Thank you
A BIG thank you for completing the start up forms, parent questionnaire, consent forms and for providing agenda money. I was impressed by how quickly these items were sent in!
Identity: Who am I?
During the first couple of months at school, we will spend some time examining, learning and reflecting on our identities. Students have researched the history of their name, researched their family's journey to Canada, and mapped out their hearts using visual representations and words to reveal their stories, experiences, people they love, who they are and what they care about. This big idea of identity will be weaved into our units for literacy, social studies, and visual arts.
Difference Makers
We spent time this week reading books and learning about difference makers and how we can 'become the change we want to see in the world.' Children learned that big or small, we all have the ability to make a positive change. Students also learned about other children like themselves, who are making an impact in our world and fighting for causes they feel passionately about. Some of the causes these young activists are championing include rescuing endangered animals, raising environmental concerns, finding a cure for Leukaemia, providing women and girls access to education, building wind turbines, building soccer fields in regions where children have experienced conflict or trauma, and providing socks to the homeless.
Classroom Promise
The students in room # 313 have also co-created our Classroom Promise. This promise is an agreement which everyone believes is vital in our classroom community. Students have also chosen classroom responsibilities for the month.
Literacy
This week students spent time working on generating lists for topics to write about and building their stamina for writing. The heart maps they created is also a visual tool for writing. We will continue to practise generating ideas for writing and developing their writing fluency. In reading, students have been doing a great job on building their stamina and demonstrating read-to-self behaviours. Most students have also identified areas they need to work on and set reading goals. Grade 3 students should be reading a minimum of least 20 minutes each night.
Math
In math we have begun our first unit in number sense by learning to count up to 1000 in the context of taking inventory of math manipulatives in our classroom and tracking it. Students quickly realized that making groups of landmark numbers (e.g., fives, tens, hundreds) and skip counting is easier than counting one by one. The grade threes will also be learning to represent amounts and examining the place value patterns in our number system.
Science
In science, we have begun our unit on Strong and Stable Structures. Students have shared what they know in knowledge building circles. They also asked various questions that will guide their inquiries later on. Coincidentally, one of the students brought a wasp nest he found for all of us to investigate! This prompted further discussion into whether the hive nest was a structure or not.
