Quarter 2

Weeks of January 2 & 9:

What an interesting return to school with the unexpected e-learning days! Students did a great job signing on to our Google Meet and we had a fun couple of morning meetings. 

Math: Students completed the Unit 3 assessment, which focused on different addition and subtraction strategies. The tests went home on January 13 and should be reviewed with a parent. We dove right into Unit 4, which focuses on time-telling and elapsed time, measurement, and fractions. Students can practice at home by figuring out elapsed time in real world situations. For example, if a student leaves school at 3:50 and it takes her 22 minutes to walk home, what time does she get home? Measurement is also easy to incorporate into daily life. We are using the metric system and students have practiced estimating the mass of different objects using grams (keeping in mind that a paperclip is about one gram). Students can decide if grams or kilograms are more appropriate to use to measure the mass of an object and then estimate the mass using that unit of measurement. Later in this unit we will get more into fractions. Please keep in mind that the Home Connections workbook is a great way to get extra practice. I also have a link on our Google Classroom to Bridges math games and activities you can do at home. 

Literacy: The Wax Museum biography is taking up a large chunk of our literacy block. Students should be using multiple sources for their research: their Who Was/Is book, books on EPIC, and another book or two they check out from the library. Students have been taking notes by hand on an organizer sheet and also on a Google Slide show. Please continue to support your child with the research at home and reach out with any questions. Our current Benchmark unit focuses on different points of view (first person vs. third person) and how different characters can view the same events differently. We've also learned about figurative language, specifically idioms and hyperbole and students have been looking for examples of both in the weekly readings. Friday continues to be a quiz day, when students take reading, vocabulary, and spelling quizzes.

Social Studies: Students are learning about maps in social studies, including key components of a map (title, compass rose, scale key/legend), cardinal and intermediate directions, how to read a map, and important places in North America, including, of course, Minnesota, our bordering state neighbors, and Mexico and Canada. For extra geography practice, students can use Seterra, an online quiz game site or check out one of our classroom atlases. We will continue working on this social studies unit until the end of the second quarter.

Weeks of December 5 & 12:

It's been a busy two weeks leading up to winter break here at Lake Harriet! We've had lots of fun activities, including the Raptor Center visit, Art Adventure, a field trip to see the women's Gopher basketball game, readers theater plays, and our class party, with lots of learning happening, as well!

Math: We have continued to work on rounding to the nearest 10 and 100 and practicing many different addition and subtracting strategies with multi-digit numbers. Students took the first part of the unit 3 assessment on Thursday 12/15 and will take the second half, which focuses mainly on subtraction, after break. The Home Connection workbook offers great extra practice (focus on the first three units, from pages 1 to 60), as well as the  Dreambox computer program (log on through Clever), or even just working through double and triple digit problems together. We've also incorporated a daily Number Corner time into our afternoons where students are learning about fractions and work to predict patterns in our monthly calendar. Try to find ways to incorporate fractions into your daily life for real-world practice! (For example, while shopping, watching sports, cooking, etc.). Students should also continue to work on multiplication fact fluency from 0-10.

Literacy: We are wrapping up our third ELA unit, Animal Adaptations, and students took the final assessment on December 16. Results can be seen through your child's login on Google Classroom. Students also completed a jigsaw activity where they researched one of three assigned animals (a penguin, a camel, or an octopus), focusing on how that animal's body structures help it survive in its environment. Students then taught their peers about their animal in a small group and took notes while learning about the other animals. After break we will start unit 4, Comparing Points of View, and our biography research project (aka Wax Museum)! This past week, students also worked in small groups to practice and perform in different plays. The students had a lot of fun with this and we enjoyed the performances on Friday!

Below: Students work together during their animal research last week and performing in their plays on December 16.

Science: Students are learning about light and reflections and completed several challenges in their science groups using a flashlight and mirrors. They experimented with ways they can change the direction that light travels. Key concepts include:

• Light is a form of energy that travels in straight lines from a light source.

• Light can reflect (bounce off) surfaces that it strikes.

• An object is only seen when light from that object enters the eye.

This week we focused on mass and matter. Students learned about the three common forms of matter here on Earth (solids, liquids, gases), sorted a variety of examples, and recorded properties of each form. We have also been predicting the mass of various objects around the classroom and then using a balance and gram weights to find the actual mass.

