Learning is always more relevant when it's tied into multidiscipline activities! This week we read the book Ecosystem Invaders, learned about ecosystems and habitats, painted the components of a wetland, observed the different habitats in a pond on a nature walk, and practiced writing sentences about ecosystems with commas in a series.
Third graders are learning that division is the opposite of multiplication. One way we can find a quotient is to use a multiplication table. This week we practiced this on the white board with the projector and then used computer applications to create our own tables.
Third graders celebrated Valentine's Day with a day of LOVEly activities! The class favorite was a funny Valentine Mad Lib story. Laughter filled the room with hilarious renditions of the story, and they initiated their own share time to read their stories aloud. The students thought this was just a fun party activity, but I secretly had them practicing grammar by reviewing parts of speech! Sharing their stories is a great way to practice oral language skills as we refine and develop confident public speakers.
We use a lot of learning stations in third grade! This enables me to differentiate student tasks, integrate movement around the classroom, monitor progress in small groups, and provide a variety of different activities in shorter bursts. I often break up my literacy and math blocks with a rotation of different activities to make the most of my instruction time. We get a lot accomplished, and the pace of the shorter activities maximizes short attention spans. Best of all, the kids enjoy them so student learning increases with their positive engagement.
