End of the Year Fun!

This last quarter seemed to FLY by! With students conquering their first EOG, field trips and end of the year celebrations, it was an eventful last few months! In this post, I am posting some videos and pictures of the last few weeks of school.

The last two weeks of school we traveled around the world with a Culture Unit! Students had their own passports and we flew to Kenya, Mexico and Egypt! We even enjoyed some presentations from natives of each of these countries!

 Jambo! Mrs. Larned spoke to us about growing up in Kenya, Africa!

Hola! Mrs. Mendoza spoke to us about living in Mexico!

After reading Carole Marsh's The Mystery at Biltmore House, we made Plot Line Roller Coasters to discuss the main parts of the plot!

The last full day of school sure was fun! We made a poster of all the things we have learned each year...

 ....played some Minute to Win It Games....

...and even made our own Harlem Shake Video!

(If that video link above did not work, try this Third Grade Harlem Shake Video

The last day of third grade was spent at our Wet 'N Wild Field Day!

I have so enjoyed this class of third graders! What a crew of Rock Stars!! :) I love you and hope you have an awesome summer break!



February and March-ing On...

Whew!! Third quarter is already over!? How fast did THAT fly!!? It has taken me having a Spring Break to post some pictures of what's been going on.

Reading/ELA: 
Literature Circles are in full force! We have a total of six literature circles going on at the same time every morning. Each group is reading a different chapter book and focusing on listening and speaking skills, while re-enforcing reading skills. It has been a good challenge to learn how to talk about books. Some book titles we are reading are:

The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron
Rent a Third Grader by B.B. Hiller
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLaughlin
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

The "Bass Players" Literature Circle is reading Rent a Third Grader. 

The "Keyboardists" Literature Circle gets comfy as they read Dear Mr. Henshaw.

As groups finish their books, each student chooses three mini-projects to work on in class that focus on Writing, Language, and Comprehension through Art skills. 

Math:

We are continuing our weekly Multiplication Masters quizzes so that students can practice their facts from 1-12s. We have just finished learning about measuring length, area and perimeter. We also just finished our unit on geometry. 

 Anderson and Carlos work to find items in the room that measure about an inch. This helps students to have relative benchmarks for one inch.

Students continued to use their knowledge of measurement as we gathered data to create a line plot of students' heights. Here, Caleb and Kaila are getting tickled as they measure Caleb's height. :) 

Science:

Our school just celebrated "Crazy Science Day". One day completely dedicated to studying science, complete with visitors from Mad Science, experiments, and all! Third grade focused on introducing the study of plants. 

Students worked in partners to complete a Plant Life Scavenger Hunt. Through this hunt, students learned some fun facts about plants around the world!

Angel and Blake are totally psyched to experience the soap bubbles on their head! Thanks Mad Science!

Social Studies: 

To finish up our unit on government and presidents, students did individual research projects on a US President of their choice. Their goal was to practice taking notes from various sources and compile those notes into a visual. They used their visual to present to information to the rest of the class. Students got extra excited as they learned about their presidents. Some students even chose to dress up like their president or the first lady! 

Being the President Rule #1: Always dress to impress.

 Being the President Rule #2: Provide the people with the information they are looking for.

 Being the President Rule #3: Know your facts.

 Being the President Rule #4: Always choose your team wisely.

Being the President Rule #5: Always smile pretty for the camera! 

Just a few more "precious moments" captured by the camera: 

Arinyah and Jada get comfy as they read independently. :) 

Math Tips & More

Hey Guys!
We've finished up the 2nd quarter and are officially half way through the 3rd grade year! I wanted to take the time to share with you some awesome resources I've found to help your child be successful.

In Math, we are beginning our study of fractions. Students should already be familiar with identifying simple fractions and explaining the functions of a numerator and denominator. In 3rd grade, students are expected to model fractions with fraction bars and on number lines. Students are also expected to find equivalent fractions using models and number lines. Comparing and ordering fractions on a number line is also a 3rd grade standard. We primarily work with 1/2s, 1/3s, 1/4s, 1/6s, and 1/8s.  Below are some teaching videos that might help you as you help your child practice these skills at home.

