Around the World Inquiry

Our first inquiry project this year combined reading, social studies, and science with an “Around the World” theme. We used our research skills to explore and write facts about all seven continents. Before getting stamps in our passports, we had to stamp out our inquiry ideas.  As a class, we brainstormed questions to research about the continents. The students had awesome questions.  They asked things like:

What land forms and landmarks are on the continent?

How many countries are in the continent?

What animal and plant life are on the continent? 

What languages are spoken there?

We categorized their questions into location/size, attractions, plant and animal life, and culture.  In order to find the information we needed in nonfiction books, we had to know how to navigate the features of nonfiction text.  We learned about features like the table of contents, diagrams, captions, glossary, and index.  We even went on a nonfiction text features hunt.  The students below are playing headbands to explain and guess the text feature on their forehead.  So fun!

Our first continent was Europe. We read several different nonfiction books and articles on Europe.  We charted the answers to our inquiry questions.  Later, students used our notes to write their own facts about Europe.  Over the next couple weeks, we continued this process with each of the seven continents.  The students started to get really good at jotting notes and then creating their own sentences from the notes.

We are also learning many important geography objectives. For instance, we learned about hemispheres and the oceans.  Science and social studies crossed objectives when we studied the equator and how that effects the climate.  We even made a climate map based on average temperatures of major world cities.

The students are very proud of their world inquiry books.  On the last page, the researchers wrote about which continent they'd like to visit and why.  I sure wish I could take them on a field trip around the world.  Instead we watched many YouTube videos, National Geographic Kids has a great continent series.  The students also loved to look up and "visit" certain landmarks using Google Earth. I just love their curiosity and spirit for learning!

    

Place Value Perfection

Place value and estimation is where we start our third grade math standards.  We have studying numbers and the place value patterns under 1 million for the last month.  If you are following us on SeeSaw I'm sure you have seen all the place value posts. We explored reading and writing numbers in standard form, base ten models, written form, and expanded form. We also learned important vocabulary like place, digit, value, and estimate. Exploring place value and developing number sense is foundational to all math concepts.  We practiced these concepts through games, paper pencil activities, iPad apps, whiteboard practice, and rich math discussions.

If you want some extra activities to play at home, check out Math Slides.  There is a great place value version and one called numbers >1000.  Another great app is called Mystery Number.  It is similar to this the number riddle games we have been playing in class.  The app contains four different games that give students lots of opportunities to explore concepts of number and place value. The games can be played with one player or two.  Check out Mystery Number ($1.99) on the app store. 

Here is a list of interactive web based games.  Each game works on place value concepts. Your child can click on the links for extra at home practice.

Build a Hundreds Chart
Skip Counting, 10, 5, 2
Base Ten Fun

Shark Pool

Scooter Quest. Play until level 3.

Fruit Splat.  Play the hard level.
Hockey Play level 2.

As you probably know, we are a standards based school.  This means, students don't receive letter grades based on an average or their classwork and assessments.  Instead, we are looking for mastery of specific content standards.  In order to be considered proficient in the area of place value and estimation, by the end of third grade, students must demonstrate that they can do the following:

Pirate Day 2020

 

Arrrr We Learning?!

Talk Like a Pirate Day 2020 was Epic!  ARRRRR!  In fact, we were having so much fun learning pirate style that we could have kept the theme going a few more days!  Here are just a few of the highlights.  Our classroom was transformed....complete with the Jolly Roger hanging high.  The students' faces when they walked in was priceless.

We started the day with a naming ceremony.  To be a pirate, you need a strong pirate name.  Students chose names out of a skull goblet generate the silly names.  The students had new names like Big Buckle Charlie and Fearsome Pegleg Patsy.  Some students even put their pirate names on all their papers.  Ha!  It sure made correcting their work interesting.

We found a mysterious note.  The note said that we were captured by pirates that wanted our ship and treasure.  If we could follow the clues and answer a series of math problems, we could escape capture. The students had 60 minutes to "escape the room."  The students worked so hard!  Their cooperation, perseverance, and problem solving sure made this captain proud!

The students escaped with  minutes to spare.  They even found a chocolate treasure with pirate jokes attached.  The students enjoyed sharing their jokes with each other and eating chocolate treats.  They also had some time to read pirate stories.

During our pirate day, we also did some writing.  Students stayed with the pirate theme to answer the five w's.  We brainstormed who, what, when, where, why that would have to do with pirates.  Then, the students wrote a poem.  The students did some amazing work.  Check out their pirate drawings and poems in SeeSaw.

 

                                   

Virtual Open House

I wish I could have you in for Open House, but we must keep everyone safe. This year's open house is instead embedded on the blog. Here is some helpful information about our classroom. Also, please scroll through the blog for photos of the classroom and there is even a video look around. As always, please let me know if you have questions. I am happy to talk with you. You can reach me through SeeSaw, Remind, email, or telephone. I am thrilled to be working with you this year. 

The best way to support our classroom is to connect with us.  Please know that you don't need an open house to "see" our classroom.  This blog and your child's SeeSaw Learning Journal are great ways to get a view into our day to day happenings.  To access SeeSaw, you will need to download the free app.  I have sent home a qr code that links you directly to your student's work.  At home, you will only be able to see and comment on your child's work.  At school, all the children will be able to see your positive comments.  The app also allows you to message me directly.  Please connect with us!  More than one parent and grandparents can all connect to the same account.  Let me know if you want me to share the qr code again.

Happy Dot Day

Happy Dot Day!  September 15 is International Dot Day.  Celebrated by both children and adults, International Dot Day is a day to connect, collaborate, and create. It's also a great day to foster self-expression.  The day is based on the wonderful book by Peter H. Reynolds. 

In third grade we celebrated by wearing polka-dots.  We also made some "dot" creations in SeeSaw.  The students were so kind spreading compliments all over SeeSaw.  Please check out your child's SeeSaw journal to see what they have been up to!

Rodeo Round Up...or Down

The third graders have been working on rounding this week. We started with a lot of number line work and talking about what decades certain numbers fell between. For instance, if given the number 57, students would say, "57 is between 50 and 60, it is closer to 60." Soon the students understood the "rules" for rounding. We made an anchor chart about when to round up and when to round down. In small groups the students made a giant number line and color coded the decades.  Then they went through each number and colored it according the decade the number would round to.

 

 I'm sure you've seen all the work the students have done on SeeSaw.  We have also been playing games in class and practicing this concept in our math journals.  They are working so hard.

 

 

Here is an easy little game to play at home if you are interested in giving your child some extra practice.  You will need playing cards to play this rounding game of top it.  Players will pull two cards and make a two digit number.  Then, they rounded the number to the 10s place.  They compare their number to the opposing player and the greater number takes all the cards.  The winner has the most cards at the end of the game. You could adjust this game for rounding to the 100s place as well.  We will be working on rounding to the 100s place next week.