April 

                               

Language Arts

The class finished their opinion writing pieces just before vacation. Here is a small sampling of the fine work the students did on this.

Dinosaurs

By Advaith Satish

 There is so much to explore in the time of dinosaurs! We could go to the time of dinosaurs to see how they acted, behaved, and looked. If we went to the time of dinosaurs, we could see which animals lived with the dinosaurs other than the animals we know. Of course, if I went to the time of dinosaurs, I would see why the dinosaurs died out.

I would want to go to the time of dinosaurs to see how the dinosaurs acted, behaved, and looked. I could find out how and why meat-eaters ate plant-eaters most of the time. To discover how the dinosaurs looked, we would have to use our imagination, and the fossils we have discovered. If somebody traveled back in time to the age of dinosaurs, we can see how they truly looked. If we know how they looked, we can see what animals today came from the dinosaurs. I would also really like to see how parents treat their babies. Did they congratulate them when something good happened? Or were they really strict, mean and screaming at them all the time? Or were they both? Scientists would like this because, if they knew both how the dinosaurs behaved and what animals today were descended from the dinosaurs, they might learn a bit more about the animals today.

If I was to go to the time of the dinosaurs, I would see which animals lived with the dinosaurs. Were they like the animals today? Do they behave like the dinosaurs? Right now, all we know is that lizards, birds, turtles, and crocodiles lived with the dinosaurs. But were they like the animals today? Scientists think that the animals were very over-sized, but we don’t know much more than that. Scientists think that birds came from dinosaurs! They think that because, they have found many dinosaur fossils that include the feathers or/and wings of birds. By going back into the time of dinosaurs, I could identify the birds that lived back then. If I were to study the actions of these animals, then it might explain why all the dinosaurs died out, and other animals, like lizards, still lived. If we knew the answer to this, it would lead us one step closer to discovering how the dinosaurs died.

I want to go to the time of dinosaurs because, I could see why the dinosaurs died out. Was it because of a comet? Climatic changes? Earthquakes, tornadoes, and storms? Or all? Some scientists think the dinosaurs died because of climate changes. They think that the temperature might have gotten too cold or hot. There might have been earthquakes and major storms. But then why did the dinosaurs die out and other animals, like lizards, live on? Other scientists agree with the asteroid theory. This happened when an asteroid crashed into the earth. This caused a big cloud of dust, smoke, and ash to form in the air, which blocked the sunlight. Plants couldn’t grow so the plant-eaters couldn’t eat so they died too! With no plant-eaters, meat-eaters didn’t have food so they died. Scientists are still trying to solve this mystery of what killed the dinosaurs. They have more proof that the asteroid theory is true. They think they have found the spot where the asteroid landed! They found a huge crater in the Gulf of Mexico. The crater is 120 miles wide and ½ a mile below sea level! This crater is definitely caused by asteroids. Maybe even the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs! (If there was one.)

Are you convinced that going back in time to the time of dinosaurs is important? In my opinion, it is very important. I hope you think so too! We could see how they acted, behaved, and looked. We could see what animals they lived with. We could even see how they died! I hope that you are really convinced now.

Explore the Arctic

By Linna Gao

 

Do you  love polar bears? Then you should help them. I want to go to the Arctic to help animals from becoming extinct so all of the animals can live. It is important to go to the Arctic to stop global warming and keep the Arctic from melting. We could find new animals to study so everyone can know about them.

I  want to go to the Arctic to stop pollution and global warming. People in the world are using too much oil. If there is an oil spill people can`t stop it from going into the ocean and the oil kills the animals and destroys their environment. People build a lot of factories. The factories make the pollution in the air. It warms the air so it melts the polar caps and causes global warming.

I want to go to help the animals from becoming extinct. The ice on the ocean is melting and the polar bears use the ice for platforms.They need to swim from ice floe to ice floe. Without ice they get so tired that they drown. The polar bears use the platforms to hunt seals. Since the ice is melting the polar bears can`t  stand on the ice to hunt seals anymore. There is less ice so the polar bears can`t hunt.  

I want to go to the Arctic to study new animals. If we can find new animals in the Arctic we might find out ways to keep them from being extinct. If we found a new animal we can study it and find out if we can use them to treat diseases. We can study the new animal and see if their ancestors lived a long time ago and how did they survived different changes in their environment.

