Thank You, Veterans!

Post date: Nov 8, 2013 10:54:04 PM

Writing: The third graders are continuing to generate small moment stories in their notebooks using the strategies taught within mini-lessons. To help strengthen their writing, they practiced being effective listeners through peer conferencing. This will be something they will continue to engage in and get better at as the year goes on. The purpose is for students to learn new skills and strategies from their peers but to also go back to their writing with questions and feedback that they can use to make their writing even better.

Reading: "Book Club" groups are working on finishing up their texts while continuing to focus their talk around making connections and how they help readers better understand the text. Next stop: questioning!

Math: We spent a lot of time working on the following skills and concepts:

1. Multi-digit addition and subtraction strategies.

2. We applied these skills and strategies through some problem solving math tasks. It was exciting to see students showing their thinking in different ways and keeping track of their work once they got going. There's no better sound than hearing "ah-ha!" and "I get it now!" Most students have shown mastery in this area, but please be sure to continue practicing at home so your child continues to be comfortable and fluent with addition and subtraction. It lays the foundation for what's to come.

Sharing the Planet: The 3rd graders had some opportunities to explore how scientists classify living things. They sorted pictures and went through a checklist to prove or disprove whether something was living or non-living. Through discussion students came to some amazing conclusions and even surprised themselves! We will continue working with classification activities, which will lead us into some activities and challenges centered around adaptations.