Stream Tables with a Slope

   We experimented with slope using our Stream Tables today.  As I moved from group to group, I heard conversations about rapid moving water, erosion, deposition, and landform vocabulary.  Ask your child what how their stream table reacted to the slope!

Stream Tables

   We examined our rock samples from our chemical weathering investigation!  I'd say we found some evidence of chemical weathering! 

    With our knowledge of physical and chemical weathering, we will create models of the earth using Stream Tables. In our first investigation, we studied erosion and deposition.  

A Proud Moment

   Our class was recognized for positive team work in the cafeteria this week.  They "won" a friendly competition regarding this.  I happened to be in the cafeteria when they learned they won and I was pleasantly surprised by their reactions.  They smiled and high fived each other.  They lined up controlled and happy.

   As we returned to our classroom, we sat down to talk about what happened.  I explained that I was proud of the positive team work and I am glad other teachers in the building recognize it as well.  The class was excited to earn a teamwork letter!  

   As we talked, we decided we should recognize the team work from the other two classes as well.  One student pointed out that lunch time is more of a time that we work together as a grade level team.  They decided as a class that they would use their Brain Break to create positive posters for the the other two 3rd grade classrooms!  

   As I listened in to the groups during the creation of their posters, I heard thoughtfulness and empathy, caring and kind students who were thinking of the greater team.  This is one event I hope to never forget!

African Dance by Molly

   This week we have been doing African Dancing with Mr. Djaji in P.E.. HE  IS AMAZING!!!      Mr. Djaji is from the Ivory Coast in Africa. He teaches us some counties in Africa like Molie, Madagascar, Sudan and Zambia. He also teaches us his language, like siggie means sit and woolie means stand! Sometimes he talks to us in his language and we KIDS respond!!  One time Mr. Djaji was on TV! I saw it!! Ask him if you don't believe me!

Heads Up-a fact fluency game!

We practiced our addition and subtraction facts with this awesome game you can play at home!  You will need 3 players and a deck of cards. 

- Using the number cards, deal out the deck evenly to all the players.  

- Without looking, two players will flip over their top card and place them on their foreheads.  The sum finder (the 3rd player) will mentally add the sum of their two cards. The player should say the sum out loud without revealing the two cards. 

- The other two players will listen to the sum, look at their opponent's card and then think about what their card might be.  

- The first player to correctly call out their own card's value will get both cards.  The player with the most cards at the end of the game wins!

Our Changing World

   We continue to observe and investigate our changing world! It really helps to look at the geography and the geology together, in one cross-curricular unit! Today, we investigated how acid rain affects rock.  Ask your child what causes acid rain! 

Writing Blog by Maya

   dear parents
In writing we are working on (the heart of the story) it is where we  are writing about the whole point of the story for example, in the story Little Red Riding Hood, the heart of the story is when the girl discovers the wolf after she thinks it was her Grandmother the whole time!  The heart of the story is when the reader is the most hooked in.  In my story, I am writing about my first American Girl Doll.  The heart of my story is when my mom surprised me with the doll wrapped in a special blanket.  My job as the writer is to hook the reader in so they feel like they are there with me!  Writers use capitalization, details like touch, smell, etc.  Here is look at the work I have done!

Life Skills

   Our sweet counselor, Mrs. Spann, has been absent because of a recent injury and surgery, so we welcomed our substitute counselor in for a wonderful teamwork life skills lesson! We explored teams that work and teams that do not work.  There were many fun activities, but the one pictured below was a class favorite! The blind folded students had to listen to a leader explain how to put a band aid on one of the members.  Ask a Schuh Star how it worked out!

Playdoh Landforms by Mira

   We have been learning about the land (geography) and how it changes.  So we took playdoh and started making a mountain.  We used the characteristics of a mountain to build it.  A mountain has a peak at the top and it is really steep, sometimes.  After we made a mountain, we put all of our mountains together and made a mountain range!  A mountain range is a lot of mountains together, like a family!  We also noticed there were valleys in our mountain range!  It is the low land between two mountains.  You can find water in the valley because when it rains in the mountains, the water goes down the mountain to a river.  Sometimes, people live in the valley.  Today we made a mesa!  A mesa like a table, long and flat on the top.  It has steep sides and can be found in the desert!  

