THIS WEEK!

September 22-September 26

We spent an afternoon sorting our rock collections. The students were asked to compare samples and identify similarities and differences.

 3FT sorted the rocks into different categories...here are a few sorting rules that they came up with.

-One colour and many colours
-Bigger than an apple
-Rocks that colour and rocks that don't
-Smooth and rough
-Bumpy and smooth
-Speckled
-Smaller than a marble
-Jagged edges
-Rocks with two colours
-Spotted
-Shiny
-Pretty and not pretty


The students were all very excited to finally try out their chrome books.

We have finished working on increasing patterns and have started looking at decreasing patterns using manipulatives and numbers.

As we continue to learn about "Rocks and Minerals", the students look forward to our daily "Rock Talks". It is so wonderful to see how enthusiastic this class is to learn about rocks.

We have started to look and test different properties of rocks such as... colour, lustre, texture, hardness, and the presence of carbonates (using vinegar).

For our Mapping unit in Social Studies we took our compasses outside. We found the direction of landmarks around our school.  We had a lot of fun with this activity!

On Friday, all of the students from Robina Baker School took part in the annual Terry Fox run. The students enjoyed the walk...even in the rain!

THIS WEEK!

September 15th, 2014 was International Dot Day!

This day is celebrated by millions of people around the world. It is a day to celebrate creativity and collaboration.

Here is the link if you wish to learn more about "Dot Day... http://www.thedotclub.org/dotday/

Our class partnered up with their Grade One buddies in 1K to celebrate Dot Day. We watched the story of "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds. If  you would like to watch the story book online, you can view it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5mGeR4AQdM

They were encouraged to use their creativity to make their own dot art.

On Tuesday we enjoyed the beautiful weather for our Rock Walk. We spent the afternoon walking to the river bank at the Lions Park. The students collected a variety of rocks that they will be sorting, classifying and testing as part of our Rocks and Minerals unit.

The beginning of our Rock Walk study...

WHAT HAS 3FT BEEN UP TO???

3FT is a BUCKET FILLING class!!!

Please ask your child about the two books we read together. Have them give you ideas of how people can be bucket fillers. If you would like to borrow the books from our class, please send us an email or a note in their agenda and we would be happy to send them home for you to read with your family.

 

Math...

We started the year off with a "Math About Me" assignment. Students were asked to think of 8 numbers to describe themselves. Students picked things like height, shoe size, birthday, jersey number, or number of teeth.

Counting teeth!

We started the "Patterns and Relations" Unit this week. The students have been recognizing and analyzing increasing patterns. We have done a lot of hands-on activities using manipulatives to extend and create patterns. They have also been working on making pattern rules.

 Language Arts...

Our Home Reading program... The Amazing Race!!! They are ready to race around the world! Please make sure you are encouraging them to read at home on a regular basis.

This week we started our first Spelling Unit. The students will be introduced to the new words every Monday and will be given a test on Friday. Throughout the week, activities are completed to review and work on different components of language learning. Please note...there will be no spelling list next week since Friday is a PD day.

The class takes part in a whole group "Read to Self" time on a daily basis.

Our class started a novel study this week called "Freckle Juice" by Judy Blume. We have read Chapter 1 so far and have completed a couple activities to go with the chapter. The students are really enjoying this book.

We started a new writing project, called "All About Me", which the students will be working on over the next couple months. This project will be published so that it can be shared with the parents.

Science...

Our class is extremely enthusiastic about our first unit in Science, "Rocks and Minerals"!!! We have begun learning about the 3 different kinds of rocks...sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. Next week, we will head out on our ROCK WALK so that the students will have their own rock collection to work with throughout this unit as they identify similarities and differences.

Students had the opportunity to use some class time to design a title page for our new unit. 

Students are more than welcome to bring in any special rocks they may have at home. We will put aside some time during the day for them to share their rocks during our Rock Talk.

Special guest...Mrs. Duperron giving our grade 3 class a Rock Talk!

Social...

We have started a mini unit on "Mapping". The students are learning how to read a map and globe so that throughout the year, as we learn about different communities,  they are able to find them in relation to Canada.

Art...

Our class completed a painting and writing project called...Many Shades of Me. We spent an afternoon using the primary colours to make different shades. Then they wrote 9 sentences describing themselves and added this to their painting.

We read "The Squiggle" by Carole Lexa Schaefer. Then students were given a squiggle so that they could create their own unique picture! We have such a creative bunch of kids...