2020-2021 School year
ARCHIVED PICS
Pictures from the week of 8/19-23 |
Back to school ACTIVITIES and surface tension science |
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We explored our new math books, started reading and math stations, started class jobs, made play dough monsters and wrote about them, worked in our science notebooks, and went on an on-campus Field Study. When I dismissed class on Friday, we all couldn’t believe it had a been a whole week. It flew by!
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We spent time on Friday learning classroom procedures and more growth mindset practices. Students also filled out job applications for class jobs and they are so excited to hear the hiring results on Monday. We ended the day with a lesson about surface tension with a fun science lab.
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Archive: 2018-2019
first days of school
The students went on a classroom scavenger hunt to explore their new classroom. They learned how to work together as a team with puzzle races, Saving Fred, and many other activities.
welcome 2018-2019 CLASS!
Archive: 2017-2018 School Year |
Watercolor & OIl Pastels ArtWintu Ways Class and Textiles from the past museum ExploreDid you know that Turtle Bay sits on what was once Wintu territory? Today we sat in the replica Wintu bark house and discovered how the Wintu used to use natural materials for shelter, food and tools and learn how they continue to use these materials for baskets, regalia and more, today. This class will brought to life traditional and contemporary Native American life ways with artifacts and we enjoyed a hands-on activity making pine nut necklaces. We also go to explore the exhibit Textiles From the Past.
Room 7C explored a mysterious substance collected from the ground on Planet Oobleck. They worked as scientists as they investigated the properties of the strange goopy material. They worked as engineers as they designed, built, and tested spaceships to land and take off on Planet Oobleck. We talked a lot about the engineering process and how scientists and engineers work through problems and challenges. I was impressed by their creativity and their ability to see a problem with a design or build, make modifications, and continue moving forward through their design process.
Stone Soup |
We have been hard at work designing and sewing a Chrysalis Penguin Flag to fly at the research station at Cape Royds on Ross Island, Antarctica in conjunction with our Project Penguin Science Unit. We adopted a penguin nest and have been following along as scientists send us daily pictures of our nest and we sent this beautiful flag to be flown next to the penguin colony. A huge thank you to Braxton's grandma for sewing the students’ hand drawn projects onto the flag.
We are grateful!
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Field Study 8/25We had Field Study on campus today. We took note of signs of the season and we will be using those to track how our campus changes through the seasons. We collected a few specimens to bring back to take a closer look under the microscopes.
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building our reading stamina!
First field study of the year!
We had a great first Field Study on Friday. The students learned the differences between the Valley Oak, Blue Oak, and Live Oak. By the end of our study they were pros at identifying each of the these oaks with ease!
Foil Penny BoatsWe started with a discussion about boats that we have been on and how many people the boat held. We talked about the difference between the boats' designs and what their job was. This was a simple lab to invoke thought processes. Each student was given aluminum foil and asked to design/build a boat that would hold as many pennies as possible without sinking. The students were cheering each other on as each penny was added. It was a lot of fun! Ask your child about their boat design and its results.
Science behind the experiment: There are two primary forces acting on this science experiment. The first force is gravity. Gravity is trying to pull the tin foil and pennies downward. The force of buoyancy is pushing the boat toward the surface. The gravitational force is determined by the weight of the tin foil and the weight of the pennies in the boat. The force of buoyancy is the weight of the water displaced by the boat. Your boat will continue to float as long as the force of buoyancy is greater than the force of gravity and you do not overload the boat so it will tip over or leak. |
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Job ApplicationsThursday was a BIG day! Students filled out their job applications! I introduced the class jobs on Wednesday and the excitement was HUGE this year! We talked about how the real job application process works in the real world. We talked about how many people might apply for the same job and learned a few skills on how we can make our job application stand out amongst the rest. I was so impressed with the quality of the applications that came in. It was a tough decision process for this employer here! In our classroom, students get a class "paycheck" monthly where they will visit our class bank where they endorse their check and deposit them into their class bank account. They were thrilled to start their jobs on Friday and I can't wait to see their excitement on the first banking day coming next month.
