Where There's a Wills...There's a Way!: March Sure Did Come in Like a Lion!!

Hello Third Grade Families! I hope you've stayed warm and dry these past couple weeks...what a crazy winter we have had! We've been very busy in the classroom and I will try to fill you in and show you what's been going on! PLEASE MAKE SURE TO READ UNTIL THE END...there is a list of important dates you won't want to miss!!

Social Studies

Our second day of production happened after my last blog post, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the pictures. The entire Entrepreneurs Unit culminated with a piece of writing. Your child's writing is in the Google Classroom and they were graded for their use of economic vocabulary through a Social Studies grade and their ability to communicate effectively through a writing grade.

Makerspace

Makerspace is by far your child's favorite time...it is a time when they merge their creative minds with their innovative minds, and amazing things happen. I try to work in Makerspace twice a month, and on the weeks they don't have Makerspace I always hear about it! :-) They have many different choices during this time, but one of the things they love about it is that it is completely interest driven...below you will see kids working with videography and a green screen, working with a MakeyMakey that conjoins technology and circuitry, and of course, the favorite: cardboard creations. I am really quite amazed at their ingenuity! They can also choose building with legos or kinex, paper folding using the art form origami, Little Bits for circuitry, and so much more. Take a look....

Valentine's Day

Our Valentine's Day Party was out of this world! Mrs. Osher organized a party extraordinaire! The kids all made paper bead necklaces, ate chocolate fondue, and played a stacking heart game...overall it was such a fun party! I heard multiple kids exclaim, "This is the best party ever!" Thanks to all of the parents who donated items or came in to help...we couldn't do it without all of you...and a special thanks to Mrs. Osher!!

Math

There are so many different standards covered in this quarter...but one of them is measuring liquid capacity...and the best way to do that is hands on...the kids conducted a science experiment hypothesizing which sponge would hold the most amount of water. They experimented, observed, recorded data, and as a class we came to a conclusion. To say that they enjoyed getting wet while learning would be an understatement...;-)...

Writing

We are currently writing the final drafts of our opinion speeches...I can't wait for you to see them.

Writing partners are an essential part of our writing process. The students read aloud to their partners (which is helpful in itself as they hear exactly what they've written), they discuss their writing using prompts to guide them, and they give each other suggestions while they meet. Here's what is super cool...your kids do an AMAZING job with this. This is not something that comes naturally to children, but they take the directions from me and then support each other as writers...it is so fun to watch...

Reading

I do not have any pictures for this little blurb...I teach reading in three groups so the opportunity to take pictures is non existent...but we are reading the novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe right now. We have delved into the world of Narnia with rich discussions about important events that shape the chapters, character traits that are reinforced by actions and words of the characters, etc. All the while, the students have been learning to write excellent responses using a template that helps ensure their use of evidence and their ability to connect their reasoning to the evidence.

Pi Day

Speaking of not being able to take many pictures...math is also taught in small groups, so I am constantly instructing and there isn't much opportunity to take pictures...however, on 3.15 (since we were SNOWED out on 3.14) we celebrated Pi Day by engaging in activities that allow students to explore the world of Pi. We listened to stories about Pi, watched a video clip about Pi, wrote six word memoirs about Pi, measured Pi, made conclusions about Pi, created a frequency table of the first 40 digits of Pi, and then ATE PIE!! Thanks to all who donated the delicious PIES!! And thanks to Mrs. Taylor who came to enjoy Pi Day or PIE DAY with us and helped serve...I couldn't have done it without her!!