Structures of Life in Science

We have been busy learning about all sorts of living things. The students began with an investigation of the fruits of plants. The discovered some fruits have only one seed and others have hundreds and even thousands of seeds. After we investigated seeds, the students sprouted seeds using only water. They were impressed to see how much water the seeds could absorb. We then "planted" bush bean seeds in containers of water to see if they will grow and develop.

This week we introduced a new organism to our classroom. The students are investigating crayfish. There has been a whole lot of excitement going on! The past few days we've studied the structures of the crayfish and the needs of the their habitat. Next week we'll start observing their behaviors.

2012-2013 School Year

Wow! We have already made it through 7 days of school. I have a wonderful class of 15 3rd graders this year. I'm excited to learn and grow with them this year.

Collaboration

The 3rd graders wrote "fairly" fairy tales, which are fairy tales with a twist. Here, Jett works with his 7th grade partner to design some illustrations and create animation using DoInk. You can see how well the students are working together on this collaborative project!

Dads' Night 2012

I thought I'd share some pictures from the activites the 3rd graders completed with their dads and guests on our annual Dads' Night.

Science Investigation

Check out these shots of the 3rd graders learning about science!

Make your own photo slideshow at Animoto.

Parts of Speech Scavenger Hunt

The third graders dug into some guided reading books with a language goal this time. They are searching for nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. They worked with partners to identify the various parts of speech. When they finish the scavenger hunt they will use some of the words in sentences.

Austin and Priscilla chose a non fiction book about snakes and lizards to hunt through.

Ethan and Camryn are searching for parts of speech in a book about towers.

Jett and Natalie are having a discussion about adverbs as they read through a non-fiction text about animal herds.

Differentiated Math

A typical day in our classroom will involve a variety of math centers. The activities are frequently tiered to meet the needs of each student. The students will visit centers to practice skills and work on new skills as well.