Spring has Sprung!

You can definitely tell that it is spring.  The birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and the students enter the building with a renewed energy and enthusiasm.  While we have had several sessions of the Badger Exam to fit into our schedule, students were still engaged in a lot of new learning and creating.

Writing

We have had fun learning about and creating poems.  We began our poetry unit studying Haiku poems.  Student were immediately drawn to the beautiful simplicity of these 17 syllable pieces.  Students have also created cinquain poems, riddle poems, and sound poems (using onomatopoeia).  Students have been learning about literary devices, examining them in poems during shared reading and writing and then have practiced using some of these devices in their own writing. Next week we will focus using smilies and metaphors as we created color poems.  Students will also create one of my favorite poems, I am From poems.  

After next week, we will take a break from poetry and start a new research project.  The plan is to return to poetry at the end of the year (which is rapidly approaching) and then hold a third grade poetry celebration in June.  More details to follow.

Geometry

Our latest unit of study during our math block is geometry.  The week following spring break students learned about and created tessellations.  In order to learn more about what a tessellation is we examined the work of M.C Escher. Escher is a Dutch graphic artist who is known for his mathematically inspired wood prints and optical illusion graphics.

As you can see from the above photo, Escher created a shape that he was able to tile or tessellate across a surface.  Here are some photos of our students creating tessellations.

During our geometry unit we are also exploring and creating 3-D shapes.  Students have learned the properties of Polyhedra and Non-Polyhedra, Prisms, Pyramids, etc.  They are using mathematical vocabulary such as edges, faces, bases, vertices to discuss and describe these shapes.

Science

We are wrapping up our study of the Physics of Sound.  Students have been engaged in various investigations exploring the variables that effect high and low pitch sounds, and loud and soft volume.  We are currently exploring how sound travels through water, air and solids.  We will be wrapping up this unit next week.

A Glimpse into PE

Upcoming Events

• Third Grade Earth Day Activity, April 22
• Continue recording reading minutes for the Mallards Reading Program
• Urban Adventure, May 1
• Badger Exam testing continues through May 1