On Display
"Parts of a flower" foldables are blooming! Students did a fantastic job creating, labeling, and describing their parts of a flower foldable this week!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
A Deeper Look
While studying botany, students were able to create their own foldable to label the parts of a flower. Each label can be lifted up. Underneath the label is a written description of the specific flower part's function. It is an excellent kinesthetic, visual, and auditory activity that concretes the parts of a flower.
Ready to Read!
Strategy: Using relevant details to find facts and opinions in text.
Students have been learning how to discern between facts and opinions in text.
We practiced finding facts and opinions in today's story, "What's In Store For the Future?" with this graphic organizer. The students have caught on quickly and they're doing a wonderful job!
Today We Are Thankful!
During this season of "getting", students are learning that giving and giving thanks is tremendously more important! As an everyday reminder, this outside bulletin board displays things (or people) the third grade students are thankful for. The majority ruling: thankfulness for family!
"...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Math Mania!
What does math look like this week? Well, I'm glad you asked! We're wrapping up chapter 4: Addition. Students have been learning strategies of estimating by rounding and front-end estimation. Another strategy students have gained much success in is, regrouping. Learning to "bump up" that extra ten can be quite tricky! But way to go students, you're getting the hang of it!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
1, 2, 3, 4 ....Spelling Fortune Teller!
Students have a blast constructing their fortune teller using the weekly spelling words. Each week students learn twenty new spelling words. (The above pictures are long vowel words.) Each spelling word is written with pencil on a triangle or square portion of the teller. Then, students trace over the words with marker. Students use the fortune teller to orally spell out their words with a partner. This is great spelling practice for students, but they like to think of it as a "game"!
Plant Cells: Cell-licious!
What a surprise when students entered the room last week! This must be every student's dream day in school - munching on sweets! But this isn't just any kind of sugary snack. Oh no, this picture above is a set up for a delicious plant cell demonstration!
What's a better way to grab student interest than through their stomach!? Well, in order for students to remember the parts of a plant cell we constructed our very own edible plant cell. After studying the parts of a plant cell, we focused on five major parts, their food parallel, and functions:
1. Pie Crust = Cell Wall
2. Twizzlers = Cell Membrane
3. Chocolate Pudding = Cytoplasm
4. Cookie = Nucleus
5. Gummy Life Savers = Chloroplast
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Putting it in Perspective: What is God like?
Students were able to exercise their knowledge of the attributes of God through this ice-breaker activity. Each student contributed to sharing an attribute of the Lord, recorded on the word web photograph above. I was amazed not only at their knowledge, but also their heart towards the Lord their Father. He is calling each of them to a deeper level in relationship to Him, and it is so exciting to see their growth!
The Brilliance of Botany!
The Four Aspects of Botany:
1. Plant Classification
2. Plant Habitats
3. Plant Function
4. Plant Use
Students picked a flower to use for a sketch today before discussing plant chemistry. We observed the real flower by identifying each part and discussing its function. Students then taped their flower to a poster, and were able to sketch a diagram of it. Students labeled their diagram and were able to explain each part and its role. What masterful botanists!
Math: Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To
Students were able to exercise comparing numbers with this hands-on activity to determine greater than, less than, and equal to. Students placed number cards on their mat, and compared them by twisting the green rectangles to form the greater than, less than, and equal to symbols. Then students were able to compare their own numeric sentence using the symbols and number cards. Summing it up, I think this math activity was the greatest so far!
God's promises never fail!
Driving into GCCS one morning, I caught sight of this beautiful rainbow! God is so good, so glorious, and so gracious. His mercies are new every morning, and this morning was breath-taking!
Clearly, God's promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God's law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.
Romans 4:13 NLT
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Vocabulary
To help build vocabulary, I have students complete a "Vocabulary 4-Square". The word is written in the middle, and then the paper is made into four sections. The top left is the definition. The top right is a picture to illustrate the word. Bottom left is for synonyms and antonyms, and the bottom right is an original sentence using the vocabulary word.