These are the reasons why I want to go to the Arctic. Would you like to go with me? You can help them from becoming extinct. It is important for us to stop global warming. You can study the animals and learn how interesting they are! I hope you want to go to the Arctic.

 

 

Dinosaurs
 

                                                                By Zachary Gombotz

Would you like to go back into the time of the dinosaurs? These are my reasons why I want to visit the land of the dinosaurs. People could see what the dinosaur’s life was like. There might be ways to find out why they became extinct. Wouldn’t you like to know what the dinosaurs looked like?           

I want to go back in time to see what dinosaur’s life was like.  People could see if dinosaurs ate food, such as meat, fish, or if they ate plants. We could study and find out how dinosaurs lived with other kinds of dinosaurs. People could find out about the groups of dinosaurs, like meat and plant eaters. Maybe there were other species of dinosaurs?   
                                                                                                                                                                                        I want to go back in the time of the dinosaurs to see what the dinosaurs looked like. We could see what the color the dinosaurs were, such as red and green. They might have used camouflage to protect themselves from other dinosaurs or if they wanted to attack other dinosaurs. They might have protected themselves from their predators in ways we did not know. People could see how tall or small they were. People could see the dinosaurs living in the Triassic, Cretaceous, or Jurassic Period .                                                                                                                                                          

I want to go back in the time of the dinosaurs to see the way they became extinct. People could see if they became extinct because they got hit by an asteroid or if they sunk in the water. We could find out if the theory of changing climate was the reason the dinosaurs became extinct. Could a volcano have erupted causing the dinosaurs to die?                                                                                                                                                                                       

These are my reasons why I want to go back into the time of the dinosaurs. I hope you would want to see how they became extinct. We could discover what their life was like. You could find out what they looked like.  

Science

Students are in the process of studying rocks and minerals.  They learned there are three types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.  They also have discovered how these rocks are formed.

                        

 

Once these concepts were introduced, students started learning about minerals.  They are performing various scientific tests to learn the different properties of minerals.

 

                                 

 

In addition to discovering the properties of minerals, students have found out minerals are used in our everyday environment.      

                            

Mathematics

Students are working on multi-digit addition and subtraction in this unit. They are learning many strategies to add and subtract. 

For addition, students might use partial sums, take the number apart, or add on one number in parts. Below is an example of one of the aforementioned strategies.

425 + 288 =

400 + 200 = 600

20 + 80     = 100

5 + 8         =   13

                _______

                   713

 

For subtraction, they might break the number apart or add up from one number to the ending number.

650 - 596 = 54

596 + 4 = 600

600 + 50 = 650

50 + 4 = 54

Students have learned there are different types of subtraction problems. There are comparison, missing part or removal types of subtraction problems. They were able to write these various types of problems in class. Here are some examples of these types of problems.  The students, however, wrote problems with three digits.

                    

 

                                 

 

There is so much more to do in third grade!

                              

 

 

 

March is here!

Language Arts

Students are continuing this nonfiction unit with exploring point of view.  Students will read stories and identify the author's point of view.  Then they will discern their point of view.  Students will support their point of view with evidence from the story.

                           

Students will read The Great Kapok Tree and decide on the main character's point of view and then other character's perspectives in the story.  Finally students will be asked their opinion.

                                          


                                     
                                       

Social Studies

Students are studying the exploration of Christopher Columbus.  They have read various excerpts from books and articles to gather facts about this explorer.  Students are also noticing that different texts contain conflicting information and/or more information than other texts.

                             

Students will write a journal entry as if they were Christopher Columbus.  Then students will read the book, Encounter, and identify the point of view of the Taino Native Americans.  Students will discuss their perspective with regard to the information they have read.


                            

Mathematics

Students have started a new unit in math entitled Muffles Truffles.  In this unit students will work on multiplication and division with arrays.  They will stretch beyond the basic facts to larger numbers. Students will work with partners as they enter the world of Muffles Truffles and his delicious truffles by arranging boxes in various mathematical configurations.

