Full Year of 3rd Grade Integrated Mastery Method Math: Part 3 Of 4

*Note: If your student has not taken (or is not signed up for) Parts 1 or 2of this series, please contact me first for placement advice.

This session is part of a larger series titled, “A Full Year of 3rd Grade Integrated Mastery Math”. Taken as a whole, this will offer a full year's worth of math at the general 3rd grade level--focusing on gaining a deep understanding of the concept and application of multiplication as repeated addition,  mastery of the basic multiplication facts, double digit multiplication and solving for an unknown.  Money, measurement, basic geometry,  place value and their connection to multiplication will also be covered. Additionally, this class will connect these math concepts to topics and themes from Language Arts, Social Studies and Science to form an even broader and deeper interdisciplinary understanding. This is a Mastery approach to math--each concept will be discovered, explored and practiced in a meaningful, in-depth way to achieve full understanding before moving on and connecting to the next topic. This approach is ideal both for students who love math and want to take a deep dive into each concept, as well as anxious math learners who get easily overwhelmed by jumping quickly between concepts and prefer to take their time to fully learn and understand each concept. In both cases, the mastery method can build confidence, create a positive math identity and set students on a trajectory of math success. Because of the small size of this class, I will be able to give each student the individual attention needed to ensure mastery. This course is geared towards the 3rd grade student, but because the mastery method builds on previously internalized concepts and skills, specific age or assigned grade level is not as important as the prerequisite foundations of mathematical understanding. 

**Specifically for this class, students should come with a solid number sense for whole numbers and adding and subtracting single and multi-digit numbers.  Additionally, for this 3rd session, students should have a basic understanding of multiplication as repeated addition, understand and apply the rules for multiplying by 0 and 1, and be able to fluently skip count and multiply by 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, and 10 (covered in Parts 1 and 2 of this class) If you have questions about your learner’s placement level, please contact me. 

Our integrated theme for this third (9-week) session is diversity and how it relates to math. 3rd graders will explore the beauty and joy of diversity in our world--diversity in people, places, learning styles, and strategies for solving math problems--through picture books and real world situations. 3rd graders will sing math songs, look for patterns, draw geometric pattern circles, and move their bodies to master skip counting by 4’s, 7’s and 8’s. To make real world connections between skip counting and multiplying, we will use visual models and real world examples, such as converting gallons to quarts to multiply by 4, or exploring the 7 continents or 7 wonders of the world to introduce skip counting by the lucky number 7. Additionally, 3rd graders will learn the multiples of 10 and 100, and rounding to 10, 100, and 1,000. Finally, we will use place value and the distributive property to introduce multiple digit multiplication (2-digit by 1-digit). 
We start each day with calendar work (a great real-world, everyday math connection!) and review activities. I really like this part of class as it builds consistency and routine, and also provides me with a great opportunity for informal assessment. Each week we will cover one topic over three days, following this pattern: Day 1) visual, interactive introduction to the math concept using real world connections; Day 2) guided, group and individual practice of the introduced math concept/skill; 3) review work, including previously mastered concepts such as multi-digit addition and subtraction, so that understanding stays fresh and further real world connections can be made. (See below for the full weekly outline of topics).

I want my students to feel fully engaged in the learning process--to find meaning, confidence (and yes, even joy!) in mathematical problem solving. To make math fun and engaging, I will be presenting lessons through interactive slides, which will include clear visual representations, virtual manipulatives, and connections to math in the real world. Additionally, I will be using applications such as Nearpod (nearpod.com) to create further opportunities for students to engage with the math material and with one another. Activities will include collaborative idea boards, typed or drawn responses, polls, matching games, quizzes and embedded games. These activities provide not only engagement and fun for students, but also give me as the teacher the opportunity for ongoing, informal assessment in order to check for mastery of each math concept. . Furthermore, the ability for me to share student answers anonymously can help those students who feel uncomfortable or anxious answering questions verbally.  

*For enrolled students needing additional support in reaching mastery of a topic, I will be offering tutoring sessions each week, available by the half hour and discounted 30% off the regular price.

Theme: Diversity
(Every day starts with calendar work and review activities, puzzles or games)
Week 1 : Mapping Diversity into 4’s: 4 directions, 4 lobes of the brain, 4 chambers of the heart
Day 1: Intros and review, Discuss these questions, “What is diversity and why is it so important?” Discuss ways that numbers can also show diversity
Day 2: Practice skip counting by 4 with songs, pattern activities and 4 quarts= 1 gallon
Day 3: Review Work & Word Problems: Adding lists of numbers

Week 2: More with Four (Multiplying by 4)
Day 1: Use money (4 quarters = 1 dollar) to show multiplication by 4
Day 2: Practice multiplying by 4 using patterns learned and games
Day 3: Review Work & Word Problems: word problems with money

Week 3: Around the World in Sevens (7 continents, 7 wonders of the world)
Day 1: Map work to show and learn 7 continents and 7 wonders of the world
Day 2: Practice skip counting by 7’s with songs, pattern activities and map work
Day 3: Review Work & Word Problems: Multiplying by multiples of 10 

Week 4: Diverse Sports Around the World: Teams of 7 to Multiply by 7
Day 1: Learn about diverse sports with 7 players to help learn to multiply by 7
Day 2: Practice multiplying by 7 with patterns learned and games
Day 3: Review Work & Word Problems: Multiplying by multiples of 100

Week 5: Diversity of Octopuses (Skip counting by 8)
Day 1: Use the diverse species of octopus (around 300!)  to skip count by 8
Day 2: Use other real world examples of 8’s, songs and pattern activities to practice skip counting by 8
Day 3: Review Work & Word Problems:  Adding 3 digit numbers

Week 6: : More Diverse Sports: Teams of 8 to Multiply by 8
Day 1: Learn about Korfball and Tug of War to help learn to multiply by 8
Day 2: Practice multiplying by 8 with patterns learned and games
Day 3: Review Work & Word Problems: greater than, less than, equal to

Week 7: Using Place Value Notation and Distributive Property in Multiple Digit Multiplication
Day 1: Use math blocks to show how numbers can be represented by place value notation
Day 2: Build math block rectangles to multiply multiple digit numbers
Day 3: Review Work & Word Problems: Identifying correct operation in word problems

Week 8: Using Population to Round to Multiples of Ten and Estimate Multiple Digit Multiplication
Day 1: Use real world examples to round numbers to 10, 100, and 1,000
Day 2: Use rounding to practice estimating answers to multiple digit multiplication
Day 3: Review Work & Word Problems: Real World Multiplication

Week 9: Review Week based on Students’ Needs
Day 1: Review of multiplication facts: 4’s, 7’s and 8’s using games
Day 2:  Review of rounding and multiple digit multiplication using games
Day 3: Review Work & Word Problems: Review games based on student need