Each week, one of our classes goes to our local parish to experience Mass. This is very important to us because most of our students (even though we are a Catholic school) don't go to Church. Some have never been, and I always figure they can have a positive introduction or a negative one... and I hope to make it a bit more positive. I personally was not a fan of the Catholic church as a child... heck, I even left the Church for years! One of my major complaints was that I had no idea what the homilies were about. That was my first step with my kiddos. Our reading was Luke 13:18-21... the Parable of the Mustard Seed. In class we are studying Baptism and how it brings us into the Church family. Here is the basic lesson set-up I used! Together we read the passage Luke 13:18-21. Since we were discussing Baptism in Religion class, I decided to connect the parable to the sacrament. We discussed how Baptizing a baby is like planting the tiny mustard seed. The baby will go through many challenges as it grows up, but hopefully his or her faith will grow and he or she will pass on the love of Christ. This is just like how the mustard seed will grow into a tree, and help our the birds of the air. We all can start in small ways and spread the love of Jesus. We learned the song "Faith as Small as a Mustard Seed" and sang it together as a class. At the end of the lessons, students had a short time to draw a quick comic to reflect on what we learned. I find that drawing comics in Religion really helps them retain the lesson. We don't spend a lot of time on aesthetics, just quick stick figures to get the message across! Most of my students haven't seen a Baptism, so we watched this fantastic video from Catholic Icing. They loved it! It was fantastic for talking about the symbols in the Sacrament.
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The Three Types of RocksMy students and I have been studying the three types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Some were getting it, some were not. It didn't help that this was my first year teaching it and so I had to relearn the concepts myself! We also had to learn about the rock cycle, which in my opinion is a heck of a lot harder than the water cycle which they learn later on in the curriculum. The Rock CycleI was so lucky to have discovered the Science Notebooking blog early on in my career. The lady who writes this blog is an absolute genius science teacher for elementary kids. Whenever I am stuck on a science lesson, I go to her and she rarely lets me down! We even included the Rock Cycle Song "We Will Rock You" to our lesson! This time she shared a lesson she found where students visit different stations to "Ride the Rock Cycle". They have a page to record their journey, and at each station they roll the dice to find out what happened to them as a rock. The original lesson is from Illinois State Museum, and you can get all the materials from their website. It really helped my students with recognizing that the rock cycle is, in fact, a cycle. They might visit the same center more than three times! The first couple rounds were a struggle for my lower readers, but many of them naturally paired up with other students and in the end they all loved it! There is a comic the kids do afterwards, but we are doing that next week! Here is an example from the Science Notebooking blog: Infamous Edible RocksTo firm up my munchkins understanding of how each type of rock is formed, I was completely stuck. Then, after searching Google and Pinterest, I figured out that most people use food to teach them! I did the same... I borrowed the idea from a million different websites who did it slightly differently for each one. My class started out with igneous rocks. We used melted chocolate for our lava/magma and ice cream for our Earth's surface. The children loved how the ice cream caused the melted chocolate to harden, just like the lava would cool and harden on Earth's surface. We then created sedimentary rocks. The students used graham crackers and icing for this one. Belatedly I thought I should have given them some animal cracker or gummi animal to create a "fossil" in their sedimentary rock, but this still worked. Last, but certainly not least, was our metamorphic rocks. They were starbursts that were squashed together using our heat and pressure from our hands.
