Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Poetry

This week we are learning about poetry in reading and writing!

Check out this great video about the 4 types of poetry that we are learning about this week!

 
 
Here are the notes pages that we are using this week!
 
 

 
We are also learning about the Figurative Language that poets use.
 
Watch this video to review figurative language!

 
 
Here are the notes on figurative language that we are using in class!
 
 
 
Here are the strategies we are using when we read poems and answer questions about poetry.
 
 

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Skype Visit with author, Kate Messner!

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to visit with an amazing author, Kate Messner!  She is an author of many children's and young adult books. We have been reading her books in class from the series Ranger in Time.  We read Ranger in Time: Rescue on the Oregon Trail and we are currently reading Ranger in Time: Danger in Ancient Rome. We were able to Skype with her, thanks to Mrs. Baldwin! She set up the whole Skpye session for us.  Ms. Messner told us all about her writing process and discussed how an author works with illustrators, editors, and publishers. The kids were able to ask her several questions as well.  She even read aloud the first chapter of her newest book, Ranger in Time: Long Road to Freedom, that won't even be released until December 29th!  We are so lucky!!  It was a great experience!  Ask your kids about it!

Take a look at her website to learn more about her and her books!

 
 
 
You can also check out the illustrator's blog too.  She wrote a post about creating the cover art for Kate Messner's new book!
 
 
 
 





 

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Cause and Effect

This week we will be learning about cause and effect in reading.  Check out this video that goes over what we will be discussing in class!


 
 
 
 
Click the links below to see some extra cause and effect practice pages that you can do at home.
 
 
 
 
 

Stop Motion Project

Here are a few pictures of the students working on their stop motion movies.  It was lots of fun!







Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Author's Purpose Stop Motion Project

Last week we learned about author's purpose.  Today, to reinforce our learning...and to have a little fun, we created stop motion videos! 

First, we learned that authors write to persuade, inform, or entertain readers.


The kids were paired up and drew an author's purpose note from a bag. Then, the kids worked with their partner to write a story or article that went with the chosen author's purpose.


Finally, the groups created a stop motion video using backgrounds and props that they created.  They also used little Lego characters to complete their videos.  After creating the video, they recorded the stories they wrote. 
For our first attempt at creating videos, everyone did a great job!

Check out our videos for Mrs. Wagner's Homeroom Class!

Can you guess what the author's purpose is for each video?
 

Mohammad and Jadyn
 
 

Gabby and Krislyn

Emmanuel, Avery, Daniela
 
 

Elijah and Melody
 

Camila and Linn

Avery and Samuel

Amani and Bella
 
 
Here are the videos for Ms. Bilodeau's Homeroom class!
 
 

Celeste and Michael

Luis and Scotty

Kelly and Savanna

Isaac and Lilly

Hailey and Kennedi

Genevieve and Luke

Garrett and Tristan

Gabby and Ryder

Britt and Jason

Friday, November 6, 2015

Nonfiction Text Features

Next week we will be taking a look at nonfiction text features and using them to help us find information.
Take a look at this short video that goes over each text feature.  Watch it to the end to take a short quiz! (At the end of the video you will click on the play button again to advance to the quiz.)

 
 
 
Here are some examples of the text features we will  be talking about and using next week.
(Click the link to print this out at home!)

Nonfiction Text Features
 

 

Main Idea

This week we learned how to find the main idea of a text. 

We learned that we need to...

*Pay attention to the title, headings, and pictures
*Look at the first sentence or the last sentence...sometimes the main idea is stated there
*Pay attention to the details...sometimes the details that are repeated will give you a clue about the main idea
*Remember that main idea is the big idea...what the selection is mostly about, NOT just one detail or event from the story

To practice this, we used main idea bags.  Each bag had some details.  The students had to look at all the details and decide what the main idea would be!






Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Reading Strategies

I created this video to show you the reading strategies that we are using on all of our assignments and homework.  I go over the basic strategies and show a couple of examples from a reading passage. Take a look!



 



Here's our strategy sheet.  Click the link to print out your own copy!
 
 
 

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Main Idea

This week we will be learning about how to find the main idea of the text.  Check out these fun videos that talk about main idea!







 
Here's what you need to know to help you find the main idea!

 
 
You can practice finding the main idea at home!  After you finish reading a book, print out this page and complete the hamburger main idea!  Just click on the link to download a copy. (If you don't have a printer at home...come see me and I will give you a copy!)
 
 
 
 

Red Ribbon Week

We had a very busy week for Red Ribbon Week.  We started off the week with a visit from Clutch to tell us how to stay drug free.  This was so much fun!





We also made a class poster to show that we will be drug free!  The kids did a great job!

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Red Ribbon Week!

Next week is Red Ribbon Week!  Take a look at the activities planned for each day of the week.  You can dress up and participate in a poster contest! (Click the links to download and print your own copy.)


 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Spelling City for the Second Nine Weeks

Next week we will start the 2nd nine weeks.  I have added most of our words for the 2nd nine weeks to a new list on Spelling City.  You can get started on learning the words by clicking the link below and playing the Spelling City games!  Have Fun!!

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Subjects and Predicates

Next week we will also be learning about subjects and predicates.  Click the link below to take a look at this video that describes subjects and predicates.  Watch it all the way to the end to take a short quiz!


Friendly Letters

Next week we will be working on writing friendly letters.  Take a look at this fun video to learn about the parts of a friendly letter!






Here's an example of a friendly letter.  This is what we will be using to help us write next week in class!

Friday, October 16, 2015

Pink Out!

Today was "Pink Out Day" for breast cancer awareness.  The school was full of pink today!  Here's a snapshot of our 3rd graders that participated!





Dictionary Day!

Yesterday all the third graders were given their very own dictionaries to keep!  The Rotary Club of Rosenberg was kind enough to donate the dictionaries and present them to the students yesterday.  What a great gift!




We had to do a silly picture too!

Friday, October 9, 2015

Prefixes and Suffixes

Next week we will be working on prefixes and suffixes.  Take a look at this fun video with a short quiz on prefixes at the end!  Click the link to view!


 
 
 
Here's a cheat sheet if you need some help with the quiz at the end! :)
 
 

A Very Busy Week!

We had another very busy week full of learning and a little fun!  This week was the book fair.  Our class volunteered to help out with the younger classes. (Third graders are finally the "big kids" and get to help others!)  We made several trips to the library to help Pre-K, Kinder, and 1st grade write down their book choices.  I was so proud of your kids!  They were so patient and helpful!


 
 
This week we also used our ActivExpressions to vote on answers and text in our own words and answers during the lesson.  This is super fun!  Ask your child all about it!
 

 
In reading we were learning about sequence and summary. Our strategy for summary questions is to take notes and find an answer choice that has B, M, E!



In writing we are working on finalizing the body of our essays and we learned how to write a great introduction.  Next week we will learn how to add the conclusion and begin fixing it up for a final draft!





It was a busy week, but it was full of learning.  Your kids are working SO HARD!