A wonderful Wednesday full of learning and fun

Our Wednesday was wonderful!

We started with some Istation time, as it seems our time is cut short every time we get on our devices! 

We will be taking our third benchmark test on Istation starting tomorrow.  Some will do them on Friday. I will encourage them to do their personal best.

We made a large letter using the first letter of our first or last name. Then we found the area and perimeter of it.  It wasn't as easy as we first thought.  But they kept trying.  

We read a Cinquain today. Then we put an example in our notebooks.   We will be writing our own tomorrow!

We read chorally today.  We finished another Magic Treehouse book.  They are quite popular.

We decorated large paper eggs today. We will paint over the whole thing tomorrow.  They had to color so that the decorations were very waxy. The crayons will resist the paint.  

Third graders learning to love poetry

We had a very productive day today. They worked hard all day.

We started with time to work on our poetry project. I love hearing the children sharing poems they have read with others.  Even the children who don't love reading are enjoying the poems. 

In math we worked on Istation for practice.  We also did our Xtramath today.  

We were allowed to get onto spellingtraining.com today, as well.  They are so happy to have another spelling site to practice their words. I am, too.  We all missed Spelling City.

We read more of our book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. We also revisited author's purpose. 

Friday we will be doing some baseball themed reading passages/activities.  Your child is allowed to dress up in baseball attire.  I can't wait to see what you come up with.  I will be taking some pictures. 

Tomorrow is the last day for this month's book order.

Algorithm: A big word, but third graders get it

We had a marvelous Monday!  

We started with some multiplication practice and review.  They are getting pretty good at this.  

We added some math vocabulary to our notebooks today.  We added the word algorithm. The kids were wowed by the big word.  It sounds much harder than its definition.  We practiced subtracting across zero again.  The regrouping is still difficult for many.  Doing a couple of problems a night at home could help your child.  (Example of a practice problem: 1,000 - 345)

We typed in our spelling words on spellingtraining.com. So they should be able to get on them at home.  The name of the list is March 29.

We reviewed author's purpose today.  We also did a comprehension check-up. We read a nonfiction passage about St. Patrick's Day.

Have a great evening!

Spelling test show improvement

We had a fabulous Friday!  It was so nice to have everyone back.  I think we are all ready for virtual learning to be over and done with!

We started by doing a multiplication page that had the answers for us.  Our job was to determine if they were correct or not.  Most did very well with this.

We also officially introduced rounding to the nearest 10.  We added the rules to our notebooks. We also made a reference page using a 100 chart.  

We took our spelling tests, and it looked like everyone improved on their scores.  They enjoy spellingtraining.com.  I am hopeful this will help them.  They can get on this at home, as well as xtramath.org and prodigy.com.

We did a critical thinking activity in reading today.  We also worked on some basic reading skills by reading together.  

Book orders are due next Wednesday. 

Behavior notes came home and should be signed and returned on Monday.

If your child hasn't completed his or her Seesaw activities from yesterday, he or she needs to do this.  I have to count them absent for yesterday if it isn't done. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Work packets should be finished tomorrow

I have been doing training, meeting, and grading all day! If your child hasn't done his or her Seesaw lessons, he or she needs to.

I can't wait to see everyone tomorrow.  So far, I only have a headache from the second vaccination.

If your child has a packet of work, he or she needs to bring it finished tomorrow.

Playground issues give rise to learning opportunity

We had a wonderful Wednesday morning.  We have added doing Xtramath into our daily morning activities.  It takes very little time, and is good practice.

We added some math vocabulary to our math notebooks.  We also played "I Have, Who Has?" using our multiplication fact cards.  We are trying to get under one minute from start to finish. Our best time today was 2 minutes and 13 seconds.  We will practice more.  Again, it is another game that is great practice and takes very little time.

The afternoon was a little rough.  There were several issues during recess, apparently.  Because when they came in there was a lot of tattling going on.  Since I wasn't on duty, I couldn't do anything but talk to students.  We did discuss that from now on they need to take it to the teacher on duty.  If it isn't important enough to be told during recess, then it must not be worth tattling about.  

