|
3F students have been very busy this week across the curriculum! Students are totally in awe of Wampanoag life. Computer Lab on Monday introduced students to the Wampanoag homes, clothing, food, etc. On a “Morning Message,” students wrote sentences about Wampanoag life. They underlined the most important noun, the main idea, of the sentence. In this way, students created their own “categories” to research in order to make “Trading Cards” about different aspects of the Wampanoag lives in the 1600’s.
Students will use a “variety of sources” to complete their research. The book Tapenum, by Kate Waters, is one source students heard this week. Students listened to the book, carefully observing the photographs, taking notes about this “want to be” warrior’s life. (Come and read our poems about the Wampanoag Warrior in the hallway of our classroom)! This coming week, another source will be the textbook third graders use in Brookline. Students will locate the pages in the text that relate to their Wampanoag topic and take notes on two column organizers. Students wrote a lot of “thick” questions about their topics to guide their research. There are a variety of books students can use in the classroom to further their research and answer those questions. When all the notes have been taken, there is another graphic organizer students will use to write a topic sentence for their trading card, and supporting sentences. Students will write a concluding sentence at the end. The “original” trading card students will make will be 3-D. I bought feathers, brown felt, stones, pipe cleaners, etc, so students make a 3-D scene. During Computer Lab, students will fill out a template Mr. Padula and I made to print out times four to trade and share information with other students in a “jigsaw,” like we did during our New England map shares. When Mrs. Fairley comes back, she will introduce the students to the Pilgrims, and student learning will continue! (My last day will be the last day in January). In math, students are loving learning about fractions in depth. On Friday, students took fraction rods to find equivalent fractions for one half. I wrote down all of the equivalent fractions they discovered for ½, and students noticed that the numerator was always half of the denominator! Knowing that, students created many more equivalent fractions to ½. Meanwhile, there is a huge number line on the 3F rug, consisting of numbers 1-4. In between each “large” inch, we created eighths. Students took turns placing fractions in the right spot on the number line. Looking at the number line, students were able to write many number sentences on a “Morning Message,” telling which fraction was smaller than another. SEEING is believing! This coming week, students will continue to find equivalent fractions, and begin to solve word problems involving fractions. As always, students will SHOW their work, in class and for homework. Students continue to read a variety of Winter poems, and answer comprehension questions about each poem. This is one of my favorite times of the day, listening to students thoughtful responses, taking risks to say what they think, and using evidence from the poem to back up their thinking. Students continue to write poems during literacy, using the “poetic tricks” they learn as they read from poet mentors. So far, students have written poems about the Winter, Martin Luther King Jr., and a Wampanoag Warrior. As students continue to write their poems, individual books of poetry can be “published” by each child to have and to hold forever! (These books will be part of each child’s portfolio). Students are loving reading their books by Grace Lin! I have taken up each reading group almost every day. By the time Grace Lin comes to Baker School, students will be able to ask her “thick” questions about her work as a writer, and questions about the books they are reading. Students are also learning about the Chinese culture as they continue to read each chapter book! Congratulations to Ben Kasen this week for reading his Martin Luther King Jr. poem to gathered students during the Martin Luther King Jr. assembly! Not only was Ben’s poem informative, but every two of his lines rhymed, without taking away the seriousness of the information he imparted. This is no easy task! I could not be prouder of 3-F!!!!!! Every child in this class is working so hard to achieve high in all subject areas! It has been an honor and a pleasure to teach this class for four months! This will be my last blog. I want to thank all of the parents for their support during my stay! It is hard to leave the students I have come to know and love… |