At Home Learning
Dear Parents and Students,
Everyone should have received an email about the following suggestions for Grade 3.
First, here is a link to an excellent daily schedule for students in Grade 3:
Khan Academy Learning Schedule
If you choose to follow this schedule, then I would recommend using Readworks (as outlined below) for the reading time, and the Writing Workspace (below) for the writing time. The Khan material is also good. At this time, the reading section of Khan is not something that I am able to track student use of yet, so feel free to use it as you wish.
Grade 3 Curriculum Suggestions from our Grade 3 Teaching Team:
1. Khan Academy: It is mostly geared towards third grade math, but there are also some grammar activities as well. I have set up a classroom area for our class. I will be checking student progress each day, and I will look into a method for providing feedback to your child to improve their learning in all areas (student email?).
Instructions to join:
Go to khanacademy.org/join
Enter our class code: RPHZKADJ
Use your school email to log in (firstname.last[email protected])
Enter your grade and course (eg., math) & go!
In Khan Academy, we will be starting with fractions as a review of what we did before the March Break, and then begin the Geometry unit. This will be very self-paced, so I will update assignments as students complete them. When working in Khan Academy, please try to ensure that your child watches the videos before attempting the questions and quizzes because that is where the material is introduced. They are also linked in each assignment for students to watch again if they are having difficulty. Important: Please make sure to refresh the screen after every assignment in order to see completed tasks.
2. Another excellent resource that we use in class is Readworks.org. Your child should already know how to log into Readworks and has used it in the past. In the instance that they have not, then please assist them in creating a new account by using their Google account that the school provides. I have set up a number of reading assignments for students to work on, and will add more as they are completed. When completing the readworks assignments, please remind your child to look back in the text for answers and complete the short answer sections using the ROPES strategy. Here is an outline of what that means:
R - restate the question
O - opinion (because…)
P - proof - give evidence from the text (one reason is because the story said…)
E - extra example (Another example is in paragraph 2…)
S - Summarize your answer (This is why… So you see…)
Instructions for logging into Readworks:
Have students go to www.readworks.org/student
Students should sign in with their Google account.
Students enter class code E4KCQH
3. For writing, I will be using a workspace called "Writing at Home" in Hapara to assist with learning and practicing writing. Students can access Hapara workspace through the student portal. The workspace would be in the Language folder in Hapara. In the workspace, students will have assignments due each week. They will be posted on Mondays, and due the next Monday. For now, we are focusing on Narrative writing.
I will also be sending out the weekly homework as we have done in the past. Students can access the weekly homework through their google drive. It will be due on Fridays as per usual.
Once again, please do whatever you are comfortable doing. All of this work is optional and as a grade 3 team we are just putting it out for families if you wish to work on it. We understand how challenging this time can be for families, so please just do whatever you feel you can handle.
Other Resources:
Our school board also has a number of excellent resources that students can access from home. All of these resources can be accessed through the Student Portal when your child logs into their google account.
For reading, RAZ-KIDS is an excellent tool that allows students to listen to a story, read it, and then take a comprehension quiz. As students read the stories in each level, they progress through the levels. Your child is already levelled in this program and should be able to read the texts with reasonable independence. If they are not able to do so, please contact me and I will rectify this. When students first log in, they must enter the teacher name, which is atonon2. Then they will see their name and can enter the app. Students should be working in the "level up" section in order to progress from one level to another.
For writing, Book Creator is a fun way for students write online books of their own. We are currently working on Narrative writing - or fiction - so this would be a great tool to have children write their stories.
For math, the school board uses Zorbits to help enhance the math curriculum. This is mostly for practice rather than learning, so I would recommend using Khan Academy before Zorbits. I would use Zorbits as extra practice. To use Zorbits, students should go through the student portal to avoid having to log in.
Another excellent math tool is Prodigy. Most students love playing Prodigy and it can be quite effective, but you have to make sure they are doing the questions rather than simply playing with their characters! It is mostly an excellent practice tool, but does have hints if your child is having difficulty. Again, Khan Academy is a better resource for learning the material. Students can log into prodigy by using their google logins. All students have done this in class and know how to do it. I have assigned geometry for the next 2 weeks on Prodigy. www.
The Ontario Government recently announced that they will be relying on TVO Kids as a resource to assist students in learning. I have looked at it briefly and there are a number of videos and games within the website that are excellent for learning and practicing. The only problem with these resources is that there is no roadmap, or structure for your child to follow from one concept to another. For the most part, this likely won't be a problem, but again, for math a structured approach is usually more effective. Thus, I would still recommend Khan Academy. I'm sorry if I sound like a salesperson for this site, I promise they don't pay me! It is an excellent, well structured resource, although likely not as engaging as the TVO kids material or Prodigy.
Scholastic Learn at Home is also a great resource: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html