In Reading....
We are generating questions in order to help us summarize a story. Students are encouraged to generate questions as we read together and independently. Taking the time to stop and ask questions really improves comprehension and builds awareness of PLOT. Once we know the characters, setting, beginning, middle, and ending parts of a story we can put the events in our own words to summarize it.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Ready, Set, Sort!
We're learning about common and proper nouns this week. Students were able to pick a noun word card and place it under the correct category. Then as a whole group, we listed as many nouns as we could fit on the white board! This intro and review activity really had students excited to identify different people, places, and things!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
SOS
Save Our Sentences!
Students were called into a special mission this past week to save our sentences. We're reviewing run-on sentences for the unit 1 test. I created a special run-on for the students, in the illustration of a circle because run-on's just keep going on and on and on.... We read it together to find the errors and correct them with the right punctuation. Then students configured the run-on into complete sentences in the second picture below. What a blast!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Hungry?
This was a great way to wrap up our lesson on food chains and food webs! Students were able to identify and explain animal roles & the balance of nature by connecting string to each producer, consumer or scavenger to create a food web. I'll admit, I might have enjoyed this interactive and hands-on activity more than the students!
Beautiful Butterfly Synonyms
Students were able to exercise reading, writing, listening and speaking skills into this activity. Working together, students had to match up the butterfly synonyms. After sharing their matches, students picked their favorite synonym and took it back to their desk. Then, students had to write two sentences: one command and one question using their chosen word. Then students shared their sentences and displayed them on the board. They had a great time kinesthetically and cognitively with this grammar review activity!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Compound Sentences
Students were able to be creative with this interactive compound sentence activity. A compound sentence combines two simple sentences with a comma and the word and or but. Students were able to apply their understanding of compound sentences by creating their own on an orange sticky note. When finished writing, they put their compound sentence on the chart paper. Each student was able to share their sentence - some were silly, some serious, and others informative! This activity really appealed to all aspects of cognitive learning with integrated reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. But the best part.....the student's had a blast expressing their own sentences!
Stretch a Sentence
We've been working on stretching sentences by adding the 5 W's: Who? What? When? Where? Why? This poster is an excellent reminder for students on how to stretch a sentence in their writing. Students definitely have the subject and predicate parts of a sentence down, but adding details is now our focus! Why do we stretch a sentence? We streeeeeeetch a sentence to make our writing more interesting for the reader, grabbing that "hook" so that you can't put down the story!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Math Unit 1 Chapter 2: Place Value & Number Sense
Students made their very own place value mat this week! It represents a good visual and aid to understanding place value of 3 to 6-digit numbers. We were also able to use it when solving tricky math problems in our text this week. Student's loved the hands-on activity and it really reinforced skills and strategies within place value and number sense!
Monday, October 1, 2012
What Is Math Mania?
You may ask, what is Math Mania? Well, it's a wonderful place to showcase students' work each week! Math Mania is also a good reminder & reference of recent learned math skills. Next to go up,...place value mats! We're wrapping up chapter two (place value/number sense) this week! Way to go students!
An interactive Main Idea web!
After shared reading, students were able to practice finding explicit main idea and details in their own nonfiction text during independent reading. Students wrote down their main idea on a blue sticky note and posted it, as well as details on the tan sticky notes. When finished with independent reading, students were able to share and discover each other's selection, main idea, and details.
Open House Activity
Students had a blast getting ready for Open House! Can you "Guess Who?" Each student wrote a personal narrative, describing unique and individual characteristics and hobbies. The twist you ask? The students' names were not on the front, only ten clues about themselves. During Open House, parent(s)/guardian(s) read each narrative to discover which one was their child's. Of course the handwriting was one clue, but they still had a blast! Behind each piece was a picture of each student, revealing their identity! I think the students had more fun brainstorming ways to "stump" their loved ones than their parent(s)/guardian(s) had reading them!
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