In this teamwork activity students first developed a strategy of how their group could quickly put together a 60 piece puzzle in the most efficient way where all 5 people are involved in the process the whole time. The groups all finished within 5 minutes of each other. After the groups finished, they used their puzzle map of the United States to discuss which states they have visited. It was so fun to hear these conversations and helped us get to know each other even better.
Saving FRED!
Our 3rd grade engineers were hard at work today. This fun exercise really got our students excited to work together. I loved seeing their wheels turn as they asked "are you sure this is possible?". I loved seeing the proud looks on their face when they figured it out! Group #_____ was able to save Fred (gummy worm) without any accidental drownings during the rescue process. The other groups were able to save Fred on their next attempts. Here is the story and challenge the students received as their mission:
Poor Fred is a worm that has found himself in a rather unfortunate situation. His boat has capsized and his life jacket is trapper underneath it! Poor Fred can't swim! His oar, his only means of movement, has fallen into the rocky waters as well! He now sits perched on top of his capsized boat and he needs our help! It is your job to SAVE FRED! You will be responsible for flipping Fred's boat over and getting him back inside. He needs his life jacket ON him this time, and his oar laying horizontally across the top of his boat. Here's the catch: You can't touch Fred with your hands. You may only use the two paperclips supplied. Keep in mind we wouldn't want to hurt poor Fred by stabbing him or popping his life jacket by stabbing it! Also, we can’t let him touch the water (the floor or desk) because he can't swim! |
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Past photos...2016-2017 School Year
Planet reportsAs part of our unity of study on the Solar System, the students each "adopted" a planet and completed an at home planet report and model of their planet. This is another big hit of third grade. The students did such an amazing job presenting their reports to the entire school who filtered through our room to admire the models. All of the reports showcased such creativity and attention to detail.
Shasta Dam TourWe had an incredible trip to Shasta Dam. Students felt the vibration of the powerful water, got wet, and learned more about the water cycle. Thank you to the parent chaperones who came on this trip with us. Antoinette, our tour guide, told us we were the most engaged and well behaved group she has had in all of her 10 years of leading school tours. Wow! This was definitely a trip the students will remember for a very long time!
Penguin ScienceField Study Turtle BayDid you know that Turtle Bay sits on what was once Wintu territory? Today we sat in the replica Wintu bark house and discovered how the Wintu used to use natural materials for shelter, food and tools and learn how they continue to use these materials for baskets, regalia and more, today. This class will brought to life traditional and contemporary Native American life ways with artifacts and we enjoyed a hands-on activity making pine nut necklaces. We also go to explore the exhibit Take Flight and the students LOVED it! This exhibit allowed students to tap into the creative process of flight combines historical information with hands on activities to create their own flying experience while learning the fundamental principles of flight. They participated in a series of building activities that helped them create different forms of flying machines. SO FUN!!
Hawes Farm Field TripWe braved the storm and went on our scheduled field trip to Hawes Farm. Chrysalis K-3 had the whole place to ourselves and it was AWESOME!
Coleman Fish HatcherySurface Tension LessonApples DayWe had a fun day learning about Johnny Appleseed, making apple crisp, learning about apples, making apple print art, and using technology to research apples and the history behind Johnny Appleseed. A big thank you to our parent/grandparent volunteers!
Field Study 8/26
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Famous Artists Art Lesson With Mrs. SalterForce & MotionWe recently explored a kit called Discovery Ramps. It was an open ended and engaging way to introduce the fundamentals of Engineering and exploration of concepts in our new unit of study, Force and Motion.
