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Be sure to see the previous post about thanking our donors. We use our tablets in class for many things: 1- Research 2- filling out Google Forms 3- Playing Kahoot for understanding 4-Reading for fluency and comprehension 5- Using QR codes Did I say research? 6- And more to come Check out the tablet use in action!! In my opinion, generosity should never go unappreciated. We should never take for granted what we have or what we have gifted. Several donors, in less than 6 months, were able to give enough money (and tablets) to allow us to have 1-1 tablet technology in our class. Many of our classroom families donated tablets. Some folks who know me--past and present- donated money via DonorsChoose.org. Many strangers even donated money via that website. We use these tablets strictly for educational purposes (never for indoor recess or waiting for the bus---there are other skills to be learned there.) Many students weren't really fond of these guidelines but they got used to them quickly. I am pretty sure many of them will get tech time at home. I try to teach the students to always say please and thank you. Thank yous for gifts to the class are not exempt--no matter how small or large. Below you will see images of some of the heartfelt thank-yous from students to donors. Last week we were invited to visit the fourth grade County Fair. The fourth grade had to create a project about one of the counties in NC. I said "yes" to the invitation for several reasons:
1. It's always good to see others' work. 2. I wanted to get the students excited about something they would be doing next year. 3. We are currently studying geography and regions---PERFECT MATCH to extend our learning. 4. We could could brush up on our ELA objectives and study text features and what they teach us. Check out the fun photos from the 25 minute exploration and event. Third grade, like all grades really, is a year of great growth--emotional, physical and academic. This year we are working really hard to grow in our use of details both in speaking and in writing. Students are asked to speak in complete sentences---or try again if they don't. Students are asked to write in complete sentences--or try again if they don't. ;) We have made sooooo much progress. I am REALLY proud of many of they students. When it comes to telling about the setting in a story, students are so used to answering in one sentence and only telling one place. However, if we look deeply into a text we will see that often times texts take place in more than one time and more than one place. There are three things we worked to learn and remember. Setting involves THREE things. These three things should be expressed in an oral or written manner everytime we discuss setting. They are: 1. Time (When)--time of day, weeks, months, seasons...ALL OF THESE 2- Location (where)-- WITH DETAIL--inside, outside 3.- Environment (what's happening)---snow, rain, cold, wind and more Here are some images of us working collaboratively to tell as much detail about setting as possible: Informational Text Writing is one of our categories of writing instruction in third grade. In December, we gave it our first "go" taking the writing process UP TO the formal revision and edit. (In other words, although we rewrote our texts there were still likely to be some spelling and mechanical errors.) The children were so excited about their art projects and all their independent research (tablets, bubble maps, notebook pages of notes) that I couldn't bear to tell them they couldn't put it all together because our time was short before the holiday for each to sit down 1-1 with me. So, instead we peer revised and edited and we understood that these pieces would be the baseline at which we would look back as our revising and editing skills get better and better. I LOOOOOOVE children's artwork. I love it's stress-relieving capabilities. I love how it looks. I love the pride many of them take in it and the joy they feel when they are finished. I love how pensive they are when they make strokes and color marks on a piece of paper. Looking at it makes me happy. Looking at the students' happy when they do it, makes me happy. And... to have it enhance their writing projects....is perfection, to me. In third grade, there are three major categories of writing that we work to compose. They are narrative , opinion or persuasive, and informative. Our very first writing unit was our narrative unit. One of the greatest ways to help students learn to write is to model writing behaviors for them. Check out the images below of some of my modeled writing stories. This one in particular was a true small moment narrative from my childhood. I was teaching the children that their narrative stories don't only have to come from the previous weekend or recent events. I went WAY back with this one. :)
This year for the Fun Run, the PTA added an After-Party in the evening , complete with a DJ raffle baskets, and a silent auction.. Each grade level contributed an item to the silent auction. The third grade team chose to give away a Fall Craft and Snack afternoon for 25 students. The experience was a fun one for all. The students rotated through 5 different stations to create art, snacks, and play trivia games. Here are some images from that afternoon. The Fun Run is a great fundraising opportunity for our school. For this event, the students gather sponsors for the laps that they will run one afternoon at school. The money raised from this event goes to the PTA for our school. One of the major goals for the Fun Run this year was to raise money for technology. This year the PTA added a “after party”. They secured a DJ and a Zumba leader, for dancing fun for the children and their families. (Even Mr. Faison “cut a rug” dancing “The Wobble.” Also, not a single third grade teacher was left out of the dancing fun.) The PTA also secured many donations that they used for raffle baskets and a silent auction. The Fun Run and After-Party, together, raised over $20,000 for school events, technology and other school needs. Oh, and let's not all forget that memorable Lip Sync Battle...:) Two other events of the week were the much anticipated "Book Tasting" and Character Day. I, myself, dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood. There was a method ehind that madness. You see, many of us know the traditional story but have you read Lon Po Po or Really, Red Riding Hood was Rotten, or Petite Rouge. All are fabulous rewrites of the original text. We were able to focus on our literacy objectives and compare and contrast these stories---Critical thinking and great fun!! Character DayOn Book Character, many students took the opportunity to dress up as different book characters. As a class, we talked and learned about character traits and using evidence from the text to confirm those character traits. One fun activity that we did was a Character Traits Scoot activity. In this activity, the students get to scoot, or move, around the classroom. They read different task cards posted around the room and complete them. This particular activity was completed with a partner and also differentiated into 2 levels. Some students were given the level by me. Some students were given choice. Both options were given based on my assessment of student progress. Book TastingThe book tasting was a new literacy activity for all of us 3rd grade teachers. We wanted to give students the opportunity to experience or reading and exploring different types of text--- text that perhaps they had never ventured to attempt to read before. Each student was given a placement which served as a recording sheet that students could fill out after they have browsed through a text, read parts of the text, and discussed the text with their neighbor. We hoped, in doing this, that students would use their comprehension strategies as well as text features.In the end, we wanted students to be excited about checking out books they had never had experience with before and reading them. In a grade that is pretty heavy with standardized testing, we don’t want children to lose their LOVE of reading. Thanks to the parents who donated vases and flowers and trays. All of these items were used to help the classroom look like a little cafe. The atmosphere in of itself drew the children in and immediately had them engaged. My favorite bonus of the day? Thanks to technology, I was able to add the experience of reading by the fire with the good ‘ole You Tube Yule log projected on the Promethean Board. LOVED it!! Visiting StorytellerOur final bonus for the week was the visiting storyteller. All of third grade gathered in the library for this fun and engaging experience. |
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January 2017
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