3FT Third Grade Thoughts: Polar Express...

This week, we started a "Polar Express" book study which we will work on throughout the next few weeks. We started by watching an online version of the story, read by Liam Neeson.

Then we talked about vocabulary words within the story that we would be finding the definitions for. The students were given a lesson on how to use a dictionary to find words by alphabetical order. They were also shown that a word may have a few different definitions so we had to use our knowledge of how word was used in the story to pick the best one. Dictionaries also show us how many syllables are in a word, the pronunciation, whether it is a noun or verb and how to use the word in a sentence. The students loved using the dictionaries! A few of them even got side tracked reading about different words or looking at the pictures.

The students love telling us about their weekends or other things that are happening in their lives. They look forward to "free writing" and some students have even started writing short stories.

We completed week four of our new spelling program. Students should have their lists printed in their agenda as well as a photocopied sheet that comes home. Please spend a few minutes each day to help your child practice their list, along with the challenge words for the week!

Each week we introduce five new Word Wall Words. This week our words were...everyone, everything, anyone, went and when. We talked about different compound words and the students used the WWW in their Rainbow Writing sentences. After completing their work, they worked on a word search to review the Word Wall Words we have done so far.

We started a new book in the Collections series for our daily read aloud called "Super Senses". The students are getting very good at their fluency and adding expression as they read.

We completed a Making Words activity this week. The mystery word was INSTRUMENT. First, the students independently build as many 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 letter words as they can from the letters in the word "instrument". Then they partner up, compare words and add to their list. Finally, we share the words as a class and record any others that they may not have down. Together our list had 57 words!!

We also completed a short paragraph on a favourite Christmas memory or tradition. These paragraphs are going to be submitted to the Devon Dispatch and could possibly end up being published. The paragraphs had to be 50 words or less, so the students were shown how to use the "tools" tab to find the word count for their paragraph.

We completed the cursive letter Ff this week.

This week, in Math, we covered the following outcomes.

1. Comparing one, two and three digit numbers using place value.

2. Using words and symbols to compare numbers (greater than, less than, < > =)

3. When given three digits, students will create the greatest and least possible numbers.

4. Plotting numbers on a number line.

5. Arranging a list of numbers in descending and ascending order.

6. Identifying an error in a sequence of numbers.

7. Recognizing numbers that differ by 10 or 100.

We started subtraction in our daily Mad Minutes. This week we completed -1. Next week we will be practicing -2.

We also began a new activity called "How Many Ways". As a class, we pick a random number and the students are given five minutes to come up with as many ways as they can to make that number. This will help them with their ability to do mental math. They are encouraged to be creative and can use addition, subtraction, multiplication or even division. The students then have the opportunity to share their favourite, or most challenging, equation with the class.

In Science, we watched Bill Nye and completed the last activity in the lapbooks. We illustrated pitch, volume, how sound waves travel and what sounds moves through.

The students rotated through 7 different sound centers experimenting with sound waves, pitch and volume. From their observations, we concluded that sound waves are caused by vibrations and the faster the vibration, the higher the pitch. We also found that sound waves travel through solids, liquids and gases and they travel the quickest through solids.

We also watched a video about the different instrument families and the students sorted pictures into a chart. They were given an Instrument Project to complete by Monday. This project will demonstrate their understanding of how sound is made, volume and pitch. They will be presenting their instruments to the class throughout next week.

In Social, we flew to India to begin the study of our next country. We will be using a Travel Journal and our Social Studies textbooks to follow a boy named Ravi, through his journey in India.

For Gym this week, we played Mission Impossible! This is definitely a favourite! An obstacle course is set up throughout the gym and the students use many gross motor skills to make their way to the finish.