                                                          



                                   


                                        

Week of February 22

 

                                             

 

Language Arts

Students will start a new unit in Language Arts.  In this unit students will be reading nonfiction texts. As they read students will determine the main idea and recount key details which support the main idea. In addition, students will identify their own point of view of a text and distinguish it from the author's point of view.  Students will compare and contrast the most important points and details in a story. Students will write an opinion piece identifying a place they wish to explore and provide three reasons to support their opinion.

 

This unit will be integrated with the social studies unit on explorers. Students will be reading books about Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, and Jacques Cartier.

 

            

 

Below are examples of students writing pieces from the last unit.  Students had to write stories about lessons they learned.

 

Listen to Directions

By Nick

 

 

                                                    

 

I was so happy that I could finally ride a dirt bike. I asked, “Dad, could you teach me how to ride a dirt bike?” “Now,” he said, “We could do it after lunch.” When it was time my dad got the dirt bike out of his truck and rode it into the backyard.  I opened the fence for him. When he stopped the bike he showed me where the throttle and the brake were. I pretended I knew how to ride one but I didn’t. When he stopped with the directions, he said, “Take it slow at first.” I didn’t listen and accidently went full throttle. I drove it really fast. I leaned back by accident and did a wheelie.  I didn’t know if I was going to fall off or not. I was pretty much frozen. I was so scared. When I finally crashed into the fence I opened the gate from the impact of the crash and left a tire mark on the fence. It really damaged the bike. I hit the side of my hip. It felt like I broke a bone at first, but I didn’t. I went inside and got an ice pack. When my dad went outside to see if the dirt bike would still work, it didn’t run. He worked on it for a while. I could tall that he was really working hard. I was a little bit angry at myself for not paying attention. When my dad got the dirt bike running again I apologized for not listening to directions. I told my dad that I wanted to try riding a dirt bike again. Next time, I won’t crash and I will listen to directions so I don’t crash. My lesson learned was to listen to directions on how to do something when given them because if you don’t it can sometimes hurt if you don’t.

 

 

Listen to Your Parents

By Max

                                                 

“When are we going to D.C?” I said. “April 17,” my dad said. I wanted to go so I checked my calendar.  It was one more day. My dad woke me at 5 a.m.  We put our suitcases in the car and drove to the airport. I couldn’t wait to go on the airplane. After we got to Washington, D.C. my family and I went to a hockey game, The Capitals and the Rangers.  When we got to the arena, it was noisy.  All the people were talking about the game. I smelled popcorn. I asked my dad, “Can we get popcorn”? He said, “Ok.”  It was my first national hockey game.  As we walked around I could feel the cold air. Our seats were in row 207. It was close to the ice. Our seats were in the corner of the arena at an angle. As we sat down the game began. At the end of the first intermission it was 0-0. My dad and I got pretzels and soda at the stand. “I’m going to the bathroom,” I told my dad. My dad said, “Wait for me.” But I went by myself. When I came out of the bathroom, my dad wasn’t at the place where we bought the food. I was scared.  I wanted to cry.  I was fighting back tears. I decided to go find an adult. There was a man standing outside of the bathroom. I told him I was lost.  After that he took me to get the manager. I said, “I am lost.” The manager said, “What row are you in?” “207,” I said.  The manager wore a blue shirt that said staff in white letters. He asked me my name and my mom’s phone number. He called my mom’s cell phone and told her I was lost. He said he would bring me to her. I was excited and sad because I couldn’t wait to see my family. I was worried that I might not find my family right away. Then I got to the seats with the manager. I saw my mom and dad.  My dad looked mad because he had told me to stay with him. My mom was happy that I was safe. The manager said, “I am sorry it took a while to find you.” My dad said, “It’s okay. We got him back.” Then we watched the game. “I will never disobey you again,” I said. The Capitals scored. Everyone was cheering. I think I was cheering the loudest.  I was happy to be safe with my family. 

 

Math

 

                                  

Students are learning that division is the inverse of multiplication.  Students have examined the difference between multiplication and division situations.

                      

The class will be solving multiplication and division number stories. Students are developing an understanding that if one of the factors in a multiplication equation are missing they can use their knowledge of multiplication facts to find the missing factor.

 

Students should be practicing multiplication facts from 0 through 10 in order to become adept at multiplication and help them with division as well.  

 

                                      

 

Social Studies

Students will start the new unit on explorers with a KWL Chart.  Then students will learn about the Vikings and the previously mentioned North American Explorers. Students will connect their learning in social studies to reading informational text.

