Friday, March 20, 2015
Monday, March 9, 2015
Cruising to a High Score
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'Cruising to a High Score' |
This class of third graders worked so hard last week on our first round of ISTEP. I am so proud of the effort they put forth in doing their best. To add some fun to all of the testing, we used a "Cruising to a High Score" theme.
During the practice tests the week before, students got their ISTEP passports. After completing each practice test, students recorded some tips to help them do their best in that section of the passport. Students then got a stamp in their passport as they made their way to ISTEP Island.
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| We have our passports for ISTEP Island. |
We ended the week of practice with a tropical spirit day and celebration, and students helped turn our classroom into ISTEP Island by creating tropical decorations (as we covered up any academic items on the wall). After cruising through the practice tests, last week they impressed me as they worked so hard on each section of the real test. I was so happy to see them arrive each day with such a positive attitude and a willingness to put forth their best effort.
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| Our Tropical Celebration |
Our next bout of standardized tests is the IREAD assessment next Monday. The practice test for that is on Friday of this week. The last round of ISTEP will be the last week of April. I have no doubt that if the students put forth the effort they did last week, they will definitely be cruising to a high score on these assessments.
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| We SHINED on our tests! |
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Flower Power
We had our Flower Sale Kick-off on Friday. The students were very excited to get fun bracelets this year--Thanks PTO! We are asking students to wear these colorful reminders during the Flower Sale to remind them to sell flowers for CE.
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| We love our Flower Sale bracelets! |
From Friday, March 6 through Monday, March 23, we will be collecting preorders and awarding daily prizes. Students brought home a packet of information on Friday that has everything they need to get started. Please consider helping your child participate in this fundraiser to not only reap the rewards, but to feel the pride that comes from helping our school and being part of this longstanding tradition.
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| Look for the packet of info that came home Friday--it has everything you need to start selling! |
Questions? Visit www.flowers4ce.com or email flowers4ce@gmail.com.
If you need more order forms, you can print them here: Flower Sale Order Form. Please remember to print two copies for each order to take the place of the yellow duplicate copy. See Flower Sale Pictures and Care to see pictures of all the beautiful flowers that are for sale.
Thank you for your help with this fundraiser! I can't wait to see our gym and cafeteria filled with beautiful flowers this May. Happy Selling!!
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Fraction Fun
Our math class has been hard at work mastering some pretty challenging concepts with fractions. We started the unit off with finding fractions of a set. Can your child find 3/4 of 8 or 2/3 of 12? Have them use the pictures of their classmates' work below to explain to you how we solve these tricky fraction problems. Make sure they explain to you our "Special over Total" sign.
Then we moved on to finding equivalent fractions. At first we used the picture side of our fraction cards to find equivalent fractions, but we quickly started to see some patterns. See if your child can name fractions that are equivalent to 1/2. They should be able to name dozens!
We continued to challenge ourselves by then moving on to fractions greater than one. See if your little mathematician can use the picture below to tell you about improper fractions and mixed numbers.
We couldn't let Valentine's Day pass without fitting in some fraction fun. We used conversation hearts to practice finding fractions of a set. We found what fraction of each color we had and then moved on to more challenging problems. If we had 15 hearts and ate 1/3 of them, how many hearts did we eat? It was so much more fun to act out these challenging fraction problems.
Our fraction unit is coming to an end, and we are preparing to ace our fraction test on Thursday. I have been so impressed with all that this class has accomplished with fractions. I can't wait to see how we do with double digit multiplication in our next unit!
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Simple Machines Design Project
We recently wrapped up our Simple Machines Design Project. During this unit, we first learned about each of the six simple machines. Using the pictures below, have your scientist explain what we did during each of these activities. Ask them to explain how and why we use each simple machine.
We then applied this new information to a special design project. Each group was tasked to design and build a compound machine that contained at least two simple machines. This compound machine needed to be able to move a rock 30 centimeters vertically and 50 centimeters horizontally. One of our focuses during the building process was testing our machine, learning from that test, and making necessary adjustments. Each group kept a list of the changes that they made to their original design as they tested and tweaked their design project. After all that hard work, the groups got to present their machine to the class and explain how it worked. I was impressed with how well the groups worked together and how they collaboratively solved some of the problems that they encountered while building their machine.
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| inclined plane |
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| wedge |
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| screw |
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| pulley |
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| wheel and axle |
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| lever |
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| Building our design projects |
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| Presenting our compound machines |
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
The Science of Sound
We have been so busy in science learning all about the physics of sound. Our experiments and explorations were grouped into three different investigations.
During Investigation 1 we learned about sound discrimination, or the ability to tell sounds apart. The students really enjoyed playing Drop Chamber Challenge. Ask your student how we tested our sound discrimination with this fun game. We also used sound discrimination to create a code, and then we challenged our partners to decode our message. During this investigation we also learned that sounds come from a source that is vibrating. The students enjoyed learning about this using long gongs and tuning forks. Have your child tell you what happened when they held the tuning fork up to the ping pong ball or dipped it in the water.
During Investigation 2 we explored pitch. Check out the fun pictures from our exploration with some different instruments. Have your scientist tell you what we learned from this experience. They should be able to tell you that shorter items vibrate quickly and have a higher pitch. Longer items vibrate slower and have a lower pitch. During another exploration we tested to see how tension affects pitch. We learned that increasing the tension leads to a higher pitch sound.
During Investigation 3 we experimented with sounds traveling through different mediums. We first tested to see if sound travels through water. Our class made a hypothesis that sound would travel through water, but not as well as it travels through air. Ask your scientist how we tested this hypothesis and what our surprising conclusion was (sound travels better through water!). We also experimented to find out if sounds travel though solids. In addition to learning about sound, the students also got to practice going through the scientific method during the Investigation 3 experiments. They were pretty sad when they learned that we have completed all of our sound experiments, but they are excited to start our upcoming experiments on light.
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| Drop Chambers |
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| Using long gongs and tuning forks to 'see' sound vibrations |
During Investigation 2 we explored pitch. Check out the fun pictures from our exploration with some different instruments. Have your scientist tell you what we learned from this experience. They should be able to tell you that shorter items vibrate quickly and have a higher pitch. Longer items vibrate slower and have a lower pitch. During another exploration we tested to see how tension affects pitch. We learned that increasing the tension leads to a higher pitch sound.
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| Exploring how length affects pitch |
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| Exploring how tension affects pitch |
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| Testing if sound travels through water |
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| Checking if sound can travel through solids |
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Show, Don't Tell
We are becoming better writers every day! One way we have worked on this is by working on "Show, Don't Tell" in our writing. In Show, Don't Tell, we use our words to show ideas to our readers instead of just telling them. This makes our writing a lot more interesting to read and it helps the reader paint a picture of our story in their mind. Check out the example that we wrote together in class to show that that the boy was mad.
We have gotten pretty good at this skill. Give your child a telling sentence (The girl was happy. I am hungry. The desk is messy. The student is nervous. It is a nice day.) and let them tell you what great sentences they would use to show this idea. Check out the examples below from some of the authors in our class, and see if you can figure out what the writer is trying to show you.
Encourage your child to find examples of Show, Don't Tell in the chapter books they are reading. We can learn a lot from published authors! Also, have them point out places in their writing where they included Show, Don't Tell. If they can't find an example, encourage them to find a place where they can add it in. It is neat to see how much their writing grows once they start adding Show, Don't Tell into their writing!
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