100th Day Of School Fun!Stone SoupHalloween School CarnivalMystery In 3rd Grade!Your child may have told you about a taped off crime scene (make-believe) we found in our classroom Monday morning. The students were so excited to get started on the case right away. We will spend the next couple of weeks trying to solve the mystery. Students will study the "crime scene" then conduct crime-lab tests on the evidence, analyze the results, and try to solve the mystery. This unit will explore many key content areas and emphasizes the important distinction between evidence and inference. The crime-lab procedures include thread tests, powder tests, chromatography, and fingerprinting. This Mystery Festival Unit combines fun and excitement with careful experimentation, logical thinking, and real-life connections to forensic science. As the fascinating correlation between science and detective work become clear, students will absorb processes that will be useful in all disciplines.
Field Study at Turtle Bay: Exploring the Forest ClassWe discovered a forest’s history by learning about tree "cookies”. We learned how to tell how old the trees are, and what types of challenges have they faced. We uncovered a world of forest wildlife that sometimes goes unseen and discovered the relationships between producers, consumers, and decomposers in the forest. The students loved that they got to take home their very own tree cookies.
OObleck ExplorationThe students worked as scientists as they investigated the properties of the strange goopy material from "Planet Oobleck.". They acted like engineers as they later designed, spaceships to land on Oobleck.
post-it questions walkPuzzle Races & Foil Penny Boat ChallengeWe enjoyed more teamwork and get to know you activities today Activities included a People Hunt where students tried to find classmates who had similar interests and favorite things. Groups also worked together to complete puzzles as quickly as possible which took strategy and a lot of teamwork. Later we completed a Science Lab Challenge. Students were given a small piece of foil and were asked to make a boat that would float the biggest number of pennies. There was sure an excited buzz about the room as some boats held over 60 pennies! Ask your child about their boat design and its results. This was a simple lab to invoke thought processes. Each student was given aluminum foil and asked to design/build a boat that would hold as many pennies as possible without sinking. The students were cheering each other on as each penny was added. It was a lot of fun!
Science behind the experiment There are two primary forces acting on this science experiment. The first force is gravity. Gravity is trying to pull the tin foil and pennies downward. The force of buoyancy is pushing the boat toward the surface. The gravitational force is determined by the weight of the tin foil and the weight of the pennies in the boat. The force of buoyancy is the weight of the water displaced by the boat. Your boat will continue to float as long as the force of buoyancy is greater than the force of gravity and you do not overload the boat so it will tip over or leak |
Saving Fred team Challenge
Our 3rd grade engineers were hard at work today. This fun exercise really got our students excited to work together. I loved seeing their wheels turn as they asked "are you sure this is possible?". I loved seeing the proud looks on their face when they figured it out! Group #3 was able to save Fred (gummy worm) without any accidental drownings during the rescue process. The other groups were able to save Fred on their next attempts. Here is the story and challenge the students received as their mission:
Poor Fred is a worm that has found himself in a rather unfortunate situation. His boat has capsized and his life jacket is trapper underneath it! Poor Fred can't swim! His oar, his only means of movement, has fallen into the rocky waters as well! He now sits perched on top of his capsized boat and he needs our help! It is your job to SAVE FRED! You will be responsible for flipping Fred's boat over and getting him back inside. He needs his life jacket ON him this time, and his oar laying horizontally across the top of his boat. Here's the catch: You can't touch Fred with your hands. You may only use the two paperclips supplied. Keep in mind we wouldn't want to hurt poor Fred by stabbing him or popping his life jacket by stabbing it! Also, we can’t let him touch the water (the floor or desk) because he can't swim!
Poor Fred is a worm that has found himself in a rather unfortunate situation. His boat has capsized and his life jacket is trapper underneath it! Poor Fred can't swim! His oar, his only means of movement, has fallen into the rocky waters as well! He now sits perched on top of his capsized boat and he needs our help! It is your job to SAVE FRED! You will be responsible for flipping Fred's boat over and getting him back inside. He needs his life jacket ON him this time, and his oar laying horizontally across the top of his boat. Here's the catch: You can't touch Fred with your hands. You may only use the two paperclips supplied. Keep in mind we wouldn't want to hurt poor Fred by stabbing him or popping his life jacket by stabbing it! Also, we can’t let him touch the water (the floor or desk) because he can't swim!
