Tiger Rescue-Building Our Final Designs Everyone worked really hard to build a complex machine that would lift the tiger at least four inches and move the tiger. The kiddos had to ensure the tiger had some sort of harness that would keep it safe from harm. I was impressed with their originality, collaboration, and building skills. Even though all of the final designs weren't totally successful, every group was able to move the tiger in some way. We have some future engineers among us! Sorting 2-D Shapes To explore shapes, each group was given a set of shapes such as quadrilaterals or polygons. They had to figure out a way to sort the shapes into groups based on attributes. Each group shared their thinking with the class. Exploring Magnetism Students worked in groups to explore properties of magnetism using special magnets in the Vex kits we are using to build simple & complex machines. The final design of the complex machine to rescue the tiger will include using a magnet. Breakout Boxes This was soooo much fun! It's like an escape room in that you have to figure out clues to "breakout" of a locked box. The goal of this challenge was to break Rudolph out and determine the missing reindeer. There were lots of locks on the boxes that each group had to use clues to find the codes to unlock them. When the group opened up the big box, they were delighted to find a little surprise inside-candy! What a great way to wrap up the year!
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As the first semester comes to a close, I want to thank everyone for your support and for sharing your child with me every day. I really enjoy working with all the kiddos, and watching them blossom.
We have just 3 days before the break. Please help us finish the semester strong by ensuring your child comes to school ready to learn. The kiddos are excited for the break and have been VERY chatty. This is a great time to review school expectations and remind your child to do their best. Coming Up This Week... Writing: Most of our writing time will be spent working on science as I want to finish the unit by Wednesday, however, we will work on our spelling words, (abstract vowels), finish a mentor sentence we started last week, and write a story or poem to go with snowmen art we made with our buddies. Reading: We'll continue to read biographies the next few days to learn from the lives of others. As we read, we'll think about the obstacles people face and the actions they take to overcome those obstacles. Also, we'll make timelines to show important parts of the lives of people we read about. These will help students determine importance and make inferences. Math: Friday we started our geometry unit with a fun challenge called The Four Triangle Problem. The next few days we will sort and classify 2-D shapes based on attributes. This unit will continue after the break. Science: We will spend extra time in science so we can finish our PLTW module of forces and interactions. Last week we learned about simple machines and built a wheel and axle, pulley, lever, inclined plane, and a compound machine. We read a story about a tiger stuck in a moat and the kiddos are working in groups to build a compound machine to lift and move the tiger. It's quite a challenge, but so far the kiddos are off to a great start. We are also learning about the force of magnetism and will include this in our final designs. I'm hoping to finish this by Tuesday morning so we can take the unit test Tuesday afternoon. Upcoming Events December 19: 3rd grade Winter Party @ 1:30 Please send in items for the party by Tuesday! December 20-January 7: Winter Break-No School for students Exploring Biographies Counting Collections We had another successful counting collection. The kiddos are really improving in their ability to organize and record their collection. So much mathematical thinking happening! Solving a Math 3 Act Task and Determining the Divisibility Rule We watched a video showing a rope with two knots. Then we had to determine how many knots could fit on the rope. I gave my mathematicians the length of the rope and the length of the rope with one knot. I loved how they thought of different strategies using tools in the classroom. Building Simple Machines We have been learning about force and motion and are now ready to put our knowledge to use. Using Vex kits, the kiddos worked in groups to build simple machines. We started with a simple wheel and axle. Some groups also started building an incline plane or lever. We'll use simple machines for our final real-world challenge of the module-rescuing a trapped tiger. I love seeing the kiddos so engaged and working together! Apex Jingle Run Despite not being about to run laps outside due to high winds, there was lots of laughter and smiles during the run. I think everyone enjoyed the music, running, and helping our school raise money. Thanks to all of you who sponsored your child and/or donated money to support the school. Creating Simple Machines Teams designed levers, inclined planes, and a pulley. Next, design a compound machine to rescue a tiger! The Four Triangle Problem To introduce our geometry unit, I challenged the kiddos to find as many solutions as possible to the four triangle problem which involves making shapes out of four triangles. It sounds easy, but it is a challenge, one that my mathematicians worked hard to solve. All of the groups found at least 12 different shapes! Once we found all of the solutions, we sorted the shapes by the number of sides to create a chart. This is a great way to review & introduce 2-D shapes and geometry vocabulary. Writing: Since we only have a little more than a week in the semester, I want to give the kiddos some free choice during writing this week. So, we'll spend a few days writing a procedural text and the rest of the week students can write the genre of their choice.
