February News from Grade 3H

February brings us to our second term where we are working very hard especially in Math and Language.

Money, money, money

In Math, students are finding money a challenge. Students do not use coins as much as in the past so it can be unfamiliar. The unit on money brings many skills that are very useful into play. For example, students need to count by 2's, 5's, 10's, and 25's which are basic number skills. So even if they will grow up to use "plastic" cards to buy things, the ability to manipulate the numbers is very important. Students are asked to use money amounts up to $10 in Grade 3.

 #1 They are given questions that ask them to count a variety of coins.
#2  They will be working on questions where they need to count the coins and then put them into the fewest possible coins and bills.
# 3 They will need to find change.
#4 They will need to add and subtract money amounts up to $10

The anchor chart that our class developed by doing problems had these strategies on it:

Organize the money by putting all of the pennies together, the dimes, etc... (Charissa)
Now group the money. (Quarters can be grouped into dollars, 2 dimes and a nickel as a quarter etc.... )
Finally you can count the money by starting with the biggest ones: $5, then $2, then $1 etc... (Abby)

How can you help your child? If they are really unfamiliar with coins they need to be able to identify what value the coins have. They also need to know how many of a certain coin make $1. They need to know how to make a quarter with 2 dimes and a nickel, or 2 nickels make a dime etc....

If your child knows these basic concepts they can begin to count, trade and make change with amounts up to $1, then $2 and finally $10.

It can be more fun if it becomes a game. Have a jar of money to use. "Charge" your child for supper, for TV privileges or toys. They need to count the right amount from the jar. Then add the step of using the fewest coins ( you don't want 6 dimes for example when 2 quarters and a dime is easier). Then when they are ready, play games where you "buy" something and they need to give you change. (Ryan, Emma, Victoria,Wyatt F, Maya are already doing this at home)

Sorry to go on and on about money but it is a huge jump from Grade 2 skills to Grade 3 and most students are finding it tricky.

Geometry 2D Shapes

As we finish money we will begin geometry using 2D shapes. We will learn about 4 sided shapes (quadrilaterals such as the square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid and parallelogram) and then move onto the triangle, pentagon (5 sides) hexagon (6 sides) and octagon (8 sides). In order to describe and identify the attributes of the shapes students will learn about equal sides, pairs of equal sides, parallel lines, right angles, angles larger or smaller than right angles, and vertices. And before you ask: Yes they need to use the Math terms I have used. Lots of information for Grade 3 minds! Isabella and Antonio made a LOST poster to describe a rectangle.

Questioning

In Language we will finish up "questioning". A good reader is constantly asking questions as they read and this helps them go deeper into the meaning of what they are reading. We have started learning about thin and thick questions. Some questions can be answered right "in the text". For thick questions, a reader needs to think, and analyze or read between the lines to come up with a good answer. We ask questions before we read, during our reading and after we have finished reading.  As we read a text, some of our questions are answered. Some are not answered and may lead us to further inquiry! You can help your child by asking them to develop questions and answers as they read. Prompt them to give deeper answers with enough detail. Noah and Emily D made "in your head" questions (thick questions) on their book about Space Diving.

Persuasive Writing

In writing we will begin to write persuasive texts, especially persuasive letters. A persuasive text begins by telling what it is that the writer wants. Then it goes onto give strong, convincing reasons and details to persuade the reader. The conclusion re-states what the author wants. Matthew wants to persuade his parents to get him some new toys. Noah wants to persuade his parents to take him to Boston to watch a hockey game. They are Sens fans so this ain't gonna happen!!

 I have a voice. 

How do I use my voice?

In Religion and classroom behaviour we are working on using our voice the way Jesus would. We have had some really good discussions about this in our past 2 class meetings. As you can see this topic ties in with anti-bullying or being respectful and kind with each other.

How do we feel when we hear swearing, gossip, name calling, interrupting, potty talk? "Not good," said Antonio. "I don't like it. " Georgia said "It makes us feel bad." Wyatt G said gossip can make you mad and want to get revenge. Madison said that when people are telling secrets near me, I think they are talking about me.

Why do students do it? To belong to the group, to be cool, to express anger. Brock said its hard when you hear bad language from others, Emily M said some people do it to be cool.

How are we as a class going to help our classmates use their voice respectfully? Our next meeting ....



We also explore the voice of Jesus in the parables and miracle stories.


We used the parables to learn about synthesis: the deeper meaning of a text, the real meaning, the "under story" as James Dillon said.

Pictures of what we have been doing lately....

Indoor recess: We built a stable gate and put blocks around the whole perimeter of the 4 mats. And the mats have an area of 4 large squares! Abby and Charissa made this.

Designing tipi cover. Isabella and Abby designed this one.

Building the tipi frame so it is a stable structure.

Kindness week at St. Patrick. Working for 1 000 acts of kindness! 

Our Grade 3 front showcase for February with Mrs. Balaberda's class

News from Grade 3           Nov. 30,2012

We continue to work very hard in Math on patterns using T charts. What several children are finding difficult is that they are not sure of their addition facts. So when a pattern continues up by 3 or 4 or 5 etc... it can be challenging. How can we help? 

Practicing the addition facts so that students can recall them quickly without counting on their fingers, is a huge advantage in many areas of Math. Begin with mastering doubles facts (6+6,7+7,8+8,9+9). Then move to near doubles: If I know 7+7 then 7+8 is one more. We have also learned the facts which add up to 10. The next step is to add 1,2,or 3. Then of course we will go to +4,+5. While many children in the class know their addition facts there are still several who are struggling. A few minutes spent every day will help. Soon we will move on to multiplication facts. 

