Highlights from January 23-27Weathering Investigation (Rock Banging) Yes, students are banging rocks together to gain an understanding of how weathering occurs. The kiddos LOVE this and are always amazed when they see pieces of rock breaking off and sometimes flying through the air. Good thing we have our safety googles! Noticing and Wondering about Unit Size Fractions Students observed various photos depicting fractions where the size of the whole is different. They recorded what they noticed and wondered while thinking about the math idea and how all the images are connected. On the last rotation, students discussed their ideas. I think almost everyone discovered that the fractional part wasn't the same if the "whole" wasn't the same size. This is my one of my favorite ways for the kiddos to discover a math concept on their own! What happens to soil when you mix it with water and shake it? Layers! We observed that the soil settled into different layers with the humus floating on top of the water. Amazing! Eslot My enrichment group had lots of fun coding and programming the Dash and Dots. I was able to snap a few photos from other groups making games and working with Lego Robotics. Coming Up Week of January 30-February 3Writing: We are still working on our fiction writing. Each student planned a superhero character and the main plot of their story. This week, we'll finish planning and begin drafting. So far, the kiddos have some fabulous ideas! Reading: We'll continue reading traditional literature this week. Students will determine the theme of various texts, compare settings, and understand how a characters interactions with other characters is important to the plot. Also, we will be reading and responding to some articles related to our PBL. Math: We are wrapping up our unit on fractions this week.The unit assessment will be on Wednesday which will include geometry and area. We'll review in class on Tuesday. There is a lot of geometry vocabulary students need to know including polygon, quadrilateral, parallel lines, parallelogram, edge, vertex, vertices, rhombus, equal sides, right angles, curved surface, curved base, base/face, and the basic 2D and 3D shapes. Thursday we'll begin another multiplication and division unit. Science: It has been fun investigating soil. I posted lots of photos of the kiddos observing soil, investigating weathering, and observing layers of soil. Be sure to check out my website. We have one more investigation about erosion, then we will review and take the unit assessment, (which will include natural resources). Social studies: Economics! We'll learn about the role of consumers and producers in a free enterprise system and how consumer decisions influence supply and demand. Upcoming EventsFebruary 7th-Spring individual and class Picture Day
February 10th-Field trip to Westcave Preserve February 14th-Valentine's Day Party March 9th-3rd Grade Economics Fair
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Highlights from January 17-20Making PBL Posters We have been working hard making our posters to teach others about the problems and solutions to waste. I only snapped a few photos since many of the groups were already finished. It was a lot of work, but most of the kiddos completed their poster and I must say, they look great! A few of the posters are in the display case, a few are in the hallway, and the rest that are complete are displayed in the hall. Fractions Tour of Knowledge Students went around the room on a tour of knowledge about fractions. This was a great way to review fraction concepts previously learned. Observing Soil As we observed soil, we noticed leaves, sticks, grass, roots, egg shell parts, seeds, rocks, dead bugs, (and even a few live ones), and water. We were able to conclude that soil is composed of dead plant and animal remains, rocks, water, and air. Students recorded their observations in their notebooks. Comparing Fractions with our Fraction Bricks After a few fraction warm ups, students cut strips of paper to create their own fraction kit. Their fraction "bricks" were cut into halves, fourths, thirds, sixths, and eighths. Comparing Different Soils Students compared their soil to different soil samples. We noticed that some soils contain more rocks, some are stickier than others, some are darker than others, and some have more plant parts. This helped us deepen our understanding of what soil is and how it is formed. Coding with Ozobots Coming Up... Week of January 23-27Writing:This week we will focus on fiction writing. Instead of writing a longer story, we will write a few short pieces that tie in with our PBL so that we can work on conventions, sentence fluency, word choice, and voice.
Reading: We'll read and identify elements of traditional tales that set them apart from realistic fiction. We'll discuss how characters, plot, and setting work together in traditional tales. (This will help us with our fictional writing too.) As we read, we'll make inferences and draw conclusions about theme. Math: We'll continue to learn about equivalent fractions and compare fractions with and without a common denominator. Students will use math tools such as fraction circles, fraction tiles, and pattern blocks as they solve problems about equivalence. Science: This week we'll investigate how weathering occurs to understand its role in the formation of soil. Also, we'll continue to gain an understanding of decomposition of plant and animal remains. Social Studies: We'll begin a new unit on economics which is also part of the math TEKS. Throughout this unit, students will learn about our free enterprise system. I didn't take very many pictures this week since I was out Tuesday and Friday afternoon. We were super busy though learning about area, rapid changes to the earth, writing an expository essay, and reading biographies. Also, we worked on finishing our PBL poster/displays to begin teaching others about the global garbage problem. Exploring Landslides We partnered with Mrs. Lipe's class again to make models of a mountain. Then we created a simulation of rain using a cup with holes. The rapid rain caused the soil to fall down the mountain rapidly showing how earth's surface can change due to landslides. It was messy but exciting! Finding Area of Composite Figures and Rectangles Separating a figure into two rectangles seems easy, but it can be a challenge for 3rd graders. That's why I created large shapes on the floor tiles. Students used measuring tapes to create break apart the figure into two rectangles, then calculated the area of each rectangle. This really helps kiddos understand area, but also what square feet means. And it active, fun, and very engaging! Coming Up Week of January 17-20Writing: Students will be drafting short expository essays and nonfiction pieces this week related to our PBL.
