December 11th Update

Well, now the countdown is truly on! Ten days of school left until Christmas break and only fourteen sleeps until Christmas morning! Hopefully that news leaves you feeling excited and not panicked!

The past two weeks have been a blur! We were super busy preparing for the Christmas concert, for the first time, without Mrs. Stanski taking the lead. I think we have all known that Mrs. Stanski is talented when it comes time to turn our children into performers...but having her not be there for the past few weeks has been extremely eye opening for me! Mrs. Stanski is beyond talented...she is magical when it comes to directing student performances! She has a way of keeping the students fresh each time they sing their songs! I tried my very best but struggled to prevent our two songs from going stale! I can tell you one thing, next year I am going to make sure I show my appreciation for Mrs. Stanski ten fold to any previous year! She is such a blessing to have at RBES!

That being said, the students did an awesome job at the Christmas concert! I didn't get any pictures during the show but I did take a couple before and after their performance! We were down six students so we were a small but mighty talented, dazzling and Christmassy bunch!

Between concert practices, we did get some work done in 3C!

Literacy

We tried our best to stick with our normal language arts routines. We did end up taking two weeks to work with our list of Word Wall Words because time was tight. Students continue to enjoy dedicating at least 45 minutes a day to reading, whether that is our group strategy instruction read aloud time or their independent self selected reading time. Who doesn't like cuddling up with a great book?

Numeracy

We have continued our study of numbers over the past couple of weeks. Recently we've been focusing on trading extra ones for tens and extra tens for hundreds. This practice is leading us into addition with trading. We are going to be working on adding and subtracting triple digit numbers with trading and borrowing. The Jump Math program follows the traditional algorithm approach (stack and add, stack and subtract). We will be doing a lot of practice with these skills to ensure that students are able to consistently be accurate with their calculations.

Social Studies

Team 3C is LOVING learning about India! We started the unit by talking about what are needs versus wants and what determines your quality of life. From there, we started exploring the different types of housing available in Mumbai. We had so many great discussions working through a slideshow presentation that I created. We are also focusing on talking about other cultures in respectful ways. Students are learning to be aware and mindful of their reactions to the differences between life in Canada and life in other countries. One of the main goals in Grade Three is to encourage the students to become responsible and respectful global citizens. Over the next two weeks, we will continue to explore different aspects of life in India. On Friday, we will take the afternoon to immerse ourselves in Indian culture by tasting the food, playing some games, doing some crafts and participating in a few traditional practices. If you want to lend a hand during that afternoon, please let me know as soon as possible. I am in charge of the clothing and henna station...it is so much fun!

Art

Over the past two weeks, we were working on our beautiful peacock pieces! They turned out amazing! It was a multi-step process and the students really took their time to do their best work! The peacock is the national bird of India!

Over the next two weeks, we are working on a surprise art project that is going to be wrapped up and put under the tree for you! If you plan on stopping by the classroom at anytime during the next two weeks, maybe knock and make sure that the coast is clear before coming in...I don't want you to ruin your own surprise! Trust me...it's worth it!

November 20th Update

Can you believe we only have 24 more school days before Christmas Eve? YIKES!

Literacy

On Friday we finished The Trouble With Chickens. The students really enjoyed the novel and I was able to witness some growth in usage of some comprehension strategies! It was great to hear the students making the connections and predictions independently, without me prompting them!

Reading conferences are going well and student reading levels are progressing nicely. Mrs. C and I enjoy this opportunity each day to witness a growth of reading confidence and reading strategy use within the students. 

All of the students in 3C have enjoyed writing in their journals each week! It's nice to see a group of students so eager that they are disappointed when we don't have journal writing. We've continued our focused writing lessons on writing complete sentences and properly organized paragraphs. 

Our Working With Words time is being spent focusing on long and short vowel sounds in addition to looking at r controlled vowels. The students are all doing very well in both our Making Words and Using Words You Know activities!