Halloween So this was the first time in years that I have dressed up for Halloween. I am actually not generally comfortable with the whole Halloween idea for Catholic schools (which I work at). My students completely knew what Halloween was (and did not understand why we don't get the day off haha!) but hadn't even heard of All Saint's Day. Our closest Church didn't even have a Mass that day! It seems like it is becoming less important to a lot of people. As a result, I don't often dress up. It bothers me that the focus is so completely on candy and parties in a Catholic school. However, there is something to be said about working with enthusiastic, fun people! My fellow co-workers were very excited to dress up, and wanted the kids to see how much fun you could have with costumes. My friend, "Miss Frizzle" in the middle, convinced me to be the Magic School Bus and then she designed this fantastic bus. The kids adored it! It had a license plate, the Magic School Bus Children in the windows, a horn, everything! It was a huge hit. She was Miss Frizzle from the Space episode. Even her shoes had stars on them! Our other friend was a Cave Woman, inspired by Flintstones but modernized ;-), but since her students have been learning about the fur trade they were convinced that she was trying to be a Fur Trader! It really was adorable to watch their reactions to the teacher costumes. Many of our teachers went all out... we had a pirate, Steve Jobs, a chipmunk, Papa Smurf, the Flash, and more! All Saints' DayToday we had a wonderful morning studying the Saints. I wish I had taken more photographs because the children were very enthusiastic. We started off filling this sheet out as a class: The children thought it was pretty cool. The bonus was that they did know the names of a lot of Saints (since so many schools in our district are named after saints!). They were also convinced that the priest from our local parish is a Saint, so we had to have the Big S little s Saint discussion too. Afterwards we headed to the computer lab where the children studied a Saint of their choice. I gave limited choice due to the fact that this was their first research assignment with me. They could research St. John Bosco, St. Kateri, St. Clare (of Assisi), or St. Patrick. We used St. Valentine as an example for the whole class. I bought this worksheet from Catholic Icing for $1.00. It was well worth not having to make it myself! It also had a map, and we are learning our continents so I made them circle what continent their Saint was from! Afterwards we took a break from our work and did some worship singing. This group loves to sing worship songs... it might have something to do with the fact that they are allowed to sit on top of their desks when they do, but let us keep that hush, hush! It would have been perfect to get a video of their singing... At one point they all linked arms and started swaying with the music with big smiles on their faces! It was a wonderful way to end a week where they were having some difficulties getting along with each other. Some of the songs they chose to sing today were: While I am finishing up the Rocks and Minerals unit I thought I would semi-transition my Science Table into a new topic. The students love dinosaurs right now, so I thought we would do a couple weeks of a Dinosaur/Rock/Fossil table! Buddy Game: Dinosaur Place Value MatchOur Buddy Game this week was Dinosaur Place Value Match from Fun 2B in First's TPT Store. I can't believe this great product was free! The biggest problem were that there were so many cards to match that many of the kiddos improvised. They would turn the cards over and find matches with them facing up. Using Manipulatives/TechnologyThe students did a Roll/Build/Draw/Write activity this week. Unfortunately the video/pics I took of them (which were adorable!) got corrupted on the nearly antique camera I had on hand. Seriously... it has only 4 megapixels. Crazy, right? To sum it up, I gave them a place value mat, some base-ten blocks, a tens dice and a ones dice. They recorded their work on this template: Independent WorkThis week independent work was all about the tech. We used a Motion Math app called Zoom. Great for place value! Watch the video for more info on how it works: Learning About NumbersThis week we used my favourite Mystery Pictures from Cara Carroll. The children like them, I love them, and it familiarizes them with different number forms and the hundreds chart. Doing MathThe point of Doing Math is to bring the real world into the classroom. Sometimes it is tough to find an investigation that is within the students capabilities, but still challenging! This time I went with how many ways can one make $100? The students had to make at least 11 using the bills provided, and then write them down. Check back next week for a summary of this week's BUILD activities!I Changed! This is my first year teaching grade 3. I attempted to put in my MATH-WIN program that I used in upper elementary with limited success. The third graders couldn't remember their responsibilities at seven station... and so I brought it down to six. While BUILD has five letters, it doesn't include working with the teacher like MATH-WIN does. What is BUILD? Where does it come from? To be honest, I am not sure where BUILD comes from... I have heard that it was developed by the 2 Sisters as a Math response to Daily Five, but I am not sure if that is true. BUILD is a lot like Daily Five. Students choose which center to go to (although my kids have to go to each center at least once a week). Each center has a different task. As you can see above, the different centers are Buddy Math, Using Manipulatives, Independent Work, Learning About Numbers, Doing Math. I personally adapted Using Manipulatives to Using Manipulatives and Technology so I could have more