Growth Mindset

Today we focused a lot on having a growth mindset when it comes to math. Math can be very frustrating for students because it takes a lot of hard work to master a new skill. Enjoying math is half of the battle when it comes to mastering a new skill. I began by reading a story to the students. As I read, they closed their eyes and pictured themselves in the story. 

We talked about how that would make them feel if their teacher told them they couldn't play on the monkey bars just because they didn't make it the first time. We also talked about how they could make it all the way across with practice and hard work. This lead to a discussion how both students AND teachers should have a growth mindset. We also connected this with learning math. We also discussed the power of the word "yet." We discussed how if math is hard, we don't say "I can't do it!" Instead, we can say "I can't do it YET." If they work hard and have the right mindset it will help them reach success. 

Next, we watched a video on withmathican.org. It is extremely powerful and made many of the students share how they have felt at some point like they weren't good at math or scared to share ideas in class. It was a great open discussion that really built our bond as a class and contributed to creating the positive and safe environment I strive to maintain. Here is the link to the video:

http://youtu.be/sLPFaOvhlKw

Next, we went to the website (withmathican.org) and talked about our class pledge. I created a poster with the pledge and the students personalized their signature to hang around the pledge. After they posted their signature the students held their right hand and we said the pledge together. 

Www.withmathican.org is a great website for resources to build a growth mindset within students. There are tons of resources for not only teachers, but parents as well! I encourage you to take a look and possibly even sign the pledge online with your child. Growth mindset is something I will try to build all year long within my students. It helps the students realize it's okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them, that all students can be successful with hard work, and to never give up. It helps keep a positive relationship with math. As a teacher that is one of my biggest goals for my students! I want them to LOVE (or at least like) math!

I hope you all have a great week. It was a successful first week of school!! :)

Guess My Number

At the end of the day I love to play "Guess My Number" with my class. The students absolutely love it and they don't even realize the problem solving, number sense, and concept of place value that goes into the process of guessing my number. We started small by guessing between 0-100, then built up to 0-500, and now we are guessing between 0-1,000. The students base their guess based off how many digits are correct, how many are in the correct place, and if my number is greater than, less than, or equal to the number they guessed. It's so much fun!

Graphing

This week we have been learning about graphs! The students started by creating a class pictograph representing their birthdays. We discussed the importance of reading the title, categories (months in this case), and scaled intervals (what the graph is counting by). 

Next, we created a frequency table (new to 3rd grade) using the same information. We emphasized the similarities and differences. It was important for the students to understand that just because they look different doesn't mean we changed the data. 

Then, I passed out a random mixture of graphs to the class. Some were frequency tables, dot plots, and pictographs. I partnered the students up and they shared what they noticed about their graph. Then I turned on music and they walked around the room. When the music stopped they had to freeze and partner with another group closest to them. The students compared their graphs and shared the similarities and differences. We did this a few times.

The last time they rotated to the music they sorted the graphs based on whether they thought it was a dot plot, frequency table, or pictograph. Both classes completed the sort correctly the first attempt! We watched a mini video about each graph after the sort and I gave the students the option each time to make changes to our sort. I didn't reveal if they were correct or incorrect until the end. They had great conversations!!

I encourage you to ask your child what they know about each type of graph. You could also ask them to give you ideas about what data they might represent using each type. A pictograph is a graph using pictures, a frequency table uses tallies, and a dot plot uses dots to represent information. 

We will continue to work with graphs throughout the year. 

Welcome!!!

I am looking forward to being your child's teacher this year. I will be teaching your child math and science. If your child is in my homeroom class then I will be teaching the math, science, AND, social studies. This is a great place for you to see firsthand what your child does in our class and an excellent way to stay "in the loop!" I will post reminders, updates, pictures of our learning, and student work samples. I encourage you to check our blog frequently.

End of the Year

Dear Parents and Students,

Thank you for such an amazing year! It is incredible to look at the growth every single student has shown, both academically and physically. This year went so fast. I am going to miss seeing every student's smiling face everyday. I hope everyone has an awesome summer and an enjoyable break. Please keep in touch! I am proud to say I was part of your child's educational journey. Not only did I teach them, but they have taught me a ton as well. I wish you the best of luck in the future!

Best Wishes,

Mrs. Katelynn Estes

Rockin' Reader Carnival Volunteer Link

Below is the link to sign up as a volunteer for the Rockin' Reader Carnival. Please let me know if you have any trouble accessing the link. Thank you!

https://docs.google.com/a/conroeisd.net/spreadsheets/d/1nzkEoOc6lEWcTJWejcJRjDEee9JReU0ENAc7VMiwYY8/edit?usp=sharing

Math STAAR

Tomorrow, May 9, the students will take the Math STAAR. They have worked so hard and I am so proud of each and every one of them. They have come so far. From beginning the year they had little understanding of multiplication, they are now mastering multiplication and division facts. If they get stuck on a problem, rather than throwing in the towel, they attempt strategies to help them figure it out. They work well with their peers and handle everything we throw at them like champions. I am so grateful I had the honor of being part of your child's educational journey. They have grown so much!! As for the STAAR, it is just a performance and their opportunity to show off all that they know. Please share how proud I am of your child! I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!