SKL Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Just want to get a feel for what is typical / reasonable for 3rd grade. So far it's definitely more than last year, but manageable even with extracurriculars and some afterschooling. The thing that seems odd to me is that the teacher requires 15 minutes of studying "facts" (+,-,or x), five nights a week, all year long. Doesn't that sound like a lot? I could see that getting extremely boring if you have any math ability at all. They also have to get 125 AR points to make the "wall of fame," have a couple pages of Singapore Math each night, study spelling and memory, and presumably whatever test or project is coming up. I'm cool with all of that (though the AR points are a stretch for an average kid - but I guess it's supposed to be). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 I agree that 15 minutes of straight math facts is excessive. However, you could make it more interesting by having them do mental math practice instead of (or in addition to) the facts. Having them do double and triple digit addition and subtraction or multiplying two or three digit numbers by one digit numbers is a great way to apply the facts while practicing another important skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 We're just getting started, but so far my third grader only has a weekly reading log. If it's like last year, eventually there will be a weekly assignment that won't take much time. My kids attend a Montessori school. FWIW, over the years I have seen occasional class-wide requests to practice math facts. However, we have never done so at home, as my kids have always known their facts by that point. My current third grader (child #4) has probably forgotten a few multiplication facts and could probably use a little practice, though I would not expect to need to do so daily for weeks on end. My first grader knows his addition facts already. On the other hand, my Ker knows.... absolutely nothing. *sigh* they're all so different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnMama Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 My 3rd grader has the following homework Monday-Thursday: 1 math worksheet, spelling list practice, read for 20 minutes. About once a week he has a reading comprehension assignment. It's probably 15 minutes of work + the reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Last year, in grade 3, DS had to keep track of reading minutes. He had other homework a couple of times, and a family journal on Fridays, which was really my homework, as I had to respond to his writing. DS7 is in a 2/3 split this year, and it sounds like the whole class will be doing the family journal, so I'll be really good at it by the end of next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 I agree that 15 minutes of straight math facts is excessive. However, you could make it more interesting by having them do mental math practice instead of (or in addition to) the facts. Having them do double and triple digit addition and subtraction or multiplying two or three digit numbers by one digit numbers is a great way to apply the facts while practicing another important skill. The teacher basically wants us to do flash cards. I think that is awfully boring as the parent! I have a lot of practice books that will fit right into the requirement for Miss A. For Miss E, I wasn't planning on having her do that much basic stuff because she doesn't need it. What I did buy was a couple of coloring books where you do math problems to arrive at the correct color pattern. The patterns are based on actual art designs found around the world, e.g., Islamic tiles etc. So far Miss E is fascinated. And because the coloring takes a while, we can honestly say she spent 15 minutes. ;) http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0439376602/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0439376610/ref=ox_ya_os_product_refresh_T1 The grade 2-3 book was supposed to be for Miss A, but there aren't a lot of basic facts in the other book, so I decided to let Miss E have the second half of the 2-3 book. Miss A is supposed to be doing a therapy that involves jumping on a trampoline while doing flash cards. That is fine sometimes, but I can't do that every day all year. I forgot to mention, I have to sign off every day on their math facts practice log, their assignment book, and any discipline cards that might be received. (Today we got the first one, penned by Miss A, "I forgot to turn in my homework this morning." She had finished it on Tuesday night but forgot to turn it in, bah....