Exploring Characters for Literacy Week - Grade 3 - Harry Potter theme

On Friday we looked through the first Harry Potter film, and identified critical plot points and character development. Today we selected which character we wanted to be. On Thursday morning the children are invited to come dressed as the character he or she selected, or bring a prop. We will be making names tags that describe our characters' role in the story, what kind of character traits they have, and how they help the plot progress. Please feel free to do a very simple version of your child's character. The following is a list of the characters  each child has chosen:

Zeineb - Hermione
Chloe -  Hermione
John - Fred Weasley
Cole - Percy Weasley
Andrew - Rom Weasley
Alex - undecided
Henry - Prof. Quirrel/Voldemort
Devin - Dumbledore
Mekkhi - Harry Potter
Lara- Draco Malfoy
Armina - Prof. Snape
Genesis - undecided
Autumn - undecided

Please remember to keep it simple. This activity is about characters in books, not the costumes. Have fun!

Tangrams - Our New Math Unit

 

In our new math unit, we are going to be working with tangrams! Tangrams are a set of 7 shapes (2 large right triangles, a medium right triangle, 2 small right triangles, a square, and a rhombus). Today we began by reading a story called Grandfather Tang's Story, a folk tale about a grandfather and granddaughter who create a story about two foxes that transform into different animals. The story is illustrated with tangram shapes manipulated to form different animal images.

Then we tried to make tangram animals of our very own. First, we tried the ones from the story where the cards showed us the order for the pieces. Next, we attempted more challenging puzzles where the template only suggested and outline and we needed to use guess and check to figure out which shape went where.

In the next two weeks we will be learning about congruent shapes, right angles, lines of symmetry in shapes, area, perimeter, corners (or vertices), and shapes with a variety numbers of sides (hexagons, pentagons, and quadrilaterals). We will learn to analyze and describe these two-dimensional shapes using their different properties as well as how to find the area and perimeter of these shapes. Through our work with tangrams, we will explore the multiplication facts for 2s and 3s. It's really exciting to try a puzzle that seems impossible but by flipping or turning a single piece, we can change the entire image! We look forward to sharing pictures of our own tangram designs, patterns, and images. 

In addition to developing our mathematician selves, we will also practice our logic, problem solving. and spatial visualization skills as we attempt to construct more and more complex tangram puzzles. So far it's been so much fun that we forget that we are doing math! 

Today we kicked off Literacy Week with a visit from Sarah from Children's Book World. Third and fourth graders listened to Sarah share her favorite new books for our age group. There were books about mystical dragons, humorous mixed up stories, and one that would give The Cricket in Times Square a run for its money. We hope you have a chance to stop at Children's Book World to see these news books and books that teachers have chosen for their classrooms. There will be a special FSH evening event next Thursday. We hope to see you there!

Storytelling Festival Ice Cream Party

Today was a great day for our talented third graders! They hit a home run with their storytelling skills. I am very proud of all their growth in their ability to engage an audience and their growth in their ability to overcome their nervous energy. After the festival we enjoyed a fabulous ice cream party. Thank you for all your support. Way to go third graders!

Potluck Parent Party for 3rd Grade

Potluck Parent Party for 3rd Grade If you can't find a sitter don't stress - the kids are welcome too! Friday, March 4th - 6-9PM Laura and Eric Janson's House 126 E. Beechtree Lane Wayne, PA 19087 610-687-9225 What can you bring? The first initial of your child's last name will guide you. See below: A-K hot appetizer L-Z salad of any kind No RSVP required - simply come and enjoy

In the Midst of Storytelling and Two of a Kind

Always start with a smile.

Adding expression takes practice.

Hand gestures work for Genesis' story.

The more dramatic the better!

Using different tones is very effective.

This week in third grade, we worked in small groups, pairs, and as a whole class to discover the power of different storytelling techniques. In storytelling, you are telling a story that is perhaps different slightly every time you tell it. Every time you must remember the essential plot points of the beginning and end but the details can change and every time it must be interesting and engaging for the audience. To develop these skills we worked on gestures and movement through charades and activities where we imagined walking in a variety of physical environments such as a snowstorm and a squishy swamp. We practiced tone of voice, volume, emotional expression, clarity and enunciation through saying tongue twisters and repeating sentences with different feelings and intonations.