So what I had planned wasn't going to work.  So we took this opportunity to talk about feelings/emotions, and then write about them.  We made a list of things that made us mad, and a list of things that made us happy.  

There will be assignments on Seesaw for tomorrow.  There will be three assignments.  Your child may also get on spellingtraining.com.

Third graders engage in lots of different types of learning

We had a terrific Tuesday! We started by finishing our penguin project.

I introduced a new class game that is used for addition and subtraction practice. There are 10 rounds.  I will use the data I got from today's game to make the next set of groups. They didn't realize how much they were learning during the game! We also did a few problems for independent practice. They finished pretty quickly.  I haven't got to grade it yet, so I will see.

We started our Poetry Ringo project.  It is due Wednesday, April 7. We did several together, and then they were given time to work on it alone.

We tried out the new spelling site, spellingtraining.com, today.  They typed in their lists on their devices.  I think they were glad to be on it.  I observed a few of the games as they were playing them.  I think this will be very helpful. Typing in their lists was a good skill also.

We spent a little time on Istation Reading, as well.

Students begin Poetry Ringo project

We had a great first day back to school! Many were relieved, as some had shown concerned about having to go to fourth after spring break.  I assured them they would still be in third grade.  I realized that they left for spring break last year and didn't return until August.  

We started by making a penguin mobile.  We had studied a bit about penguins before the break.  They love penguins!  

We read poetry today.  We will start our Poetry Ringo project tomorrow.  They have to read a certain number of poems by specific poets.  It will be an ongoing project.  They will have at least 2 weeks to complete this.  I have every poet represented in my poetry section in my room, so there shouldn't be a problem.  If it gets close to the due date, I may have some bring it home to work on.  You can find the poets online.  But I suggest you look up the poems, as some of the poets write for adults, as well as children, and can be inappropriate for our kiddos.

We practiced addition and subtraction (with regrouping and across the zero). 

We also wrote a super sentence that told us the who, how, when, and where. 

I sent home the spelling lists today.  As always, they got 2 so that they could have one for home and here.  If you try spellingtraining.com, please let me know. Unlike the last spelling site, it won't let me put in the lists.  You can put them in each week, and your child can play a variety of games to practice his or her spelling words.

We also made a penguin book about the different penguin parts and their purposes.

Book orders were sent home, as well.  They are due Wednesday, March 31.

This Thursday will be a virtual day, as we have to get our second vaccine.  I am hoping I am not as sick as I was after the first one.

 

Students learn about area and perimeter in a very energetic Friday

We had a very energetic Friday before spring break!

We started by skip-counting to make a picture.  

We also worked with area and perimeter.  We sang our song and revisited what we had added to our math notebook.  We built things using centimeter cubes.  We also discussed how area is squared, but perimeter isn't. We did some practice shapes and they had to bring me their paper every time they finished one, so that I could check it.  That way I was able to see if they were having any trouble.

We also worked with author's purpose.  We work on this all year but not as a specific lesson.  We discuss why an author wrote a book or passage.  We discussed the three reasons why a piece is written.  Authors write to persuade, inform, or entertain.

We took our spelling tests today. 

We read nonfiction passages about P.T. Barnum and NASA.  Both were very interesting.  

I gave them another book, Interrupting Chicken.  That one is theirs to keep.  Some borrowed Mr. Popper's Penguins to read over spring break.

Behavior notes came home. I suggested they show them to you and immediately put them back into their backpacks so they didn't lose them!

Have a great spring break!

Students work on fractions, unfamiliar words

We had a great day today!  It is always nice when everyone is here!

We started with another following directions page.  Some had to redo theirs, as they didn't follow all of the directions.  This is so important.  As they get older, and take tests, they will need to be able to read directions on their own, and follow them.

We made several fractions today with our fraction bars.  We discussed, again, how the size of fractions decrease as the denominators increase. After some practice of comparing fractions, we made another observation.  We discovered that if the denominator is the same, you only have to look at the numerator to see if a fraction is the largest one. 

We also worked with a few unfamiliar words.  They were words that the Irish use.  We used our dictionaries and deductive reasoning skills to match definitions to words. 