Art Adventure, the Raptor Center, Gopher Game, Winter Party

Below: In Art Adventure, we learned about the artist Grace Hartigan and her abstract collage painting, Billboard, created in 1957. Students then made their own collages, incorporating symbols from Minnesota.

Literacy: Students started their guided reading group novels this week! Each student is reading one of three novels: The Wild Robot, Ways to Make Sunshine, or The Great Riddle Mystery. In our reading groups we focus on fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. It's been a lot of fun to meet with students in a smaller setting to read and discuss the books. We've also continued to learn about animal adaptations. This week's reading focused on how an animal's covering (fur, skin, scales, feathers) helps it survive in its environment. Next week students will work in groups to research an assigned animal.

Science: We have had a lot of fun in science this week exploring the different forms of energy (ask your child to name the four types we have studied!). Students also learned about how energy is converted and transferred. They participated in four different stations where they made observations and recorded notes as they witnessed energy transferring from batteries (tone generator and motor), springs (slinky), and our own bodies (bowling).

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Week of November 14:

Math: We wrapped up unit 2, which centered mainly on multiplication strategies, with a final assessment on Monday. Please look for your child’s test to come home today and take a few minutes to go over it together. We jumped right into unit 3, which focuses on rounding and multi-digit adding and subtracting. Students can practice at home with their Bridges Home Connection book and can gain extra practice with the optional homework that is handed out every Monday.

Literacy: We started our third Benchmark unit, Animal Adaptations, which will give us lots of practice with nonfiction reading strategies and using text features (such as tables, graphs, headings) to aid in comprehension. Students are also learning to use context clues to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words. We've continued to do word work (spelling/vocabulary) and writing in stations. Some students are finding it difficult to complete the assignments during the week. In this case, students should bring the work home. Spelling and vocabulary words are found on the Google Classroom every Monday.

Science: This week students worked on changing variables on their wooden wind up toys. They experimented with different sizes of rubber bands, different lengths of pencils, and more/fewer winds to see how changing a variable impacted how far their toy traveled. We will continue our unit on energy next week. The main idea of this unit is that energy can be transferred or transformed (for example, from potential energy in the rubberband to kinetic energy or solar energy to electrical energy) but that it cannot be created or destroyed.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and enjoy the time with family! 

Another update will be posted on December 2. It’s hard to believe it’s almost December!

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Week of November 6:

We have had a great week here in third grade! Students have been busy with many different activities in math, literacy, and science. Here is a brief overview of the weekly activities:

Math: This week we got small guided math groups up and running! All students are in one of three groups (green, blue, orange) that rotate through three stations each day: meet with teacher, math games with a partner, and Dreambox. This allows me to touch base with each individual every day. 

Students are continuing to learn multiplication strategies like doubling and finding friendly numbers. For example, to solve 8X7, students may first start with a "friendly" equation, such as 8X5. They would then solve 8X2 and add 40 + 16 to get the final product of 56. Students have also been interpreting and graphing data this week. Keep working on those multiplication facts at home! Optional math homework is sent home every Monday and is due the following Monday. Although it's optional, it is great extra practice to support what we are doing in class. We will take the Unit 2 assessment on Monday.

Literacy: Students started their small group literacy rotations this week, as well! Students are in one of three groups: Air, Fire, or Water. Each day they rotate through three stations; activities include word work (spelling and vocabulary), writing, partner reading, Lexia, and meeting with the teacher. We read a story this week in their Benchmark magazines called "The Tale of King Midas: A Greek Myth." Students numbered key events in the text and looked for examples of similes. We also continued our discussion about character traits. The weekly spelling and vocabulary words can be found on our Google Classroom each Monday, as well as the results to our Friday reading quizzes.

Science: We started a new science unit this week, Energy & Properties of Matter. In our first investigation, students worked with wind up toys in teams of three to observe, record, and graph the relationship between number of winds and number of steps the toy took. They did a great job on their graphs! After investigating how the number of winds impacted the number of steps the toy took, students got to take apart their toy to see how it works. We learned about stored and kinetic energy in the springs. Students are now working on making their own wind up toys using a spool, a washer, toothpicks, rubber bands, and a pencil. Our project will continue next week as students test out and revise their creations!