This week we are really starting to experience some winter weather, and although it is chilly and snowy outside we are revving up in here.
First off we have been getting into a new unit about reading non-fiction. We are working on getting mentally prepared to read these different types of books. Students have been using text features embedded in non-fiction to really get their arms around what they are reading. Thus far the books we have been using are about Geology, so we are working on understanding the rock cycle, as well as the three major categories of rocks.
Speaking of rocks we have also been working on a mini-unit on soil percolation and grain size. We let gravity pull water through sand, and observed how much water will flow through in one minute. This was followed up with a discussion and prediction session which preceded percolating water through gravel. It is always cool to hear what students think will happen as well as their reasoning.
N x 5...has been our focus this week in math. We are working with different strategies to help us quickly know what any single digit factor multiplied by 5 will produce. Students are getting a strong handle on this, and please ask them to rattle off a few "times 5" facts for you (as well as some x1 and x10 ones)!
I hope you all have a restful, wonderful, and snowy-fun weekend!
-Dave
Friday, December 16, 2016
Monday, December 12, 2016
Chex Mix!
Coming up on Thursday, we will be mixing, baking and bagging Chex-Mix for our Chex-Mix sale! If any of you would like to volunteer in the afternoon (about 2:00 or so) please let me know! I hope to hear from you soon!
-Dave
-Dave
Friday, December 9, 2016
It is snowing!
Hey out there, it is snowing, and many of us are feeling the stoke! All students have done an excellent job of being prepared for our wintry weather every day at recess, they also have been
making sure to hang up all of their wet stuff, so it will dry out a bit before heading home.
We have started to work on "fluency facts" in math. These facts are just like sight words in literacy and and facts that we are working to memorize. We are doing this through extensive discussion and verbal practice. I like to work on verbal mastery before we begin to write these facts. All students have currently mastered N x 1, and N x 10. If you ask them any single digit number (or 10) multiplied by either 1 or 10 they will give you an accurate and quick answer. We work on these in third grade to free up our minds later in the year, for the more complex mind work of multiplying numbers with three digits.
Speaking of verbal practice (hehehehehehe), we have also been working really hard on summarizing portions of books that we are reading. WE are making these summaries verbally so that each student can hear the different components of a summary from a peer, as well as have the time to form their own ideas before they share them.
Finally we have been working on cursive, this is an art that we practice in third grade, and we like to envoke 3 tenets when we practice cursive:
-Relax, focus on your breath
-Emptiness, accept your evolving work
-Koan: When you go slowly, you will go faster.
Students are making headway on writing in cursive, and we are working to build fluidity.
I hope you have a great weekend!
Dave
making sure to hang up all of their wet stuff, so it will dry out a bit before heading home.
We have started to work on "fluency facts" in math. These facts are just like sight words in literacy and and facts that we are working to memorize. We are doing this through extensive discussion and verbal practice. I like to work on verbal mastery before we begin to write these facts. All students have currently mastered N x 1, and N x 10. If you ask them any single digit number (or 10) multiplied by either 1 or 10 they will give you an accurate and quick answer. We work on these in third grade to free up our minds later in the year, for the more complex mind work of multiplying numbers with three digits.
Speaking of verbal practice (hehehehehehe), we have also been working really hard on summarizing portions of books that we are reading. WE are making these summaries verbally so that each student can hear the different components of a summary from a peer, as well as have the time to form their own ideas before they share them.
Finally we have been working on cursive, this is an art that we practice in third grade, and we like to envoke 3 tenets when we practice cursive:
-Relax, focus on your breath
-Emptiness, accept your evolving work
-Koan: When you go slowly, you will go faster.
Students are making headway on writing in cursive, and we are working to build fluidity.
I hope you have a great weekend!
Dave
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
We have had a lovely first part of the year! I hope you have a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving!
Enjoy, rest, and relax!
-Dave
Enjoy, rest, and relax!
-Dave
Friday, November 18, 2016
Rectangles, rectangles, rectangles...
This week our focus in math has been on rectangles. We have been investigating them, defining them, finding examples of them, describing them, drawing them and analyzing them. We have been focused on the fact that a rectangle is a closed shape with exactly four right angles, as well as the ways to find the area and perimeter of rectangles based on their dimensions.
