We had a fun filled first week in 3A! The first few days were spent on learning classroom routines and participating in activities to get to know each other better.
The students had a great time playing "All About Me" four corners. They were asked questions about themselves and then had to move to the appropriate corner depending on their answers.
If you drop just one pop can out the window, it's no big deal.....right? But what if everybody did that? We read "What if Everybody Did That?" by Ellen Javernick this week. We discussed what it would be like if everybody disobeyed the rules and what the consequences would be if everybody engaged in thoughtless behaviour in the classroom.
Following is the curricular summary for the week:
Language Arts
Favourite Summer Memory
The first writing project this year involved having the students write about their summer vacation. We read the story "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" by Mark Teague as a mentor text. The students were then asked to write a paragraph about their "Favourite Summer Memories." They completed rough drafts and will be writing their good copies at the beginning of the week.
The Amazing Race
Our "Amazing Race" home reading program began this week. The students coloured their airplanes and they are ready to take off to their first destination,
which is India. Details about the "Amazing Race" reading program came home on earlier in the week.
With our home reading program up and running, it's important that the students know how to choose books that are a "good fit." In addition to our levelled books, the students have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of books grouped by interest, author or genre in our classroom library. By allowing the students to pick their own home reading books, we increase their motivation to read. When choosing interest books, it's important that we know if a book is a "good fit" for us. Please ask your child to demonstrate how to select a "good fit book" at home.
I began our Reader's Workshop by reading Thank you, Mr. Falker to the students. The author, Patricia Polacco, writes from her own experience about having trouble learning to read and the humiliation of being bullied. By introducing this theme in the first week of school, we began to set a positive expectation for success in reading.
The students were so excited to start handwriting this week!
This year our class will be using the Jump Math program. This program builds on the belief that every child can be successful at mathematics by promoting a positive learning environment and building confidence through praise and encouragement. Jump Math allows students to achieve understanding and mastery of math by breaking it down into sequential, guided steps, while still allowing students to make new discoveries.
We began our math with a "Confidence Building" unit called the Fractions Challenge. It is designed to help students become more confident about their math abilities and to raise their level of enthusiasm for the subject. I was so happy to see that all of the students were excited about learning fractions, including the ones who originally felt that math was difficult. They were so proud of their work!
The students also enjoyed playing a few math facts games like Addition War and Soldier Salute.
Science
We began our first unit in science on Rocks and Minerals. The students also started putting together their Rocks and Minerals Lapbook. A lapbook is simply a file folder that contains a variety of mini-books, foldables, and other material that cover detailed information about the lapbook's topic. It's a fun and engaging way display and interact with information, rather than using the traditional "worksheet."
PE
The focus of PE this month is cooperative games. One of the games the students really enjoyed playing this week was "Cowboy, Hotdog, Pizza and Timbits!"
On Friday the students enjoyed a special presentation by Rodzilla who performed a science illusion and magic show. A few of our friends from 3A even had the opportunity to help Rodzilla with some of his tricks!
We also celebrated one of our friends birthdays this week. Happy Birthday Miss P!
Have a great weekend everyone!
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