November 13 - 17

We had a very busy week in 3A that was full of fun and learning. As it gets colder outside, please remember to have your child dress appropriately for the weather.

Reading Workshop

We finished reading Freckle Juice this week. We focused on vocabulary words before reading each chapter to enhance the students'  comprehension of the text. 

After completing the book we discussed the difference between a "fact" and an "opinion." A fact is a statement that is true and can be proven. In other words, a fact is true and correct no matter what. An opinion, however, is a statement that tells how someone feels. An opinion is not always true and cannot be proven. The students were asked to apply their knowledge to identify if statements about Freckle Juice were "fact" or "opinion."

The students will continue to work through some more activities next week based on the novel. They loved the book so much that they may even write the next chapter of the story.

The students in 3A are very serious about their home reading. Thank you for encouraging your child and helping them with their reading goals. Congratulations to those students who made it to the next pit stop this week.

We also had one student who has made it all the way around the world. He got to trade his airplane in for a jet fighter.

Writing Workshop

During Writing Workshop this week the students were introduced to persuasive writing.  Persuasive writing is all about expressing a strong opinion and trying to convince your readers to agree with you.  Using "I am the Cat, I am the Dog" by Donald Hall as a mentor text, as well as the article entitled "Cats vs. Dogs," the students were asked to compare and contrast the two animals.  After comparing and contrasting the animals, the students began writing an opinion paragraph about which animal would make a better pet - cats or dogs? They will the complete their good copies next week.

Math

In math the following objectives were covered:

• read and write number words for any number between 0 and 99.
• read and write number words for three-digit numbers.
• practice interchanging between the various number representations covered thus far (number words, base ten blocks, and expanded form) for one-, two-, and three-digit numbers. 

The students enjoyed playing a new game called "Place Value Dice Game." The goal of the game was to create the largest number possible by rolling three "9 sided" dice.

Science

We reviewed how sound is the result of vibration. By extending a ruler over the edge of a desk and pulling down on the ruler, the students were able to observe the different "pitches" that the ruler made. We were able to measure the highness and lowness of sound according to how far out the ruler was extended. The length of the ruler determines the "pitch" of the sound. High and low sounds depend on how fast an object vibrates. When the ruler was vibrating faster, we heard a high sound. A longer ruler makes a lower sound and a shorter ruler makes a higher sound.

We also learned about how our voices work. I asked the students to put their fingers on their throat.  They were able to feel a bump that moved when they swallowed.  The students were asked to make different sounds and feel their throats at the same time. We discussed that the bump is called the voice box, or larynx. Inside the larynx there are two thin bands called vocal cords.  When air is pushed past the vocal cords, they vibrate and make sounds.

Please click on the link below to view a quick video showing you how humans make sound.

How the Voice Works

Art

In Art the students created an "Owl Moon" painting and silhouette inspired by Jane Yolen’s Owl Moon book. This quiet, simple story filled with descriptive language and metaphors. The watercolor illustrations allude to the stillness of a winter’s night and the magical feeling a child gets when going on a special adventure for the first time. We watched the video version of the book as an introduction for the lesson. The video can be viewed by clicking on the following link:

Owl Moon

Afterwards, the students created a "value" landscape using acrylic paint. Value is going from light to dark with any colour. If you add white to a color you get a lighter colour which is called Tint. Artists add value to an object to make it look 3-dimensional on a 2-dimensional surface. The students painted their moon first in white and then gradually added darker shades of blue in a circular motion, being careful to blend the paint as they went along. Finally the students added a silhouette of a tree and an owl to complete their composition.

Student of the Week

A big shout out to our Student of the Week!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!