1st day of school 2016-2017
Last year Pics....
Bubble FestivalWe had a blast exploring with bubbles. The festival included 12 different bubble station that students moved through that encouraged independent thinking and cooperative learning.
TerrariumsA terrarium is an up-close, hands-on way to teach students about ecology, life cycles, food webs, nutrient cycles, decomposition, adaptation, and animal structures and behavior. Our terrariums are flourishing!
On Thursday, March 17th, students completed a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activity designing and building traps to catch a leprechaun! Of course Ms. Crystal wanted to be able to actually test the traps to see if indeed they would work and thanks to the Magera family for donating the small remote car, Ms. Crystal was able to strap a leprechaun to it and drive it through each trap. A big thank you to Sarah for volunteering your time to come help the students during the building process. I was so proud of how well the students did following all of the build criteria and how they progressed from making the blue prints to adding in modifications and improvements as they saw fit.
As part of our unity of study on the Solar System, the students each "adopted" a planet and completed an at home planet report and model of their planet. This is another big hit of third grade. The students did such an amazing job presenting their reports to the entire school who filtered through our room to admire the models. Way to go third grade! So proud of you!
On March 2nd, for Read Across America Day, the Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade & 3rd grade will all joinined together to have a special Dr. Seuss themed breakfast. The students and volunteers enjoyed green eggs, fruit "truffula" salad, pink pink lemonade, and pancakes with whip cream and chocolate chips. After breakfast students participated in a read-a-thon and Dr. Seuss themed activities. Plus we got to wear our PJ's to school and bring pillows and stuffed animals to read with!!! Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who came in early and cooked breakfast and also to all of the families who donated the ingredients for breakfast and supplies for the craftivities too!
Students successfully completed a math challenge where they had to fill a candy box with a combination of chocolates to equal as close to 500grams as possible. Then we made Love Bugs. The students exchanged Valentine cards and enjoyed some tasty goodies too. As promised, here are some pictures of our Love Bugs. Check out the creative names the students gave their bugs. A big thank you to our volunteers today. We had Barbara, April, and Helen all helping out! Thanks!!
In Field Study, we learned about using our ears and eyes to make careful observation of nature and practiced these skills out in the field several times. We collected and processed acorns with Mr. Casey's class in a three week long field study. Students learned the process of acorn collection to acorn mush and acorn bread. Boy was it good! Ask your child all about it! We also learned about the growth habits of Oak Trees through this process. We took a Field Trip to Turtle Bay where we made pine nut necklaces and learned about the local Wintu tribes in the comfort of a family style tee-pee learning environment. We watched the 5th grade class dissect pig lungs and pig hearts. On a rainy day Friday, we water painted nature scenes right outside of our classroom.
In Language Arts, we just finished learning how to write instructional papers. I started this unit with asking students to write instructions on how to make hot cocoa. I warned them to be extremely specific as if the person had never made hot cocoa before. The students went to work with gusto and were finished quickly with only 5-8 sentences on average. I took this opportunity to show students how important being very specific in instructional writing is by using their directions to actually make a cup of hot cocoa they way their directions stated step-by-step. Check out the pictures! While looking at the pictures, just try to imagine the shouts of "Oh no, that's not what I meant!" and "Can I please re-write mine real quick?!" It was one the best ah hah moments in writing I have ever witnessed. Guess what? The next day, after much begging and pleading on their part, we wrote the instructional papers again. ....SUCCESS! All students had successful directions that resulted in an edible hot cocoa! We have also recently mastered the dreaded possessive plural nouns. We are currently working on mastering paragraph writing! I am so proud of these students!
