Fred the Worm: On Thursday the class participated in a cooperative group activity where they were given the following scenario. Fred the worm was traveling along the ocean in a boat. Unfortunately, the boat tipped and Fred was stuck on the top of the boat and his life preserver was under the boat, and he doesn't know how to swim. Each group was given the task to safely get Fred from the top of the boat into the life preserver using only 4 paperclips (they could not touch the worm, boat, or life preserver with their hands). The students spent 10 minutes or so making a plan of how they would attempt the rescue, then they went to work. Some groups had to change their plan in the middle of rescuing Fred and learned that it was okay to change the original ideas that they had. Others were successful the first time. Here are some pictures from our adventure.
The class also reviewed the school handbook by having a scavenger hunt and sharing information that they found during the hunt. These handbooks should have come home on Friday. Please read as they cover policies for TES. There were several other items that we talked about this week that I thought parents will want to be aware of.
1. Planner Binders: Each day we fill out all assignment that have been assigned during the day. If the assignment is complete, then the students will highlight that assignment. If they didn't finish the assignment and need to finish it for homework, then the assignment should be left unhighlighted. This task is a huge learning curve for third graders, it sometimes takes them awhile to get the hang of what the expectations are for the planner.
2. Eclipse: On Monday students will receive NASA approved glasses to view the eclipse. In order to participate, students will need to have the green permission slip form returned on Monday. We will not spend a lot of time outside, as I want to make sure that all students are protected, but I do plan on viewing the eclipse during the day and checking in with the NASA live stream.
3. Spelling: Our first spelling list will come home on Monday. Students will have a copy of the list glued into their planners, a copy in the sheet protector in their binder (this sheet also has the reading vocabulary, and comprehension focus for the week on it), and they will have an activity copy that will be left at school in their spelling notebook. The list can be found on the side of this blog, as well as in the spelling folder at the top of the page. In the spelling folder I have the entire year saved in one document.
Well, I feel I have become a little long winded tonight, so I will let you go. Have a great rest of your weekend and I look forward to seeing your sweet kiddos on Monday!
Mrs. Miller