Pictures from Week of September 26-29

Off the the Races: How We Organize Ourselves

Were people on earth when the dinosaurs were here? When and how did the earth begin? How can we stop time? When was time created and who made time? These are all intriguing questions raised by students in 3P as we have been exploring our new Unit of Inquiry.

In our preliminary investigations, Grade 3 students made a timeline on the outside wall of the house, where Russian lessons take place.  The students plotted the timeline with their estimations of when the dinosaurs disappeared, when humans appeared on earth, and when they started to record history. We have had some very interesting pre-concepts to say the least.  We will spend the rest of the unit adding some clarity to their knowledge, and putting some myths aside ;)

In math we have begun to learn to tell time with greater accuracy, and we are beginning to understand that we measure time with devices as well as "body clocks".  As well, we are looking into other forms of measurement, such as measuring weight, distance, temperature etc.

In literacy we continue reading The Twits together.  We link our shared reading to writing by pretending we are the author, and writing paragraphs of what we think may happen next.  We discuss the various literary tools the real author uses, and try to emulate them.

Here is some important information and links about the Upcoming UN Day.  Please be sure to sign up!

UN day 21st October 10:00-2:00 pm:   Our theme this year is Identity and we encourage you to consider our individual identities - what makes us similar and unique - beyond our national food, dress and pastimes. On the day there will be A Parade of Nations, Cultural performances, Interactive country and NGO showcases and a handicraft bazaar.

Who We Are Wrap-up.

It was wonderful to meet with all parents and students during the 3Way Conferences.  Letting the students participate by way of setting goals helps them to identify how to reach their goals, as part of their learning path.  Many students at this age can be just unaware of their learning.  Getting them to set goals helps them to be more intuitive about their learning.

This past week we were busy concluding our first unit of inquiry into Who We Are.  The boys and girls worked on their Living Journals as well as their summative assessment, to show their overall understandings of the concepts they have learned.  On Monday, they will finish this up, and by Tuesday we will begin our new UOI, How We Organize Ourselves.   Our central idea is "an understanding of time impacts how we organize and manage our lives."

In literacy, we have been focusing on the steps of the writing process including pre-writing, writing, revising, editing and publishing.  We continued our work in spelling.

In math we continue to work on place value.  This week coming we will begin our math inquiry into telling the time.

Student Portraits:  Just a reminder, the class picture and student individual pictures will be taken this coming Thursday at 10:50 AM.

Google Drive, Spelling Groups and Living Journals.

This week the boys and girls set up their Google Drive folders. All parents should have been given digital permission to access their child's learning folder. If you cannot access it, please let me know. Their Google Drive folders will contain their entire scope of learning, from math to language, to art/drama/music and their Unit of Inquiry learning documents. jAs part of their Units of Inquiry, the students will be keeping a  Living Journal; a diary of sorts, recording and reflecting on their learning for each UOI. While we got a late start, the boys and girls were very busy this week working on their Google Drive folders and their living journals.

In math this week we continued our work with number sense; specifically, place value, and how to read large numbers. Students work on their mental program everyday. This, as well as our online math program, IXL, represents an important component of student learning. Students are  encouraged to take responsibility for practicing math skills. We use our math group periods on Tuesday and Friday to build understanding and incorporate math strategies. Like most skills, practice makes perfect.

In literacy this week students began working in their spelling groups, as well as writing imaginative narratives which were connected to the book The Twits, which continue to read together as a class. Many of our guided reading groups have finished their first book and are on to completing their book report.

Next Friday, September 22 is the 3 way conference.  This is a chance to meet with your child and myself to discuss goals and expectations for year, as well as to see how they are settling into grade three.  Watch your email for a short questionnaire which will help this process.  I look forward to seeing you on Friday.

All the best!

Shawn

Pictures from Week of Sept 11-15

Learning Styles, Six Thinking Hats and The Twits

This week, as part of our Unit of Inquiry, (UOI) we were focused on how we, as individuals, learn best.  As well,  we considered how the choices we make affects our learning.  For example, through our classroom experiment, we know that some of us are visual learners, some learn kinesthetically, some are auditory learners while others learn best by reading/writing. Still, we all know that while most of us have a predominant style of learning, we learn by a combination of the learning styles.  The students were very intuitive about their learning styles and held many discussions with their peers. Later in the week we turned our attention to how we solve problems.  Using Debono's Six thinking Hats, the boys and girls solved a fictitious problem, (which they thought was real at the time), and they approached the problem from different perspectives.  Being aware of learning styles and their approach to problem solving lays solid foundation for knowing themselves and healthy work habits.

We continued reading aloud Raold Dahl's The Twits. The students have been clarifying details about the character traits of the Mr. and Mrs. Twit, the setting, and sequencing the events of the story.  As well, this past week the students began to work in their assigned levelled reading groups. They chose their readers.  Once they finish reading their books, they will complete a book report.  Students will be put into spelling groups next week.  We use a program called Words Their Way, which allows students to focus on learning areas of spelling which they find challenging.

In Math this week, we continued with our work with place value, knowing that in the number 27 for example, their are two 10s and 7 ones.  This is part of an area in math referred to as Number sense.  

Finally this past week we introduced the iPads to the class.  The students will be using their iPad frequently to support their learning.  I shared a folder where your child will begin to upload their learning.  The students will be learning how to research digitally--from the perspectives of internet safety, ethical behaviour and copyright issues.

All the best!

Mr. Shawn

3P Hard at Work