Every Monday morning when we enter our classroom, our class pet Henry (beloved guinea pig) squeals and grunts like crazy. I have always joked that it is him telling us all about what he was doing over the weekend in the classroom while we were gone. On students' request, a new writing assignment was started about what Henry does all weekend while we are gone. What better to help with inspiring their ideas than Henry sitting with them while they write! Look for videos of students reading their Henry Papers coming soon!
Hot Wheels® Speedometry™ is a fun and engaging way to learn about concepts such as energy, force, and motion. Students also learn scientific and engineering practices such as analyzing and interpreting data.
These activities in this kit are intended to provide a way to practice Science, Math, and Engineering through play. They provide an opportunity for students to share moments of joy, excitement, curiosity, and wonder. When we first opened the kit, students did not know how the tracks snapped together, how to attach ramp clamps to table, or how to create enough momentum to make a successful run. I told them it was their job to figure it out and gave them copies of the instructional manual for attaching ramp clamps and tracks. Within 45 minutes or less all groups had successful car runs and had figured out those tricky ramp clamps all on their own. The success seen in their eyes after a successful run was the highlight of my day! I hope you enjoy watching the videos to see the same. We are excited for future Hot Wheel Challenge Days where students will sharpen their engineering skills and learn about energy, force, and motion through hands-on experiences.
This unit presented three intriguing activities related to anthropology, archaeology, and diverse Native American and world cultures. In a very personal introduction to archaeology, students learned that a midden, in this context, is a term for deposits of artifacts earlier peoples left behind. Teams of students sifted through "artifacts" in shoe-box size middens, learned the skills required for excavation, map-drawing, and curatorship.
Today (11/12) we attended the Wintu Ways class at Turtle Bay Museum. The Wintu tribe have lived in this area for many, many generations. We discovered how they used natural materials for shelter, food, and in the creation of tools and baskets. We sat in the replica Wintu bark house and learned about the daily lives of the Wintu. This tour brought traditional and contemporary Native American life ways together with artifacts and a hands-on activity turning pine nuts to beads. Ask to see your child's pine nut necklace. After the class, we toured the new exhibit "Get Animated."
"Get Animated!" explores the unique and entertaining world of animation, from the classics of traditional hand-drawn cel animation to the ever-changing and exciting computer animation. The exhibit features a large-scale custom Zoetrope and acts as the centerpiece for the different disciplines of animation. We wandered through and experienced unique aspects of animation features and shorts, from 2-D peg board animation to 3-D stop action claymation, model work and CGI.
MYSTERY FESTIVAL!Your child may have told you about a taped off crime scene (make-believe) we found in our classroom last week. We have spent the past few weeks trying to solve the mystery. Students studied the "crime scene," then conducted crime-lab tests on the evidence, analyzed the results, and are currently trying to solve the mystery. These forensic science activities are designed to absorb students from the start and keep them intensely involved throughout and boy has it! This unit explored many key content areas and emphasized the important distinction between evidence and inference. The many crime-lab procedures include thread tests, powder tests, chromatography, and fingerprinting. This Mystery Festival Unit combines fun and excitement with careful experimentation, logical thinking, and real-life connections to forensic science. As the fascinating correlation between science and detective work become clear, students will absorb processes that will be useful in all disciplines. Ask your child for updates on how the class is doing in solving the mystery. WE ARE SOOOO CLOSE! A huge thank you to Rob, Melissa, Alyssa, and Karen for coming in to help with our crime lab testing stations. It was a huge help! 2nd Day of 3rd GradeWe enjoyed more teamwork and get to know you activities today Activities included a People Hunt where students tried to find classmates who had similar interests and favorite things. Groups also worked together to complete puzzles as quickly as possible which took strategy and a lot of teamwork. Later we completed a Science Lab Challenge. Students were given a small piece of foil and were asked to make a boat that would float the biggest number of pennies. There was sure an excited buzz about the room as some boats held over 40 pennies! Ask your child about their boat design and its results.
