We have been discussing in writing how we need to show our readers about the people, places, and things in our story, rather than just tell them about it. We looked at mentor texts where the authors did just that. It is often difficult for third graders to make that jump from just summarizing an event to storytelling an event, but we are getting a lot of practice trying!
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This week Grayson is our Super Hero. He presented his poster, picked a poem, and got his bucket filled from us. What an awesome Super Hero!
Today we took to the halls, which are much cooler, to get some writing done. It's sometimes difficult to think and write when it is so hot. The linoleum floors felt wonderful!!
I can visualize as I read by using details the author gives me. The last couple days we have been discussing how good readers visualize as they read, like they have a movie playing in their head. Readers do this because it helps us better understand what we are reading, helps us understand how and why the characters feel what they feel and helps us make predictions about what we think is going to happen next. We also discussed how our picture in our head changes as we read. The author slowly gives us information about characters and plot that changes what we were picturing, so we need to be constantly taking the time to visualize so that we can keep up with the story. We did a great activity today that shows the kids just how important it is to use what the author gives us to visualize and how that visualization can change based on the information we are getting from the author. First I just read the title of the piece and had the kids visualize what this piece is going to be about. Most kids sketched a cute purple dog. Then I read the first chunk of the piece and they sketched what they were visualizing. Then I read the students the next part and again, they sketched. They were now seeing that what they were picturing was changing. And finally, I read the end of the piece. It turns out, it wasn't a dog after all, but a crocodile painted purple. Ha! It was a great visual for the kids to see how their picture in their heads changes as authors give them more and more information and detail.
Chase is such a happy and positive super hero and can often be seen with a cape around his shoulder and a smile upon his face! Thanks, Chase!
We have been discussing what it means to have a watermelon topic versus a seed topic in writing today. When students pick a watermelon topic, like camping, it is such a HUGE topic that they can't possible zoom in with great detail and storytell it. Students wind up just writing summaries of the event, instead of story telling it with dialogue and description. The watermelon topic of camping is full of perfect seed stories, like making s'mores, I used this quick feedback form so students know if they hit the target or not. If your child brings home an unfinished poster, it means he/she did not focus very well on the task or did not use his/her time wisely.
We talked about when reading has been frustrating and when reading has been the best for us. I love seeing all the different ways reading has been the best! Our goal for the year is that reading will be the best it can be in our classroom!
Thank you to all who ordered from the book order this month. Because over $400 was ordered in books, our class earned $30 in free book picks for the classroom, a free book for every students, and 10,000 bonus points, which I can use to "buy" a ton of new books for our classroom library. That is amazing! Most importantly, there are many kids who are excited about books, and that makes my heart the happiest! Thank you!
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Mrs. Ellis's Class
Learning & laughing our way through third grade. Archives
June 2020
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