Today as our Dino-mite Reward we had Fort Day. Before lunch, learners worked together to build forts around the classroom with blankets and pillows they brought from home. This was a great way for us to practice cooperation. After library we had 30 minutes to enjoy inside our forts. Learners could read their library books or work on their computers in their forts.
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TEAMS Lessons
Last week we had our third TEAMS lesson with Officer Wolfe. He has met with us once each month since January to talk about police officers and making safe choices. As part of our last lesson, we got to get an upclose look at his patrol car. Some learners sat in the front seat like officers and used the radio to make announcements to others on the sidewalk or turn on the flashing lights. Other learners got to sit in the backseat to see what it’s like for a criminal to be in a patrol car. The class really enjoyed Officer Wolfe’s lessons and will get to see him more next year when he does fourth grade TEAMS lessons.
Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences
Spring conferences are scheduled for March 27th from 12:00 pm – 7:30 pm and March 28th from 8:00 am – 3:30 pm.
Third grade learners are participating in these conferences. Your child will take part in discussions and share what they have learned. Please pick a time that will allow your child to attend the conference with you.
Here is the link for our class sign up.
Here is a link for all other teachers at Brecknock if you are scheduling for multiple children.
Author Share
After weeks of brainstorming, planning, writing, conferencing, revising, and publishing we have finished our Historical Fiction writing! Historical fiction takes place at a specific time and place in history. It includes fictional characters that deal with problems that could have really happened. On Friday our proud authors had the opportunity to read their finished book to classmates. Then they gathered up all of the organizers and planning sheets they used when writitng to share with families. They also took home their finished stories too. I hope you enjoy reading their finished masterpiece!
Read Across America Spirit Week
Next week we celebrate Read Across America with some fun spirit days!
Monday, 3/4- “Reading is Wild!”= wear animal prints or animal colors
Tuesday, 3/5- “Read my shirt.”= wear a shirt with words.
Wednesday, 3/6- “Reading jogs your mind”= wear workout clothes
Thursday, 3/7- “Read, White and Blue”= wear red, white and blue colors
Friday, 3/8- “Reading is a slam dunk!”= wear your favorite sports team or uniform
Magnet Explorations
Last week we did an experiment to test which items in our classroom are magnetic and which are not. Today learners got a chance to explore 5 different magnet themed stations. By the voice level and smiles I could tell they had a blast! This exploration wraps up our Physical Science unit.
- GeoMags– This station allowed learners to build creations using double sided magnet sticks and metal balls. They got pretty creative!
Exploring Electricity
We have been learning about electricity and got to explore circuits a bit this week during Inquiry. On Monday, learners worked in groups to build a circuit using wires, a light bulb, a battery, and a connecting platform. There was lots of excitement as light bulbs started lighting up!
On Tuesday we tested different materials to determine which items were conductors (electricity could travel through them to light the bulb) and which were insulators (electricity did not travel through them so the bulb remained dark). Ask your third grader to share with you what was discovered during this exploration.
More Matter Experiments
We are learning about Matter during Inquiry. We have done 2 cool experiments this week.
Mixing Solid and Liquid
Students experimented with adding drops of liquid (vinegar) to solids (flour, sugar, salt, baking soda). They used a pipette (dropper) to drop a little liquid at a time. We took time to observe and record what happened. The most exciting step was watching the gas bubbles created when the vinegar was added to the baking soda.
Our next experiment was to see if we could harness the gas created by mixing vinegar and baking soda and use it to inflate a balloon. It worked! We tied off the balloon and noticed that the gas was very dense because the balloon dropped quickly to the floor. Both of these experiments can be completed at home with a few ingredients from your kitchen if you third-grade scientist wants to demonstrate.
Holiday Party
We had lots of fun on Dec. 22 as we celebrated together! We started by decorating “stocking” bags.