A Mesa!

Making our Mark on Dot Day!

   This is our first student blog!!  We are blogging as a class and writing our message together! Dot Day is an International Holiday when we celebrate many things-one way to celebrate it is celebrating mistakes!  For example:  in math, you can try to work a problem and if you make a mistake it's an opportunity to try again!
   We wore dots today to celebrate the marks we will make in our life!  For morning work, we created Dot Day inspirational posters inspired by our dots!

 

Our Changing World

   What is soil? Is soil the same in all parts of the Earth?  We observed 4 soils from four different locations with these questions in mind.  Can you guess where these 4 soils came from? One is from the forest floor, another from a mountain, another from a river delta, and finally a desert.  

Writers focused on the hook

   As writers draft their personal narratives, I asked them to pause and study a few leads with me.  A lead is the beginning of a story or the first part, designed to hook a reader into their story.  Writers enjoyed studying the following leads with me and then tried them out in their own writing.  Ask a Schuh Star what type of lead they decided to use in their personal narrative!

Keyboarding- an authentic writing skill!

   This week, we will spend some time brushing up on the keyboarding skills learned in Second Grade using the On-Line skill practice, Type to Learn 4!  I sent home a flyer on Tuesday with the information on how to download this program to your own computer.  If you had trouble downloading from the internet, we have disks to loan that can download the program as well.  Please email Mrs. Stouffer or I if you need to borrow one of the disks.
 

Math Playground

    Our Third Grade team of teachers decided to name chapter 2 Math Playground because we will be pushing students to play with numbers and strategies this unit.  We will challenge them to make their thinking visible and explain their thinking for others to understand the strategy they used.
   Today, we had a strategy show-down for the problem 34 + 52.  Students tried to use as many strategies as they could independently to prove the answer is 86.  We came together to see how many strategies we could use as a class.  Here are some of the strategies we used today in class!

Mind Mapping

   I needed to check in with the class and see how much of the vocabulary they were mastering, so I gave them the job of a cartographer. Students followed directions, using geographical vocabulary as they created a mind map of the world using sidewalk chalk on our school black top.  Students were instructed to label a compass rose, find the equator, sketch in lines of latitude, fine the Prime Meridian, sketch in lines of longitude and then sketch in the continents and label the oceans.  The class did great and we will continue working our way around the world next week!

A Picture Perfect Class :)

   I love School Picture Day!  The kids come in dressed up, complimenting each other, and acting "professional."
   We had our first opportunity to "Celebrate Our Mistakes" today as we reflected on our math tests.  I showed the students the second part to the "Keep Moving Forward" video.  Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmW3H-EXYS0  
   As students reflected on their test, instead of looking as an incorrect answer as a completely negative experience, I pushed them to think of it as a learning experience-one that they WILL grow from!  As students bring home their math tests in their Friday Folders, please reinforce mistakes as an opportunity to learn and grow!  

 

Keep Moving Forward Mottos

Before our first test of Third Grade, I surprised the class by showing them a two-minute video clip from the animated movie "Meet The Robinsons."  In this clip, one character wants to give up and the other character gives him a big motivational speech about "keep moving forward."  Here is a link to the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-COvO9tDaM 

   After viewing the clip I asked the class what their "keep moving forward" motto would be.  They were invited to make their motto into a mini-poster to help motivate all learners through out the year!  Check out a few of the mini-posters below and check back tomorrow to hear part 2 of this lesson!

Seed ideas

   Today we talked about the difference between writing a story the size of a watermelon vs. writing a story the size of a seed. A watermelon story would be equivalent to a story that spans over a long amount of time.  A story this size is difficult for the reader to keep up with.  On the other hand, a seed story is focused on a memorable small moment told in great detail.  Check out the example below.

   Writers shared seed ideas with writing partners to try out their ideas on potential readers.  Writing partners offered feedback like "That sounds like a story that would be interesting to read!"  Ask your writer what seed ideas they are considering to publish!