12.ma.us/CharltonSt/Mantineo
Webpage/multi.htm
http://www.math-drills.com/multiplication.shtml
(worksheets)
http://www.quiz-tree.com/Elementary-Math_FindMissing-Factors_2_MC-4.html (missing factors)
http://illuminations.nctm.org/lessondetail.aspx?ID=L316
(story problems)
Division Practice
http://www.aaamath.com/div.html#topic1
Science:
1. Simple Machines
a. Simple and compound machines
2. Resources
a. Earth’s resources (renewable,
reusable, nonrenewable)
b. Energy resources
Sun, water, wind, fossil fuels
Language Arts:
1. Write a descriptive paragraph
2. Develop a plan for writing
3. Complete a fictional piece of writing
4. Edit writing for grammar, capitalization and
punctuation
5. Use commas in a series
6. Identify main idea and supporting details
7. Identify problem and solution