Reflex Math

Reflex Math

September 2, 2015

Dear Parents and Guardians,

ExploreLearning Reflex is an online, game-based program that helps students build fast and effortless recall of math facts.

Research has shown that quick recall of math facts is critical for future success in mathematics. More advanced mathematical processes often require students to know a lot of math facts. So, it’s important to master these basic facts before tackling more challenging problems.

Your child can access Reflex from home with these simple instructions.  There is also a label inside your child's planner. 

1.    Using an Internet connected computer with Flash Player 10.1 (or higher) installed, type in this web address: http://www.reflexmath.com

2.    Click on the Launch button in the upper right corner

3.    Enter the teacher’s username (CorbettCircus)

4.    Click on our class name.

5.    Click on your child’s name

6.    Enter your child’s password

Reflex is structured to provide a short daily assessment of student progress, then coaching on new facts, and finally fact practice in the games. There are five games that students can choose from, and they can play as many as they want each day.

Because Reflex includes fun games, a student’s brother or sister might want to give it a try.  It is important that other children not use this account. Reflex continually monitors student progress and adapts to each student’s individual needs.  Because of this adaptivity, having multiple children use the same account will have a negative impact on your child’s progress.   You can sign up for a free 14-day trial at http://www.reflexmath.com for up to 5 other children to try Reflex.

If you have any questions about Reflex, you may contact ExploreLearning directly, via email at support@explorelearning.com or by phone at 866-882-4141(press option 4 for Support).

Thank you,

Mrs. Corbett

Elements of a Story

Today we reviewed the 5 elements of a story: Plot, characters, conflict, theme,  and setting. Students dissected a short story and identified each element. Then, we used a giant inflatable dice that each each element, plus main idea, was written on to practice.  It is vital for students to know the 5 elements when writing and be able to identify them in the books they are reading.  Ask you child to identify each element in the book they are reading from each night!

Here is a great video we sang to learn the 5 elements. WARNING!!!! It is quite catchy and will get stuck in your head all day! :)

Our Reading World in 3rd Grade

This week we have spent time learning the rituals and routines of Readers' Workshop. Students have learned habits of a good reader as well as how to choose books that are just right. Students learned what their expected behaviors are during workshop and got to enjoy the independence of reading where they'd like to read around the room. They are building a strong foundation as we kick off another great year here at Chets Creek!

 Students have learned basic editing marks and have worked on fixing all the errors I made every  morning. Geez, Ms. Evanko!

Great job, students!

Our first day under the big top

We had great fun watching the dog circus on the first day Under the Big Top

Welcome back to the greatest school on Earth!

Greetings new students and families,

We are so excited to start the year off circus style here at Chets Creek. Get ready for a year full of challenges, rewards, hard-work and of course fun! We will frequently post pictures and share the learning that goes on in our classrooms throughout the year. We want you to become more aware of what is happening at school and feel a part of our class as well. Share your comments and ask your child questions about the things you see on here as well.

We can't wait to have a dazzling  new school year!

Our Play is Almost Here!

Our class play is this Thursday at 7:15. Please have your child here by 6:45. We will be meeting in room 205 (Ms. Evanko's room).  We need students here a bit earlier to get  everyone in place and go over a few last minute reminders. They are to wear blue jeans/shorts and a plain white, red, or blue shirt. We have been working very hard on these songs the past few months. We hope you all come and enjoy the show!

Test-Taking Strategies

 As the upcoming FSA approaches, we have been reviewing several strategies to help on the reading test. Students are instructed to use each of these when they take they bi-weekly comprehension tests.  Below is a list of all the strategies we have taught and are encouraging students to use. Make sure you check over their reading tests when they come home to ensure they are following directions. 

*Remember, Achieve 3000 is a great tool to help build their reading comprehension and provides great practice. 

Read all answer choices before answering!

 Bubble in one answer for every question!  Bubble in more than one bubble  on questions with 5 choices. READ how many it wants you to find. If you leave the answer blank, it will be wrong. 

Check over your work! 

1.  Make sure you have an answer for every question

2.  GO BACK and make sure what you underlined matches what you bubbled in!

3.  Pretend you’re taking it all over again!

 Underline the key words in the question stem – so you understand what the questions is asking you to think about.  They are usually bold, italized, or in CAPITAL LETTERS.

Scramble Our Eggs: When answering a sequence of events question, locate each of the events listed as an answer choice within the story by placing the question number and letter beside the event.  Also locate the event listed in the question stem.  Then determine the order in which the events occurred to answer the question.

  STOP and THINK – Is What I’m Reading Making Sense? If not, go back and reread!

  SNAKE FINGERS- Skim the text using your “snake fingers” to locate key words from the question stem in the story and find the answers.  (Reread the complete paragraph where the key words are located to get all the important details/information within the text.)

  RIDICULOUS and WRONG (50/50 Chance Strategy) – Process of Elimination- look for answers that are ridiculous or obviously wrong.  By eliminating at least two answer choices you increase your chances of getting it right!

Plug-It-In – When answering a vocabulary question, replace the word from the story with all answer choices to determine which word means ALMOST the same and makes the MOST sense.

 The Tortoise and the Hare- Pace yourself!  Not too fast and not too slow.  Steady and consistent.

Jump Rope Strategy – Don’t spend too much time on a challenging question.  SKIP OVER IT and come back to it later!