We played "You Can Be in My Club." This shows how people with something in common are in the "Club." For example, I chose everyone wearing a lanyard, as I was wearing mine.  Then the children have to guess what it is we have in common.  After that we had headings on shamrocks.  They were one word headings.  They then chose the other 2 words from the word bank that belonged with the word already written.

We worked with our spelling words today.  Our test is tomorrow. 

I reminded them they may get on Xtramath and Prodigy at home.  It is not MANDATORY, though. 

I did encourage them to write about their spring break.  They could just write a little each day about what they did, or what they didn't do.  Again, this is not mandatory.  

Teacher's out, but students still have a busy day of learning

As you know by now, I had to be gone today.  My dentist was finally able to get me in after having to cancel when we were quarantined and then the snow!  Unfortunately, she was booked up spring break.  But, my sub was Mrs. Timmons, and I know they were in great hands!  Will Rogers is so lucky to have her. 

We will be talking tomorrow, as some did not do their best work. Most did, but some did not.  

They did some Xtramath after announcements and morning work. Then we did some multi-digit addition review.  Some will be bringing those home to correct. 

They did some research in the library today.

They were given some time to read silently.

They also went to Istation reading today.  

They revisited the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.  I left them a paper of a bean in the ground, and they had to draw and color what their magic bean grew.  Then they had to write about it.

They also got to design a pair of socks.  We didn't get to this last week during Dr. Seuss week.  Some were very creative.  I would even buy them!

I can't wait to see them tomorrow.

Students are coming together as a family of learners

Today was a wonderful day!  We are becoming great young men and women.  I love the way the students are coming together like a school family.  (I am not saying there aren't a few bumps in the road, but for the most part, they are doing a great job!)

We started by making our spelling words with Play-Doh.

Then we did our Xtramath and Istation math practice. If they finished before time was up, they were allowed to go to Prodigy.  Remember, they may go to Xtramath and Prodigy at home.

We worked with idioms today.  Their reading assignment is the book we made today.  

We wrote our spelling words.  Many didn't do well last week.  And I hate that Spelling City is no longer, because that helped them so much!

Have a great evening. 

 

Students learn about free writing

First, let me apologize. I had to leave directly after school Friday, and forgot all about the blog. But we had a fabulous Friday, and our read and feed went well.

Today was another great day!  We started by doing a free write in our writers' notebooks.  The only rule is to keep writing until I ask them to stop.

In math we went over a paper quiz we took last week. They corrected their answers they missed.  Going over what is missed is very important. As I explained to them, it helps us see our mistakes, and more often that not, we won't repeat the same mistake. We also did some multi-digit addition practice.

We handed out our spelling lists. I also handed out the spelling tests from last week.  I think some forgot to study.

In reading we did some silent reading.  We also finished a reading poem, using rhyming word pairs.  Rhyming is very important in reading.  

If you didn't return your child's fundraiser envelope, please do so tomorrow.

Third graders work with nonfiction books

We had a great day in third grade! We were very busy! 

I forgot to mention that we had a new student as of yesterday.  Many in our class knew him from last year. 

We started with some silent reading.  We also read another nonfiction book about penguins today. We love reading about penguins. It was also a great way to revisit nonfiction text features.

We worked some more with prepositions.  We had to sort them from nouns.  

We took a couple of math quizzes today.  One was over the fractions.  The other was one of mixed skills.  I want to see what we need to concentrate on the most.  

Our read and feed is tomorrow. It is also pajama day. 

Third graders work with fractions

We started with some following directions practice for morning work. 

We also did more with fractions.  We made equivalent fractions today. We also did a practice page after exploring equivalent fractions.They seem to enjoy working with fractions.  At first they were a little scared of them.  But once we explore and explain the way they work, they seem to enjoy them.

We also did a preposition review.  We listened to Green Eggs and Ham again.  Then we went to the end where the character decides he likes them and starts saying where he will eat them.  Each sentence has a preposition in it. Then each child made a rhyming pair of sentences using the same pattern.

We also read silently. And there was a new book in the listening center so some of us had time to listen to that.

Congratulations to Ayden!  He tested out of subtraction in Xtramath.com!  Yay!