Classroom Happenings

As a reminder, we will be phasing out our hard-copy newsletter, and moving to a fully online version.  Below is an update from this week:

This week we had an incredible amount of learning.  We worked on opinion pieces of writing, found the distance from 100 and 2 and 3 digit numbers, created beautiful white buffalo paintings, and played “The Grinch Game” in P.E.

          First and foremost Michael Sherwin does such a fabulous job in P.E.  Every week he challenges students as they practice teamwork, sportsmanship, and personal fitness.  The Grinch Game is my absolute favorite and I am compelled to join in every time they play it.  This game focuses on teamwork, leaping and bounding, strategy and so much more.  I spend the few minutes after P.E. sweating alongside the third graders whilst we snack and prepare for math.

          Speaking of math we have been working on finding the distance betwixt different numbers and 100.  We have worked on riddles: “The difference between me and 100 is 27, what numbers could I be?” as well as finding the difference between random 2 and 3-digit numbers and 100.

          Our work writing to express our opinions has continued.  This week we used “argument maps” to outline our thoughts.  We focused our writing on people’s favorite school lunch, and got responses ranging from, brunch-for-lunch to the Holiday Feast! 

          Our Native American unit is still moving along, and this week we heard the story of the White Buffalo Woman, and students created paintings to show their interpretations of this story.

Good day to you parerts how are you you good.We did make a white buffluo wumom.

Academic Choice

The photo above was taken today after recess during our academic choice time.  Academic choice is a time we have each day that empowers students to decide what they work on.  They choose from; writing work, reading work, math practice, spelling work, or work connected to an ongoing unit.  In the photo above students are reading each others work, and conversely showing off the incredible writing they have done!  Another student in the above photo is intently reading a Nancy Drew book that she is really "sucked into."  Below you will see a photo of other choices that students are making during this time.  A few of the students in this photo are working on some weaving that is connected with the Native American unit we are working on.

Academic choice is an important part of our day.  It allows students to make choices to work on what is important to them, and the work doing this time is always thoughtful and well done.   Academic choice also helps center us for our afternoon of learning after a rambunctious recess.

Today we had music with the other third grade class.  We learned a song called something told the wild geese it was time to go.  It goes like this...home of the silver birch   land of the beaver where will the wild moose wonder at will and blue lake and rocky shore I will return once more. Boomdidadi boomdidadi boomdidadi.  My paddle clean and bright follow the wild geese flight.  Dip dip and swing dip dip and swing and back.  This is for the native American song and potlash.

12/4/12                  Today we lerned about the white buffalo  women.elizabeth and Jasmine practiced a dance for the pop consert.  Today was so much fun
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Monday tidbits...

Good morning all!  Just wanted to let you know of a few things that will be taking place in the future.  First, on Mondays, you will see a bit of math practice coming home.  Each Monday students will wade through their math book to find 3 or 4 pages they would like to take home for practice.  Everything they bring home will be by choice, and will be review. 

Also, early in January we will be having some school-wide "mini-courses."  What is a mini-course you ask?  Well it is a heterogeneous group of students (ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade) who will work with a team of teachers (probably teachers that are different from their own) to investigate a different "habitat."  Habitat is in quotes as some investigations will focus on "habitats" like space, and the cretaceous period.  A sign up sheet came home with your student yesterday, and needs to be returned by Wednesday December 12.

While you are here, check out these photos of our class museum.  These pictures show our false-face masks, as well as our totem poles!  You will get to see them in person after our Potlatch on the 19th, but this sneak peak should hold you for now.

-Dave

 

Today I finished my totem pole.
I enjoyed playing with Elizabeth at resses.
It was tough finishing my totem pole.
We met all the lerning targets.