Ideas that might help? Flash card games, dice (throw 2 and add them or throw one and add the number you are working on). Brock's mom and I also found several interactive games at this website http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/interactive/  Frequent brief practice sessions are best : ))

Our Math Word wall is always there to help spell and reinforce Math Vocabulary. Now that we are also graphing our patterns we will learn words such as data, axes, vertical, horizontal (we used horizon in art as well) grid, titles, key, labels. What is that beast up on the wall? Our class mascot, Math Mouse, lives in the hole in the wall : ))

In reading we are looking at non-fiction. We have checked many text features that help us understand what we are reading such as photos, captions, charts, labelled diagrams and text boxes. Now we are beginning to focus more on making connections with non-fiction. 

We read a text called The Terrific Triangle. Noah said he connected with the fact that there are shapes in nature such as a circle, or rectangle and why are things the shapes they are? Wyatt G noticed that these strong shapes such as a square and a triangle are used in building our houses and who makes sure these shapes are strong enough for our houses to stay up? Victoria thought that Science seemed to be connected with shapes and there seemed to be rules to follow. This text and the one we read today on building igloos will introduce our next Science theme. Teacher trick #352 in how to cover the curriculum.... integrate! Above is a photo showing students testing rectangles and triangles after reading a procedural text .....

This is a photo of the thoughtful writing your children did for Thanksgiving as part of our religion program! Same teacher trick:combine reading The Secret of Giving Thanks with writing, religion and covering our school's October value "Gratitude".

The class is really enjoying our read aloud chapter book Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. While we laugh at the antics of baby brother and pain in the neck, Fudge, we are learning about family relationships. The story takes place in New York City in the 70's and when Fudge was buying new shoes, the class REALLY wanted to know what saddle shoes and loafers looked like! You might be able to catch their interest with other books in the series like Super Fudge.









Our Science posters are completed and students will show them to the class. They will share with their classmates how forces of nature happen and how these forces can affect us. In addition to exploring the Science of forces, students learned how to present a well laid out poster and how to make and print a title with our netbooks.  Test on forces this coming Monday, Dec.3.

In Religion as part of All Saints Day, we learned about St. Kateri and made this poster to show the story of her life.

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Kateri was bullied because of her beliefs. She was finally able to go from Upper New York State to Montreal where she could be with other Christians.

Kateri worked with the sick and the elderly. She was beloved by her community in Montreal.

Gorgeous paintings! Our class takes their art very seriously and have enjoyed working with paint. 

Almost ready to video tape our bullying awareness skits. We saw a great live presentation last week that will help us focus our skits on what role bystanders can play. A bystander can be a cheerleader who encourages the bully, a watcher or hider who doesn't know what to do. THEN along comes the UPSTANDER  !! who is the superhero who gets help or steps in to help (if its safe).


The link below will bring you to a bullying awareness song/video that we watched: True colours
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzfYL51e3HI   Click on the link and another prompt will bring you to the youtube video.

Blog Number 2:  

First a picture of our Hallowe'en and Thanksgiving art!

  In Science we are almost finished our unit on forces. We will do a project in class, on forces of nature. Students need to bring pictures of the force of nature that they chose. They also will need to know enough about their force to tell how it happens, what kind of damage it causes, where it happens and any other interesting information. They can tell about a particular event such as Hurricane Isaac. It will be done during class, not at home, so that I can evaluate how well the students work on their posters.

 Students can prepare for a test by reviewing what forces do, knowing the 5 forces we covered and being able to tell a little about each. We are also answering problem questions that ask what forces are used in a particular situation: Example: A baseball player hits a run to first base and slides in and touches the base. (Muscular force hits the ball, the ball will now be pushed in the opposite direction, it will fly in an arc falling to the ground because of gravity where it might be caught and stopped by another player. Muscular force will be used to run to first base and friction will slow the player down as he/she slides to first.)

 Here are some pictures as we explored the force of magnetism.

In Math we are working on patterning which a very important topic. We are looking at number patterns and patterns in geometric shapes. A number pattern could look like this: 13,18,23,28, ___,____,____ . Students need to figure out the pattern and then continue it. They may use a number line, tape measure or hundred chart to help if they find it difficult to simply add or subtract. We will work with calculators next week. A trickier question would be to choose the correct answer from 4 choices.  This sample is taken right from last year's EQAO test.

 Look at the growing pattern below.
3, ___, ___, ___, 19

The pattern goes up by the same
number each time.
What are the missing numbers?
0 4, 5, 6
0 6, 9, 12
0 7, 11, 15
0 8, 13, 18

When we look at geometric patterns we talk about attributes that can be changed. The size, shape, colour or position of a shape can be changed. Patterns are described and continued.


 




















































Next week we will do activities on awareness of bullying. Our school is focusing on the upstander. That is the person who sees something happening and is proactive rather than passive. This person may speak up and tell someone to stop their negative behaviour or they may tell an adult what is happening to another student. We have already talked about bullying and inappropriate behaviour but next week it will be a focus. We will use picture books and role play to learn how to handle situations where one or more people are not treating someone else with respect.

We will also stress the difference between bullying and peer conflicts. We will learn if it is tattling or telling.

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Please continue to read every night with your child. If they are an independent reader, taking some time to ask questions will help your child voice their ideas. If your child needs help, they can read aloud for you and answer questions.
                                                  
We are working on the features of non-fiction: main topic, subtopics, captions, glossary, index, text boxes etc... and how they help us as readers. We are going to begin making connections with non-fiction also. Which facts do you connect with? Does this make you think of something else? How do you feel about this information? What questions do you still have?

Finally, here he group collection of the Thanksgiving and Hallowe'e art nthat we posted. Enjoy!