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We had a wonderful Fall Festival filled with fun and lots of laughs! Later in the afternoon we joined with the 2nd grade class and enjoyed an engineering project in building tall towers with gum drops, toothpicks, and marshmallows. Saving Fred Activity |
First Day of School! 2015-2016
2014-2015 School Year
Terrarium Habitats
A terrarium is an up-close, hands-on way to teach students about ecology, life cycles, food webs, nutrient cycles, decomposition, adaptation, and animal structures and behavior. Our terrariums are flourishing!
Field Study at Turtle Bay 3/27Students investigated the classic Dr. Seuss story, “The Lorax”, and discovered the meaning and the message behind this cautionary tale. Using their knowledge of the environment and their critical thinking skills, students broke into groups to debate the actions of different characters from the story and to analyze the immediate and long-term effects of human-caused environmental impact.
Turtle Bay Museum Trip-3/13/15When things get smaller, they act in surprising ways! With hands-on activities, we learned how nonoscale technology is transforming the world. Nanoscale science technology is used everywhere, in our sunscreen, our waterproofing material, our cell phones, and many other consumer products. After visiting all of the nano booths we headed into Sweet: A Tasty Journey Exhibit. A big thanks to Lorna, Randy, Trish, and Kelly for helping chaperone today!
Sweet - A Tasty Journey takes a nostalgic look at the confections beloved by generations of Americans. The exhibition serves a healthy helping of brain food, teaching all about California's "farm to fork" role in candy-making. Plus, it's a treat for the senses - from your eyes to your taste buds! Sweet - A Tasty Journey has lots of interactive displays and activities to stimulate all five senses while you explore the social and cultural aspects of the candy industry. You'll learn all about real life "Willy Wonka" stories from notable inventors such as Forrest Mars and Milton Hershey!
California plays a special role in the candy industry and contributes raw ingredients to the candy-making process. California is well-known for its nut and fruit crops and this exhibit tells the story from a "farm to fork" point of view. Sweet - A Tasty Journey makes use of various cutting edge technologies, making a perfect blend of traditional and modern education techniques that is fun for all ages! With vintage candy vending machines, pieces of factory equipment, and rare relics from the past and present world of candy, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Students completed a scavenger hunt searching for fun facts in the exhibit. |
Self-Portrait Art LessonWe had a wonderful art lesson where we learned some of the basics for self-portraits drawing. Check out how great the students did! Thank you Sunshine for bringing your inspiring art lessons into our classroom!
Planet Reports were A Success!
In conjunction with our study of our Solar System. The students adopted planets and completed planet reports with accompanying models of their planets. This is another big hit of third grade. The students did an exceptional job presenting their reports as the whole school came through on tours to see their planet projects. Great job 3rd grade!
Field Trip to Turtle Bay Museum
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our penguin flag is on its way to antarctica!
We have been hard at work designing and sewing a Chrysalis Penguin Flag to fly at the research station at Cape Royds on Ross Island, Antarctica in conjunction with our Project Penguin. If you would like to try to catch the Chrysalis flag flying true in Antarctica, you can click on this website link below:
Flag Check: http://www.thistle.org/pcam2/images.shtml Check this in the next few weeks to see when the Chrysalis flag arrives. A huge thank you to Kelly Graeff (parent volunteer) for sewing the students’ sewing projects onto the flag.
Flag Check: http://www.thistle.org/pcam2/images.shtml Check this in the next few weeks to see when the Chrysalis flag arrives. A huge thank you to Kelly Graeff (parent volunteer) for sewing the students’ sewing projects onto the flag.
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Postcards to antarctica
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Students are designing postcards about penguins. As a class, we will send them to U.S. research station near our penguin colony. Each card will have the unique and valuable "Antarctica” postmark and be mailed to the students' homes.