Numeracy

We have continued our Place Value/Number Sense unit by looking at comparing and ordering numbers. We have discussed the greater than (>) and less than (<) signs. I believe that it is really important that the students understand the meaning of these signs instead of just "having the alligator eat the biggest number." When they are comparing two numbers, they should ask themselves, "does greater than or less than go in the blank to make the sentence true?"

Example:

754 ___ 768

Which statement is true: 

754 is greater than 768 OR 754 is less than 768

754 < 768

Science

We have recently finished up our unit on Rocks and Minerals! The students LOVED it! They will be bringing home their Rocks and Mineral Lapbooks soon!

Social Studies

We are starting our first country study this week! We are going to be learning all about the quality of life in India! 

 

November 6th Update

Life in 3C has been action packed and full of fun activities and learning!

LITERACY

Read Alouds : We have explored the differences between fiction and non fiction books as far as text features, reading approach (With non fiction you can read just the sections that you are interested in, you don't have to read it cover to cover.) We've also started reading our first chapter book, The Trouble with Chickens. During this reading, we are focusing on comprehension strategies. We are asking questions while we read, making predictions and paying attention to the voice because this book is told from two different narrators' perspectives.

Read to Self : Students are strongly encouraged to practice a variety of reading strategies during this 30 minutes of reading each day. I also stress the importance of choosing good fit books for reading. Ideally, students should be able to read most of the words on each page. A good rule of thumb is a book with 5 tricky words on one page is too difficult and would not be considered an independent reading level book.

Word Wall Words: With the past short weeks, we haven't been introducing new word wall words because we don't have enough time to practice them. Instead, we have been focusing on extra Working with Words activities.

Working with Words: We have continued our study on long and short vowel patterns in addition to working with r controlled vowels.

Writing: We have continued our work with paragraph writing and added a focus on proper sentence writing. Students have been working on their Grade Three Slideshows. The writing on each slide must include a title and a short blurb (a minimum of three sentences) describing the event. We have also continued our journal writing a couple of times each week.

NUMERACY

We have finished our patterning unit and started to focus on our new unit, Place Value. Students are exploring numbers to 9 999. We are currently focusing on 5 different ways to write a number:

 - with numerals (567)

 - with words (five hundred sixty seven)

 - with expanded form using numbers only (500 + 60 + 7 = 567)

 - with expanded form using numbers and words (567 = 5 hundreds + 6 tens + 7 ones)

 - with base ten blocks (drawing the simple base ten blocks)

We have also been practicing our basic facts with addition. Students will be able to practice their basic facts in a fun and competitive way using Mathletics. Usernames and passwords will be taped into agendas on Monday. Students have been shown the Mathletics program at school and are welcome to access it at school for free.

SCIENCE

We have been studying rocks and minerals for the past few weeks. The students have been exploring the different properties of different rocks and minerals. The students will have the opportunity to work through various stations and identify the specific properties of some very unique and interesting rock and mineral samples. It is so nice having access to a junior high's science department materials! Students will be learning about the rock cycle and soil in the near future as well.

ART

We have completed a variety of fun and creative art projects! The students are learning about colour and painting techniques. I am hopeful that with some more practice the students will be prepared for a special Christmas painting on a real canvas! I will send home further details closer to the project time. 

I think that's all for this post!

I am going to post some Halloween pictures tomorrow! We sure had a blast at our party!

Halloween!

We are asking that students come dressed up in the morning for Halloween. You may wish to send a spare set of clothes for your child that day...students often get hot and uncomfortable sitting around in their costumes all day. We will be having our costume parade first thing in the morning and then will head back to our classes for some Halloween activities and our Halloween snacks. Please check the VIP page on the lower right hand side of the blog. This page lets you know which party you are signed up for and which food item you need to bring. We do not have any serious allergies in the classroom that I have been made aware of. If your assigned holiday/food item doesn't work for you, please let me know asap and I will make some adjustments. We will be having our party snacks after recess in the morning. In the afternoon, we will create some Halloween art!

