Week in Review: December 15-18

This week was pretty much a catch-up week for us. Between a counselor visit, a special music assembly, and our party on Thursday we stayed busy. We still managed to squeeze in a lesson on fact and opinion in reading, take a test over mixtures and matter in science, and start learning about fractions in math. We will hit the ground running again in January!

Speaking of January...can you believe the first half of your child's third grade year is behind us? The time has just flown by, and I have loved getting to know each of my students. I was so spoiled this year with so many individual Christmas gifts, as well a very generous class gift. I will be doing some shopping for sure over the winter break! I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful group of kids and families this year, and I look forward to seeing everyone in January.

Week in Review: December 8-12

This week in math, we wrapped up our unit on multiplication and division. The test was almost all problem solving (word problems) so we got lots of extra practice doing solve around the room and  a great online program called Thinking Blocks. Students did very well on the test, and I am sending those home today!

Students worked their way around the room, solving three word problems on large chart papers, then covering their answers with a sticky note labeled with their name, so I could easily check on their progress, yet they could not see other responses.

We used the Thinking Blocks online tool to solve multiplication and division problems with strip diagrams.

On Friday, students had a chance to look at their district math assessment. This was a great learning experience for them as they practiced taking a standardized test, and then looked at what kinds of questions they missed. It's also a great tool for me to guide my instruction. We will touch on fractions next week, but the bulk of that unit will be after winter break.

In science, students enjoyed working through six stations exploring different mixtures, and the tools we can use to separate different types of mixtures, such as a magnet, funnel, or sieve. We discussed properties of matter, and how materials in a mixture maintain their original properties. 

We also did more research about the effects of plastic for our PBL. And on Friday during science, we participated in an "Hour of Code" (actually 1.5 hours, because they were so into it!!) where students had a chance to experience computer programming through fun Angry Birds and Frozen-themed games. They can work on this more at home from the links on my Websites page on this blog.

In language arts, we learned about the three purposes of writing: to entertain, to persuade, or to inform. We also practiced a new strategy called RAN, which is an acronym for Reading and Analyzing Nonfiction. It is a great tool to get them thinking about what they are reading, and applying their prior knowledge to what they are learning.

Remember that next week is only a 4 day week, then the kids are out of school until Tuesday January 6, 2015!! Thursday the 17th is our winter party from 12:45pm-1:30pm, and you are welcome to join us.

Week in Review: December 1-5

This week seemed a bit choppy, with an early release day on Wednesday and district math and reading benchmarks on Thursday and Friday. However, we did enjoy a visit to the library and seeing our kindergarten buddies on early release day. On Tuesday, we had a special presentation about the country of Greece from Tina's mom and grandmother. The kids enjoyed learning about her country, and getting a chance to learn one of their traditional dances.

In math, we started the week with a quick review of place value, and then began exploring division. We will have a test next week over multiplication and division, before moving into fractions before the winter break.

In science, we wrapped up our study of natural resources and began talking about mixtures. Ask your child about our birdseed experiment!

In language arts, we spent the early part of the week learning test-taking strategies to prepare for the benchmark. But on Thursday and Friday, our regular science and language arts time was taken up by the benchmark tests.

I wanted to remind you about Family Fitness Night this upcoming Tuesday December 9 from 6:30pm-8pm in the cafeteria. Our coaches have worked hard to organize a fun evening for all that will promote fitness and healthy choices. There will be a mini boot camp going on from the folks at LA Fitness, as well as an obstacle course set up by Camp Gladiator. Round Rock Food Services and HEB are providing healthy food samples. There will also be multiple activity stations set up for families to participate in. I will be out on Tuesday for my last day of TAG training, and Mrs. Satori will be substituting, but I do plan to attend the Fitness Night.  I hope to see you all there!

Week in Review: November 17-21

What a busy and fun week, between the book fair, Thanksgiving lunch, and International Childrens' Week! See the pictures below for a glimpse at the countries we learned about.

In science, we have explored natural resources and the characteristics of each resource that make them useful. Students worked in their table groups to sort a group of items based on what material they were made from.

We have also done a lot more reading up on the problems with plastic in our environment and students worked on various projects on Thursday that are currently on display in the display case at the entrance to the third grade hallway. Be sure to stop by and check them out soon!

