Optional Math Challenge: Due 10/4

Throughout the year, I will be posting optional math challenges to this blog. These challenges are voluntary and are designed to extend students' math thinking outside of school. They are to be completed at home and turned in by the due date listed.

The first challenge may be found: here. Happy problem solving!

Classroom Update: September 26, 2015

We are working on building strong reading routines in the classroom. We continue to increase our independent reading stamina. Later in the fall, students will meet their first grade “book buddies.” In preparation for this, students practiced reading aloud with expression. I’ve loved talking with students about the books that they’re currently enjoying!

 

In writing, students continued to collect ideas for personal narrative stories. Most recently, we brainstormed and wrote about a place that is important to us.

In math, we represented numbers using Base Ten Blocks. These are tools that help students visualize numbers according to place value.

 

In social studies, we learned about landmarks around the New England states. Today, students embarked on a webquest to learn more facts about the state of Massachusetts.

We also conducted another engineering challenge today. Teams were challenged to construct a pyramid out of plastic cups without using their hands. Students were given only a piece of string to build their pyramids. I was impressed by their creative solutions to this challenge! 

Classroom Update: September 18, 2015

In math, we have been working on solving addition problems. I have encouraged students to try solving problems in more than one way, which supports flexible mathematical thinking. We continue to share many strategies for solving addition problems with each other. I will be sending out resources on these strategies soon!

In English Language Arts, we have been working on building independent reading stamina. We have defined reading stamina as the number of minutes that we can read without interruption. This week, we also explored different literary genres. We defined the genres of realistic fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy.

In writing, we began our first unit of personal narratives. Personal narratives are true stories from the author’s life. One way we brainstormed ideas for personal narratives was by thinking about a person who matters to us.

In social studies, we have continued our mapping unit. We labeled maps of the New England region. Next, we will narrow our focus to the state of Massachusetts.

Today, we participated in our first engineering challenge of the year. Teams of students were given a box of 100 paper clips. They were challenged to design a paper clip chain that would withstand the most weight. Next week, we will continue testing our chains and evaluating their designs.

As few reminders...

• Picture Day is Tuesday, September 22nd. Our class is scheduled to have pictures taken at the end of the school day.
• There is no school on Wednesday, September 23rd

Classroom Update: September 11, 2015

Week one of the 2015-2016 school year is in the books! It has been so nice getting to know each of the students in our class. I know we're in for a fabulous year together! 

I will be posting learning updates to this blog throughout the year. To the left you will see a photo of our "I Can" board, which summarizes the objectives that we are working to meet. More details on our work in each of the subject areas may be found below.

In math this week, students explored their "BMW's" (Big Math Workbooks) and picked out activities that they are excited to participate in this year. We began our first unit of the year, which will be focused on strategies for addition and subtraction. To kickoff this unit, we played a game called "Close to 100." The game involves estimating sums of two-digit numbers. 

In reading, we discussed strategies for selecting "just right" books--books that aren't too hard or too easy. One strategy for selecting books involves the acronym P.I.C.K. When picking just right books, readers consider their Purpose, Interests, Comprehension, and if they Know most of the words in the text. Another useful strategy for selecting just right books is the "Five Finger Rule." The five finger rule is a quick way to gauge if the language of the text is at an appropriate level of difficulty.  

 

In reading this week, we also practiced a way to track our thinking while reading. By "stopping and jotting" their thinking on sticky notes as they read, students recorded their reactions to their selected texts. 

In writing, students sketched out the "pieces of their hearts" and created a visual similar to the one below. These pieces will serve as inspiration for writing topics later in the year. We also took time to write about our hopes and dreams for third grade. These are the goals that students wish to accomplish by the end of the year. As a class, we will be supporting each other in meeting our respective goals. On Friday, we explored using the school iPads for the first time. This is a tool that students will be using for their writing in third grade.

Our first social studies unit will be focused on mapping and local history. We began this week by learning about map features, such as labels, key, scales, and the compass rose. Students made maps of their own imaginary towns to practice these map features. We also played a game of four corners to practice the cardinal directions, North, South, East, and West. Ask your child how they liked playing the game! :) 

I can't believe these first few days went by so fast! Next week, we will dive further into the typical routines and schedule that we will be implementing for the rest of the year. Weekly homework assignments will not begin until the week of September 21st. I'm looking forward to another exciting week!