Weekly Wrap Up

I just love this first photo of our entire class! Thanks to our wonderful room mom, Mrs. Deatherage for taking this picture for us on Friday.

This past week, students continued to work in their Water Warriors groups and each group completed a rough draft of their informational magazine article. We will work on revising and editing these articles when we are back in January.

For science, we did a quick review of the water cycle, and then spent the rest of the week on weather. Students began the unit by completing an online virtual investigation through Stemscopes on the laptops. We also recorded weather observation for three days, including reading temperatures, determining the direction of wind and observing the level of cloud cover. We made our own anemometer (an instrument used to calculate wind speed), but sadly (and ironically) it met its demise on day two when it was literally blown away by strong winds.

In math we studied 2D shapes with lots of hands on exploration and discovery. Students worked in groups to sort 2D shapes, tested polygons for parallel lines with dry spaghetti, and used geoboards to create a variety of shapes. To conclude our study of 2D shapes, the students worked with their table groups to solve the "Four Triangle Problem." I was so proud when, as a class, they ended up creating all 14 possible shapes from the guidelines I set. Be sure to ask your student about this activity! It was an awesome way for them to learn about congruent shapes. 

Next, we moved onto 3D shapes and terms such as faces, edges, and vertices. I just love the teamwork and collaboration you see in the following pictures!

Friday was a fun day spent visiting our kindergarten buddies (sorry, no pictures of that online as I do not have permission from the buddies' parents) and of course ending the day with the 3rd grade holiday party. Thanks to all of you who helped make the party a success by donating supplies or volunteering your time.

I hope everyone enjoys this holiday season, and I look forward to seeing everyone in the new year!