Presentations of

Types of Communities

This week, the third graders presented their group projects about the types of communities: urban, suburb and rural. They were able to explain the main characteristics of each type of community so that their classmates got a clear understanding of the community described. Each group clearly stated the types of services and resources available in the community and what types of jobs people might do. They also explained where people might live and the types of housing they may live in. Each group presented clearly and articulately about their community type. Well done everyone!

 Rural Community

 Suburban Community

 Urban Community



Many Thanks!!!

I would like to extend a great big heartfelt thank you to all the parents and students of grade 3 for making my birthday a very special day on Friday. The cake was delicious, as all the students would agree and we had fun lighting all the candles!!! Surprisingly, we did manage to get them all lit before the first had burnt out! There was some concern that we might set off the fire alarm, but the students were convinced that the fire department would know that it was my birthday and it would be okay! So sweet! The stuffed owl is well loved by the whole class and the gift card will go to good use to buy a book or books at Orell Füssli.

Again, many thanks! J

 A Great Celebration!

Carousel Activity

The grade 3 students worked in groups of three and participated in a carousel activity where they rotated through a series of stations where one of the key questions from our inquiry was located. They brainstormed together and recorded their ideas on the paper provided. Then they switched, read the ideas from the previous group(s) and added any new ideas to the list. This continued until they had a chance to add ideas to each of the four questions. When they returned to the original group where they started, they were responsible for presenting all the ideas for that question to the group for further discussion. It was a great way to find out what the students already know about communities. We can now build on this knowledge.

Types of Communities

The third graders have been learning about the types of communities.  They went to the Media Center and watched a video and completed activities using BrainPop Jr. They were able to identify the three types of communities: urban, suburb and rural. Back in class, they completed Venn diagrams to describe similarities and differences between urban, suburb and rural communities.

Literature in the Units of Inquiry

Literature is a great way to enhance a unit of inquiry. It helps the students make connections to what they are learning. For our Communities unit the third graders are reading The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden. It gives us a look at the difference between living in the country and the city.

After Chester, a cricket, arrives in the Times Square subway station from his native Connecticut via a picnic basket, he takes up residence in the Bellinis' newsstand. There tiny Chester is lucky enough to find three good friends:  a little boy named Mario, whose parents run the unsuccessful newsstand; a fast-talking Broadway mouse called Tucker; and Tucker's pal, Harry Cat. Between escapades in New York City, the four somehow manage to bring success to the almost bankrupt newsstand.

Communities: Tension Engagement

We have begun our new unit of inquiry entitled Communities.  The students took part in a tension engagement to get them thinking about the topic. They worked in groups and were simply given a large sheet of paper and asked to design a community, no further instructions. They went straight to work and discussed their ideas with their groups. Before long, the creativity was flowing and they designed very interesting presentations of what they thought a community might be. They presented these communities to the class with very convincing explanations of why they thought it was a community. Their classmates were given a chance to question their ideas or agree with them. We discovered that there are indeed many types of communities.

                                                             Planning of Communities

                                                  

                                                      Presentation of Community Designs

Earth’s Landforms

For our unit of inquiry we have been identifying the many different landforms of the Earth and working on our dictionary skills. After some research the students were able to name forty different landforms. They then choose their favorites and wrote definitions with pictures to illustrate the landforms. These were collected and made into a picture dictionary which will be added to our class library for the students to read and enjoy at their leisure. Here are a few samples of some of the dictionary pages.

Buddy Reading

On Friday, December 9^th the grade 3 students shared the library time with the grade one class. During this time the third grade students read very nicely and cooperatively with the first graders.

Let’s Celebrate!

On Friday the parents organized a class party for the third graders. They celebrated with many homemade treats and drinks. The students then took the initiative and worked very cooperatively and organized games and activities to occupy themselves. It was a wonderful celebration before the holidays start! A big thank you to all the parents for creating this event for us! We enjoyed it very much!

 

Congratulations!

The students are to be congratulated for a wonderful job on their song ‘Frosty the Snowman’ which they performed for the Winter Event! A great job everyone! You should be proud of yourselves!!!

 

A Wish for All!

The Grade 3 Class and I would like to wish everyone a:

Thank You!

A big thank you to the Huber family for sending our classes the Grittibenz on Friday! They were beautiful and delicious! It was a nice treat for our break snack. Your generosity is much appreciated!

St. Nick

Visits

Third Grade

The students of third grade were very excited and a little nervous to have a visit from St. Nick on Friday, December 2^nd. Santa did a great job of pointing out the positives of each child and then highlighting one area for improvement. The students were very helpful and considerate of each other and very agreeable with Santa’s comments. They were each presented with a bag of goodies with instructions of how to count the peanuts, multiply by the chocolates and divide by the oranges, which the children took quite seriously! We all enjoyed the visit!

Legend Writing

In our planet Earth unit of inquiry we have been studying legends of how the Earth and its elements have been formed. These legends stem from many cultures around the world. The students then assisted me in writing a model legend for the class. They were very creative and had wonderful ideas, as you can see in the following legend which we wrote together. They then wrote their own individual legends which we will be putting into a book of legends. Students may borrow this book for home reading so you can have a closer look.



How Water Came To Earth

Written by Mr. Andrews‘ Grade 3 Class

         A long time ago, during the ice age, the Great Iceman had covered the Earth in snow and ice. The Inuit people had trouble finding food because there were no water animals and many others were hibernating. Many of the animals that were awake still had changed color and had white fur or feathers which helped them blend in with the environment. The people were afraid that they would die.

         The Great Iceman had covered the whole Earth with a thick layer of clouds and a cold, cold wind blew over the land.

         Above all this the Fire Man watched over the clouds and wondered what was underneath. The more he thought about it, the hotter he got and he realized the clouds were disappearing.

         Beneath the clouds, the ice and snow also started to melt and the Great Iceman got very angry. He wondered what was happening to his creation. All of a sudden, he noticed a great ball of fire in the sky. The Great Iceman zoomed up above the clouds and found the Fire Man melting his wonderful work.

         A great battle began. The fight took the Great Iceman and the Fire Man in a chase around the Earth, melting the ice as they went. As they neared the equator they collided and all that was left was Water Man.

         From this day on they learned their lesson and decided to share the Earth. That is why we have ice, fire and water on our planet.

         The Inuit people were very thankful that they could find food and live in and enjoy all the seasons once again.