Language arts has been tied in with our PBL project, working on reading non-fiction and note-taking skills. I also introduced the students to test-taking formats they will see on the STAAR test in April, as well as the upcoming district reading assessment that will happen the first week in December. I modeled reading a passage, while teaching them strategies to successfully answer the accompanying questions. Then they tried one on their own. Very quickly, they were able to see that if they take the time to prove their answers, they will most likely get it right!

In math, we are continuing to work on multiplication strategies and will focus on division for a bit after the Thanksgiving holiday. After that, fractions is our next big unit!

I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving break, and I will see you in December!

Week in Review: November 10-14

It's been another busy week in third grade! We visited our kindergarten buddies after the Veteran's Day Assembly on Tuesday. And on Friday we had a school spirit assembly, where the Reflection Contest entries were honored. We are so proud of Roan and Emma W. for their participation, and of Carly for her award of excellence. Carly's entry will move on to the district level.

In science, we did a neat experiment to observe changes in the state of matter. We used a digital thermometer connected to the computer which graphed the temperature change and time as we heated ice. The students observed the solid ice melting into liquid, and then evaporating as water vapor as more heat was added. 

On Friday in science, we set up what will be a multiple month long project. Students were put into groups and each group buried 4 different types of trash (paper, plastic or aluminum, yard waste, and food waste). Every 1 or 2 weeks, we will dig up the waste and observe the changes. It will be interesting to see what type of garbage decomposes the fastest.

Thanks to everyone who sent in gallon jugs for this, we even had a few leftover to share with other classes. Please continue to send in plastic lids as you collect them. They can be small bottle tops, tops to a gallon or  half gallon jug, or even container lids. We are looking for all sizes!

In math, we are continuing to work on strategies in multiplication, with a focus on the 2s, 4s, and 8s facts. You may hear your child talk about doubling a number (multiplying it by 2) or "double-double" (multiplying by 4), or even double-double-double (multiplying by 8). Please take a few minutes each day to quiz your child on these facts...they should be pretty fluent in them by now. 

Painting dots to double and double and double by folding our paper over.

Doubling review game

Using linking cubes to visualize doubling

In language arts, we spent a lot of time researching Germany and students created "Tackk Pages" which are like an online bulletin board. I will be sharing out those links next week as we get them published. We are also discussing the various text structures that we find in expository (or non-fiction) texts. So far, we have read examples of descriptive texts, sequential texts, and cause and effect texts. 

Some important things to know for next week: we kick off International Children's Week with a school-wide assembly on Monday morning. You are welcome to join us in the cafeteria at 8am. Thursday is the evening family event from 6pm-8pm where several different countries will be showcased at the International Childrens' Fair. Your family is invited to attend! And finally, Friday morning, our class will visit the various country displays as we tour the school with our ICF Passports and learn about other cultures. Because there is so much going on next week, I am not going to send home spelling lists or give a test on Friday...hopefully, the kids won't be too disappointed! ;) Progress reports will be coming home in Thursday folders though!

Week in Review: November 3-7

This week in math, we wrapped up our unit on time and money, and began working on multiplication again. We will be focusing on the 2s, 4s, and 8s facts for the next couple of weeks, as well as learning various strategies for representing multiplication.

Our science / social studies block was a bit choppy this week. With one day of hearing and vision screening, and two days of internet research, we had a social studies lesson on bullying, and a did a fun experiment in science with balloons filled with the three different states of matter. The kids had no trouble at all predicting what was in each balloon (water, ice, air) and what would happen when we poked each one with a pin!

In language arts, we worked on descriptive writing, with a strong focus on verbs and adjectives. We also began discussing the various text structures of non-fiction writing. On Tuesday, we had a lesson in the library on researching. This was in preparation for International Children's Week, which is coming up November 17-21. Using these skills, we spent our laptop time on Friday morning researching Germany for our class's country.

With the cold and rainy weather, we had a few days of indoor recess, which everyone seemed to enjoy for a change of pace. They spent their recess time playing games, drawing, and building with unifix cubes.

Please don't forget to send in your rinsed out gallon plastic jugs before Friday. We also need as many bottle caps as you can collect for the next several months. Just save them up and send them to me in bags once you have quite a collection built up. We are looking forward to creating some fun bottle cap art! Have a great weekend!