Penguin Chick

 
We recently read Penguin Chick and discussed the penguin's life cycle. We chose important events in the penguins growth and then created eggs to display the event and a picture. We used egg cartons to put our events in order like a timeline. The students did a very neat job.

Animal Life Cycles

                                                           

The students have been busy researching different animal life cycles. Each group then created a poster with drawings of the animals as they progressed through the cycle. They made flaps to explain what was happening during each stage of development. They did a great job working together!

Needs of Animals

 We learned the four basic needs of animals this week. In order to learn how a beaver builds his shelter, we designed and constructed beaver dams. The students learned that the beaver builds a dam to create a pond to put their shelter in. Their home is called a lodge. The students tested their dams and found that making a pond isn't as easy as it looks. They evaluated their structures and determined what they would have done if they could reconstruct their dams.

Plant Cells

 

After studying the simple parts of a plant cell, the students created their own model of a plant cell out of various supplies. They were to include the 7 basic parts and label them. The creativity was amazing. No two cells were alike!

Weekly Stars

Congratulations to our READER of the Week- Mekara. Mekara got interested in an Arthur chapter book and found many more Arther books she wanted to read. She loved Arthur in a Pickle. She liked that it was very funny and full of idioms. Keep it up, Mekara!

Congratulations to Kaden our WRITER of the Week! Kaden wrote a wonderful paragraph about his favorite place to read. He started every sentence differently. He sounded like a real author. He also has been writing many graphic novels and comics. He is really becoming a great writer! Excellent job, Kaden!

Congratulations, Cole! Cole is, once again, our MATH facts winner of the week. Cole was able to complete the most addition problems correctly in one minute and thirty seconds. He got 85 out of 86 problems correct. Keep practicing those facts!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to our READER of the Week- Gavin. Gavin finished Mr. Macky is Wacky and was eager to share how much he enjoyed this book. He wants to read all of Dan Gutman's books!


Congratulations to Mason our WRITER of the Week! Mason didn't know what to write about one day. After speaking with Mackenzie, he decided to write a list of possible topics using the ABC's. His list was places he has visited. He has been to a lot of interesting places!

Congratulations, Cole! Cole is, once again, our MATH facts winner of the week. Cole was able to complete the most addition problems correctly in one minute and thirty seconds. Keep practicing those facts!

Congratulations!!

Congratulations to our READER of the Week- Rebecca. Rebecca found a great chapter book to read this week and kept getting 'lost in her book'! She is used to reading picture books but discovered the Black Lagoon series and is trying to read all of them. Keep up the great work, Rebecca!

Congratulations to Lillian our WRITER of the Week! She wrote a wonderful piece about having a friend over to spend the night. She used great detail to describe her activities and even tried to use dialogue in her story. Great job, Lillian!

Congratulations, Cole! Cole is our MATH facts winner of the week. Cole was able to complete the most addition problems correctly in one minute and thirty seconds. Keep practicing those facts!

A New School Year!

I have been working hard to prepare our classroom for the 2011-2012 school year. I can't wait to meet my new students! I hope my former students will stop by and visit this year. I always like to hear how you are doing in the grades that follow third. :)) Have a great year!

Student Businesses

 

Our last project of the year was a culmination of our economics unit. The students developed businesses and sold their items to the third grade classes and parents. They had so much fun and learned all about marketing and making profits.

Communities: Past and Present

 

The students are researching various communities in the United States and learning how they have changed over time. They are working in groups to collect facts and then designing a poster to present their information to the class. The communities we are exploring are: Seattle, Astoria, Denver, Wilmington, and El Paso. The students are doing a great job at using primary and secondary resources to discover information and they are learning so much about the changes that happen over time in all communities.

Caleb's Book Chat

Caleb always does a fantastic job with his book chats. He loves non-fiction books and creates wonderful displays to go with his great books! This time Caleb read a book about volcanoes and created a model to show the class. Thank you, Caleb for sharing good literature and helping us to learn new information.

Soil Samples

 
 
 

The students analyzed different soil samples and collected data about the samples. We learned that soils are based on different characteristics. Some of the soils had lots of nutrients, some did not. Some were darker colors and some were light in color. They had different particles as well. We figured out that the samples were humus, loam, and sand.