Week in Review: September 7-11

In language arts this week, I am continuing with beginning of the year testing. This is working one-on one with each student, so it is time consuming, but gives me great insight into their reading ability. Each morning, I begin with a mini-lesson on a quick strategy that good readers use, then send the students off for independent reading to practice the new skill, while I test individual students. In writing, we are still generating ideas so that next week when we begin personal narratives, students will have several ideas to choose from.

In math, we are working on place value and rounding. We also talked about some problems need to be solved by estimating, and how rounding helps us with that. The lesson on rounding was a favorite this week, and I hope something that will stick with them. We went for a drive on the Rounding Highway...be sure to ask your kids about that!

We also explored how rounding is linked to estimating, which can be very useful in problem solving. The pictures below show students using dry erase boards to estimate if they had enough money to buy the toys shown.

In social studies, we have begun discussing the Constitution in preparation for Constitution Day which is Thursday September 17. And on Friday, we watched a Brainpop video about the significance of September 11.

In science, we are delving into types of energy, including heat, light, mechanical and sound energy. These lessons will carry into next week, where we will wrap it all up by designing and building solar ovens in which to make s'mores. Special thanks to everyone who signed up to donate supplies for this fun project!

And finally, the big excitement was at the end of the day on Friday. When the kids came back indoors after recess, they were stunned to see this at our door:

Every classroom was locked up, with the shades closed, and caution tape warning them of upcoming construction. After several minutes of trying to squeeze over 140 third graders into our common area, and trying to conduct class in such a limiting environment, we let the kids in on a little secret. We had staged the area to give them a feel for what's it like to lose your habitat and have access to limited resources. This was a way for us to introduce this year's Project Based Learning topic...habitat loss. Over the course of this school year, third graders will be studying the impact that humans have on habitat and how the destruction of habitats impacts animal lives. I think it was an eye opening experience for them and hopefully gives them a real life connection as we start studying this important topic. If you have a chance, please watch this 30 second video that we shared with them this afternoon.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!