Non Fiction Mania

We recently studied the features of fiction and non fiction literature. A T-chart was made to compare them. We focused on non fiction features, such as headings, table of contents, photographs, captions, glossary, diagrams, etc. We discussed how these help us gain information from this type of text. Partners went on scavenger hunts to find them in our non fiction books and Scholastic News. 

Our class then went on to examine non fiction text structures. We looked at 5 different structures that authors use to assist readers in understanding what they read. They are: description, sequence, compare and contrast, cause and effect and problem and solution.As a class, we used the topic of "soccer" and read about it using all 5 text structures. Next, the students worked with a friend to read all about "bubble gum" and see if they could identify the text structure the author utilized. They did a great job! 

The students enjoyed exploring the series "Who Would Win?" which is a compare and contrast text structure. They worked in partners to create a Venn diagram with how the 2 animals were alike and different and then went on to write several comparative statements. 

When you are reading non fiction literature with your child, be sure to ask him/her about the text features and what text structures the author uses to organize the information. Here are some of the mini-lesson posters to help you.

Our New Year's Early Party

Happy New Year! What a wonderful New Year’s Early Celebration before vacation. The students had a blast coming to school in their pajamas, singing holiday songs,  playing games, eating pizza in our classroom and watching “The Bee” movie with all of the third graders. It was a perfect day!

Here are some highlights from Our Holiday Sing Along.

 I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and celebration. Happy New Year!

Our Holiday Traditions Writing Celebration

Thank you for your support in helping your child with his/her Traditions Writing Piece. We had a wonderful Writing Celebration on the Wednesday before break. We were able to share our published Holiday Traditions with friends from all of the other third grade classes. We gathered in the hallway outside our classrooms to find partners to read with and discuss our family’s holiday tradition. It was a new way to celebrate our accomplishments complete with a candy cane!

The kids were exhausted after all of the celebrating and fell right to sleep!

Grammar and Punctuation Study

Language Fun!

We had lots of fun learning about grammar in December. We covered nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and pronouns. As a class, we completed packets identifying these different parts of speech, but we also found great examples of these in our independent reading books. We documented all of our word hunts in our Word Study Notebook. 

In addition, we focused on punctuation marks and how these important marks "boss the reader" around. We, as the writer, tell the reader how we want it to be read. The students definitely became more aware of these essential marks during Reading Workshop and are now using them more consistently in their own writing. I am noticing good transfer of these skills into the student's Word Study Notebook sentences each week. At this point in the year, I am expecting well thought out sentences that include strong word choices. For example, I am looking for a variety of nouns, powerful verbs and creative adjectives to make these sentences interesting to read. I am also expecting a high level and diversity of punctuation usage. Language is fun!

Holidays Around the World

For December Social Studies, we traveled around the world studying how other countries celebrate Winter Holidays. We often began by reading a book or watching a short video from that country. We then examined the flag from that country and read a sheet describing the traditions and culture, usually focusing on food. Next, the students recorded information that they learned on the back. We marked the country on the correct continent on our individual maps and also on our "World" Bulletin Board along with the flag and a picture associated with that country. The commonality among all of the Holidays was the special time spent with family and friends.

Seed Harvesting

We made one last observation of our plants and then harvested our own seed pods. Some of the students are enthusiastic to continue this growth process at home!

We played a Jeopardy Game to bring closure to this topic in a fun way by testing our knowledge of seeds, plants and bees and their interdependence.

Here are some of our scientific bee drawings to show the amount of growth that took place during our unit of study. The drawing at the top of the page was completed before we began our bee research and the drawing at the bottom was done at the end of our plants and pollination study. Notice how this is a visual representation of the student's learning.

Your child's science folder went home on Monday. I hope you enjoyed going over these papers with your child. There will be a written test tomorrow along with a special "honeycomb" treat.