Well, the school year has gotten off to a smooth start! The first week, we spent getting to know each other and the expectations of 3rd grade. Now, we are full swing into the curriculum and are learning at full force!
Some of the most important things we have been discussing are the ways we treat each other and work together. We have been practicing lots of teamwork, working in partners and in teams to meet a common goal.
Students get to know each other on the second day of school, as they introduce themselves through their Bio Bag.
Team Kestrels...
One way we are encouraging teamwork is our Falcon Communities for grades 3-5. Our hallway is split into three different teams that include one 3rd grade, one 4th grade, and one 5th grade class. Each team is named after a type of falcon, representing our school mascot. We are on Team Kestrels! The first week of school, 3rd and 5th graders worked together on a mini-research project to find out more information about the American Kestrel Falcon and some attributes that Kestrels have. Each team has the opportunity each day to earn Falcon Points from teachers and administration by following procedures and going above and beyond expectations. Teams can also earn points at our monthly team building assemblies and fact frenzy academic competitions! This has been a fantastic way to share team spirit, encourage one another, and build relationships across grade levels.
Thinking Math...
We have been reviewing addition and subtraction skills as we are learning to problem solve. Students have worked on creating their own stories to match addition and subtraction number sentences. They have also used a number line as a tool to prove addition and subtraction. We are SUPER excited to begin our introductory study of multiplication! Multiplication is one of the biggest focuses in 3rd grade (and almost like a rite of passage), so students are VERY excited to begin working in this. We will first be learning how multiplication works by modeling multiplication situations with arrays, intersections, and stories.
On Reading Street...
Our Big Question in our reading unit is "Which skills help us make our way in the world?" Through reading stories, writing, and discussing our findings, students will be gaining knowledge on how their own skills can help them reach their goals in life. We have already read and made our first attempt and writing narrative poems. We are now reading a fable and going through the writing process to develop our own fables.
In preparation for writing fables, the class made a list of ideas for life lessons they had learned and how they learned it. This helped creative juices flow to begin creating characters and plot for writing their own fables. After jotting down some ideas, students paired up and orally told their stories to one another. I was very excited to hear some of the details given as Gian and Judah share their beginning fable ideas. See segments of their storytelling below. :)
The World of Social Studies...
To start the year off, we have been discussing communities and citizenship. Students have been working to identify the different communities they are citizens of and how they can participate in them. As we finish up our intro unit to communities, we will begin thinking of some ways we can put good citizenship into action, with community service opportunities at the forefront of our conversations.
Students had fun playing "Communities Charades"- to reinforce how different communities offer a variety of activities.
Below: Students made Communities Mobiles to show the different communities they are citizens of. These mobiles are displayed on our bulletin board outside the classroom.
Scientifically Speaking...
As we conclude with social studies, we will begin our first unit in science with a study of landforms. Students will be learning about the various landforms that make up the earth's surface. Students will also be learning about how these landforms are formed and why people might want to build their communities around these landforms. We are excited to do several experiments on how nature and people affect the land as well as introduce the first big project in 3rd grade! More information to come soon on the Landforms Project!