flexibility. Buddy GamesBuddy Games are just like they sound, games that are does with a buddy (or two, or three!). These days there are so many great games you can make and buy for math and kids always learn more when they are having fun! My favourites are usually from Box Cars and One Eyed Jacks. Their games require usually only a paper template, and either dice, dominoes or cards. Using Manipulatives and TechnologyOne thing I love about primary math is that the concrete is still so directly applicable to the math they are doing. Why not bring in manipulatives whenever you can? It helps kids understand so much better! On my students math reflections they always refer back to the manipulatives center, even if it wasn't the most fun. I added in the technology component just in case I can't think of anything for the kiddos to do with manipulatives that is relevant. So far, it hasn't happened yet! Independent WorkThis is like the homework section (although sometimes I use technology here too!). Students work on something at their desks independently in order to continue building their skills. It would be a worksheet, a page from the textbook, an iPad app, or some kind of individual game. Learning About NumbersAnyone else feel like the could study number all year long, and the students would still need more? Our math curriculum is quite diverse and "Number" is just one component. I am excited to be able to study it all year long using BUILD without necessarily focusing on it all year. Here are a few ideas of what we do in Number: Doing MathI once went to a Guided Math workshop where the consultant stated that the number one most important center in Guided Math programs is a math investigation. It brings math back to the real world and allows students to use their problem-solving skills in real life situations. I hope to show you a couple of my math investigations in the next couple of weeks! SchedulingI use BUILD 3-4 days a week depending on attendance of the children. We always start with a mini-lesson that lasts between 8-15 minutes at our front carpet. Then the children head off to their centers for 15 minutes. Sometimes I just hang out at the centers with them, guiding and challenging them to do more. Other times I pull small groups to work on intervention or advancement. After the 15 minutes are up we do another (usually shorter) mini-lesson, and then back to another round. Check Back for what we did during our Place Value Unit!My goal for the 2013-2014 year is to implement Reggio-Emilia style documentation into my classroom. As Reggio Emilia is focused on infant-toddler and preschool aged children, I plan to adapt the documentation to put a spin on it where the kids do a lot of their own documenting, as well as comment on each others work. Do I know how I am going to do this? Not one bit! And thus my journey begins! What is Documentation?Documentation is a compilation of different forms of media showing the process of a child's (or group of children's) learning journey. Unlike a display which focuses on the final product, documentation includes reflections, photographs, videos, plans, idea webs, etc from throughout a project. It also shows the initial provocation. From what I understand there is no one right way to document in this style as long as documents create a conversation between all of the stakeholders (the child, the parents, the teacher) and allows for all parties to have an idea of where the child came from, where they are now, and a sense of the next steps that should be taken. A great video on what documentation is can be found on Vimeo. It is called "Documentation: Transforming our Perspective". Check it out: Why is Documentation more appealing than other forms of assessment?Everyone has their favourite forms of assessment, and I am certainly not knocking those. After all, I have yet to implement documentation so I use a ton of other forms of assessment as well! However, here are some of the wonderful things that this style of assessment brings forward: 1) Much like a portfolio, it is an ongoing picture of a child's learning journey, rather than a snapshot of their progress. 2) The importance is placed on the child as being vital to the process. They are not just a passive follower but they are a leader in their own learning. 3) Teachers are expected to be researchers, and use the documentation as a primary source of their research. 4) Documentation tells a story (albeit a never-ending story!) which is easier for parents to understand. It has also been called "pedagogical narration" and a "learning story". 5) It encourages children to be critical thinkers. They are asked about why they choose to do something, they are required to wonder about what to do next, why their peers may have differing opinions. They have to make plans and then reevaluate them. 6. It requires teachers to be both theorists and practitioners. Oftentimes we get caught in the trap of being practicing teachers, and forget the fact that we should be, at all times, doing active research in our classroom. This form of Documentation emphasizes that I must hypothesize, analyze, interpret, and reflect in a much more purposeful manner then I might have previously done. Where are you starting?I found this article called, "Learning to Document" which goes through the steps that teachers experience when beginning the process of documentation in their classroom. It details the steps as follows:
I have to of course add my own step of "Reading a million blogs and scouring Pinterest". One of my favourite blog posts I have found so far is from Miss Reggio Blog and is called "8 Ways to Document Children's Learning" She gives many ideas for different formats you could use for presenting student learning stories some of which you can see below: I will keep y'all updated as my own learning journey begins!
