In grade three this
week…
To further develop their reading comprehension, students
focused on the strategy of “making text to world” connections. They worked hard
to connect what they read to things happening in the world or to people who are
making a difference in the world. We started by reading the story Anything
is Possible by Giulia Belloni. Students discussed prominent people in the
world, including the Wright brothers, Greta Thunberg, and Bianca Andreescu. The
students discussed how these people, like the characters in the book, worked
hard and persevered.
The students looked at images of the “Big Rock” in Okotoks
and made guesses as to how the rock got there. Some students used their prior
scientific knowledge and thought that the movement of the plate tectonics or a
rock slide had resulted in the location of the “Big Rock”. Other students
guessed that perhaps people moved it there, piece by piece. Following this,
students heard the Blackfoot Story of Napi. This Blackfoot story explains how
the rock got there. We looked closer at the Blackfoot story and discussed the
importance of oral story telling in the Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and
doing. Students identified how important it is for stories to be told from one
generation to the next. To first start practicing telling their own oral
stories, students used picture books. They told the stories through the
pictures, rather than reading any words. Then, to help the students orally
retell the Story of Napi, they drew important parts and details of the story in
sequential order. They decided that the beginning should include the characters
and setting, the middle should include the problem, and the ending should
include the solution. After working on their drawings, students worked hard to
orally retell the Story of Napi, using their pictures as a plan to follow. If
your child hasn’t shared the story already, ask them to retell it to you this
weekend.
Just like stories follow a pattern, students identified that
many other things in life follow patterns as well. Students thought about
patterns that they know of including time, seasons, days of the week, numbers,
life cycle, and water. Then, they looked closer at number patterns. Students
worked on patterns going forwards and backwards by 3s, 4s, 5s, 10s, 25s, and
100s. Counting up or down by 25s seemed to be the most challenging so students
practiced numbers following this particular pattern a bit more and showed
growth throughout the week.
Students shared their prior knowledge about rocks,
especially when discussing how the “Big Rock” in Okotoks came to be. This
coming week, we will investigate the scientific reason as to how that rock came
to its current location. We will then look closely at the rock cycle.
Through looking at the “Big Rock” in Okotoks, students have
started to discover our similarities and differences through Indigenous and
Western perspectives. They are recognizing that our needs are connected by
commonalities and there are relationships between our differences.
In PE, students worked on their fitness by participating in
a variety of stations. Some of the stations were sit ups, skipping, running,
and wall sits. Ask your child which station was their favourite.
To celebrate Halloween, students created zentangles by
drawing a variety of patterns. They were excited to bring these home to share
with you!
Reminders
-If you choose to order Scholastic, please order by Nov. 7
-The Remembrance Day Assembly is on Nov. 8 at 10:30 am.
Families are invited to attend.
Upcoming Dates
-Nov 4-7 > Gr 4-6 Swimming
-Nov 8 > Remembrance Day Assembly
-Nov 11 > No School > Remembrance Day
-Nov 13 > Photo Retakes
-Nov 13 > Elder Shirley
-Nov 15 > Elder Shirley
-Nov 21-22 > Parent Teacher Conferences
-Nov 21 > No School for Kinder only
-Nov 21 > No School for Kinder only
