I hope you had a great holiday and were able to enjoy time with family & friends! I certainly did! It was nice spending time with family, relaxing, and shopping. I feel recharged and ready to get back to the hustle and bustle. I'm sure the kiddos will be tired tomorrow. I'll add in some extra movement breaks to make the transition from break a bit easier.
See below for a glimpse of our learning this week. Science: We didn't have time to take the district assessment before the break, so on Monday we will review and then take the test. Tuesday, we will begin a new unit on forces and motion. This will be a longer unit as there are Project Lead the Way lessons that will be implemented throughout the unit. The first part of the unit will include designing and building gliders while learning about types of forces and gravity. Should be lots of fun! Reading: This week we'll continue to read expository/nonfiction texts. We'll focus on cause/effect, compare/contrast, and problem/solution text structures. As usual, we will respond to our reading in various ways. Math: We'll wrap up our unit on fractions on Wednesday and will begin our next unit on connecting multiplication to division. Monday and Tuesday we will focus on composing and decomposing unit fractions. On Wednesday we'll review the fraction models and work on problem solving involving fractions. The fraction concepts we have learned during this unit will be assessed at the end of the multiplication/division unit. Writing: This week we'll plan an expository writing piece after participating in a shared writing of an expository essay. Once our plans are ready, we'll begin drafting. As we plan and write, we'll learn how to narrow a topic, forming paragraphs, main idea & supporting details, and organization. Social Studies: We didn't have time for our mock trip to the White House before the week, so we'll take our pretend flight and tour this week. We'll learn about democracy and the role of the president. Upcoming Events: Tuesday (11/28)- Ocean Adventures Science Program/Assembly ~ sponsored by PTA
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International Week Kick Off Presentation We started off our week with outstanding performances from students and guests. Monisha from our class was in a dance, (sorry I didn't get a photo). Edible Science-Exploring Tectonic Plates What a great way to discover how tectonic plates slide and push against each other! The frosting represented magma and the crackers represented the plates. I forgot to take photos during the first parts of the exploration, but I captured the last part where we pushed the plates together forming a mountain. It was fun making the model and eating it! I think we all have a better understanding of the tectonic plates and how movement of the plates causes events that change earth's surface. Field Trip to the Performing Arts Center Thanks to my intern, Miss Paek, here are some photos from the field trip. The kiddos told me all about it and it sounds like the enjoyed the play and the picnic at the park. Wish I could have been there! International Week Presentation on England Thanks to Shea's mom, we know a lot more about England! We learned about the guards at Buckingham Palace, school in England, foods, and lots more. We also played a matching game of words used in England. Do you know what a diaper in England is called? We do! Partitioning Fractions using a Length Model We used lines made from playdough to create length models. I challenged the kiddos to partition their lines in various ways to explore different fractions. Love seeing our mathematicians hard at work and having fun! Investigating Landslides-Making a Model After creating a mountain, (damp soil), we created "rain" by pouring water into a cup with holes. We discovered that too much water on the mountain created a landslide. Some of the mountains almost completely collapsed. They weren't perfect models, but I bet everyone will remember what a landslide is and what happens during a landslide. Oh how exciting soil and water can be! Exploring Fractions with Cuisenaire Rods Practicing Math Facts with a Game We played Do the D's Again which is a game on doubling. This is a great way to practice the facts we have learned. Looks Like We Are In England! We couldn't actually go to England, but why not create a touristy photo? Mrs. Chuchmach created a backdrop display for fun photos. I love the way their turned out. Too cute! What Are You Thankful For? This was the start of writing about being thankful. I think it is important to stop and thing about gratitude and this is the perfect time of year for it. I wish I would have taken some photos of the kiddos working on their writing and final displays. We still have a bit to finish, so I'll snap some pics next week. International Week Closing Performance
We enjoyed ending our week watching Native American dances. Author Visit We enjoyed hearing from Elizabeth Eulberg, author of The Great Shelby Holmes and many other books. She was entertaining, funny, and inspiring. Also, she also gave us a few hints about the sequels. Enjoying S'mores from Our Solar Ovens After our mishap in our first attempt to make the s'mores, we tried again and were successful. Everyone loved the s'mores! Finding Text Features Building and Erupting Volcano Models Exploring Fractions Cup Stacking for Global Record Veterans Day Ceremony Enrichment Time-STEM Group
Thank you for sending in donations for Coins For Coats. our class raised $46.00!. That will buy almost five coats for children in need!