This is my first year teaching grade 3. I have always taught upper elementary prior to this year, with the exception of substitute work. Ultimately I want to work with the Pre-K/Kindergarten crowd so I thought I would start moving down in grades. So far it has been absolutely wonderful! Don't get me wrong... I loved upper elementary, and there are definitely fun things about teaching them. Certainly there is more of an emphasis on critical thinking skills which is interesting to watch children develop. Plus, you can say things with sarcasm and they get it. That said, I have had an absolutely fabulous week! The children seem to be happy to try new things and take risks, which I hope I can continue to encourage. We did many activities and the weather has been fantastic so we went outside for gym and played Dead Ants (always a hit, but much easier to convince grade 3 children to do rather than grade 6!), and Drip, Drip, Drop. I need to get my FOIP forms out because you have to see their faces to truly appreciate this photograph... During their free time during gym I turned around and there they were! I just had to grab a photo! We haven't gone too much academic work yet (at least not beyond the pre-assessments). We did start our patterns unit with some review of basic pattern ideas, and we started with looking at patterns as being everywhere, including music and dance like in this lovely video which we rocked out to: They watched a video on patterns afterwards from Discovery Education, and then I let them have a free for all with the unifix blocks, saying that they had to build any pattern they wanted and once we shared it with the class, they were free to build robots or whatever (no guns allowed!). Most students went with basic ABABAB patterns (although this lovely one matched her shirt!) but some students challenged themselves to go farther with their patterns. From what I saw I am confident that the students are ready to be introduced to numerical patterns as well as increasing/decreasing patterns. Another indication of this was our Math Pattern Mystery we do in the morning on the SmartBoard. The mystery was a 3, 5, 7, ?. Students recognized that it went by twos and that they were all odd numbers without any guidance. We also did an activity to prep the kids for the lunchroom. It was a craftivity pack from D Conway for $4 on Teachers Pay Teachers. I highly recommend it! The kids found it to be a lot of fun.
The ProblemGlobal Citizenship is the theme of Alberta's Grade 3 Social Studies. While it specifically focuses in on Ukraine, Tunisia, India and Peru, the goal is for students to see themselves as part of a world community. However, students in grade 3, especially ones who have never traveled more than five hours from home by car, have little idea of other countries. How could I possible make it interesting and relevant? The IdeaRecently I found a blog I LOVE to follow - Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits. One of my favorite lessons I found from her was regarding a Classroom Pet... you can read about it here: Class Pet Writing Journal I also had a Pastor when I was a child who used to occasionally start her Children's Church messages with postcards from an imaginary lizard that traveled the world. Introducing Mr. Mahkesis!I bought this stuffed fox from Ikea, and felt it went well with my Woodland Animals semi-theme from my classroom. He is going to be named Mr. Mahkesis (Cree word for Fox), and he is going to travel the world for me! He has a lovely suitcase and "Pawsport" from Build-A-Bear so he is ready for his travels. He also has a Happy Birthday t-shirt from Build-A-Bear so the children can take a photograph with him on their birthday! The ProjectThroughout the year Mr. Mahkesis will send us postcards from different places. I have collected postcards from around the world thanks to my friends, family, and a hobby I have called "Postcrossing". After introducing Mr. Mahkesis (in the same style as Ms. Tunstall did!), I plan on reading Meerkat Mail. This is about a Meerkat who travels around the world and send postcards home about the places he visits. My students will be able to write him letters and postcards while he is travelling as well. We will post the postcards he sends us on our World Map. The Outcome?I will keep you posted on how the students respond to the idea. They are in grade 3, so writing to a stuffed animal might be a bit below them, but I think it will be a fun addition to our Social Studies!