                           

 

Students have done a fantastic job with the READING AT HOME program this year.  Let's continue that momentum!!!

 

                                              

 

Will the Ground Hog See His Shadow?

 

February 2, 2015

 

Language Arts

 

Students are engaged in reading international folktales. They learned the difference between folktales and tall tales.                 

 

 

                    

 

                                          

 

 

Students are reading folktales and comparing and contrasting them.  Students had the opportunity to read The Seven Chinese Brothers and wrote a summary of the story. Next students read The Five Chinese Brothers.  Following this, they discussed the similarities and differences in these two books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to the ASCD (the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) 

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/110126/chapters/Section-1@-Why-Compare-$-Contrast%C2%A2.aspx

Comparative thinking is one of our first and most natural forms of thought. When we are infants, one of the first differences we must identify is that between mother and other. Without the ability to make comparisons—to set one object or idea against another and take note of similarities and differences—much of what we call learning would quite literally be impossible.

You may be wondering why we want to look so closely at comparative thinking. What makes it so special? The answer lies in the research of renowned educators Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock (2001). By compiling the available research on effective instruction, Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock found that strategies that engage students in comparative thinking had the greatest effect on student achievement, leading to an average percentile gain of 45 points (p. 7f). More recently, Marzano's research in The Art and Science of Teaching (2007) reconfirmed that asking students to identify similarities and differences through comparative analysis leads to eye-opening gains in student achievement.

Although comparative thinking is a natural operation of our minds and is essential to learning.

 Writing

In writing, students are in the process of writing a personal narrative about a lesson learned. First the class discussed stories they read over the course of the year.  Then students decided the lesssons the characters learned in these stories.  After this, students brainstormed ideas that they could use for their writing piece. Finally, students wrote seed ideas in their writer's notebook to use when they start writing their stories. Stay tuned for the finished products.

 

 

Math

Students will start a new unit on multiplication. In this unit students will use the concept of arrays as a way to see the factors and find the product in a multiplication problem.

                                     

Students will find different ways to form arrays for particular numbers.  As a result, students visually determine that a given number has multiple factors. Students will then use arrays to find factors of numbers up to 50 and will identify the features of numbers. 

 

Students can more readily develop an understanding of multiplication concepts if they see visual representations of the computation process. For example, they can picture students in a marching band arranged in equal rows or chairs set up in rows in an auditorium. These arrangements all have something in common; they are all in rows and columns. An arrangement of objects, pictures, or numbers in columns and rows is called an array. Arrays are useful representations of multiplication concepts.

This array has 4 rows and 3 columns. It can also be described as a 4 by 3 array.

This array has 5 rows and 4 columns. It is a 5 by 4 array.

Notice that the rows in each array are equal. Think of the rows as equal groups. Look at this example.

When equal groups are arranged in equal rows, an array is formed.

When you show students the connection between equal groups and arrays, students can easily understand how to use arrays to multiply. They will use arrays again later to divide.

Look at the multiplication sentence that describes the array below. The numbers in multiplication sentences have special names.

The numbers that are multiplied are called factors. The answer is called the product.

Now look at what happens to the factors and product in the multiplication sentence when the array is turned on its side.

The order of the factors changed, but the product stayed the same. http://www.eduplace.com/math/mw/background/3/05/te_3_05_overview.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Week of January 19, 2015

Language Arts

Students will engage in reading tall tales. 

             

 They will identify the characteristics of this genre.

 

 

 

                    

Tall Tales from Mr. M

 

 

Students will listen to the story of Paul Bunyan and then listen to the story of The Bunyans.

 

     

 

 

 

 After they will work on summarizing these stories, students will compare and contrast these two stories. 

 

                            

 

 

 

 

 In addition, students will watch a video of Paul Bunyan and come to the understanding there are various versions of this story.

 

 

                      

 

 

Mathematics

Students are learning about using fractions on a number line.

 

 

           

 

 

They will discover ways to find equivalents on a number line as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

                 

 

 

Science

 

Students will finalize their study of the moon.  Students have learned that the earth revolves around the sun and that the moon revolves around the earth. They have also learned the phases of the moon and are keeping a moon log to reinforce their understanding of the moon phases.