Hi Families!
Here are some of the highlights of our first 5-day week together: We were challenged by the 4th grade SBP class to a year long Lexia Challenge. Each week the two classes will get together and we will compare our Lexia minutes and units to see who the weekly winner (most minutes/most units) is. At the end of the year, we will crown a Lexia Champion! (Anything to get some extra minutes in!) We have started to master our "jobs" of Calendar Math, with the class favorite being the role of the "Banker". Besides the "Calendar Helper" helping to tell what day/month it is, they also identify how many days we have been in school, and identify any patterns/multiples they see on the calendar cards. We then use a process where we take the date, and add it to the previous day's total using money (ex: day 1 + day 2 = $3 and this total is added to day 3 for a new total of $6, etc.) The "Banker" helps us add the "value" of the days in money. We recently marked 14 days in school and we're already up to $105. This process has allowed us lots of experience with exchanging or "regrouping" 10 ones for a $10 bill, and this week, our first time regrouping ten $10 bills for a $100 bill (SUPER exciting!). Other highlights include: more practice with place value and comparing numbers through our place value game, instruction on proper highlighting technique which ensures only highlighting keywords and the most crucial information, acing a Monarch quiz on Kahoot, and starting cursive instruction. Sadly this week we had to make some tough decisions about some of our Monarch chrysalises. It seems that the darker ones were the victims of a parasitoid: the tachinid fly. The tachinid fly lays its own egg upon the caterpillar and the larvae then grows inside the caterpillar body - Oh, nature! We confirmed our suspicions this week when one of our chrysalises cracked open and a maggoty-looking tachinid fly larvae came slithering out. Yuck! We then made the difficult group decision to euthanize the affected chrysalises so as not to expose the healthy butterflies! It was tough, but the kids handled it quite maturely. We are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of our healthy Monarchs any day now. Coming attractions: - Field trip to Gooseberryneck beach to tag Monarchs with the Lloyd Center (Friday 10/5, 9-11) * Any volunteers are welcome to ride the bus with us to and from, or can meet us at the beach - Opportunity to meet with Dr. Solomon to discuss your child's learning profile (Friday 10/12, 9-12) All the best, Mrs. Tavares
0 Comments
Hello Families,
Third grade was busy this week... busy making friends, learning more about our classroom and school, and diving into our lessons! Here are some of the highlights: Our caterpillar studies took center stage this week as our caterpillars transformed from caterpillars to their chrysalis form right before our very eyes! We also enjoyed finding milkweed around campus, setting up their in-class habitat, and naming them. We will continue to rear them until their final transformation when we can tag them and send our beautiful Monarch butterflies off to Mexico! Students have been hard at work exploring number sense through group math games, and many were excited to start work in their math workbooks. They worked diligently at their own pace. We also began meeting in "Mix-it-up" Social Studies groups. Each group began their investigations around world maps and students began to identify and label the continents and oceans. This week we also added in some positive behavioral supports known as "warm fuzzies". Students earn "warm fuzzies" (pom poms) for demonstrating positive, responsible behavior throughout the day (that make me/others feel warm and fuzzy inside). The goal is to empty my entire jar of "warm fuzzies" into their individual jars by the end of the week. If this happens, the whole class will earn a group game period. Students were thrilled by this and have been working really hard to earn their "warm fuzzies"! Important Info:
All the best, Mrs. Tavares Hi Families!
"You're here! You're finally here!" The narrator of the storybook, You're Finally Here!, says to its readers. We opened this school year by reading this together. Some of our students are new to the school, some new to the program, and I, new to balancing two children at the beginning of this school year. I think it would be safe to say that we were all eagerly (or anxiously) anticipating the start of school. This silly bunny narrator helped to break the ice with his welcoming message and set the tone of excitement and enthusiasm in Sally Borden Program Third Grade. After this, we were off and rolling to a successful start! Students spent the first few days of the academic year getting acquainted with the school, classroom, and each other; by week two's end, they were settling into a nice routine. The students seem to be thoroughly enjoying each other: giggling together, sharing stories, playing cooperatively, and offering to help one another. A theme of past, present, and future seemed to surface. We reflected on our summers, writing about our varied experiences and sharing special items that shed a little more light on who we are. We celebrated who we are presently by completing our "Learning Circles" where we identified our strengths and "growing edges". We presented these during a share with the entire third grade. We discussed learning diversity and students were just as surprised by what they have in common with each other than by how they differ. We also watched a SAG actor read Thank You, Mr. Falker on the Storyline Online website. This is an autobiographical book, written by Patricia Polacco, about her experience growing up with dyslexia, and the teacher that changed her life and taught her to read. Some students were quite moved by the story and drew parallels to experiences they have had in their academic life. This led to the first of many candid conversations about learning differences and it was beautiful to see students supporting one another as they opened up and shared about difficult moments in their learning history. We also got excited about all the growth to come this year while making our time capsules that will not be opened until the last week of school. Inside we put an interview of our favorite things, a self-portrait, and a piece of string cut to each of our heights that we measured with a variety of measuring tools. We began our study of Monarch butterflies and have watched the transformation happen before our very eyes! We will have a field trip to tag butterflies before their journey to Mexico on Friday, October 5th. I hope that your child has come home excited about school. I will be making phone calls to each family so that we can talk about how the transition to school has gone, answer any questions you might have, and discuss the goals you have for your child this year. I hope to see you on Thursday night at 6:30 for Parents' Night. Enjoy the weekend! Mrs. Tavares |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2019
Categories |
Mrs. Tavares' 3rd Grade | Newsletters |