January 2013

Happy 2013!  In spite of the interruptions caused by "Sandy," 3M had a productive end to 2012.  Although we never got to celebrate Halloween, the children had a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Day of the Dead under the direction of our Spanish teacher, Senora Hinestroza.  They built an altar for the book character, Charlotte the spider, after hearing the story of Charlotte's Web in our class.  They skyped with a class in Mexico to learn more about how this special day is celebrated there. 

 

Around the same time we practiced writing clear, precise instructions during a "monster exchange" with Mrs. Heiss's class.  Groups worked together to create monsters and then wrote step-by-step directions for drawing each monster.  The classes exchanged directions and then tried to follow each other's instructions to duplicate the monster drawings.  What fun to compare the original drawings with the duplicates!  What valuable lessons we learned about the importance of sequence and clarity in writing instructions! 

Collaboration with classmates within the classroom and between the classes really enhances learning.  We helped each other learn about time:

 

 

We worked with 3H on some science experiments in our unit on the Earth and its resources.  For example, we made a model of a glacier and observed how it could cause weathering and erosion.

We used a Milky Way candy bar to simulate the layers of the Earth and its tectonic plates.  The chocolate "plates" slid on the caramel, forming mountains and causing earthquakes. The best part was eating the experiment when we were all finished!

Thanksgiving gave us an opportunity to spend time with our senior buddies.  They entertained us with a poem at lunch and then joined us back in the classroom for some games.  We love when Kush, Katie, and Valentina come for visits.

 

 

Our trip to Kateri Environmental Center was great fun, and we learned so much.  Our focus was on how Native Americans depended on nature for their needs.  We gathered leaves and berries to make natural dyes and learned Native American songs, stories, and games.  We even chose Native American names based on our personalities and held a naming ceremony.

 

 

Speaking of nature, we embarked on a project with 3H and Mrs. Burg.  We planted daffodil bulbs and will carefully monitor their growth.  We recorded data such as the air and soil temperature and the latitude/longitude of our site; we will share this information with other school groups around the world who are also planting and then compare sprouting times.

Before we left for December break, we tried out our new science kit with an experiment on how slope affects the rate at which water flows downhill.  Squeals of delight were heard coming from the science lab as 3M conducted water droplet races.  We can't wait until we get to try other activities from this kit.

In December we also shopped at the Holiday Boutique and had our Willy Wonka chocolate party, complete with chocolate river, chocolate fountain, and chocolate games.

Finally, we dressed up for our Holiday Concert.  Check out these gorgeous students!

Welcome to a new school year in Third Grade.  We gathered for a "First Day" photo as you can see below and enjoyed getting reacquainted after the summer break.  We spent time sharing oral reports on books we read over the summer and learned facts about Guatemala-the setting for the story Abuela's Weave.  Peter from 3H brought in some wonderful items from Guatemala, and some of us danced to marimba music as we watched a Youtube video about that Central American nation.  Here is Megan pointing out its location on the map.

The children have settled into daily routines such as practicing math facts after they've unpacked in the morning.  Here are Amber, Nate, Nicholas, and Rose enjoying a game that tests their addition skills:

There's always a daily poem, a math problem of the day, a new word of the week, and a weekly science challenge as Shanki is demonstrating in the picture below.

We honored 9/11 through the reading of 14 Cows for America, the true story of the Maasai tribe of Kenya's gift of 14 cows to our country to offer hope and compassion after hearing about the terrorist attack.  The students followed up with their own "I will..." statements, in which they pledged to do some act of kindness in remembrance of the day.

We also celebrated Constitution Day on 9/17 by reading a news article and watching a video in the digital version of Scholastic News/Weekly Reader via our new Smartboard.  Here's Masoma holding a replica of the Constitution.  She happens to be standing in front of the signatures of all the students on the class pledge to uphold the "constitution "of our classroom.

The Smartboard has been enjoyed in other ways as well.  Amiteij is seen here with the"magic eraser" that he used to confirm the name of the continent he had identified.

We launched our science study of the Earth and its resources with an introduction to the water cycle.  Maya and Aarush observed the crystals left after the water in a salt solution evaporated.

It seems there aren't enough hours in the day to fit in the many things we do in Third Grade.  The children met their Senior Buddies today and are looking forward to spending time with them.  Before you know it, it will be time for ERB testing, Fall Fair, and Halloween!  October will be an exciting month.