Spring has Sprung!




Language Arts

                                     

The four seasons in a city park are represented by apes in human clothing: a rich, uptight woman in the fall; a sad, unemployed man in the winter; the woman's lonely boy in the spring; the man's joyful daughter in the summer. Each one sees the place and the others differently, yet together the voices tell a story.

Students will read a story entitled, Voices in the Park.  This book is unique in that it exhibits four different points of view about people who visit a particular park. The focus of this lesson is for students to adopt a critical stance when reading. Students will work in groups, read one particular voice, and then discuss the point of view of that character.  Following this, the class will decide if any of the character's perspectives are accurate.

                                                     




                                  
                                   




 

Opinion Writing



                            



Students completed their first opinion writing piece.  After studying the Vikings as part of the social studies unit on explorers, students were asked to write an opinion as to why they would want to be a Viking?  Students were taught the format of writing an opinion piece with an introduction, followed by three reasons, and a conclusion. Below are some examples of student's work.



                                                        

Why I would want to be a Viking?

By Akshat

The Vikings were brave. Vikings discovered new lands. They had good laws and respected them. One last reason is because they were great sailors. This is why I would want to be a Viking.

The Vikings found new places. They explored Iceland and some settled there. They also explored Greenland and Vinland. The Vikings explored places to find space to live because Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (Scandinavia) were full and they couldn’t farm there so they moved. This is why the Vikings explored new lands.

Vikings had good laws and respected them. The Vikings gave women rights. Even slaves could earn their freedom. The Vikings made one of the first forms of government. They followed it without breaking the law. This is how the Vikings respected their laws.

The Vikings were great sailors. They couldn’t use landmarks to sail. Instead they used the sun and the stars. Since they thought ravens could sense land, they followed ravens who found land. The Vikings also used the winds to go fast. This is why the Vikings were great sailors.

These are the reasons to be a Viking. They explored and discovered new lands. Their government was different from others. Last they were great sailors and used nature to help them. This is why I would want to be a Viking.

 

             

 

Why I would want to be a Viking?

By Nathan

Vikings were brave. They were great sailors. They respected their government and they liked going on dangerous adventures.

They were such great sailors. They sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. Their ships were built so good. They would sail through shallow and narrow rivers. The Vikings also knew that ravens could sense land, so they let them take the lead when sailing. That’s why they were such good sailors.

They respected their government. They gave women their rights. That’s amazing because in other parts of the world at that time period that was against the law. Slaves, who were taken hostage from battle, could earn their freedom and if someone put a toe out of line they were forced to leave the land. That’s why they had such a good and strict government.

Finally, the Vikings went on dangerous adventures. One dangerous adventure was sailing on the Atlantic Ocean. Another was when they put up settlements in North America. The Native Americans sometimes kicked them out by war. When they discovered new land, they didn’t know what dangerous things awaited them. That’s why they were so brave.

These are the three reasons to be a Viking.

 

 

                                   

Mathematics

                  

                   

This week in math students will name fractions with numerators that are greater than 1. In the process of learning these fraction names students will discover equivalent fractions.  Moreover, they will explore adding fractions to equal l.



                        



                

The students are definitely blooming!

 Happy St. Patrick's Day

                              

Language Arts

Students are continuing their study of inference.  Students have read poems and made inferences regarding the words and phrases written by a poet.  In addition students have viewed subheadings in articles to try to infer what an article is about.  Students have used authentic questions as a vehicle to help make inferences about a reading. 

                    

Students will read the book, Encounter, and discuss the narrator's point of view. Then they will decide on their perspective on the topic of exploration of the New World and the consequences it had on the Native Americans. Students will write an entry from the point of view of the Taino Native American.  Students will also read a second book about the Cheyenne and their forced assimilation into American society.  Students will discuss the narrator's and other character's points of view.  Finally students will compare and contrast these two books. Students will discuss their opinions about these books and the injustices which occurred in history.


                               

When Christopher Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador in 1492, what he discovered were the Taino Indians. This story is told from a young Taino boy’s point of view.  This is a story of how the boy tried to warn his people against welcoming the strangers, who seemed more interested in golden ornaments than friendship. Years later the boy, now an old man, looks back at the destruction of his people and their culture by the colonizers.