Reading: We will be reading a few more biographies as a class and independently during reading workshop before moving on to Traditional Literature. After reading some of the written responses the kiddos wrote about the biographies they read, I realize we need to spend a bit more time making inferences and making connections. As we read a few more biographies, I'll model how readers connect ideas within a text, make inferences, and monitor comprehension. Math: Last week we worked on finding area of rectangles and composite figures. We used various math tools to find the area of paper chocolate bars, a desk, different sized rectangles, and compostite figures constructed on the floor. Most of the kiddos discovered several ways to determine the area and seem to have a good understanding of the concept. We will continue to work on area and shapes as part of our daily spiral review. The next district test will include geometry concpepts along with our next unit on fractions which we will begin tomorrow. The focus of this unit is comparing and equivalence of fractions. Science: We are beginning a new unit on soil and natural resources. We'll mostly focus on soil since we have already learned about natural resources through our PBL. This week we will observe our soil samples, compare different soil samples, and develop theories about how soil is formed through our observations. Thanks to everyone who sent soil samples! It looks like we have a good variety. Social Studies: We our finishing our unit on geography and we'll learn about the role Martin L. King played in shaping America. Upcoming Events: Thursday, January 19: Math Night for 2nd & 3rd @ 6:00 Friday, February 10: Field Trip to Westcave Preserve (Lipe and Swyers)-details to come Instead of making resolutions, I asked the kiddos to choose one word to inspire them for 2017. Each student chose a word that they thought would reflect their goals and ambitions at school and at home. I was very impressed that they really thought hard about their word and were able to explain how their word would make them a better person in some way. Lots of deep thinking go on! Everyone wrote a paragraph explaining why they chose their word and how their word would inspire them to improve. They turned out great! I took a photo of each student with their word, (below) and attached it to their writing.
***I need to retake a few of the photos so I'll post them as soon. Welcome 2017! Students were given either a 2, 0, 1, or 7. Then they formed groups to make 2017. Each number had a specific question to answer and share with the group. It was a great way to start of the year with a little sharing and community building. Candy Cane 3 Act Task We saw an image of a broken candy cane and wondered which piece was bigger. Then we generate math questions that we might want to answer. We decided we wanted to know how long the candy cane would be with both pieces still attached. Students had to decide what information we needed to know, and as usually they had to predict before getting information. Then, I gave them images of both candy cane pieces places next to part of a measuring tape, (not starting at zero). This may seem like an easy task, but the some students had a hard time determing the curved part of the candy cane, and a few struggled with both pieces since the measuring tape didn't start at zero. It's an important to understand that the units of measurement should be counted instead of the tic marks on the measuring tape. We had a good discussion about as part of our share out. Making 3D Figures Students had lots of fun using pipe cleaners and straws to constuct 2D and 3D figures. It really helped everyone to notice the vertices, edges, and faces as they recorded these attributes on their geometry chart. Geometry Scavenger Hunt Everyone really enjoyed hunting for 2D and 3D shapes around the school and taking photos with the ipads! Making Earthquake Models We created models of earth's surface (dry erease board), tectonic plates(marbles), and structures on earth (cups to represent buildings), to investigate changes to earth's surface and structures on earth during a quake. Mrs. Lipe's class joined us for our exploration and everyone worked cooperatively in their gorups. Creating Geometry Slideshows Students used their photos to a create shape slideshow to teach others about the attributes of different shapes. Finding Area Students were givien different sized images of Hershey bars and had to figure out how to determine which one had the most chocolate. After much discussion in groups and taking a break to find the area of our desks, all the groups discovered you had to find the area of each chocolate bar. They were then asked to prove which one was biggest and put them in order from greatest area to least area. Exploring Tectonic Plates with Models We used graham crackers and frosting to represent tectonic plates and magma in order to understand what happens when plates collide or slide. This was lots of fun-especially eating the models. One student made a "tectonic sandwhich" out of his crackers and frosting. I love that! Using Sticky Notes to Discover How to Find the Area of a Desk
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November 2019
Mrs. Swyers3rd Grade Teacher |