Apr. 10 - 13th

We had a short, but very busy week in 3A.

Following is curricular update for the week:

Language Arts

We continued to work on our Fairy Tales this week. The students created a problem and a solution for their hero/heroine.

 Next, the students learned how to add details in solving their character's problem.

The students then finalized their story elements.

Finally, the students learned how to write the events in their story and to use transition or "glue" words.

Math

This week the following concepts were covered in math:

- finding patterns in the multiplication of even numbers and practicing multiplication facts for even numbers, particularly for 2, 4, and 6.
 - finding patterns in the multiplication of odd numbers and practicing multiplication facts for odd numbers, particularly for multiples of 3 and 7.

Science

Survivor Challenge: What a success! We haven't been on the island for very long but have already found a bit of food and now we have some shelter. We do have one problem though! The rain has started to come down quickly and it is beginning to make small puddles around our sleeping area. We are also worried that with the amount of rain falling, the river not far from us may begin to flood. We need to raise the area where we are going to sleep so that it is not on the ground. We head back to the plane and grab another large piece of tin for the floor of our shelter. It won't be the softest place to sleep but at least we will be out of the puddles and safe if the river floods. We drag the tin back to our shelter and start thinking about how we are going to raise it above the ground. Deagan decides that we should use some tree stumps near by to make a pillar to hold up the floor.

Which design will hold the most weight? Should we use one larger pillar in the center or four smaller pillars in each of the corners of our tin floor?

Conclusion: Four smaller pillars hold more mass than one large pillar in the middle.

Survivor Challenge: Great job building a sturdy table for our shelter! We've been on the island for a few days now. All that we've eaten are some bananas and a few berries. Kade and Kadie decide that they would like to look for more food, while the others work on a plan to get off the island. They need a way to carry the food back to our shelter. Ryder suggests that they make some sort of a backpack. Suzzie finds some tree bark and leaves that they could use to make the bags. We aren't sure which material will work best to hold the food. We will need to test the two materials to determine which one will support more mass.

The testable question is:  Will different stocks of paper support different mass?

Conclusion:  Construction paper supports more mass than bond paper.

Survivor Challenge: Great job building the backpacks out of tree bark!  While searching for food, Maddox came across a source of fresh drinking water.  Taven and Ava decided to head back to the plane to find containers to store the fresh water in.  However, the fresh water supply is limited , so we need to test the bottles to determine which will be the best to store our water safely.  The shape of the container will affect its stability.

Testable Question:  Will all shapes of containers be equally stable?

Using four different shapes and sizes of containers, the students tested which would be the most stable.  The students discovered that the size of the base affects the stability of the container.  As well the taller the container is the wider the base needs to be for stability.

PE

We had a great time this week doing "Drum Fit" in Phys Ed!

Art 

The students completed their "optical illusion" kites this week. They are now on display in our hallway.

Thank you to Mrs. Delbridge for making the cute Easter treats!