In third grade, the students are learning how to be EmPOWERed writers as they Evaluate, Make a Plan, Organize, Work, Evaluate, and Re-work. Students have learned to evaluate, or circle the action word and underline the "what" every time they are asked to write a response, whether they are in science, math, reading, or writing. So, here we picked apart the prompt. We circled "Think" because that is the action word. Then we asked ourselves "What are we suppose to think about?" and underlined that. We also noticed that we are asked to write and describe. We started to make our way down this paper, which reminds us of the next step. We then discussed "what's my job?" and decided that we are being asked to give an opinion. With opinions, we know that a telling frame and cause/effect brainframes works the best. First, we brainstormed all the possible issues or problems at school. Then, we picked on and made a cause/effect brainframe to begin to organize our ideas. Next, we filled in our paragraph template. In third grade, we are focusing on having students write a solid paragraph with elaboration, an introduction, transition words, a conclusion, and details. Then, we reordered our reasons. This time we did it by cutting them out, rearranging them, and gluing them, but most of the time we will order them by writing in the circles next to each detail. We have been working on this all week. Tomorrow, we will take all this work we did and write a fantastic, elaborated paragraph together. We will practice a few of these paragraphs before doing a few on our very own.
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What a classroom of Super Students we have! We took their pictures from the first day of school and turned them into bobble head superheroes! for our bulletin board right outside our classroom. They make me smile!
In reading, we have been discussing how important it is to visualize, or make a mental image, when you read. We talked about how reading isn't all about racing through a book in record speed. Books are meant to be thought about, savored, and enjoyed. To get the most from books, we need to pause and make a movie in our head about what is happening in it. We practiced using this poem. First, I only read the kids the title and they sketched what they pictured. The students were so surprised that it was a crocodile the whole time! No wonder it never barked! We also discussed how, as authors, we need to give our readers details and words that will help them picture our stories in their heads. As authors, we need to use description in our writing.
This week, we launched readers workshop in our classroom. We first discussed what a "just-Right" book is. When students go to a library or a bookstore, books are not leveled like most are in our classroom, so they have to know if their book is "just-right." Books need to be "just-right" for students to grow as readers. When we read books that are way too easy or way too hard. we aren't growing as readers. Yesterday we discussed when reading for us is at its best. We want reading to be at its best this year in our classroom and at home. I had the kids jot on a sticky note when reading is at its best for them. I loved reading these! During readers workshop, I will teach the whole class a mini lesson (usually about 10 minutes), then the students go back in a book of their choice and practice what was just taught. I use this time to pull a small group of readers or to conference with individual readers. This is my favorite part because I get to learn what kind of reader each child is. Today, students read for 30 minutes with no interruptions!
Every morning we check in with each other during morning meeting, where we greet each other by name, listen to a story, share our thoughts on a topic, and sometimes do an activity. We played the game Telephone today. Later, students shared with me how they felt about their week. I love checking in with them.
What a wonderful first week we’ve had! This week, we have done many activities that help us get to know each other and to build community in our classroom. Not only do we have to cover all the rules and procedures in our classroom and in our school, we have to learn our schedule and learn about each other. We colored super hero masks and capes, played with play-doh, played games, had morning meetings, read aloud books, had a welcome back assembly, earned two classroom wildcat hero tickets from other adults, enjoyed cupcakes, discussed what a hero is, enjoyed the sunshine, and laughed together. Here are just a few pictures that show what we’ve been up to in class. This is Miss Tracy! She sent out a letter telling you a little bit about herself. We are so excited to have her until the end of October. The first day is a perfect time to play with play-doh, relax, and get to know the kids around us! After discussing what active listening looks like and sounds like, and dissecting the Chinese character for active listening, we gathered in the group spot and listened to each other share. We learned so much about everyone! The kids did a great job listening. We had a beautiful day to play at recess!
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Mrs. Ellis's Class
Learning & laughing our way through third grade. Archives
June 2020
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