Like always, we have a busy ahead of us. We are starting off with an author visit on Monday. If your child ordered a book from Elizabeth Eulberg, they should receive their book either Monday or Tuesday as the author has to sign all the books. Also this week, we will begin learning about our country, (England), for International Week which is next week. On Friday morning, the school is holding an assembly to honor veterans. See below for more details about our week: Science: We will continue learning about fast changes to the earth. This week we will conduct an investigation about the tectonic plates moving and connect that to earthquakes. Also, we will build volcanoes from soil and items from nature. And of course, we will create a simulation of an eruption to discover how volcanoes change earth’s surface and structures on earth. This is an all-time favorite every year. I’ll be sure to get lots of photos. If time, we’ll also conduct an investigation on landslides. Reading: This week we will begin our unit on non-fiction texts. Students will read nonfiction texts and notice the various text features as well as determine their purpose. We’ll also read articles/websites about England since next week is International Children’s Week. Students will learn how to locate websites and informational articles using the online library resources. Additionally, we'll learn how to determine important information and main idea. Math: After taking the multiplication test on Monday, we will start a new unit on fractions. The big ideas in this unit include:
It is critical that students gain conceptual understanding of fractions in order to develop a foundation for later fraction work. Thus, we will use various math tools throughout the unit to ensure sense making of fraction concepts. Writing: During writing, we’ll learn how to summarize expository and informational text in order to paraphrase when taking notes while researching about England. Students will record notes on a graphic organizer. The notes will be used to create a Google Drawing about England. Social Studies: Since we are researching and learning about England for International Children’s Week, that will be our social studies for the week. If we have any extra time, we will learn about democracy. Upcoming Events November 6-Author Visit @ 9:45 November 10-Veterans Day Ceremony @ 7:45 November 15-International Family Night and Culture Fair @ 6:00 Next Week... International Week and Book Fair-more details to come Poetry Response We have been reading and responding to poems the past few weeks. Students have recorded their thinking, questions, inferences, etc. I gave them a challenging poem this week and asked the kiddos to make inferences about the author's message as they read. They worked with a partner and had to discuss their thinking. The kiddos really rose to the challenge! There was so much deep thinking going on and I was blown away by some of their inferences! Noticing and Wondering about Doubles Students rotated to different arrays and equal groups and recorded what they noticed and wondered. I asked them to notice how all of the images were related and what math ideas they represented. After viewing the images and talking with their group, everyone was able to connect all of the images to multiplication and doubling. Great way for mathematicians to discover ideas and discuss their thinking! Guess the Landform Students observed photos of land forms around the room and guessed which landform was shown in the image. It was a great way to introduce our unit on earth's forces and to get everyone up and moving. Estimating with Halloween Images On a recent trip to Target, I took photos of seasonal items to use for estimating and multiplication. Students rotated around the room to make estimates. They also had to think of an estimate that was too high and too low. Then, they recorded their estimates on a number line to show the range of their estimates and to help them determine if their estimates are reasonable. Using Clues to Find a Special Treat Students solved math problems to earn parts of a skeleton. Once their group successfully solved all of the problems, (including a mystery number and a mystery word), each group was given a clue as to where the next clue was located. Once they found that clue, they were given a clue as to the location of the skeleton parts. The kiddos were soooo excited about this and they didn't even realize the skeleton parts were cookies! One student said it was better than a party but it was math! Each group was delighted to find skeleton cookie bones. Then their group put the parts together to create a skeleton. And of course, they ate the bones. It was a perfect ending to the day on Halloween! In case you are wondering, the cookies were from Target. I'll be looking for those again next year. Nature Sketch Poetry We used items from nature as inspiration for poetry. Students observed and sketched their object from nature and recorded observations in a poetic way. Then, they used their notes/observations to write a poem. Making a Skeleton with Bone Cookies-YUM The Magic Pot-Double, Double During math, we read a book about a magic pot that doubles everything when you put it in. We quickly realized that doubling is the same as multiplying by two. Then, a few days later, we imagined what would happen if something went in the pot, double, and then went back in the pot. We acted different situations out using dry erase boards and counters/tiles. We discovered that when you double, then double again, it is the same as multiplying by four. So much math thinking going on! Noticing and Wondering-Double, Double, Double Students were challenged to discover the math concept represented by various images while noticing and wondering. They recorded their thinking on the paper with the image, and had to read what other people wrote. We noticed that all of the images represented multiplication. Most of the kiddos realized the arrays and equal groups doubled and then doubled again. This made it easier to understand that one strategy for eight facts is to double, double, double. For example, if you start with 4 you can double it to get 8, (twos fact). Eight can be doubled to get 16, (fours fact), and the 16 can be doubled to get 32, (eight fact). Applying Knowledge about Landforms to Mapping As part of science and social studies, we used our knowledge of landforms to create an interactive map of landforms in the United States. We used maps to help us locate information. Enrichment Time
Everyone had a great time during enrichment as they worked in various interest groups. I wasn't able to get photos of all the groups. Below are mostly pictures of the STEM group in action designing circuits or hot wheel courses. There are a few photos of the kids in the cooking group, and one in the string art group. |
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November 2019
Mrs. Swyers3rd Grade Teacher |