Reading: Our focus this week will be on biographies and autobiographies. We'll compare these two types of literary nonfiction, learn the elements of biographies, and read a variety of biographies to learn about the lives of others. As we read, we'll notice passions, goals/dreams, and actions people have taken to reach their goals. We'll think about life lessons we can learn from these inspiring people. Math: This week we'll finish our division unit after learning divisibility rules to determine odd and even numbers and solving more problems involving division. Also, we'll use tables to understand patterns in real-world relationships. I have planned a day for counting collections as well, but I think we should be ready for the unit test on Wednesday or Thursday, (this will include fraction concepts from our last unit). Then we'll begin a unit on geometry. In this unit, students will understand and classify 2-D and 3-D shapes and learn about area. Science: We'll continue to learn about force and motion as we dive into another Project Lead the Way module involving a problem that students will solve. I'll introduce the module with a story about a tiger that is trapped and needs to be relocated. Students will be challenged to build a complex machine to rescue the tiger. The machine will have at least two simple machines combined so that the tiger can be lifted and transported. This is going to be loads of fun yet challenging. I'll be sure to get photos and video of the final designs. Social Studies: Our science lessons will be long, so we won't have much time for social studies, however, I hope to wrap up our unit on how heros shape the community. We'll touch on this during reading as well since we'll be reading biographies. Upcoming Events December 19: 3rd grade party-Don't forget to check the sign-up sheet! December 20-January 7: Winter break for students Hope you had a good weekend and enjoyed the nice weather. I spent most of Saturday indoors watching basketball and volleyball, but was able to get outside for a walk at the park Sunday afternoon. It was great to see some fall leaves even though most of them were on the ground.
We have a lot going on this week with our Project Lead the Way modules for science, a special coding lesson in the library, an assembly about the Fun Run (fundraiser), and meeting with buddies on Friday. Here's a look at the week ahead. Writing: After a little bit more revising and editing our expository pieces, we will switch gears back to personal narratives. Throughout this unit, we'll focus on lifting the quality or narrative writing. For spelling, we will continue to work on contractions. Your child brought their spelling list home last week to practice. We will have a quiz on these contractions Friday. Reading: We'll wrap up our nonfiction/expository unit by reading procedural texts, using context clues/inferring word meaning, and summarizing a nonfiction text. Then we will begin learning about elements of biographies and autobiographies as we kick off the next unit. I love reading biographies because it is a great way to learn from the lives of others. There are many wonderful picture book biographies that highlight perseverance, learning, empathy, hard work, and courage. My hope is that each student will be inspired by some of the people we will read about throughout this unit. Math: This week we'll work on tens, fives, fours, twos, and eights division facts. We have learned that one strategy mathematicians use to divide is to think multiplication. I have noticed lots of the kiddos use this as they have been solving problems. We'll continue to use strategies to solve problems involving division and represent division using equal groups, arrays, and number sentences. Science: Our focus will be on force and motion as we learn more about flight. We will conduct two glider investigations involving testing different gliders, recording and comparing data, and modifying gliders to improve flight. Also, we'll identify forces used in every day life. Social Studies: We'll continue to learn how heros shape communities. So far, we have learned about Ruby Bridges and Daniel Boone and discussed characteristics that make them heros. As we read biographies in reading, we'll discover many other heros that have changed their community and helped shape the lives of others. Upcoming Events Tuesday, December 4: Picture Retakes Wednesday, December 19: 3rd grade Winter Party Exploring Length Models and Fractions on a Number Line To help students develop an understanding of fractions on a number line and length models, we partitioned lines made with play dough into fractional parts and then labeled the fractions. Working on Computational Fluency with a Game Division-Making Fair Shares To introduce division, I showed a short video clip of three cartoon characters attempting to share 18 pieces of candy fairly, but they ended up with unequal amounts. I challenged my mathematicians to think of ways to share 18 candies equally. We shared our discoveries which lead to a brief discussion about division. Landslide Investigation The weather finally cooperated so that we could get outside and explore what happens to Earth's surface when there is a landslide. It was a bit messy as we created "rain" on top of our mountains, (damp soil), but lots of fun. We concluded that a landslide can cause a rapid change from falling debris. Counting Collections of Money As part of our spiral review, I gave the kiddos a bag of coins and bills for them to count. It was neat to see all of the different strategies they used to find the total amount of money. Everyone was so engaged and eager to count! Solving Division Problems Mentor Texts for Expository We read examples of expository pieces and jotted down what we noticed the writer did well. Also, we focused on the conclusions to see models of ways to wrap up an expository piece. Then, we worked on revising our drafts which are now mostly complete. The kiddos have been working hard, and it shows in their writing! Division Problem Solving Stations Mathematicians worked hard on solving open ended division problems using different math tools to model the situation in the problem. This is a great way for students to make connections to multiplications, develop an understanding that a group of objects can be divided equally in different ways, and to divide using equal groups and arrays. Exploring Motion with Propellers As part of our introduction to force and motion, we created lift using small propellers. It is easier than it looks! It was lots of fun seeing these in motion and noticing how far they could glide through the air. Everyone was trying to make their propeller go high and stay in the air the longest. Lots of smiles and laughter happening! |
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November 2019
Mrs. Swyers3rd Grade Teacher |