Character Projects

The class has been working on character projects for the last two weeks!  They finally presented their poster to the class this week.  For this project each group had to choose from a list of books and read the book together.  Then, they had to fill out a planning sheet about their character.  What they were expected to include on their poster was: the name of the character, a picture of their character, four character traits about their character that provided evidence from the text to support that character trait, things their character loved, what their character was thinking, and the places their character went in the story.  After each group presented, the audience was asked to give the group a compliment and then one goal or area to work on for next time.  Here is how they turned out!!!!

Last Week's Happenings

Last week in science, we were exploring how molecules move in the different types of matter.  The students were given fruit loops, which were our molecules.  They had to glue them onto their sheet to represent how matter moves.

We learned that solids don't have room
to move because the molecules are packed closely together.

We learned that liquids have a little of room to move around, but can bump into each other.

Lastly, we learned that gases can move freely and have lots of space to move.

In math, the students worked on their first rich problem of the year.  These types of problems can take up to two days to solve.  They worked very hard on figuring out what the problem was asking, using math tools, and using accountable math talk to problem solve!  Here was the problem:

                                                    Heads and Feet
On a farm there were some hens and sheep.  Altogether there were 8 heads and 22 feet.  How many hens were there?

Here was some of the thinking and strategies that the class came up with.....

       

Friend Wanted?

This week, during writing workshop we began writing our friend wanted ads.  Our friendship advertisements allowed us to first brainstorm a list of qualities and traits we look for in a friend, and what qualities we have to offer as a friend.  Then we created advertisements for the school to read, in hopes of finding some new friends.  We asked the students at Riverside to read our ads and if they think they would be a good friend for someone rip the name and class number from the bottom of their advertisement.  Then they can find the person during lunch, recess, or before or after school and let them know they want to be their friend.  This is how some of them turned out:

Wondering About Matter?

This week and next, we will be focusing on matter.  To begin our unit of study, we created a chart.  I asked the class what they knew and wondered about matter.  Here is what they came up with:

                                                   

                                                  

Then, they began researching their wonders on Pebblego, Big Universe, and BigRex.  We were really focusing on the habits of thinkers during this time, such as, Thinkers Ask Questions and Thinkers Collaborate and Communicate with each other.  They did a GREAT job!

Working HARD on Rounding!

Hello and thanks for visiting our blog to see what's happening in our third grade classroom!  We have been working hard on rounding numbers to the nearest 10 and 100.  One strategy we have been using is our Rounding Rap.

http://matt-allison.blogspot.com                                      

Playing a matching game to help practice rounding

Working on recording information

THUMBS UP to rounding!!!!!

Using accountable math talk to find the rounding matches!

We have also been practicing rounding using an open number line.  The kids start by writing the two multiples of ten (or hundred), the number in the middle, which is the number that is halfway between the two numbers on the number line, and then place the number they are rounding to on the number line.  Here is an example:

                                

The learning goal is to understand the process and be able to explain and prove their thinking in words or out loud, rather than the product itself.