Catie's Third Grade Class Blog: Weekly Update-Catie's Class

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Weekly Update-Catie's Class

Math

Last week, we worked on creating efficient strategies for solving 2 and 3 digit addition problems. We’ll continue looking at strategies for 2 and 3 digit subtraction problems next week. I will add a post to the blog in the coming days about the variety of strategies that students are bringing to the classroom and the strategies that I am teaching.

Writer’s Workshop

Last week we focused on drafting our Chinook Personal Narratives. We especially focused on writing Great Beginnings and paragraphing. Students should finish drafting during the Thanksgiving Break so that we can begin revising and editing their stories when they return. Right now I am tentatively planning on an Author’s Tea on Friday, Dec. 14th - mark your calendars and I will confirm the date and time soon.

Reader’s Workshop

Last week we continued working on summarizing what we are reading. The students are getting better at this, but we need to continue practicing. The key thing with summarizing is not trying to retell the entire book/chapter, but focusing on main ideas. This is a difficult thing for many third graders to do. You can support this at home by having them verbally (or occasionally in writing) summarize what they are reading.

Chinook

Last week, there was a fire set near our village....but it was intentional. The students learned about why native tribes would sometimes set intentional fires in the forest. We also did a science lab to learn about what fire needs in order to exist.

Salmon

Our salmon are growing quickly. We are getting a variety of estimates on the amount of time until they will need to be released. My guess at this point is that they will need to be released next week. We’ve been given strict orders from Oregon Fish & Wildlife to not release these salmon into a small creek, so we will need to release them into the Willamette. Right now, let’s plan on a Salmon Release for Friday, Nov. 30th at 3:30 pm on the submarine dock at OMSI. Students will need to get rides to this event. Maureen will transfer the salmon to buckets and bring cups so that each child who attends can release some of the salmon into the Willamette River.

Ask Your Third Grader...

I’d love to hear your personal narrative. Can you read it to me?
Why would the Chinook and other tribes set intentional fires?
What does fire need in order to exist? How do you know this? Is fire alive?
What are you thankful for?

Important Things Coming Up...

Nov. 24 - Chief Lelooska Performance 7 pm
Nov. 30 - Salmon Release at OMSI 3:30 pm
Dec. 6 - Potlatch 12:30-3:00 pm
Dec. 7 - Forest Festival 5:00-8:00 pm

Thanks for sending such grateful students to school each day,

Catie

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If your child is absent due to an illness I am happy to provide an overview of the work they missed in class that day or for those days they are out sick. Inevitably there are times when trips need to happen during the school year and your student should be assured that although they are missing class time, I encourage them to embrace the learning opportunities outside the walls of our school. Parents often ask me for a packet to bring along to keep their child engaged in some learning and kept busy in a car or on a plane, but I don't assign "trip work" packets. Trips on their own have the potential to be rich learning experiences from airport or car, to destination and back. Instead I ask that students keep a journal, photo journal or scrapbook of their trip which could be shared with me upon their return to class. They are also welcome to share these with the class, but I don't require them to do so. Finding a secret spot and having a special little journal in hand in which to write and sketch what they see is infinitely more valuable to your child than me giving them a story prompt. If you do want your child to have some 3rd grade-level busy work during travel you could visit Learning Palace or a similar store to purchase 3rd grade skills workbooks. The following are some ideas for meaningful learning during trips:

Math:
Have your child use math, reading and writing skills as often as possible. Have them pay for things and count change or add up the coins received back, use maps, figure out elapsed time or the time an activity took to complete, compare prices of menu items, look for patterns in nature or architecture, estimate the time it will take to complete an activity, collect data of some kind and create a bar graph (cars vs. trucks on a five mile stretch of road or the kinds of people around you on the plane who order soda vs. juice for example), etc.

Writing:
Have them bring their writer's notebook or more fun, have them choose and buy a special little notebook just for the trip where they can sketch possible characters, special spots or images to use in future writing. Everyone and everything they see can be given new life as a character or setting in future writing. A little set of colored pencils or tiny watercolors to go along with it can make it more fun as well. Have your child write and mail a postcard or letter to our class (even if it arrives after they return). Our school's address is 3421 SE Salmon St., PDX 97214. Thank you notes for guest accommodations or for hotel operators is always fun, too.

Reading:
Trips can be made more fun if your child is taken to the library or to Powell's for a special trip book or two. Perhaps they could visit a local book store at your destination where they can choose a book to read or purchase for the time they are there or for the trip back. As time permits, be sure they read at least 30 minutes or more each day.

Science or Social Studies:
We study rocks and minerals in 3rd grade and it's always a joy for kids when we begin this unit in winter to bring in a special rock from a place they have visited during the year. We also learn about the first peoples who lived on this land long before white settlers came to what is now known as Portland. It can be interesting for kids to learn about other first peoples who lived in places you visit. Just learning a bit about the history of a new place with a city walking tour, nature hike, scenic route or collecting little souvenirs or scraps can be fun for your child as well.