Classroom Updates

Math

     The standard states that your child should be able to complete thirty addition facts in one minute.  Be sure to check your child's mad minute paper to see how your child is performing in this area.   Some strategies to help build math fact fluency are math games such as addition top it, flash cards, and mathletics.  We will be completing a mad minute each day this week to help build our fact fluency.  

     We have also been learning about elapsed time.  A fun extension for students to try at home would be to find out the elapsed time between the sunrise in the A.M.and the sunset in the P.M.  The amount of daylight has changed significantly in the two weeks since we have done this assignment in class.

    If you take on this challenge please send in your findings.

Writing Corner

     The students have begun typing their personal narratives into google classroom, but we still have some revisions and editing to do before we have a final draft.  Our lessons have focussed on writing about a small experience from our  life.  We looked at many samples of catchy leads and we wrote a few of our own.   Our writing should have a clear beginning, middle and an end.   Personal narratives should include the feelings of the character.  The students have been working on showing their feelings rather than telling their feelings.  Ex. I was so nervous. vs. My heart was racing and my hands were sweaty.

Classroom Updates

Academic Highlights

Math

We have been working on double digit addition and subtraction problems where regrouping is necessary.  Please encourage your child to show their work!

This past few weeks we have also been practicing telling time, rounding to the nearest tens and hundreds, and creating a graph to show our data.

Science

This week we have experimented with volume and mass. Watch this interactive tutorial about mass to help support this week's lesson.




Watch this interactive tutorial, about volume to support in class investigations.

Reading 

Sequencing has been the comprehension skill for two weeks!   The students can tell you all about the sequence of events in the reading story What About Me or they can tell you their sequence/ procedure for finding out how much water a dry sponge will absorb.

Welcome to Third Grade!

     Welcome to third grade with Mrs. Lavoie!

We have had a great beginning to the school year.  We have read many wonderful books to help us learn routines, establish classroom rules, and get to know each other.

    I'm working to promote positive behavior along with a kind and respectful classroom environment.

Check out some of the options the students may choose for their reward.

 

I'm looking forward to having a successful, productive, and enjoyable, year with you and your child.

Classroom Updates

News From the Writing Corner

Most students have finished their informational writing.  The students also had to give constructive feedback to a fellow author using the peer review sheet shown below.  My hope was, that then the original author would use their partner's suggestions to make improvements to their writing.

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One important footnote- The students always have the opportunity to make corrections to their writing pieces and resubmit to improve their grade.  I'm proud that many students did take advantage of this learning opportunity this past week.  

Mr. Searle joined our class to teach a lesson on how to make a google slide show.  We plan to take some information from our informational writing piece to build a google slide show.  Then Mr. Searle will be back to provide tips on how to deliver an engaging presentation!  Check out the time lapse video of his visit with my PM class as we listened to a lesson and then practiced making our on slides.

Spotlight Musician!!

All the way from South Korea, lets give a SHOUT OUT to Heejun!!

Trimester 2 Highlights

     I apologize for the lapse in blogs, I have experienced some technical difficulty.  Before I send out an update on our writing status  I wanted to share a few highlights.

Spotlight Musician

All the way from South Korea we present our very own very talented Heejun!

Another great big shout out to our two fourth grade classmates that represented our classes in the school wide Spelling Bee. We are so proud of both of you!

Creative Minds at Work

The students came out with this wonderful design to represent our class at the Jump Rope for Heart Fundraiser.  Way to support a good cause!

WRITING CORNER

Writing Update

This trimester our writing focus will be informational writing.  At this point we have looked at informational books and discussed the different text structures.  Students have been prewriting about topics they know about and have and interest in.  We have introduced and practiced writing in the following structures: topic & sub-topic, description, and question and answer.  After exploring a variety of books, topics, and writing styles we are beginning are writing process.

Informational Books

Step 1.  Select Topic ( My hope is that all students have an appropriate topic)
We have discussed their topic should be of interest to the audience,
as this will be presented to other students and teachers.  Also the topic must not be too broad or too narrow in order to facilitate research.

Step 2 Research - Students have been taught appropriate internet/research guidelines along with  efficient note taking strategies.  My hope is that students will have enough research to begin their first draft next week. Students have been working in class on research. They may do additional research at home and should bring that information to school.

Step 3 Begin Rough Draft ( Hopefully next week)