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Just want to get a feel for what is typical / reasonable for 3rd grade. So far it's definitely more than last year, but manageable even with extracurriculars and some afterschooling. The thing that seems odd to me is that the teacher requires 15 minutes of studying "facts" (+,-,or x), five nights a week, all year long. Doesn't that sound like a lot? I could see that getting extremely boring if you have any math ability at all. They also have to get 125 AR points to make the "wall of fame," have a couple pages of Singapore Math each night, study spelling and memory, and presumably whatever test or project is coming up. I'm cool with all of that (though the AR points are a stretch for an average kid - but I guess it's supposed to be). Does the teacher require the facts to be studied in a particular manner for those 15 minutes? My 2nd grade son and I have modified War to be a addition facts game. When you put down two cards, whoever "wins" has to add the two cards together before they can take them. Make a mistake and the other person can steal the cards from you. We decide what the face cards and A are worth before playing the game (currently A="1" but is high card for comparison. J=11, Q=12, K=13) Sometimes, when you play War, you have to add all the face up cards. Sometimes only the last pair. Depends on how much challenge he wants. He also has Math Dice that we play with on occasion. http://www.amazon.com/ThinkFun-Jr-1515-Math-Dice/dp/B004617DEU/ref=pd_bxgy_t_text_y And Yahtzee Jr. is somewhat Math-ish I think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 The teacher basically wants us to do flash cards. I think that is awfully boring as the parent! If she's not sitting on your couch with those flash cards, who cares? Practice with games has got to be less boring, and the teacher will never know, probably won't even care so long as the kids learn 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 If she's not sitting on your couch with those flash cards, who cares? Practice with games has got to be less boring, and the teacher will never know, probably won't even care so long as the kids learn 'em. Yes--games like the RightStart games are great for learning math facts. I'd just interpret the 15 minute things as 15 minutes of *math* practice. If the child shows you that she knows whatever facts she's supposed to be practicing, I'd move on after a few minutes to games or mental math or whatever else seems more productive and interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 The fifteen minutes sounds reasonable. At this point, they are supposed to be at automaticity with double digit add/subtract, right? Then working on triple digit add/subtract, and single digit multiplication. I read a bio about the mathematician Erdos, which mentions adults bouncing on tramps while thinking. I do know a kid who bounced(using hoppity ball seat) while working at a desk...parents got him into a swim club and that helped a lot. When I see "facts" I am thinking nothing higher than 19-9 or 12*12. She specifically asked parents to acquire flash cards for this purpose. If we're including all sorts of computations involving +,-,x then that would make more sense. I give my kids math to do every day regardless, but not "facts" for 15 x 5 x 36 weeks all year. Even if they aren't already memorized (even Miss E is not at that point yet), it is just ... ugh ... I do not do well with all that repetition, but maybe I am unusual. I guess we could break it down into 5 minute chunks for Miss E. Maybe. Miss A actually enjoys that easy, relatively mindless kind of work. She also has memory problems so it will not seem as repetitive to her. But I think she's below average for her class in that respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 I guess if Miss E gets to the point of memorizing all of the "facts," I could inform the teacher I'm going to do something different with Miss E for those 15 minutes. At that point I would hate to be wasting time when I have so many other interesting materials and no time to use them. I know I can do what I want at home, but I don't like the idea of signing something if we didn't actually do it. I don't want to teach my kids that it's OK to lie like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 I don't want to teach my kids that it's OK to lie like that. It's not lying. You're signing off that your kids practiced math. And they did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friscomom Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 We just started school two weeks back and so far, my third grader just has 20 minutes of reading (no reading log sent yet) , a couple of math word problems to solve and spelling words to practice for a weekly test. Although I hope he starts getting slightly more homework from school, this just gives us extra time to do afterschooling activities - more math, dictation and writing, grammar and composition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 It is the third week of school, but we've yet to have a full 5 days. Homework for 3rd grade has been sporatic and light (maybe 5-10 minutes). The newsletter said to expect it daily and that it should follow a schedule. LA one night, Science one night, Math one night, Review spelling words unless child earned 100% on spelling pretest. Daily reading and math facts are "encouraged". I am hoping that it continues to be light. We have science fair coming up soon, plus history and art at home. I am not clear if my son is handing in all assignments or if somethings weren't intended to be graded. Some papers are marked with star and other are not. He neglected to bring math folder home one night, so had to work on it the next night. I am giving him a few weeks to puzzle through this before contacting his teachers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 My DS is homeschooling 4th grade this year, but I remember his 3rd grade homework pretty clearly. Each night:1. 4-5 Sentence summary of what he read that night. 