Mrs. Garlow's Classroom Blog

Identity:  Who am I?

During the first couple of months at school, we will spend some time learning and reflecting on our identities in a variety of contexts and locations.  Students have researched the history of their name and the significance and meaning behind it, they have researched their family's journey to Canada, mapped out their hearts using visual representations and words to reveal who they are and what they care about, who they love, things that matter to them, stories and experiences.  This big idea of identity will be explored and weaved into our units for literacy, social studies, science, visual arts, and mathematics. 

Literacy

In reading, students have been working really hard on building their stamina and have identified personal goals they are working towards.  They will be monitoring their progress and checking in to see how they are progressing.  In writing, students have been working on various strategies for generating ideas for topics to write about and building their stamina for writing.  Some of these strategies for writing fluency are: heart mapping and creating a list.  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 classroom math manipulatives.  Students have been counting, double checking, and keeping track of their count in smart ways.  Most students were still counting by ones but quickly realized that making groups of landmark numbers (e.g., fives and tens) 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.

  

Visual Arts

We have started our unit on Identity in visual arts but have also been taking advantage of the beautiful autumn days (while it lasts) to do some environmental art outdoors and to build on the relationship with the land and the community.  Last week, we walked over to a pond nearby to notice some of the changes that are taking place.  Students also collected some samples of plants found in their community to create a nature print.  Take a look below!

  

    

Science

In science, we are starting with our unit on Strong and Stable Structures.  Students have shared what they know about structures, the purpose of structures, materials that make it strong, and why it's important that structures are stable.  One of the students brought in a bird's nest to show our class.  We will keep the nest in the exploration centre for all to examine closely using a magnifying glass.

Social Studies

We are about to start our unit on Communities in Canada from 1780 - 1850.  To help students develop an understanding of this time period in Canadian history,  students were asked to interview family members and relatives about their family's journey and history in Canada.  Students will be sharing these stories with the class.  I would also like to extend the invitation to any parent(s) or family member(s) to come into our classroom community to share your story with the students.  Please let me know if you are interested so we can coordinate a day and time that works.