              

 

 

                      

 

As part of the present language arts' unit students are reading books about places they might want to travel.  Students are reading fact finder books from the Magic Tree House.  These books are nonfiction texts. Students are identifying the most important parts of the chapter as well as finding the main idea and supporting details in the chapters.  Students are broadening their background knowledge of the rain forest, dinosaurs, space, and the arctic.

                    

 

Writing

After studying the Vikings, students are writing an opinion piece about the Vikings in which they will write three reasons to be a Viking.  Students are learning to identify three main ideas and support those ideas with two to three details.  This practice writing exercise will prepare students for their performance assessment.  In their performance assessment for writing in Unit 4 students must write an opinion piece as to why they want to go to a particular location.  Students are reading books about the rain forest, dinosaurs, space and arctic.

 

                             

 

Below are some more samples of student's work from the Unit in which they wrote about a lesson learned.

 

                                      

 

Listen to Your Parents

Pranav

 

“Can we take a walk in the woods? Please Dad? Please, please, please?” Jack and his friend Alex had just finished playing hopscotch. “No Jack.” Jack’s dad said. “It’s best not to take a walk now. It’s almost dark and Alex needs to be home in ten minutes so his mom can pick him up. It’s almost dusk and wolves will be coming out now.” “Oh please, dad,” Jack begged. “I promise we will be back in five,” Jack pleaded. Finally his dad let him go. His dad went inside. Alex was gasping at him from the porch steps. “Come on. It’s now or never. Don’t be a chicken,” said Jack. But even after Jack said this Alex did not even move a muscle. Jack then ran across the street not even watching if a car was coming. But Alex as a responsible person yelled, “Stop, Jack! There is a car behind you.” As if obeying Alex, he stopped and walked quickly to Alex. Alex was relieved to see that his best friend was safe. Alex is 10 and Jack is 9. Alex was a responsible, wise person. Jack was a very reckless and careless boy. Jack gave Alex a tug. “Come on. I promise you nothing bad will happen. I promise you. Please,” Jack pleaded and finally Alex agreed.  They crossed a street and went into the woods.  The woods were thick and dark.  The trees cast dark shadows over the forest. Crickets chirped loudly. The two walked without uttering a single word until they came to a small clearing. A small amount of light slanted into the clearing. Alex sighed and whispered, “It is a bad idea to walk in these woods right now.” Jack gasped,” You are frightened by the darkness of the woods? I told you nothing.”  Growl! Growl “What was that noise?” asked Alex shivering. “I have no idea. But it sounds distant to me, “said Jack.  GRROWL!  “Uh, Oh,” said Alex. “We’re in big trouble. “Which way is home?” Jack asked. “I have no idea,” Alex replied. Then Alex thought of a strategy. Alex told Jack, “When we came into the woods, the sun was setting directly before us.

So if we walk with our backs toward the sun, we will return home!” “Splendid idea!” said Jack. They turned around to leave but before they could take a step a ferocious growl split the air. Startled they turned around in time to see the dark looming shape of a wolf. “Walk slowly. We don’t want the wolf to see that we are afraid,” said Jack. They turned to leave but the wolf started to walk towards them. It opened its mouth revealing many teeth that shined in the dim light. “Forget slow,” said Alex. “Run!” They turned and ran not even knowing if they were going the right way. Finally they reached the edge of the woods. There they stopped to gather their wits. At last they spoke. “I was wrong,” said Jack. “You and dad were right. It was a bad idea to come in these woods. I’m so sorry I caused all this trouble today.” “That’s all right,” said Alex. “But have you learnt your lesson?”                   

 

 

 

                        

                 

