Gear It Up!

What is a simple machine? A simple machine is a machine with few or no moving parts such as a gear, lever, pulley, screw, inclined plane, wedge, or a wheel and axle. One of the favorite jobs on our class job board is the “Flag Raiser” because our classroom flag is on a pulley which is raised and lowered each school day!

Thank you also to the HPTA funded program "Techsploration" : a fantastic, upfront, zany exhibition of how simple machines trade distance for effort to make work easier. Perfect for third graders!

Math and Money

In Math, we are completing Unit 1 which was a review of concepts such as time, money, and place value. Thank you for sending in the coins with your child to reinforce making change and different coin combinations. We all enjoyed the humorous story of "Pigs will be Pigs" by Amy Axlerod and the funny poem "Smart" by Shel Silverstein as the class figured out the "money problems" of the characters. Ask your child why the boy in "Smart" was not so smart after all!Check out this video below as school children act out the poem ...

We will soon be moving onto Unit 2: Adding and Subtracting with Whole Numbers, which focuses on concepts leading up to the partial sums algorithm and trade first subtraction. The children have been doing a nice job on their timed tests! Please remember to practice those math facts at home -- this extra practice really does make a difference with their performance on these weekly tests.

"Smart" by Shel Silverstein

"Fall" into Reading

In Reading, we are just completing Unit 1: “Our World” in the new Macmillan Treasures Balanced Literacy program. The comprehension strategies that we have been learning including story elements, main idea and details, and problem and solution analysis. The children are enjoying the weekly themes such as Antarctica and pets! During the reading of "Penguin Chick" by Betty Tatham, we focused on the comprehension strategy of main idea and details while learning about how penguin parents take care of their young. Ask your son or daughter about what other interesting facts they learned about blue whales, Weddell seals or the albatross in their small reading groups too.

To complement the whole class and small group stories, each child always has an independent reading book that is "Just Right" for them. "Just Right" is a term we use for a book that is not too easy, not too hard, and is enjoyable to read. We emphasize that everyone has their own "Just Right" reading book which is part of our supportive learning community. As the students finish an independent reading book, they are creating a persuasive poster to “advertise” the book. Everyone is very excited about earning a trip to the prize bag after reading a selection from each of the five genres in our classroom library!

We had a wonderful first three days of school! The boys and girls got to know each other while talking about our summer souvenirs and answering "beach ball" questions during Morning Meeting. Here are some pictures of the amazing class of Room 29!