Homework Philosophy
The third grade team believes the purpose of homework is to have students practice what has been taught, establish habits as life-long learners, and foster a love of reading. Please team with us to achieve the following goals for our students:
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Learn independence vs. dependence;
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Acquire problem solving skills through critical thinking;
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Take responsibility for one’s own learning;
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Learn perseverance and self-reliance
We have limited the number of worksheets or pages that students must complete so that the majority of homework time can be devoted to reading. Students will be held accountable for reading the required time by monitoring weekly Reading Counts scores, words read, and tests taken.
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How can families help at home?
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First, let your child work on their own.
DO NOT walk them through each problem.
Suggest that they refer to the examples done in class.
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Next, review their work and circle their errors.
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Instead of solving the problem for them, ask these questions:
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Did you read the question carefully?
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Did you underline/circle keywords and numbers?
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Did you draw a picture/model?
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What operation are you using? (Add, subtract, multiply, divide)
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What strategy are you using? (Repeated addition, equal groups, arrays, etc…)
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You used the correct operation, did you check your math?
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Help your child feel successful by returning homework that is thoughtfully completed. Parents can seek help at http://www.hmhco.com/GoMathHelp/Help/Math-Help-Tips-Home
IT IS YOUR CHILD’S RESPONSIBILITY TO PUT THEIR MATH IN THE FOLDER AND THEIR FOLDER IN THEIR BACKPACK. THIS IS THE YEAR TO BUILD INDEPENDENCE.
Reflex Math
Students need to “play to the green” at least three times each week. If your student is still working on addition/subtraction, they should be playing on a daily basis, as fluency in addition and subtraction was a 2nd grade standard. The 3rd grade report card will reflect students' fluency in multiplication and division only.
After October, most of the math instruction will depend heavily on fluency in addition/subtraction as we begin focusing on multiplication/division.