Be Nice to People

Jada 

When I got home from school my best friend was there. The other thing I could see was that this really annoying girl named Chachi was there also. I asked my mom, “What are they doing here?” “We are taking them out to eat at Applebee’s,” my mom said. I started putting my stuff down and asked the girls if they wanted to play dodge ball outside in the backyard. Then I asked my mom if we could go outside. She said, “Fine, but you have to take Chachi with you.” I did a big sigh. Then I said, “Fine.” I got 3 balls from my room and we all went outside. Since the teams weren’t even, we decided only 2 people could play. Jazmen and I played first. Chachi didn’t know how to play so she sat on the patio and watched. Then she would get the hang of it. It didn’t take long for the first game. It only took about 2 minutes because I caught Jazmen’s ball. For the 2^nd round I had to try and not catch the ball for more than 5 minutes. Since I caught Jazmen’s ball Chachi had to come in for Jazmen. I decided to throw a ball since Chachi was in but before I could even pick up a ball Chachi just threw the ball at me. I was out since she hit me with the ball. I was pretty surprised that she got me out. Then Jazmen went in for me. I was really excited for this because it was sister versus sister. Five minutes later Chachi lost and Jazmen won. After that round my mom said, “Get all your stuff on. We’re going to Applebee’s.” Then Jazmen, Chachi, and their mom went in the car. My mom and I got in our car and we drove there. Once we got to Applebee’s we sat in a booth. I started talking to Jazmen and my mom started talking to Chachi and Jazmen’s mom. Chachi talked to herself. Then Chachi got really loud. It was bothering me so I asked her nicely to quiet down, but she started getting louder. Then I asked for Jazmen, Chachi, and me to go to the bathroom. I asked if Chachi cared to join us. She said, “Ok, let’s go.” I said, “Chachi, I asked you nicely to be quiet. Why didn’t you do that?” Chachi answered, “You’re not the boss of me.” “Yes I am because I’m older than you. Now you go back to that table. Be quiet and mature. You get it,” I said. “Ok,” said Chachi. The three of us went back to the table. Then Chachi started yelling out, “Jada and Jazmen were mean to me and they said I have to be quiet through the whole dinner.” “I didn’t say that. All I said was can you please be quiet at the table. I can’t hear Jazmen talk,” I said. “Just leave each other alone,” said my mom. “Jada, you can talk to Jazmen,” said my mom. “Then what do I do?” said Chachi? “Nothing,” I said. Then we ordered our food. Jazmen and I talked to each other. Chachi talked to my mom and her mom. In 10 minutes, our food is delivered. After we ate we all went to our homes. Mom gave me a serious talk. When I got home I was grounded for 2 weeks. Then I learned my lesson to never be mean to anyone.   

 

Math

Students are continuing their study of multiplication and division stories.  They will finish the unit this week and start a new unit on fractions.  Students will use their understanding of division and transfer this knowledge to fractions.  Students will start with dividing rectangles into equal pieces and discuss how to label each share as a fraction.  Then students will make and label fraction sets and put fractions in order by size.

 

Social Studies

                                      

                       King Ferdinand, Queen Isabella, and Christopher Columbus

Students will finish reading about Christopher Columbus and his reasons for finding a new route to the Indies.  Columbus believed the world was round in contradiction to the majority who thought it was flat. Students have enriched their background about the world and the importance of Columbus' discovery of the New World. They have learned that Columbus sailed for the country of Spain although he was born in Genoa, Italy.

                                      

 

Report cards will be issued the end of March.  Parent/teacher conferences will take place in April.  These conferences are not mandatory.

 

 

Spring is right around the corner!

 

 

                                                                                                                

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

March News!

                                      

Language Arts


              
   
This week students will learn about making inferences.  Students will start by inferring the meaning of vocabulary words.  They will use context clues and nonfiction text features to make inferences. Students will read an article about the Titanic which is of high interest to most third graders.  The following literacy equation will be taught to support student learning about inference.

                                           BK & TC = I

                                   

This equation involves using one's background knowledge plus textual clues which will result in inferring.  When merging background knowledge with text clues, students draw conclusions about what they read. Students will start with an essential question, "Could the tragedy of the Titanic have been avoided?" Students will learn that some of their knowledge of the Titanic may not be accurate. Then students will gather facts from the article to infer the answer to the question.


Writing

The following are stories published by students from Unit 3.  

Never Lie

By Akshat
 

Have you ever lied?  It was a rainy day and Adam was bored. He told his mom he was bored. “Beep!” It was the phone. Adam hurried off to get it. “Mom, can I go to Brandon’s house?” “Sure,” said his mom. Brandon is 9 and so is Adam. Brandon is athletic. He plays soccer and basketball. Adam is clumsy and curious. Once he arrived at Brandon’s house, he rang the doorbell. Brandon answered. “Guess what?” Brandon said, “I got a new action figure!” “Cool,” said Adam and he went in. They played with Brandon’s toys. When Brandon went to the bathroom Adam suddenly heard a crack. Adam got up to see what it was. He gasped. It was Brandon’s new action figure, his most valuable toy. Adam told Brandon he was going home but didn’t say he was taking the action figure. He went home to fix it with glue but it melted. He told his mom about it. She said, “If you tell Brandon you took it Brandon will still be your friend. But Adam didn’t listen to his mom. The next day Adam went out to play and saw Brandon outside. Brandon said his new toy was missing and asked Adam to help. Adam didn’t want to tell the truth so he helped. Adam and Brandon searched everywhere but couldn’t find it. Soon Adam became tired and said he needed a break. Brandon said, “You have to help until I find it.  Adam went home and got the toy. When he returned he told Brandon the truth. To his surprise Brandon wasn’t upset and they remained friends.

