Friday, September 6, 2019

Sept. 3 - Sept. 6

In grade three this week...





We had a wonderful first week in grade three! Students became acquainted and reacquainted with one another, got a feel for their new classroom and the routines, and got to know us, their teachers.

The students explored the books new to them in our classroom library. Then they had a chance to pick out some books and practice their quiet, independent reading. The students enjoyed finding spaces that work best for them to read in the classroom, such as the carpet with pillows, library chairs, or at tables. Students were also able to request some books that they would like to see in our library. Next week, students will be able to choose their own books from the learning commons which they are welcome to bring home to read with you!

We shared a number of read alouds this week to set the tone for our classroom. These books focused on building a compassionate, empathetic, thoughtful, and kind community. They also focused on ideas, creativity, collaboration, and design. At the end of the week, we even had a student ask for a book that she found to be read during snack because she thought that it went along with “the theme of the books we have been reading.” This book was called The Peace Book and shared different meanings of peace. Ask your child to tell you one book they enjoyed listening to this week.

To get to know the students better, they shared an All About Me page. This work gave us more information about the students, such as some of their favourite things, friends, and family. They chose how to share their information. The choices were through using a web, list, pictures with labels, or sentences. Ask your child which way they represented their information.

Students played different math games using cards. To start, they used cards to find the greatest number and also to determine the difference. Another game that the students played was using cards to make ten. For this game, students made three rows of five cards. They then found two cards to add together to make ten. It was great to see students finding different ways to find the appropriate sum. It was also exciting to see the problem solving that surfaced from this task. For example, some students asked if they could add three numbers together to make ten or if they could add as well as subtract a number of cards to make ten. Ask your child to show you how to play this game!

Because our Twitter name is @designerthr33s and our blog is designerthr33s.blogspot.com, our class had a discussion about the significance of these names. We talked about the meaning of the word “design”. Students determined that to them, design means “creating something from an idea or ideas.” We then discussed how this year, students would be designing many things! To start off, this week, students designed a book bin name tag after creating a class list of criteria. Students decided that their designs should include their name (that should be big and pop out), colours, details, border/frame, and pictures. They then used this list of criteria to complete their design. Ask your child what they included in their book bin name tag and why.

Students explored the work of Wassily Kandinsky. They determined that this artist’s work includes lines, shapes, and colours. It is also abstract. One student explained that abstract art is so fun because there aren’t any rules! Students then used their own ideas to create a piece of artwork modelled after Kandinsky. They also worked on giving one another feedback by asking each other, “What have I done well?” and “What can I work on?” They used the ideas of their peers to make their work even better!

In P.E., students played a variety of cooperative games, such as line tag, cat tag, and number tag while also reviewing important ways to stay safe in the gym.

Reminders
-A Coco Brooks pizza form was sent home on Friday. If you would like to order pizza for the Welcome Back Picnic on Thursday, Sept. 19th, please return the form by the end of the day on Monday, Sept. 16th.
-If you have not yet returned the forms that were sent home in the brown envelopes on Monday, please do so as soon as you can.

Upcoming Dates
Sept 10 – School Council 7:00 pm
Sept 17 – Gr 5/6 Winsport Field trip
Sept 19 – Welcome Back Picnic
Sept 19 – Conferences 3:30 – 7:00
Sept 20 – Conferences 8:00 – 12:00
Sept 27 – Terry Fox Run
Sept 30 – Orange Shirt Day