During our writing work our focus has been on information, using paragraphs, and spelling the long-o sound. As we write we are working to produce enough volume as to be able to paragraph our writing, and we are working with the understanding that there are three markers that tell us when to start a new paragraph (ask your student what they are!).
We have also been reading some mysteries! When reading these we are discussing how reading a mystery is different than reading other types of novels. Readers of mysteries often get totally "sucked in" to the story and work to be the detective trying to solve the mystery. One thing we have talked a lot about is that when reading a mystery one has to use only the information provided in the book to keep the clues and suspects all in order.
We also have been investigating the industrial revolution through the lens of spinning and textile mills. We have been learning about the rise of water driven mills here in the Northeast.
I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend!
-Dave
During our writing work our focus has been on information, using paragraphs, and spelling the long-o sound. As we write we are working to produce enough volume as to be able to paragraph our writing, and we are working with the understanding that there are three markers that tell us when to start a new paragraph (ask your student what they are!).
We have also been reading some mysteries! When reading these we are discussing how reading a mystery is different than reading other types of novels. Readers of mysteries often get totally "sucked in" to the story and work to be the detective trying to solve the mystery. One thing we have talked a lot about is that when reading a mystery one has to use only the information provided in the book to keep the clues and suspects all in order.
We also have been investigating the industrial revolution through the lens of spinning and textile mills. We have been learning about the rise of water driven mills here in the Northeast.
I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend!
-Dave
Friday, November 4, 2016
Great weeks, end with puppies!
We had another great week this week. In math we have been working with repeated addition. As we lay this foundation for multiplication, we are reinforcing the prerequisite skills for multiplication (addition). We have also begun to see and think about repeated addition as "groups of." That is to say, along with thinking about 5+5+5+5+5=____, we are also thinking about 5 groups of 5 things. We are also working on crafting statements and questions that match these repeated addition strings.
Another focus this week has been writing, we are working to be sure that students spell the long a and long e sounds using the most prevalent patterns in English. Students are also concentrating on using paragraphs to organize their writing. On a more individual note, students each have an individual focus for writing. Some are; using paragraphs, writing legibly, adding illustrative details, and returning to the left margin.
During our reading group we are getting into a new unit about mysteries. We are investigating the different "mind work" that is involved when reading a mystery. Our first selection is a "Hardy Boys" mystery...expect to see your student carrying home some mysteries in the coming weeks!
On Friday, we had the opportunity to be visited by some puppies! One of the students in our class is related to a local dog breeder, and we were lucky to have a new litter of puppies come and share part of our morning with us! They were two week old balls of cuteness.
Have a great weekend!
Dave
Another focus this week has been writing, we are working to be sure that students spell the long a and long e sounds using the most prevalent patterns in English. Students are also concentrating on using paragraphs to organize their writing. On a more individual note, students each have an individual focus for writing. Some are; using paragraphs, writing legibly, adding illustrative details, and returning to the left margin.
During our reading group we are getting into a new unit about mysteries. We are investigating the different "mind work" that is involved when reading a mystery. Our first selection is a "Hardy Boys" mystery...expect to see your student carrying home some mysteries in the coming weeks!
On Friday, we had the opportunity to be visited by some puppies! One of the students in our class is related to a local dog breeder, and we were lucky to have a new litter of puppies come and share part of our morning with us! They were two week old balls of cuteness.
Have a great weekend!
Dave
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Conference Sign up
This is our conference sign up schedule. There will be a paper copy tomorrow at the Open House for you to fill out. As I confirm times with people I will add them here. Also, if you would like to put your name and time in the comments section I can add you to the schedule that way!
Thanks,
Thanks,
Dave
Time:
|
Monday November 7, 2016
| |
8:00
| Henry | |
8:20
| Max | |
3:45
| ||
Tuesday November 8, 2016
| ||
8:00
| ||
8:20
| ||
3:45
| Paige | |
Wednesday November 9, 2016
| ||
8:00
| Willow | |
8:20
| ||
Friday November 11, 2016
| ||
8:00
| Morgan | |
8:20
| Cody | |
8:40
| Grace | |
9:00
| Gavin | |
9:20
| Braden | |
9:40
| Katrina | |
10:00
| Slade | |
10:20
| Aiden | |
10:40
| Adam | |
11:00
| Dallas | |
11:20
| ||
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