Week of September 21-25

This week in writing, we have successfully narrowed down our topic for our first personal narrative to a tiny seed moment. We will spend the next week or so working on this piece and learning lots of new writing techniques to add details and grab our reader's attention. We also learned the difference between your and you're, and I will implement grammar lessons like this throughout the year. In reading, we have discussed how good readers visualize while they are reading, and learned some new symbols we can use when we "stop and jot" our thinking. We also read a lot about endangered animals and the loss of their habitats, and created a Padlet sharing our thoughts from that lesson, You can see the Padlet in the blog post prior to this one.

In math, we learned several new strategies for subtraction and worked on applying our new addition and subtraction strategies to some challenging problems. One of the strategies we learned was using a number line and they were thrilled to be able to write on their desks, drawing number lines there for practice.  I also introduced the kids to a fun new game that I use as a warm-up, called Four Strikes and You're Out. Ask your child about this one, they love it!! It's like Hangman for math! Next week, we will have a brief quiz over place value, and then wrap up the week with an addition and subtraction assessment. We will spend the early part of the week reviewing for Friday's test.

In science, we designed and built our solar ovens, and enjoyed some s'mores on Wednesday.

After an interactive review on Kahoot on Thursday, we had a district common assessment over all they have learned about energy on Friday. Because this assessment is developed and required by the district, we cannot send a copy home. Your child's grade has been posted however, and they were given an opportunity to see their graded test.

In social studies, we used our laptop day to learn about being safe and responsible digital citizens. We also discussed growth mindset, the idea that we are always learning and even if something is challenging at first, we need to have the mindset that we can do anything if we keep at it! We also worked on our PBL this week by reading The Great Kapok Tree, and watching a video about the destruction of forests, and then responding to that video in our PBL journals. On Friday, we collaborated with Mrs. Swyers class and experienced habitat loss from the viewpoint of an animal.

Its been another busy and successful week in third grade!

Using Padlet to Share our Thoughts

Today, students researched some endangered animals and learned about how their habitats are being destroyed by human actions. We put together this Padlet below where everyone shared their thoughts.

Created with Padlet

Week in Review: September 14-18

Get ready for photo overload! This week in language arts, we have continued with reading strategies and individual testing (the end is near, I only have 2 or 3 students remaining!). We are learning how to narrow down our big ideas into smaller, more manageable stories. This tasty lesson involved watermelon, and the kids were so happy to enjoy the treat. Ask your child to tell you the difference between a big "watermelon" idea and a small "seed" idea.

In math, we spent more time on place value and then learned FIVE strategies for addition: partial sums, adding on, base 10 blocks, using a number line, and of course, the traditional algorithm. I teach multiple strategies because so often, what is easy for one student does not make sense to another student. With this many strategies in their mental toolbox, they are sure to find a way that works for them! I try to vary our warm-ups each day and give them lots of opportunities to work in different ways...with manipulatives, on dry erase boards, with partners, etc. I think the variety keeps them from getting bored with math.

Since Thursday was Constitution Day, we continued our social studies lessons on the Constitution, creating a timeline using an online tool (see display photo below), and then students worked in pairs to write a class constitution.

Science has been fun this week with lots of hand on experiments. We learned about sound energy by testing the pitch of sounds based on how much water is in a glass.

We observed heat energy in action by observing food color drops in hot water versus cold water.

And finally, we used a mysterious tool to see what kinds of energy it reacted to. It ended up being a radiometer, which the students now know, measures light energy. The students are very curious about all of the supplies building up in our classroom for next week's project...S'mores ovens. Thanks to all who donated materials!

On Friday, during our enrichment time, we enjoyed some creative time with Mrs. Swyers, Mrs. Raney, and Mrs. Lilleboe's classes as we belatedly celebrated National Dot Day (yes, it is a real day!). Students had several technology and art options from which to choose.

Have a wonderful weekend! A couple of reminders for next week: school pictures are on Tuesday September 22 and Wednesday September 23 is an early release day, with kids being released at 12:45pm.