Classroom Job BoardThis year I am going to try out a Classroom Economy as part of my Mathematics curriculum. I had an adapted version of this previously with another class and it was wonderful. I am a bit worried about students who don't earn as much money due to behaviour in grade 3 (I don't want upset parents calling me!), but I do plan on always having the bank accounts reset every couple of months. Writing StationMy writing station will be for use during Daily Five/Ketchup&Pickle time. I am hoping that it actually encourages children to do some authentic writing. I have provided some resources such as thesauri and dictionaries for the students to use. I have Guinness World Records Writing prompts, greeting cards that I got from our local Recycle/Reuse center, recipe cards from the dollar store, postcards and stationary (Also from Recycle/Reuse Center), old journals and some blank paper for students to create comics. I also have loose lined paper for students who want to create their own books in the center. On the bulletin board I used the Woodland Writing Choice Pack from Nicole Bunts TPT store. I plan do to a mini-lesson on each type of writing, plus more in depth writing workshops on others such as writing stories or letters. Classroom LibraryI used to always sort my books by genre. Then last year I leveled according to easy/medium/hard because I had many students who could read at grade level would would pick easy, easy picture books. They didn't like to challenge themselves when reading AT ALL. This was even after I did multiple lessons on how to choose a good-fit book. This year I am doing a combination of genre/levels. The books are sorted according to genre, but inside the front cover they have a sticker to say the approximate level. If a student appears to need direction on their book choices, I will tell them to pick within a two color range, like "Try to read a couple of yellow and orange books this week". That way they still have plenty of choice, but they can also see what range of books are appropriate for their reading abilities. I have a bin of partner books for when students are reading with a partner. Each set is in a ziploc bag with a label of how many books should be in the set. They won't be limited to just these books, but it does allow for them two have a set of two or three when reading in small groups. Photographs from Around the ClassroomHere is the back wall of my classroom. The posters above the bulletin boards are from Native Reflections and are based on the eight sacred teachings. If you are looking for classroom decorations that are a bit more on the art side rather than the cartoony side, I highly suggest Native Reflections. Even though they are obviously meant for teachers who teach Aboriginal students, their message and beauty would be appreciated by anyone! Here is the set I have: I put my Word Wall on the whiteboard. This way if I have to quickly throw a word on I can just write it there, or if I have time I can place it on a word strip and put magnetic tape on the back. I got the owl/tree letters from First Grade Owls. I love how the vowels are identified! I think that will be a great reminder for my grade three students! Above is the Art Center for when students complete work or during Ketchup/Pickle time. In a drawer below the station I have a variety of How-To draw books and craft idea books. I have two cookie sheets hung under my SmartBoard/WhiteBoard for Word-work practice. Below is my morning work bulletin board. Most of the Morning Meeting is done on the SmartBoard, but I like to have a real calendar. It is also from Native Reflections. Each classroom in my school has to have one of the charts to the right for behavior management. While I don't particularly find that it works, it is nice to have a common language among us teachers. I am short on desks right now, so I am going to be using my Guided Reading table for student seating for the first few days until we can figure out our numbers. Each student has their MOOSE (Managing Our Organization Skills Everday) binders on their desk, and inside their desk they have their math pocket.
The guided reading table has whiteboard stickers on from Martha Stewart. Although I have plenty of whiteboards, these were cheap and I think it will be great management-wise. |