Rocks and Minerals;

So this past week was the beginning of our new unit of inquiry, How the World Works. This is essentially a unit about geography and geology, where we study rocks and minerals. Throughout this UOI the students are learning about the scientific method of observing, making predictions, testing, recording outcomes and reflecting about them. We began with our first investigation of what sand looks like when magnified by 300 times. Most students had no idea what to expect so there were many surprises about what they saw. This coming week we will do our first real experiment. The students are very excited about this unit and it is a lot of fun! There are also ethical concerns we will encounter as the students consider what minerals are used for, how they are mined, and by whom. It promises to be a very mind opening unit!

In math this week we reviewed some investigations into features of 3D shapes, angles, and congruence, as well as our ongoing problem solving in our mental math activity.

Traditional fiction (fairy tales, legends and storytelling) is the focus of our literacy these days.  We have been reading, and discussing the features of this genre.  I am reading aloud a book by Raoul Dahl, Danny, the Champion of the World.  The students look forward to this time every week.  This is on the heels of our historical fiction project, which is beginning to take shape.  We hope to spend some time this week putting all of the student's stories in one document, so we can prepare it for printing.  Shortly, I hope to have more information about the cost per book, and we will then take orders.  They make a nice gift for grand parents.  We will be putting a copy in the school library.  Another week is upon us! 

Just a heads up--April 15th is Student-Led Conferences.  It is a chance for students to bring parents into the classroom to show them their various learning projects. Also note that April 24th is a half day due to teacher professional development.

Pictures from Week of March 26-30

Poetry Slam and Food Drive

Dear Students and Parents;

Wow. The boys and girls of 3P have so much to be proud of. I was so impressed with their poetry recital in their mother tongue today. Not only did they have little time to prepare and memorize, but they did so with so much enthusiasm and demonstrated their effective communication skills. They are becoming very confident communicators, which is an important skill to have. I will be sending a link to a folder very soon where parents and students will be able to download their poem recitals. Well done 3P! On another note, the last day to bring in food for he Navruz food drive is tomorrow Friday. Students are being asked to bring dry food for those less fortunate. The food will be delivered next week. So far, 3P as raised about 50% of its goal! We can do it!!

Week of March 4-8

Thursday was our 3P Art Exhibit. The exhibit was the culmination of weeks of preparation in art, music, drama, as well as in our own homeroom classroom. The boys and girls worked extremely hard, especially this week to prepare. What struck me the most, and was observed by other teachers, was the depth of discussions the students were able to have. They spoke very intelligently about the features of art such as line, color, realizm, texture and form, and related their various art media to emotions, as well as to their particular memory that their art was based on. It was great to see them in action. They were very nervous beforehand, but I could see their pride and relief after it was over. Tomorrow we will debrief and they will record their observations in their living journals. How We Express Ourselves has come to an end, but their appreciation for the arts will live on no doubt. While we were busy preparing for the art exhibition, the students continued their work in math on two fronts; a review of "Bedmas" which is the standard rule of order of operations in math. It is knowing that in a mathematical equation, it is knowing that what comes inside brackets is to be done first, followed by exponents, division/multiplication, addition and subtraction, in that order. The second front was our work with decimals. For grade three students, it is imperative that they recognize that .20 is less than one, and that it is congruent to 20%, or 2/10ths. Being able to place decimals in order is also a goal. These skills are practiced in their mental math skills as well as online, in IXL. However, we take advantage of all real life situations where possible. For example this week we made a "thermometer graph" to measure our 3P donations for the Navruz initiative. The elementary school has chosen to donate food to the Mahalla which is closest to the school. We are recording the number of donations using real numbers on one side, and percent on the other. This week in language arts we continued with their work with their historical fiction stories. The students are at different stages in their stories. Some are struggling with writer's block while others are revising for content, or editing for writing conventions. There is a ways to go, but I know they will all be better writers for it. We took a break from our routine spelling this week due to the art exhibit. The students have been putting their final touches on their book of poetry they have been compiling. Some displayed their poetry at the exhibit, but all of them will upload their books to the google folders for parents to see. Be sure to see the pictures from the art exhibit below! Have a wonderful week ahead! Mr. Shawn and Ms. Olga

3P Art Exhibit