Walk down the 3rd grade hall, and your heart will fill with patriotic pride and awe when you see the handcrafted models of our nation’s national monuments and symbols. Every 3rd grader selected a monument or symbol, conducted research, and in our class, wrote and typed up an informational report. Today, we toured the artwork, wrote positive feedback and comments, folded a National Landmark cootie catcher to study for a Landmark quiz. The kids are so proud of their work, I really appreciate your support and guidance at home!
Thanks to our generous PTA, 3rd grade now has eleven LEGO WeDo2.0 coding sets. Because our class reported different levels of LEGO experience between the genders, our ½ class art is now gender based. This week, the girls went to art and the boys spent an hour with me and used the kits to build and code rovers similar to the Mars rover, Curiosity. Our prior coding lessons on Code.org were excellent preparation for this activity, and the boys had a ball…they had rovers driving all over our classroom. Later in the week, when I read a book about the Mars rover the boys were especially excited to see that the LEGO rover looks almost identical. Way to connect to the real world, LEGO! This Monday, we will flip flop and the girls will build and code.
On Thursday, we kicked off our IB weather unit. The central (big) idea is; We can predict and prepare for the effects of changing weather patterns and climate. Our lines of inquiry are; how we predict weather, the difference between weather and climate, preparing for weather related events, and changing weather and climate patterns locally and globally. We kicked off the unit by looking at a bunch of weather pictures and books posted around the room. We then talked about our preferences regarding weather, did a bit of research about our local weather, and finally met a 3rd grade class in Winchester, Virginia in a live video chat. The two classes asked and answered questions about weather, outdoor activities, favorite pastimes, etc. It was such fun to use technology to meet our new friends! Your child also read a riveting article about the Joplin tornado, and watched a video by Lauren Tarsish, the author of the “I Survived” book series.
One of the beauties of the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework is that I will be able to wrap language arts, math, science, social studies and art together in this weather unit, building a rich and engaging learning experience for your child. Be sure to keep asking
Global Play Day was a blast! Here’s what your children told me they learned: “I learned how to stop an argument”, “I learned that being cooped up in side is not where you should always be.” “I learned to be creative and find some solutions for boredom.” “I learned to make friends with little kids.” “I learned how to entertain myself and not be bored.” Some pretty great life lessons, eh?
Thanks to our generous PTA, 3rd grade now has eleven LEGO WeDo2.0 coding sets. Because our class reported different levels of LEGO experience between the genders, our ½ class art is now gender based. This week, the girls went to art and the boys spent an hour with me and used the kits to build and code rovers similar to the Mars rover, Curiosity. Our prior coding lessons on Code.org were excellent preparation for this activity, and the boys had a ball…they had rovers driving all over our classroom. Later in the week, when I read a book about the Mars rover the boys were especially excited to see that the LEGO rover looks almost identical. Way to connect to the real world, LEGO! This Monday, we will flip flop and the girls will build and code.
On Thursday, we kicked off our IB weather unit. The central (big) idea is; We can predict and prepare for the effects of changing weather patterns and climate. Our lines of inquiry are; how we predict weather, the difference between weather and climate, preparing for weather related events, and changing weather and climate patterns locally and globally. We kicked off the unit by looking at a bunch of weather pictures and books posted around the room. We then talked about our preferences regarding weather, did a bit of research about our local weather, and finally met a 3rd grade class in Winchester, Virginia in a live video chat. The two classes asked and answered questions about weather, outdoor activities, favorite pastimes, etc. It was such fun to use technology to meet our new friends! Your child also read a riveting article about the Joplin tornado, and watched a video by Lauren Tarsish, the author of the “I Survived” book series.
One of the beauties of the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework is that I will be able to wrap language arts, math, science, social studies and art together in this weather unit, building a rich and engaging learning experience for your child. Be sure to keep asking
Global Play Day was a blast! Here’s what your children told me they learned: “I learned how to stop an argument”, “I learned that being cooped up in side is not where you should always be.” “I learned to be creative and find some solutions for boredom.” “I learned to make friends with little kids.” “I learned how to entertain myself and not be bored.” Some pretty great life lessons, eh?
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