Oh, Sandy....

Of course a day off is great fun...but we've got things to do!  So, build a boat, and bring them on in!  Just kidding...but only about the boat thing...we DO have a lot to finish up!

We had a great week and one of the highlights was meeting our Buddy Class...we have been paired with Ms. Kaberle's kindergarteners...we met them and spent some time outside getting to know each other.  It is a really fun year for third graders because they get to be the "big kids."  I was so proud of all of them for the way they interacted with their buddies!  I put together a slide show below...click on the link and enjoy...

Our Buddy Class

In Language Arts this week our focus was fables.  We read fables and discussed the characteristics that define a fable.  We discussed PERSONIFICATION and located examples of it in the fables.  The kids answered comprehension questions about the different fables. I feel very certain that my class has a great handle on fairy tales and fables!  We also worked on descriptive writing this week.  The kids wrote 3-5 sentence commercials advertising their candy bars (more about the candy in the math summary below).  And of course, we were working on our Ella final drafts.  The kids are typing them and need one more computer lab session to finish up...one of the many things I need to do this coming week!!

In Math this week we continued with our candy production...the candy bars are made, ingredients and toppings added, the commercials are set, and then we worked on candy bar wrappers...they had to find the surface area of the candy bar wrapper, remembering that every square unit costs the company more...so the goal was to use as little as possible to create the wrapper.  Now we just need to film our commercials (another reason you must build a boat!)  We will be taking a unit quiz upon our return to school and heading into fractions...

We have been observing the parts of our organisms and discussing the scientific terminology for "the big claw" or the "hole from which the snail breathes"...your kids can probably tell you what the scientific names for those parts are, and how they help the organism survive.  This is one of the things they will have to know for their science quiz next Friday.  They have the drawings and labels in their science composition books.  The rest of the quiz is really designed to see what was learned in the classroom, so there is not a lot to study.

ANOTHER thing we need to finish...about 2/3 of the class is ALMOST finished their state brochures...tomorrow was going to be a big day for COMPLETION...alas, we must wait (or build boats).

This coming week my plan was do to an election mini-unit.  I  have some great articles about both candidates and we were going to explore the world of electoral votes...I guess we'll see how many days we are there this week, etc...but just so you know...I have no intention of making this mini-unit about WHO they should vote for...it will be all about the candidates (the age appropriate versions) and about the election process. 

Your kids continue to amaze me...when we were in the classroom this past week working on the laptops to publish the Ella stories, one student said, "I'm not sure which of these two projects we're working on right now is my favorite?!"  Music to my ears.


Stay dry...
-Mrs. Wills