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investigating artifacts
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This unit presented three intriguing activities related to anthropology, archaeology, and diverse Native American and world cultures. In a very personal introduction to archaeology, students learned that a midden, in this context, is a term for deposits of artifacts earlier peoples left behind. Teams of students sifted through "artifacts" in shoe-box size middens, learned the skills required for excavation, map-drawing, and curatorship.
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Wintu Ways at Turtle Bay
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We went to Turtle Bay Museum on Dec. 3rd to attend an exploration class on the Wintu tribe. The Wintu have lived in this area for many, generations. We discovered how they used natural materials for shelter and food and in the creation of tools and baskets. We sat in the replica Wintu bark house and learned about their daily lives. This tour brought to life the traditional and contemporary Native American life ways. The students made beads from sanding down pine nuts and made a necklace too. After this class, we explored the exhibit Toytopia where we got an up close look at the history of toys and had a great time playing and building!
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check out our watercolor waterfall paintings!
We read The Waterfall by Jonathan London. After enjoying the beautiful watercolor illustrations in the story, the students made their own. They did such an amazing job!
stone soup
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First published in 1947, this picture book classic has remained one of Marcia Brown's most popular and enduring books. This story, about three hungry soldiers who outwit the greedy inhabitants of a village into providing them with a feast, is based on an old French tale. We read the story with the second grade class and then came back to our class where each student added their ingredient contribution to the crock pot. It cooked all day and then we had a wonderful feast together at the end of the day. We went around the table and expressed what we were each thankful for. Ms. Crystal is thankful for such a great third grade class and supportive families! Happy Thanksgiving Break everyone!
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Field Stuy Nov. 14th
Field study nov. 8th
We leaned about vein patterns on leaves and then went hunting to find examples of these different types of vein patterns of leaves on our campus. After classifying our leaves into the different categories, we read Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. The illustrations were all made using leaves. We then made our own leaf creations. The students did such an amazing job! Take a look!
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Free Choice FridayStudents earned 7 minutes of Free Choice Friday Minutes this week. Here is what they chose to do during their time.
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art- native american walking sticks
A big thank you to Liller's mom for coming in and presenting this lesson for us. The student's were absolutely thrilled to make these walking sticks and learn about the Yuma tribe.
Coleman fish hatchery field trip
Apples, apples, apples
2nd and 3rd graders joined together to celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with some great activities. Students made apple crisp, applesauce, apple art prints, estimated apple seeds at an apple dissection station, and best of all ate the apple crisp, applesauce, and ice-cream! Thank you to the amazing volunteers! You were amazing. The students were raving about how wonderful their day was!
detectives are on the case!
Your child may have told you about a taped off crime scene (make-believe) we found in our classroom last week. The 3rd Grade Detectives are trying to solve the mystery. Students are studying the "crime scene," then conduct crime-lab tests on the evidence, analyze the results, and try to solve the mystery. These forensic science activities are designed to absorb students from the start and keep them intensely involved throughout. This unit will explore many key content areas and emphasizes the important distinction between evidence and inference. The many crime-lab procedures include thread tests, powder tests, chromatography, and fingerprinting. This Mystery Festival Unit combines fun and excitement with careful experimentation, logical thinking, and real-life connections to forensic science. As the fascinating correlation between science and detective work become clear, students will absorb processes that will be useful in all disciplines.
Welcome to third grade...1st day fun!
Our first day went great! Such a smooth day with lots of getting to know you games and learning our classroom routines. Ask your child about Bucket Filling and what that means. We played a teamwork game in our table groups calling Saving Fred. The story was that Fred (a gummy worm on their table) couldn't swim so he always wore a little life preserver (a gummy ring). However, his boat (a cup) had capsized before he put on his life preserver. It was the students' job to work together to get the life preserver on Fred. The only rules was that they couldn't touch Fred, his boat, or the life preserver with their hands. They had to use paper clips and lots of strategy and planning ahead. Ask your child if his/her group was able to save their Fred.
