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.

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!

Week in Review: August 21 - September 4

Our first 5 day week was a success! In writing this week, we talked about how Writing Workshop runs and we started generating ideas to write our own personal narratives. We also wrote "Friend Wanted" ads, where students described their ideal friend, and what makes them a good friend. In reading, we discussed Reading Workshop expectations and got matched up with our first reading partners. We learned how to decide if a book is just right for us, and we talked about about how all the time we are reading...we are also thinking. Reading IS thinking! We also visited the school library for the first time to check out books. Students were excited to use the library's new iPads to take an interactive quiz about how to properly use the library.

In math, we reviewed the simple place value and comparing numbers they learned in 2nd grade, and then extended that knowledge to the hundred thousands place.

For social studies, we spent the week creating our classroom Social Contract. This contract is an agreement between each member of our classroom community about how we want to be treated, and how we plan to treat others.

In science, we learned about the tools that scientists use. We also investigated many different careers in science and learned about some famous scientists in the past.

On Friday, we met with our kindergarten buddies for the first time. The buddy pairs worked together to create a buddy book where they compared their lives and wrote about something they have in common. As they finished the books, third graders read picture books to their kindergarten buddies. I took a few photos of them reading, but did not get any faces in the pictures, for the privacy of the kindergarten students.

It's been a great second week, and I look forward to many more. Remember, there is no school on Monday for Labor Day, so I hope you all enjoy the three day weekend!