Room 233
Check out what's happening in our third grade classroom!
Stone ELearning Website
We are so excited to present Stone's eLearning website to our parents and students. Just click on the image and you will be directed to our eLearning platform. We designed it to be a "one-stop-shop" for all families so all students grades K-5 can access learning material here in one location. The content presented on this site is review and enrichment. We hope that your child will enjoy practicing skills and enriching their knowledge. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me by email or phone. My office hours are 8:00 to 2:30 each day.
Building Circuits
Students were given a battery, two wires, and a light bulb. They were challenged to use these materials to make the bulb light up. Students showed persistence, resilience, and flexibility as they attempted various configurations. It took a few hints, but eventually we had a group discover how to make the bulb light up. We learned that for electricity to flow from a battery, the current must have a complete path (a circuit) from negative to positive. If the receiver (the bulb) is correctly placed in that path, the bulb will light up. Check out these pictures of our young scientists at work.
Fraction Museum
Our class was challenged with creating a fraction museum. Teams of students were assigned a unit fraction (halves, thirds, fourths, eights, or sixths). Students had to represent that unit fraction with a variety of materials. Students were given different sized construction paper, a set of counters, play dough, and string. When the exhibits were finished, students toured around the room taking notes about what they observed. It was a great way to gain a deeper understanding of what fractions represent.
SC Explorers
For the students who were here the two days before Thanksgiving, they had the opportunity to create a watercolor painting highlighting what they learned about a specific South Carolina explorer. Students thought about the accomplishments and actions (both good and bad) that characterized their chosen explorer. They used words, symbols, and color to represent what they had learned. The project was a lot of fun!
Static Electricity
Today we spent time exploring static electricity. We learned how all matter is made of positive and negative charges, and we explored how charged matter interacts with each other. We began by using friction to give a balloon a negative charge (your child should be able to explain why this happens). We were able to make our hair stand up and make the balloon stick to our clothes. Again - your child should be able to explain what causes this phenomenon. We continued our exploration by asking if the negatively charged balloon would be attracted to other items. We tested aluminum foil, paper clips, Styrofoam, yarn, and gelatin. Ask your child what they learned!
Wacky Hair Day
One of the rewards we earned from Boosterthon was "Wacky Hair Day." The kids came in with some fun hair! I thought everyone would like to experience our wacky hair. Click on the image to see the various hairstyles of the day.
Dancing the States of Matter
After learning how heat or the removal of heat causes melting, evaporation, condensation, and freezing, teams of students created dances to show these changes in matter. As you watch the video, see if you can identify these four changes (Hint: the dances start with solids melting into liquid). You should see solids changing to liquids, liquids changing to gas, gas changing back to liquid, and finally liquid returning to a solid form. The kids had a blast thinking about to use body movements, rhythm, and motion to represent these changes in matter.
Matter Dance.mov
September Calendar
Every morning to begin our class meeting, a different student is assigned a calendar piece. The student can draw or write about anything they want to share with the entire class. After sharing, students can call on other students who have questions, connections, or comments. It's a great way for our class to continually build community and get to know each other. We've heard about summer vacations, new pets, and even bloody noises on the way to school. It's always interesting. Since it was the end of the month, I thought you might like to see what our completed calendar looks like. Click on the image to see a close-up of all the calendar pieces shared this month.
Exploring Mass and Volume
Today we asked the question - Do objects with the same volume always have the same mass? To find the answer to our question, we measured 50 ml of water, oil, cereal, rice, and marshmallows. We hypothesized that their mass would be different, but we were still surprised when water came out to be the heaviest item (followed by oil). The kids loved using the scales to weigh the different items and analyzing their results. Click on the picture to see our young scientists at work!
Ordering Numbers
We had a great time earlier this week creating our own games to practice ordering numbers. We've learned how to compare numbers with digits to the hundreds-thousands place, and the students came up with some tricky games to test their classmates' skills. It was like a carnival when we went around the classroom to play each other's games. Everyone was trying to entice the other students to come play to come to their table. It was hilarious! Click on the image to see more pictures from this fun activity.
Writers' Notebooks
Writers' notebooks are a place for writers to explore ideas, plan projects, collect snippets of interesting language, collect stories, and experiment with words. Right now we are using our notebooks to collect small moment stories - focused stories from our lives that include small actions, dialogue, character thoughts, and the demonstration of character emotions. Each student picked out the fabric used to cover their notebooks. I thought you would enjoy seeing what they chose. Click on the picture to see everyone's notebook.
Cup Stacking Challenge
When Challenge students were out last Monday, we completed a cup stacking challenge. Students had to stack cups only using the strings attached to a rubber band. This challenge required teamwork, communication, patience, persistence, and resilience It was a great way to begin the year building teamwork among our students. Click on the image to see more pictures of our kids!
Self Portraits
During the first week of school, each student created a self portrait with crayons and water colors. I helped the kids plan out their portrait with the correct dimensions, but each student really individualized their own portrait. I loved how they designed their smiles, hair, shirts, and background colors. These portraits are now hanging up in our room where we can enjoy them all year long. Click on the corresponding image to see each student's portrait.