Reminder to parents that the next day is a PD Day. This is an awesome tradition in Blackgold, allowing students the day off from school to recover from their Halloween festivities!

October 16th Update

We sure have been busy in 3C!

Rock Day rocked and was super cool...actually, it was freezing!!!

The students enjoyed their day at Leduc #1 and Voyageur Park! The weather wasn't perfect but the students were so busy and involved that they didn't complain about the cool temperatures! 

LITERACY

- word wall words using high frequency, commonly misspelled words- daily read alouds to learn and reinforce "good reader" strategies 

- read to self to read one on one with the teacher or assistant or read alone to practice and fine tune strategy use

- journal writing to build stamina and fluency as a writer

- paragraph writing about what we are thankful for and all about my family

- working with words focusing on long and short vowel sounds and spelling patterns

NUMERACY

- investigating increasing and decreasing number patterns

- using t tables to determine pattern rules

- building number sense

SCIENCE

- exploring what we know and what we want to learn about rocks

ART

- following directions

- completing a guided drawing

- investigating the art of Romero Britto 

- exploring patterns and use of colour to convey happiness

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

- exploring locomotion through centres

- jumping, hopping, skipping, rolling, throwing, catching

October already!?!?

It amazes me that we have already finished a month of Grade Three! Wow! September was full of setting the rules and routines of the classroom, getting to know each other and a few special activities!

The Musicial Ride was definitely a highlight of the past few weeks! The students enjoyed the morning visiting a soldier outside and meeting his horse, chatting with a soldier inside and learning about their training and experiences and of course taking in the 40 minute performance in the southwest field! The horses and riders amazed us with intricate formations! The students were so well behaved and just sat there taking it all in! After the performance, we were invited to approach the horses and soldiers for a quick pet and photo op! The students LOVED petting the horse! For many of them, it was their first time!

The Terry Fox Walk was also a highlight for us on Friday! The students enjoyed the brisk walk in the afternoon followed by a few snacks provided by the Town of Devon and the Lions Club! A big thank you goes out to Mrs. Curtis, Mrs. Thomson, Mrs. Houle and Mrs. Jp for joining us for the walk! The students each carried a list in their pocket with all of the names of the family and friends in Team 3Cs life that have been affected by cancer. Sadly, the list was long but we honoured each of them by keeping them in our thoughts during the walk. 

This week we even managed to sneak in a bubble blowing contest thanks to the generously of Brody's family! We were outside for gym early on Thursday at the end of the day, so we took the last few minutes to test out our bubble blowing skills! The results were HILARIOUS! Mrs. C, the students and I all had a great laugh!

Now, it isn't all fun and games in 3C! The students have also been hard at work!

LITERACY

- word wall words using high frequency, commonly misspelled words

- daily read alouds to learn and reinforce "good reader" strategies 

- read to self to read one on one with the teacher or assistant or read alone to practice and fine tune strategy use

- journal writing to build stamina and fluency as a writer

- paragraph writing about our heroes

- working with words focusing on long and short vowel sounds and spelling patterns

NUMERACY

- investigating increasing and decreasing number patterns

- building number sense

SOCIAL STUDIES

- exploring the world's continents and oceans

- learning the provinces and territories of Canada

ART

- following directions

- exploring warm and cool colours 

- painting with watercolour

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

- exploring locomotion 

- jumping, hopping, skipping

Sunday, September 18th Update

Last week we continued to work through a variety of activities, trying hard to establish and polish our routines!

Literacy

We started journal writing this past week. Students have complete control over what they choose as a topic for their work each day. They may take several days to complete a piece or may start a new piece each day. This time is used to build stamina in writing, to share thoughts and ideas using written language and to practice using word wall words, proper punctuation and capitalization. Students are eager to share their writing at the end of the block with their classmates from The Author's Chair. For our struggling writers, I brought them up to my computer and we copied and pasted 8-10 pictures of things that they are interested in into a google document. I printed the pages out and we cut out the pictures. Those students are now choosing one picture at the beginning of journal time, pasting it into their journals and then focusing their writing around that subject. I demonstrated this process to the entire class and invited all students to work on these picture prompt pages at home if they are interested. They can email completed pages to me at school and I will print them out on the colour copier for them.