Ordering Fractions on a Number Line

Source: youtube.com via Emily on Pinterest

We are also continuing to practice multiplication facts. Third graders are participating in a mastery program called "Multiplication Masters" that allows each individual student to work at his or her pace. We have these timed tests about 2-3 times a week. Click below to see a video of another teacher using this program.

Source: vimeo.com via Emily on Pinterest

6, 7, 8, 9 Times Tables Trick
The narrator is somewhat boring on this video, BUT the trick he has to share is awesome! Stick through with it and it might just help with mastering those tables!

Source: youtube.com via Emily on Pinterest

And......of course, I can't make a post that doesn't include pictures of your OWN kids at work! :)

In Language, small groups explore using sensory adjectives to describe their Mystery Candy! 

(The lesson is always more exciting if it involves candy!)

 Once we finished the activity, this anchor chart was filled with great examples of sensory adjectives.

In Social Studies, students have been learning about local government and the three branches of government. Below, Kaila works hard to complete her 3 Branches Mobile Project.

Our new theme for Reading is Imagination. Throughout this theme, we are reading literature that features characters using their imaginations, imaginative writing through poetry, and biographies about people who became famous for being creative. In workshop, students read about how every day items were invented and were inspired to create their own inventions.

 Collin demonstrates his cleverly made sling shot, made from popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and a plastic cup!

 Carlos invented an interesting contraption to help us know the wind direction!

And finally...(my favorite)! We had an ENTIRE week of rain...which means no outdoor recess. Sooooo...instead of the normal games or a movie, we pulled up some Just Dance videos and had a classroom dance party. My classroom looks like a dance club! HA! So much fun. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy 2013!! Wow. Too much time has passed since I've updated this page. Believe me! It's proof of just how busy we have been! I hate to make excuses, but truly...Making time in the day to update a blog is HARD! But I have so many pictures and things to share, that I've got to do it! 

Below is a quick photo journal of some "milestones" in 3rd grade. 

 Look at all these AWESOME compass rose projects on display before the 2nd-3rd grade music program! I was very proud of the creativity and effort put into these projects!

 2nd and 3rd graders shared some things they have been learning in music class with Mrs. Burns. Always a pleasure!

 The students listen to the manager of Krispy Kreme Doughnut Factory to gain insight on running a business and how to work together. This field trip correlated to our topic of economics and helped students prepare for Snowflake Cafe.

 Collin and Nicholas worked as cooks in our Snowflake Cafe. They kept the plates coming for our customers!

 Great customer service is key! Jorge serves one of our Kindergarten customers.

 The hostess(es) with the mostest!

 

The cashiers had an extremely important job. They learned first hand that it's important to pay attention in math class!

 Congratulations to our Classroom Spelling Bee Participants! 

Parker, Caleb, Alex, Kaya, Aiden, Christina, Jamia, and Diarra were our top spellers in our classroom bee. Congrats to Christina, Jamia and Diarra who represented Ms. Fox's class in the Forsyth Academy School Bee! Christina Jones came in 4th place! WOO HOO! :)

October 2012

Hey guys!

Wow, it's been a great start to the year! We just finished our 6th week of school! It's crazy how quickly the weeks pass us by. In third grade, we are getting much more acquainted with our procedures and routines. We are also learning the expectations of 3rd grade, not only in our behaviors, but also in our academics.

Students have learned that my favorite question to ask this year is: "WHY?" and my favorite response is:  "PROVE IT!" I am thrilled to hear some of the complex thoughts that your children are sharing with one another. Below are some pictures of some activities that have taken place in the first several weeks of school.

 Manny shares his Rock Star Bio Bag with us the second day of school.

Alex and Parker work together in Partner Work

 Arinyah and Kaya work together to sort Linking Verbs and Action Verbs

 The students debate about whether companies should provide the public with the amount of sugar in their foods with Mrs. Clayton during HOT (Higher Order Thinking) SKILLS Class.

Anderson shows us how to PROVE a multiplication sentence by creating vertical and horizontal lines with spaghetti noodles.

In conjunction with what we are doing in class, I encourage you to challenge your child at home. Here is a link to a GREAT resource to review and practice things we've discussed in class. www.ixl.com