We have so many students who are experts at a variety of things. So far, students have designed their covers, created their table of contents, wrote their introductions, and some students have started the next chapter. I wanted to show you some examples of all of these things. Students are doing an amazing job doing their personal best, taking their time, making sure their writing has a lot of details and bold words to teach us, including a glossary of expert words, and making sure they have one diagram in their illustrations. To keep tabs on where the students are, we use this chart. It helps me see if someone falling behind, either because they are struggling, not using their time wisely, taking their time to include a lot of detail in their writing and in their pictures, or have a huge topic. It also helps to see those who may be rushing through their writing and not writing enough about their topics. Students often are reminded to go back, add detail, and reread for capitals and periods.
0 Comments
Our reading of nonfiction is fitting perfectly with our informational writing. We started looking at the different structures in which authors can choose to write nonfiction. In third grade we are paying close attention to four- description, sequential, compare/contrast, and cause and effect. During reading time we are looking at examples of each text structure as we continue to ask ourselves the three big questions in nonfiction. Today we read an article called "Polar Bears" together as an example of a description text structure. We had a lot of answers to the question "What surprised me?" especially when we read about their weight, size of their paws, and their length. Then we moved right into our writing where students are writing the first chapter after their introductions of their informational books. First chapters are a great place to practice writing a description chapter because authors often need to describe their topics before they can write anything else about it.
We also discussed times when you might use another text structure in your writing. You might use compare and contrast when writing about softball and baseball, wild cats and pet cats, NFL and college football rules, or puppies and dogs. You might use the sequential text structure when writing about changing a litter box, getting ready to bat, or making pancakes. I love being absolutely submerged in nonfiction. Students are really seeing themselves as readers and writers of nonfiction! Last week Maddox was our super hero. He can often be seen being respectful, responsible and safe. Way to go Maddox!
We have been practicing using the tools, navigating the test, and answering questions on the M-Step practice test. This is to get the kids familiar with the format, tools, and questions. I strongly encourage you to peek at the practice test and see what it is like. To do that you can visit https://wbte.drcedirect.com/MI/portals/mi/ and go to M-Step online training in the upper left corner, You need to use the Chrome browser. You can look at the math and language arts. You can even walk through it again with your child and see the questions for yourself and talk about them as you go along. Next week, students will be taking both the math and the language arts portion of the test. Miguel was our super hero last week. He can be found being safe, respectful, and responsible. Thanks, Miguel!
Last week Aveanna was our super hero. She proudly wore a cape, and we loved filling her bucket on Thursdsy.
We often start a new writing unit with generating lists- whether it is for a personal narrative so we are generating a list of moments we've had with people, an opinion where we are making a list of changes we want made, or an informational piece where we generate a list of topics we know a lot about. In this unit, students will become the teachers as they teach me and a small group of students about a topic. Students will not be researching this topic, so they will be writing from what they already know. I enjoyed looking over their shoulders and listening in to the excitement as they made their lists. It looks as though we have experts on many different topics! Students then pick any topic from their list and just started writing all they know about it. It is interesting to see what they already know about writing informational pieces when we do this. Some just write bullet points, others write in a paragraph with ideas not necessarily connected, and some divide their information up into paragraphs. We are going to try out a few ideas from our list before committing to just one for the rest of the unit.
After practicing each question individually, students got in small groups and read a nonfiction book at their level, while focusing on asking the three big questions. They jotted answers to the three big questions on sticky notes as they read and sorted their notes on the board according to the questions . It was a great way to share their thinking and see what questions was the easiest/hardest for them to answer.
|
Mrs. Ellis's Class
Learning & laughing our way through third grade. Archives
June 2020
Categories |