During our Working with Words block, we completed our first Making Words activity. Given a specific set of letters, students are asked to spell words. We start with small 2-3 letter words and then we build up to bigger and bigger words. In the end, students are asked to use ALL of the letters to create the MYSTERY WORD. This is a great kinesthetic learning activity that encourages students to stretch out words, looking for vowel sounds, consonant sounds, blends, diagraphs and familiar spelling patterns.

This week I will introduce the students to their first set of Word Wall Words. They will write them in their agendas tomorrow and we will work with them for the next two weeks. Students will be expected to spell all word wall words properly in all writing activities. We will be having a dictation test every Friday to practice using the proper spelling of the words within sentences (two tests per set of words). We also focus on starting sentences with capitals and ending sentences with the proper punctuation during these dictation tests.

Numeracy

The students were very excited to start our Jump Math program this past week! The first activities that we completed were from the Confidence Building Unit. The creator of the Jump Math program's goal is to improve student confidence in their math abilities. Too many students feel that they are hopeless at math and that there is nothing that is going to change that fact. The first mini unit is designed to build student confidence. We learned how to name fractions and add fractions with a common denominator! The students were so proud of themselves starting off grade three with this advanced math! It was so great to see their faces light up as they got question after question right! 

This week we will our first full unit on patterns!

Social Studies

This past week students continued to explore the world of maps! We investigated the different parts of a map that give us important information. We looked at the compass rose and the key/legend. This week and next, we will continue our study of maps by focusing on the world map, the continents, the oceans and the map of Canada.

An important note about Science and Social Studies in 3C:

In the interest of time and continuity, I choose to teach Science and Social Studies in alternating months.

After finishing our study of maps in Social Studies, we will move into our science unit on Rocks and Minerals for the month of October. If you have any questions or concerns about this schedule or method, please contact me at your earliest convenience.

Bus Safety

Team 3C participated in Bus Safety for one hour on Thursday. The students did a fabulous job answering multiply bus safety questions in a game type setting! We also went onto the bus and practiced emergency procedures.

Other important reminders:

• Wednesday, September 21st - Lord Strathcona's Musical Ride (still waiting confirmation)
• Friday, September 30th - Terry Fox Walk at 1:15pm (Please fill out the permission slip online)

Welcome to 3C!

Wow! I can't believe that we are already 6 days into our new year! We have been working hard in 3C to establish new routines and new friendships for everyone.

On the first day of school, we got to know each other a bit, went over classroom rules and routines, made name plates for our desks , read one of my favourite books (The Empty Pot by Demi) that teaches the value of honesty and enjoyed a presentation by Motivational Magic that focused on showing character, courage and caring.

On the Friday, we read My New Teacher by Al Yankovic, had fun trying to figure out each others' fib in Two Truths and a Fib, organized some of our supplies, completed a the first of two spelling tests that will provide me some guidance on the spelling rules that we need to focus on right away, completed a numeracy activity that focused on writing simple equations and completed our first art project!

This week we dove into a regular schedule and routine filled with the following activities:

• Read Alouds (Every morning I start our day by sharing one of my favourite books. While I read I model and teach specific reading strategies.)
• Read to Self (30 minutes of uniterrupted reading - This gives me the opportunity to have one on one reading conferences with three students each day. We focus on specific reading strategies that they need to be using during their own personal reading.)
• Working With Words (During this block we participate in a variety of activities that help us understand how words are put together. We focus on vowel sounds, consonant blends, consonant diagraphs, compound words, word families, plurals, common prefixes and suffixes, etc.)
• Social Studies -  We have started our first unit on mapping.
• Math - How Many Ways and Daily Graph

How Many Ways?

This is one of my favourite math activities to do! Students are asked to write equations that equal the target number. Today we worked on the number 6. 