Support your Family

By Rachel

 
Isabelle Jennings thought about school while she ate her dinner. Isabelle had straight, long, blonde hair. She had green eyes and rosy cheeks. On her face were peach lips and long eyelashes. She was eating chicken and rice. Chicken with rice was her favorite meal. Her brother thought the opposite. He hated rice. He was making faces at his food. He was very picky. Isabelle knew why. He was six and she was nine. Isabelle loved spring. Spring was Isabelle’s favorite season because her mother always planted seeds in the garden and the flowers came out so beautifully. Isabelle finished her dinner, but Charlie was still eating so she had to stay seated. That was the family rule. Isabelle always followed the rules. After all, she was very mature for her age. She was also generous and fair. She was always honest and reliable. Her parents were lucky to have her as a daughter. “Charlie and Isabelle, your father and I have some news. Your father lost his job and we are losing money,” Mrs. Jennings said. “What!” Isabelle yelled. “So we’re going to be poor?” Isabelle asked. “No. We aren’t going to be poor, but we aren’t earning enough money. I don’t work because I have to be home when you and Charlie come home from school,” Mrs. Jennings said. “But everything costs money. If we always have to pay for things, we’ll eventually become poor! Right?!” Isabelle asked. “I suppose yes. But that means no money goes to waste. We will only buy something if we need it,” Mrs. Jennings said. “But I wanted that new race car!” Charlie wailed. “Charlie!” Mrs. Jennings exclaimed. “Fine” Charlie said. The next day was Saturday. Isabelle slept in but at 8:30 she got up. At breakfast the Jennings family talked some more. “What are some ways we can make money, now that I’ve lost my job?” Mr. Jennings questioned. “We could make fake money and trick people! We might even trick a vending machine!” Charlie suggested. “No, Charlie! I think that we should open a lemonade stand! We could sell delicious lemonade, and make lots of money. I’m thinking we can charge $1.15 for one glass. I think that is a pretty reasonable price. What do you think?” Isabelle said. “I think that is cheap. We’ll never make money if we charge them $1.15! I’m thinking $200.00!” Charlie yelled. “I think that Isabelle’s idea is a great idea. Now what is our goal?” Mr. Jennings asked. “$300 dollars in 3 weeks,” Isabelle said. “It’s a deal! Let’s start now!” Mr. Jennings shouted. So everybody started making lemonade. After three pitchers were filled, the sale started. A lot of people came. At the end of the day, they had half a pitcher left, and $30 dollars. Every day they earned more money. It was the last day of lemonade selling. They only had $275 dollars and one day left. Isabelle was worried. Everybody in the neighborhood either already got lemonade, or they aren’t interested. The day went by slowly and they earned $10 dollars. Isabelle looked at the total of money that they had earned - $285 dollars. “Don’t give up,” Isabelle told herself. But she had. Three weeks were over, and all they had was $285 dollars. Finally, Isabelle had an idea. She went into her room… and she pulled $15 dollars out from her wallet. Now she looked at the total, $300 dollars. They had met their goal because she had saved them. Isabelle felt heroic. She had never been as proud of herself in her life.

Math

Students will investigate that arrays are one way to express a multiplication equation.  Students will experiment making arrays to identify the characteristics of prime and square numbers. Students will use arrays to find the product.

                                              

They can use traditional multiplication equations to determine the product of two factors or if need be they can skip count.

          

 

More complicated multiplication problems will be introduced and students will use their knowledge of basic multiplication facts to help them determine solutions to higher level problems.

For example   24 x 6 can be broken down into

                          20 x 6 = 120   + 4 x 6 = 24

Therefore,  120 + 24 = 144

The following site can be used by students to help practice multiplication facts:

http://www.factmonster.com/math/flashcards.html