Move your body to tell the story!

We're working hard, but a smile says it all.

Each student adapted the story to make his or her our own by changing details and aspects of the story. It was a process of synthesis – adding pieces of themselves into the story to make something new and exciting to share. Through many, many practices, we incorporated the feedback, constructive criticism, and advice from our classmates on how to improve our stories for our next performance. We watched young storytellers our own age perform their stories for an audience to give us an idea of what we were doing. All of this prepares us for Tuesday’s performance.

Two of a Kind musicians, David and Jenny, worked with our students several times during the past week. Together the students, David, and Jenny wrote the music and lyrics for two songs. On Thursday afternoon they performed their songs with 1st and 2nd graders. The songs they wrote were an answer to the query, "What is the impact of our footprint on the world?" We also heard a song composed by the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades answering the same question. It was a lovely concert - beautiful singing and meaningful lyrics. 

Good Things Happen in Threes

Good Things Happen in Threes

Good Thing Number 1 
Have you ever had the pleasure of starting off the week with the task of finding a great story for a storytelling festival? Well, that is exactly what third graders did this week.

The first part of having a successful storytelling experience is to find a story you love. Mrs. McKenzie gave us dozens of fabulous books to begin our search for a story we love. Some are funny, simple, repetitious; some have moral lesson, some feature animals, and there are many from different countries around the world. They are all great short stories with diverse messages and tones.

After reading at least five books, students have chosen their stories and are ready to begin the work of familiarizing themselves with their stories’ plot. We are NOT memorizing the stories. Storytelling is more flexible, more creative, and tests of one’s ability to problem solve more than memorizing a story. We will learn the basic plot and its twists, and then we will explore the story in depth. What parts speak to us? What part is the audience responding to or not? What part do we need to embellish or make shorter? These are some aspects of storytelling we will delve into next week. 

You can help you child by encouraging him or her to share his or her story with you or a friend. Eye contact, enunciation, verbal expression are great areas about which to give feedback to your first time storyteller. You can tell him or her something you are proud of and offer a suggestion of one area to work on. You could even tell your own story. You could share in the experience of captivating an audience or relate to the nervous feeling of speaking in front of a group. I hope you and your child can make these storytelling times something to remember and to be proud of.

We are having a great time –storytelling is fun, freeing, creative, and has wonderful benefits for comprehension and writing!

Good Thing Number 2

 Do you know the difference between weight and the mass of an object? Your third grader will tell you that it has to do with gravity. If you were to weigh something on the moon it would weigh less than on earth, but the mass of the object would be the same on the moon as on the earth.

In math class this week we ventured into a math lab called Measuring Mass. We massed objects using pan balances and masses. We learned about measurement error, the error involved with the imperfect pan balance, and our own not perfect measuring techniques. We had a lot of success, even with these two imperfections, using the new unit of measurement, gram, and finding the mass of many objects.

Midway through the investigation, we collected data of the mass of different quantities of the same object, constructed a point graph, and drew a “best fit line." The best-fit line is needed due to the measurement error mentioned above.  Using the best-fit line, we discovered a number sentence that could help us compute in a new way the same data: the quantity of objects multiplied by the mass of one 

of the objects equals the total mass of 

those objects. Interesting! So, now we have three ways to find new data from our graph. We can actually mass a certain quantity of objects using the pan balance, we could compute using the number sentence, or we could interpolate or extrapolate the information directly from the line graph. That is what I call an exciting learning day in mathematics class.

Good Thing Number 3

Soup Wednesdays - A way to take the chill off a cold winter's day or a way to build community?  

Both, it seems!  Thank you to the families who have delivered the many delicious soups to our classrooms! This Wednesday's soup was a hearty matzah ball soup. Everyone tried it and many liked it. I am proud of how we learned to appreciate each other’s food preferences.   

You'll also see in the photos some students having lunch with Senora Ayers. She invited children from our class to join her to eat lunch and play a Spanish number treasure hunt. 

Thank you to all who have already sent in delicious soups. You are helping to create community in the classroom and take the chill off a cool winter's day. If you haven’t had a chance to share you soup-making talents with your child’s class, I hope you’ll consider signing up for the last few Soup Wednesdays. 

 Good things do happen in threes!