The rules are:

1) you can only have one = in each equation

2) you can use addition, subtraction, multiplication or division

3) you need to be sure that you are right

4) you can use counters if needed

As time goes on, we will add a few more rules about how long you can follow a particular pattern before you need to switch things up.

Here's an example from a previous year to give you an idea of what your child is working on. This activity focuses on developing number sense and confidence with numeracy. My apologies for accidentally erasing the board before snapping a picture of our work. I will take a picture of this activity next week!

Supplies

All of our school supplies have now been sorted and labelled. We have placed each child's extra supplies in a ziploc bag with their name on it. Our apologies for the mix up on the School Start page in regards to the four pencil boxes needed. We only intended to ask for two pencil boxes but it was somehow put in both the package list and the extra supplies list. We have sent home the extra two boxes with those students who brought in all four. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused.

Team 3C students are already participating in a Pencil and Eraser Challenge. Each month students start the month with a pencil and eraser with their name on it. If they manage to keep the same pencil and eraser for the entire month, they will receive two stickers on our chart. If they need a new pencil mid month because theirs is too short, we simply give them a new pencil from their supplies and write their name on it. As long as they show us their old pencil, they are not penalized in the challenge. At the end of the year, we will count up everyone's stickers and reward our most responsible students with a few prizes. Last year, each student was able to take home an entire box of pencils that they didn't get around to using! The purpose of this challenge is to teach the students to be responsible for and respect their supplies. 

Important Notes

The students came home with a bundle of office papers for you (stapled together). Please go through these forms ASAP and return them to school on Tuesday. It is important for the office to update the students personal records. 

Water Bottles

Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school each day. Trips to the water fountain are very disruptive. I will be encouraging students to bring home bottles each day to be washed and refilled for the following day. 

Parent Homework

The students loved the fact that you received the first homework assignment of the year! Please complete the In A Million Words or Less sheet and return it to school by September 15th. 

Star Student Posters

Please assist your child in filling out their Extra! Extra! Read All About Me! posters and return them to the school by September 15th. Students will be presenting these posters to the class on the Monday of their Star Student week.

Educational Assistant

We are so lucky to have Mrs. C (Cindy Caudron) in our class full time this year! 

Library

Team 3C has library every Tuesday. 

Please remind your child to return their library books each Tuesday to prevent overdues.
Our new librarian, Mrs. Rogers, was excited to meet all of our 3C students! 

I think that is all for now...I hope I haven't overloaded you with information!

My door is always open to our 3C families. If you have any questions or concerns at any time, please bring them to my attention at your earliest convenience.

Pencil Challenge Winners!

To encourage taking responsibility for their supplies, I host a pencil and eraser challenge each year in my room. Students are given a pencil and eraser with their name on it at the beginning of the year. Each month I check in with the students to see if they still have their pencil and eraser and if they do, they get a sticker on the chart. If a pencil gets too short or an eraser gets too small and the student brings it to me, I will replace it with another one with their name on it. If a child loses a pencil or eraser, they do not get a sticker on the chart and are given a new pencil or eraser for the next months challenge.

This year ALL of the students in 3C were super responsible with their supplies! I was super proud of them each month!

Prizes were given first to those students who has a PERFECT record! Not a single lost pencil or eraser ALL year!! Way to go you three!



Six prizes were also given to the students who only lost a pencil or eraser ONCE all year! Way to go you guys! I love how responsible you all were!



Due to the responsible nature of our students we had a TON of pencils and erasers left over! I've started sending home extra supplies today. Please check for an email about extra supplies from today.

We are in the single digits....9 days left of grade three!!!

Wow! Time has absolutely flown by since we came back from Spring Break! I can't believe we only have 9 more days together in 3C!

Here's what's been happening in 3C!

Literacy

We finished up Wonder a couple of days ago! There was a quiet pause as I closed the book after reading the last words. The students were really affected by this book. We discussed the reason why we pick up different books...sometimes it's to learn something new, sometimes it's to be entertained and other times it's in hope of becoming a better person, becoming more mindful. I am confident that the experience of reading Wonder will stay with the students in 3C for a long time to come. 

