Snow Globe DIY

Students were able to make their own Christmas ornament this week.  We used plastic cups, fake snow shavings, beads, and a wooden angel to make our very own snow globe.  What a messy but fun Christmas project!  

Amen!

Where would we be this holiday season if it weren't for the birth of our Lord, King, Savior, and Friend - Jesus Christ!?  He truly is the light of the world, and we are reflectors of His glory.  These hanging Christmas light reminders are a good visual for students' to remember that Christmas is all about Christ.

Oh Christmas Tree...

We were able to review arrays and practice multiplication facts for math by creating a Christmas Tree Array.  Students were able to write multiplication facts and their products on an index card.  After coloring the card, it was time to make our array.  Arrays are objects made up of columns and rows.  It's still a work in progress, but students are doing such a wonderful job, I just had to share!  

Snow Sighting! 

It's starting to feel a lot like winter in the classroom!  Students' snowflakes flutter from the ceiling this month in celebration of fall turning to winter!

The memory verse for this week is:

There are some words that show action

and this is what we call them

v-e-r-b-s

v-e-r-b-s

v-e-r-b-s

and verbs are what we call them!

The boys and girls in second and third grade enjoyed singing along to this catchy tune (to the beat of "Bingo").  Concepts are easily remembered when put to music, and this song is a fabulous way for students to remember what verbs are.  This week we are talking about verb tenses (past, present, future) along with the verb "have".  

Cause and Effect

This week students are learning about cause and effect during the reading block.  Cause and effect is when one event causes another to happen.  The cause is why it happens, and the effect is what happened.  Completing this foldable during our carpet reading really made this concept concrete and tangible for students' understanding.

Then students were able to work with their partner to identify causes and effects in a story during shared reading.  As they did, students were able to articulate their ideas and responses with each other.  Then students wrote down their response on the white board.      

What a day!

Interactive Bulletin Board

In this science unit, students learned more about matter.  In teams and individually, students were able to build their own model showing the different states of matter on this bulletin board.  

A Mammoth-Sized Math Memo

As students tackle multiplication this quarter, we are comprising our very own multiplication table.  Its an interactive, visual, and kinesthetic approach to memorizing these essential facts!  Students are learning and having fun at the same time!   

"In the desert prepare the way for the LOD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God."

Isaiah 40:3

....Our new welcome to the Christmas season!  This poster is a good reminder for students this December, as we remember the birth of Christ.   Lets keep Him as our central focus this Christmas season!  Sing hallelujah!

"Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name."

Psalm 103:1

God is good, all the time!  Enjoy listening to a short clip from pastor Steven Furtick as he preaches about the goodness of God.  What a great word for this holiday season!  Enjoy.

The Fizzle Box

Inspired from a shared reading titled, "Author - A True Story", our very own classroom Fizzle Box is here!  The hardest part about writing is getting started.  Therefore, this box is a place where writers can go to share and gather writing ideas, topics, characters, settings, and of course, new vocabulary!  I can't wait to see it fill up!   

"I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."

Psalm 69:30

Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

Turkey, Anyone?

This Thanksgiving season, students were able to create their own Thanksgiving Day story.  During rotations, each pair of students were able to write an add-on to this silly, humorous, and entertaining story.  And this brings up the question, why do author's write?  Well this is one good hands-on example of the reason for "entertainment"!  

Can You Hear It?

Those silent consonant pairs can be tricky!  Students did a super job sorting this week's spelling words based on their silent consonant pair: /n/gn, kn; /w/wr as a review!  Way to go!

The Fabulous Five!

Retelling a story, or parts of a story, is key for comprehension!  To retell information in a text, keep in mind the five fingers: characters, setting, problem, events, conclusion.  Using the five finger retell, students can more easily summarize a text.

Combining Sentences

Students and learners participated in a hands-on activity in grammar with sentence strips.  Students were able to combine two sentences in the subject or the predicate using the word "and".  

...And by golly, I think they've got it!

Why Do Writers Write?

We are learning about the different reasons why authors write stories, also known as "author's purpose" this week.  Students have done a wonderful job identifying and describing author's purpose throughout our text this week!

Read All About It!

Who wouldn't want this new wristwatch!?  Students were able to display creativity with homework this week for their spelling words.  This advertisement was one of three options, and it looks superb! Great job students!

Science: What's the Matter?

Students are exploring matter in this unit of physical science.  We will be discovering:

properties of matter

measuring matter

cycles of matter

states of matter

mixtures

changing matter

CCCVC Pattern:

/thr/ , /spr/, /str/, /scr/

Students were able to make their own poster for the spelling pattern of our consonant blends.  They really enjoyed creating their own poster to reference throughout the week.  By having the students create the poster, it became more personalized and they really took ownership of the words and the CCCVC strategy.   

Can you think of a word with a consonant blend of /scr/?  

We say Thank YOU to all the Veterans this November 11th!

We give thanks for all the Veterans who've sacrificed, fought, and served in the military in order to protect the land of America and our freedoms.  On each star below is written a description of what a Veteran means to us.  We hope that all Veterans have a blessed and honored day!  

Here's a Taste:

These hamburger writings titled, "If I Were President", were quite appetizing!  Students were able to think critically about real-life issues in this election season.  They were also able to analyze verbally and in writing of problems America faces, with solutions they would enact.

MMMMM Hamburgers!

Election day is here!  We took some time today to research the 2012 Presidential election.  Afterwards, we used a graphic organizer of a hamburger bun to write an expository of what we would do if we were elected President.  This hamburger graphic organizer really helps students organize their writing, even if it isn't the best drawing!  We brainstormed our "hook" and topic sentence in the top bun of our hamburger.  What would you do if you were elected President?  Then, we brainstormed some details on the board that we added to the "lettuce", "cheese", and "meat" part of the hamburger.  And finally, the bottom hamburger bun entails the ending!  Although the brainstorming and drafting process is always messy, students' writings turned out beautiful!

Monster Bookmarks

During the first days of school, students were so excited to read with their very own monster bookmark!  But watch out, it'll "eat" the corner of the page you stopped on! 

Click on the link below for recommended reading:

http://www.nisk.k12.ny.us/birchwood/recrdng3.html

CrAzY about Cartoons!

Oh, but these aren't just any cartoons!  Students chose six of our spelling words this past week and created their own cartoon using the words they chose.  Its wonderful to see all their creativity and hard work in these masterful designs!

Irregular Plural Nouns

This week, we wrapped up irregular plural nouns with a fun activity.  Students were able to pick an irregular plural noun and write the singular form on the paper as shown above.  Then students identified the plural form of the noun.  Folding over part of the paper, students then wrote the plural form of their nouns on the flap.  This was a fun and engaging activity that really allowed students to interact verbally, kinesthetically, and visually with irregular plural nouns.

  

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!

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.   

I Spy With My Eagle Eye....

...Can you name 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!

November Memory Verse Schedule

Grade 2:

November 2, 2012 - Colossians 3:12

November 9, 2012 - Colossians 3:15

November 16, 2012 - Colossians 3:17

Grade 3:

November 2, 2012 - Colossians 3:13 - 14

November 9, 2012 - Colossians 3:16

November 16, 2012 - Colossians 3:23 - 24