2. A worksheet of math problems. 3. Some worksheet on science or social studies. 4. Occasional long-term projects with a due date a few/several weeks in the future. The idea was to work a bit each night on the current project. Reality: Project got done the weekend prior to the due date. 5. Word study activity of some type, in preparation for a test on Friday. So, it seems similar to what your child has been assigned. Study the facts until he knows the facts, then.. no more. If 15 minutes is too much (that seems like a lot to me), then cut it down to what works for your family. I tried to teach my kids that the AR points to get recognition for reading was ridiculous; I am not a fan of public rewards for completing expected schoolwork anyway, so that released my kids from any desire to get on the AR wall and they never bothered with AR. They just read books that interested them, at the pace they wanted. Just want to get a feel for what is typical / reasonable for 3rd grade. So far it's definitely more than last year, but manageable even with extracurriculars and some afterschooling. The thing that seems odd to me is that the teacher requires 15 minutes of studying "facts" (+,-,or x), five nights a week, all year long. Doesn't that sound like a lot? I could see that getting extremely boring if you have any math ability at all. They also have to get 125 AR points to make the "wall of fame," have a couple pages of Singapore Math each night, study spelling and memory, and presumably whatever test or project is coming up. I'm cool with all of that (though the AR points are a stretch for an average kid - but I guess it's supposed to be). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scwendy Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 The workload sounds comparable to what my daughter had last year in the third grade. I have noticed a real uptick already for the 4th grade, but that is due mostly to the additional focus on writing and some large projects going on simultaneously for different classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue daisy Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Last year in third grade, my son didn't have homework aside from reading to himself every night. He had a teacher that basically felt that the kids worked hard all day and needed to go home and just be kids in the evening. As for the math facts practice, is that something that the school's curriculum in weak in and she wants to make sure the kids get the facts down pat? Our school uses Everyday Math (ugh) and when they first started, they pretty much followed the curriculum without supplementing fact practice. After a couple of years, it was apparent that the kids were not picking up their facts so they had to start working on that specifically. Even so, 15 min a night of flashcards for the year seems like overkill. I think it would be fine to use whatever resources work better for your kids and just use as they need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weddell Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 The teacher said to expect 20 minutes or less for 3rd grade plus 30 minutes of reading. DD had 2 pages of spelling practice work (making sentences, etc.) and 2 pages of math fact type work. It was easy for her, so maybe 10 minutes of work total? I also made her go over all the spelling words and do some extra math fact practice just on the facts she has consistent trouble with. Those took less than 10 together total, probably more like 5 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 Interestingly, this week the math facts signoff paper came home saying they only need to do 10 minutes per day. Perhaps some parents complained .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloquacious Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 My first grader has the same homework requirement, and we have outsourced it to math facts ipad/iPhone apps. Sitting on a couch with flash cards was waaaaay too annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt. Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 3rd grade: Read for 20 to 30 minutes, log in to check online messages, practice recorder 5 to 10 minutes -- all consudered recommendations for "most days" not absolutely manditory. No accountability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spoonjr Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 My daughter comes home Monday-Thursday with 2 pages of common core math, plus has to read for 20 minutes. I was told good luck with this teacher by mid year it will amount to 2 hours of homework a night for a third grader. We do battle with homework every night as we are both learning this common core garbage at the same time. She is also not a fan of reading. Perhaps we have not found the right books. I have a friend who is a teacher and says once kids learn common core, when they do regular math they will have an easier time with it. I am at a loss as to why I have to take 8 X 4= 32 and create several more problems to figure out. 5X4=20, 3X4=12, 20+12=32. Seems like a waste of time. Like the whole pyramid math 15 years ago. I have had enough of the amount of time a third grader is sitting there doing homework every night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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