The students were happy to hear that R.J. Palacio released a bonus section to the book following the original release. We started reading The Julian Chapter this week and the students are enjoying getting to know him. Hearing "the bully's" side of the story is eye opening. The students are really learning what is meant by the quote: 

We will be finishing up this bonus section before the end of the school year.

After finishing up the publishing of our stuck stories, students have been working on their slide shows, All About Me paragraphs and their nonfiction animal research projects. For the animal research projects, students worked with me along with the science curriculum to develop the main topics and questions that they needed to answer when investigating the life cycle of a chosen animal. It was really neat sharing the curriculum with the students...they were amazed that we are told what we have to teach them! After making our research question papers, students partnered up and started searching for the answers to their questions. After a week of research, students have started organizing all of their information into a slideshow presentation that they are going to share with the class. Most groups are just working on their finishing touches and they will all be presenting them next week.

Numeracy

After finishing up our division and multiplication unit, we moved onto a quick unit on fractions. The specific learner outcomes for this unit are very specific and simple:

1) Students need to be able to name a fraction

2) Students should be able to tell you when they would use fractions in real life (cutting a pizza into equal pieces)

3) Students need to be able to compare fractions with a common denominator

Our initial confidence building unit in September actually covered these objectives but we reviewed them to make sure that everyone has a clear understanding of the outcomes.

Next week, we are going to do an activity focusing on geometry (2D shapes and 3D objects) in addition to a party planning data analysis activity!

Social Studies

We all enjoyed our study of Ukraine and especially our trip to Ukrainian Village! What a fantastic day!

 The students learned so much and truly enjoyed taking a step back in time!

We are on to our last country, Peru! The students have been working on a "fact scavenger hunt" using a National Geographic Kids website and a research booklet! As a student myself, I always disliked Social! My vow in teaching it this year was that I would make it fun! I've tried to teach each country in a unique way to keep the students interested and motivated in addition to meeting all of the unique learning needs in the classroom. With our study of India, I relied heavily on the use of slideshows filled with videos and pictures. When studying Tunisia, we used the textbook along with graphic organizers to facilitate our learning. Our approach to Ukraine was more discussion and experience based. Finally our study of Peru is more of an independent study. The students are finding the fact scavenger hunt a bit challenging but most of them are eager to take on the challenge. We've talked during these lessons about how the learning is taking place and how they are organizing the information. It has been so much fun learning about four amazing countries! I think that all of the students have a few places that they would love to visit when they are older as well as an appreciation for what we have here in our own fantastic country!

Science

The students have thoroughly enjoyed the last three science units! They were all so proud to introduce us to their custom made animals! I loved the amount of effort and detail that they put into their creations! 

After finishing up our building units, we have moved on to our Animal Life Cycle unit! This is always a highlight of the third grade! Students were introduced to their caterpillars when they were tiny larva...about the size of a grain of rice for our smallest ones! We've never had them start out so tiny! The caterpillars grow extremely quickly...we noticed a change every day! After a few days we had to clean out the caterpillar habitats because they get very poopy and filled with sticky silk strands.

Before we knew it, their poop had changed colour to a dark orange and they got into their j shape! We knew that this was the time that they would shed their final exoskeleton and emerge with their chrysalis! This was such an exciting time!

Jessie and Devin's caterpillar were the first to form their chrysalis!

We were having a hard time being patient for our butterflies to emerge so I decided to add their favourite flower to their habitat, carnations!

Within about 20 minutes, our first butterfly emerged! It was Devin's!

Jessie's little Cookie was the next butterfly to emerge, followed by Kayden's butterfly!

The classroom was a-flutter with excitement!

That's all for now...stay tuned for more butterflies to come!

Important Reminders

Fun Day - Monday afternoon (June 27th)

Free Swim - Monday morning (June 27th)

Year End Fieldtrip - Tuesday, June 28th