Inventing Instruments...

What an exciting project for our Hearing and Sound unit! Our little inventors did a fabulous job creating wind, percussion and string instruments.

We also continued learning about pitch, volume, vibration and sound waves through a series of seven sound centers... Paper Cup Telephones, Tuning a Glass, Good Vibrations, Sound Traveler, Rubber Band Music, Sounds Good and Ruler Guitar.

We finished reading the 3rd and 4th Miss Smith books.

The students were so excited to see what new adventure she would take us on! To continue the "Incredible Storybook", the students have now begun writing their own story map for a new adventure! We are so excited to see what they come up with!

We also read and discussed three more stories in our Collections series. The Name of the Tree, Cinderella Around the World and The Hare and the Tortoise.

In math, we used estimation strategies to predict sums (like a number line to find the closest ten) and used personal strategies to add 2-digit numbers and to estimate. The students were also creating and solving problems involving the addition of 2-digit numbers.

For art this week, the students experimented with warm and cool colours.

In social, We began the study of our new country, Tunisia. The students came up with a list of 48 different things they wanted to know about Tunisia. They were divided into groups of 2 and 3 and given a set of questions and the chrome books to research for the answers.

DRUM FIT!!

WE WON...Golden Garbage can!!
Awarded for a neat and tidy classroom!

Congratulations to our new Student of the Week!

Flashback to the 80's

This week, we read "Princess and the Pea" from the Collections series. Students then participated in a readers theater called, Reading Like Royalty.

We have also been studying the elements of a story. We have begun reading the series of Miss Smith's books. We will be mapping each of the four stories and then student's will have the opportunity to create own "Miss Smith" adventure story next week.

In Math, we learned another mental math strategy of how to use addition for subtraction for basic math facts to 18. Students used triangle cards to come up with different related math facts.

Students also learned how to find a "Mystery Number" in an equation. They were given an equation which included a symbol that represented a number. They had to find the unknown numbers in both addition and subtraction equations. For example... 6+ ___ = 14.

Students who finished their Math early, were able to play a card game called "Soldier Solute". Three players are needed for this game and a deck of cards. Students use their knowledge of the basic math facts to figure out the missing number in an addition question. Please have your child teach you this game on the weekend!









We continued our Hearing and Sound unit in Science by classifying different instruments into percussion, string and wind. We also spent some time classifying the volume and pitch of certain sounds. Students were give a list of items to drop onto their desk. They were to then put these items on a scale, demonstrating their understanding of different volumes and pitches. Student's watched a video, summarizing what we have learned so far. We have included the link so that you can watch it at home with your child.  http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/energy-light-sound/sound.htm

 Just a reminder that their instrument is due on Tuesday. We look forward to seeing what your child has invented!!!

We finished our study on India by completing a "Show What You Know" poster. Students were asked to draw and provide a brief description for five different topics of their choice. They all did a fantastic job showing us what they learned about India. We will be packing and flying to Tunisia early next week.

In Gym, we had a special guest who taught us "DRUM FIT". Students listened to a variety of music and played the drums while being active. The kids came back to class with red cheeks and beads of sweat on their faces. It must have been a fun workout!

For Art this week, students, learned about the bird species, cardinal. They read a book called "Backyard Birds" by Robert Bateman to introduce this type of bird. Then they did a directed drawing and finished the project using tempera paint.

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Congratulations to our new "Student of the Week"!

India Cultural Celebration...

Our first week back from Christmas holidays was an exciting one!
The students wrote all about their 2 week break in their Journals. They were very focused and we are eager to read what they have shared!

In Language arts, we read a story called Little Snowflake's Big Adventure by Steve Metzger. We talked about the characters, setting, problem and solution. We then learned how to map this information. The students have begun their own mapping and story writing activity.

We have also begun our second Collections series called Tales ~ Princesses, Peas and Enchanted Trees. The first story was entitled The Enchanted Pitcher.

We started Unit 3: Addition and Subtraction in Math this week. Lesson One included patterns in addition to help recall basic addition facts. Strategies such as "doubles", "near doubles", "making or using 10" and "adding from the greater number" were reviewed as ways to recall basic addition facts.  

In Science we are continuing our unit on Hearing and Sound. Students are learning that vibrations are responsible for the sounds we hear and that sound vibrations can travel through different mediums. They are also experimenting with pitch and volume.

We are done learning about India and as a culmination, we were able to spend the better part of Thursday immersed in Indian culture. The students rotated through the grade 3 classrooms, experiencing various activities relating to India.

For art this week, we read the story "Hannah the Henna Helper" and looked at different henna designs. The students then traced their own hand and began creating a "henna hand".

Our Oilers "Active at School" challenge this week was to work together as a class to create a nutritious recipe from ingredients assigned to us. The kids really enjoyed this activity and had very creative ideas!

Indoor recess fun.......

Congratulations to our new Student of the Week!