Sunday, September 15, 2019

Week of September 9th, 2019

Another week has come and gone. It certainly proved to be a busy one. It was a lot of fun meeting so many families during our Open House. I hope your child was able to show you around the classroom and explain how third grade works. In writing, students focused on building writing stamina. They were introduced to a writing technique to use if they get writer's block. As the weeks continue, students will learn more and more strategies to help push them as writers. In the forest this week we discovered lots of animals, including a caterpillar we had never seen before. We collected pictures of this creature (see below) and some students were able to use our iPads to post our findings on iNaturalist. We found out from a local expert this creature is called a "Lappet Moth". It was a very cool discovery indeed. In math this week, students are learning how Math Workshop and how to use a math menu. We will continue to build math games to play within the classroom. Any family that would like, we can also send instructions to these games home as well. 

Questions to spark conversation:
-Who is Mrs. Ela and what are you learning about with her?
-Where did you find the lappet moth caterpillar?
-Where is your sit spot in the woods? Can you describe it to me?
-How do you play Loops & Groups?
-What book are you reading in Reading Groups? Who is your favorite character and why?











Sunday, September 8, 2019

Week of September 3, 2019

Week two is officially in the books! We spent the week learning more about each other and our learning styles. Students were able to experience a true afternoon in the woods on Tuesday. Every child found their own sit spot. Here they will record their surroundings each week and make observations of the world around them.

Later in the week, students were able to create math glyphs about their learning preferences. Then, we graphed our glyphs. Here we found out some similarities and differences among our group.

During Reading, we discussed the idea of our "just right" books, is like that of our "just right" shoes. Not every shoe fits every person, and you wear shoes for different reasons. For example, a slipper is worn for comfort but not all the time. Some books will be referred to as "slipper" books. These are comfortable books that we might want to read from time to time, but as readers, they will not help us grow. Our sneakers are meant for every day. They fit us right now and they are "just right". Finding a just right (sneaker) book is important to support us as readers. These books fit us right now and will support us as we grow as readers.

We also practiced what spelling work will look like during a full week of school. Students do not know this yet, but the words they did last week, we will do again this week, with more practice. From now on, you can expect a new word list each Monday and students will be tested on these words every Friday.

In Science, we began our unit the plant life cycle and heredity. This unit develops the idea that by studying how plants reproduce and pass on their traits, we human beings have figured out how to make food plants even more useful to use. We explore the process of pollination and fruiting. Then students are introduced to the process of plant domestication.