Week of March 15th

 This week, I'm going to keep it short and sweet! Here are some pictures from the week:

On Tuesday, our bridge was impassable! 

On Wednesday, the water had receded and we were able to get across. 

Time to get to work and clear the bridge!

Many students (and adults!) worked hard to clear the bridge

Enjoying lunch in the woods

Playing in the upper brook

Finding new types of icicle formations

Making winter bears in Art this week

With warmer temperatures, students have been eager to break up the ice and enjoy the brook again. 

Using all our strength to lift heavy pieces of ice

Week of March 8, 2021

 This week was filled with beautiful weather, muddy boots, soggy snow gear, and lots of learning! With temperatures reaching above 40 degrees almost every day, it was easy to get back into our normal routine of being outside more often. By Thursday, we were able to spend the entire day outside. It was wonderful!

This week we had a special performance from one of our reading groups. This group has been working with Mrs. Mock for a few weeks on the Velvetine Rabbitt reader's theater. Through reader's theater, students get a chance to focus intently on their intonation when reading, as well as the use of dialogue within a text. On Friday this group was able to present their play to the rest of the class. I was very impressed by this group as well as all of our audience members who made our classroom a safe space where others felt comfortable taking this academic risk. 

While outside on Thursday, students were able to write new forest poetry. This is something we haven't done since the fall but no one seemed rusty in their poetic skills. Their pieces were absolutely magical and the inspiration for our Writer's Celebration on Tuesday. Hopefully, many of you will be able to join us for their readings. If you need the Google Meet link, please contact me directly. 

In math, we began our next unit, learning fractions. At the beginning of the week, we focused on the importance of fractions being equal (fair) pieces. Everyone understood the importance of sharing a cookie, sandwich, or their favorite candy bar equally! Next, we built fractions using polygon pieces. Students took time to build and compare unit fractions based on their size. Finally, we built a fraction number line between the trees in our classroom, comparing several fractions across the same line. This allowed students to identify equivalent fractions as well. 

Here are some activities to spark conversation around fractions:

Make a grilled cheese sandwich, ask your child if they want their sandwich in halves or fourth? Have them explain which way will give you more/less pieces and how do they know.

Pull various measuring cups out. Have your child place the measuring cups in order from smallest to biggest. Ask them to read the fractions on each cup. 

Measuring cup extension-Have your child predict how many "scoops" it would take for each measuring cup to equal 1 cup. Then, allow your child to test of their prediction. Have a strong conversation around how important the denominator (bottom number) is, and how it tells you how many scoops you would need to make 1 whole cup. They could even pour their scoops into the 1 cup measuring cup to see for themselves. 

Ask them questions such as: 

Which is longer: half of a show or half of a movie? explain why

Which is heavier: 1 pound of flour or 1 ounce of sugar? explain why

Here are some pictures from the week:

Learning our new poem for March

Swinging in the sun

Learning about fractions

Lunch in the sun

The sap was flowing this week!

Forest poetry at its best

Our fraction number line

Reader's theater 

Mud season has begun

Making trenches to move the water out of our learning space

Reaching new heights every day!

On a personal note, as an educator, I was able to receive my J&J COVID vaccine on Saturday! This certainly put a smile on my face.

Week of March 1, 2021

 This week we focused our attention on wrapping up our math unit as well as completing our informational writing pieces. In math, students have been focusing on multi-digit addition and subtraction strategies, word problems, and rounding to gather estimated sums. Starting next week, we will move into our Fraction and Time unit. 

In writing, students learned the ABCs of writing a strong introduction paragraph. In connection to our science unit, students are writing an informational piece about how a watery cave near the Gulf of Mexico has changed over time based on the fossils found inside the cave. The first part of a strong introduction is, A: attention getting/creating a hook. Students learned about the various ways to gain a reader's attention. In our reading groups, we identified hooks used by authors as well. Next, we have part B: Background information. Using information gained, students were able to use their background knowledge about the watery cave to build understanding for their audience. Lastly, C: Claim/Stating your thesis.  A thesis statement states what you believe and what you intend to prove. Students learned the important role of having a thesis statement.

In recent years, Hartford has added an "enhancement" piece to our writing standards. In third grade, students are asked to provide formatting, illustration, or visual enhancements to increase their understanding of their writing topics. For this informational writing piece, students were able to choose from three options to meet this standard. They could format their writing to include images from the cave, create a book and add illustrations to each page of their book, or they could read their writing aloud, in front of a green screen, and then be placed in front of the cave images, creating a video of their informational piece. I was pleased with the variety of choices students' chose. The options were chosen pretty equally across the students. I am still working with Mrs. Johnson to figure out the best way to share these writing pieces with you. Each student has so much to be proud of!

In the forest this week, it could have been a little warmer. Most of the week, our buckets were frozen and little sap was collected. We still held math groups outside three days this week, as well as lunch and exploration time every day. Looking ahead, the temperatures this week should be wonderful for sugaring! It is possible by Wednesday we might spend another day completely outside. I will certainly email you later on if that is the case. 

Here are some questions to spark conversation:

-What enhancement did you choose for your writing piece: formatting, book, greenscreen? Why did you choose this option?

-If a mosquito fossil was found, what does that tell you about the climate of that land long ago?

-Why is it important to use rounding and estimation when solving difficult addition or subtraction strategies?

-What does the forest classroom look like? How has that changed throughout the seasons?

Pictures from the week:

Invisible students 

Time for math outside

We are so fortunate to have Mrs. Mock work with us for 2 hours every day!

More math groups

Green screen creations

It all starts with this!