Monday, March 31

 Hi parents,

We had a great first day back after Spring break.

In the morning, the students wrote about their spring breaks, after doing a quick 'topic / sub-topic' web to organize their ideas. I think that this extra step actually made a big difference in the quality of writing, as many kids were able to quickly write 3+ paragraphs that each focused on a different aspect of their break. It made the writing a lot more organized and encouraged kids to elaborate on their ideas rather than just listing off a series of events.

We spent a bit of time outside enjoying the snow.

In math, we talked about problems involving balancing equations. Problems following the format: "1 + 1 = ___ -1" have been really difficult for the class, even though the math itself isn't actually that complicated (just about everyone would've written '2' in the blank, and been wrong). We talked about the equals sign as representing a 'balance' - both sides need to be the same number, regardless of what operations you use to get there.

In the afternoon, we talked about the next steps for the book in a box project. We will be working on that in class, during class time, so please don't feel obligated to do anything at home, other than help your child choose four items and acquire a box.

In science, we did some experimenting with forces, on marshmallows. This is part of the Grade 3 science curriculum but also overlaps with elements from Grade 4 science. Basically the kids got to crush, stretch, hit, and twist marshmallows, and write down their observations. Yes, it was as fun as it sounds.

Have a nice night,

Zac

Spelling Words (Week of March 30)

 Spelling List A (March 31 – April 4)

edge	judge	ridge	hedge	lodge
badge	dodge	wedge	fudge	ledge

 

Spelling List B (March 31 – April 4)

budget	bridge	pledge	fridge	badger
sludge	wedged	grudge	gadget	trudged

 

Spelling List C (March 31 – April 4)

dredge	smudge	fidgety	hedgehog	porridge
knowledge	judgement	dislodge	pudgy	dodgeball

The theme this week is '-dge'. List A and B should be pretty easy. List C is very hard. Please don't feel obligated to practice over the break!

Good luck!

Thursday, March 20

 Hi parents,

We had a pretty good day today.

In the morning, we learned about sentence structure, and how to combine two simple sentences into a compound sentence, using conjunctions. We learned the acronym FANBOYS, which stands for: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so - 7 great conjunctions to be aware of for writing. I noticed in many of the kids' dinosaur paragraphs, the word 'so' was often used incorrectly.

We visited the book fair and did the spelling quiz. In the afternoon, we did Music, Social Emotional Learning, and had some more time to work on novel study stuff. The students also assembled their 'student-led conferences' folders, which contain:

-Leprechaun Trap Rubric

-Dinosaur Paragraph

-Division Check-In

-Spelling Quiz

-Novel Study / Novel

-Information about the Book in a Box project

It'd be great to have that folder handy for online conferences today and tomorrow so we can talk about the work. :)

Talk soon, and if we haven't booked a conference (please email me right away if you'd still like to book!), have a wonderful Spring break!

Zac

Wednesday, March 19

 Hi parents,

Sorry about the lack of a blog post yesterday, I was sick - I also want to apologize for the lack of clarity around Book Fair visits! Our Book Fair purchasing time is actually tomorrow morning (I was mixed up), so if you sent your child with money today and they did not buy anything, that's on me. Please send it again tomorrow and we'll make it happen.

The students continued working on a lot of tasks they started yesterday, including paragraphs about the importance of sleep, and division worksheets. 

We did a quick 'Division Check-In', which the students passed with flying colours. Since we've only just started division, this is really just an indicator of whether students understand the fundamental concepts of division. There may still be troubles ahead. But we are off to a good start, there's no doubt about that.

Many students have finished their novel study novels already! This is good news. Students who have finished their books started working on a graphic organizer to organize information about important plot points. I think it might be a good idea for students to read the whole book over again a second time, just to ensure they have a really solid understanding. Over Spring Break, I am going to ask students to gather up a few items for the Book-in-a-Box portion - there'll be information on that in your conferences package.

Today was Ms. A's last day :(

We said our goodbyes and look forward to seeing her again soon!

Have a nice night,

Zac

Monday, March 17

 Hi parents,

We had an okay day today. The students finished up their leprechaun traps, after we discussed how the traps would be graded. The students came up with 'success criteria' that we put on a rubric together - I will be sending those rubrics home for Student-Led Conferences, so if certain sections sound a little weird, it's their fault. In all seriousness though, I actually think the students did a fantastic job of explaining what made a great, good, decent, and poor leprechaun trap, and to decide where their trap fit on that scale.

We revisited the sleep paragraphs from last week. We talked about topic sentences, and came up with a few examples of classic 'hooks' that work well as topic sentences. For example, asking the reader a question, using a sound effect, or describing a scene in vivid detail. While these hooks can come across a little cheesy to adult readers, they're a great starting place for kids.

We spent more time in the afternoon working on leprechaun traps. We have spent about 4 hours working on them now, and for some students it really shows. Others' traps look pretty much the exact same as they did after 15 minutes... which was something we talked a lot about today. In Montessori, intrinsic motivation is everything. Projects like these are meant to teach time management as much as they teach science. When students have four hours to complete a task, I expect a lot!

Anyway - the ultimate test will be seeing how Lucky the Leprechaun handles them.

Have a nice night,

Zac

Gymnastics Starts Monday!

We will begin gymnastics in our regularly scheduled gym classes from March 17-20 and March 31-April 17. Safety routines, cooperation and sportsmanship are taught and reviewed in each class.    

This physical activity opportunity will help students acquire individual skills through a variety of developmentally appropriate movement activities.  

It is important for students to come to school prepared to be actively engaged. The following guidelines are very helpful…  

HEAD TO TOE - READY TO GO!!!   

Head ....................... long hair pulled back  

Ears/Throat/Wrist ............... jewelry off  

Shirt.................................. one-layer shirt  

Waist ................................................tucked in  

Pants.........................sporty pants or shorts, no belts or zippers  

Ankles..........................pants rolled up if ankles are covered  

Toes...............running shoes, gymnastic slippers or bare feet (no footed tights)  

“Playing & moving safely is everyone’s responsibility” 

Spelling Words (Week of March 16)

 Spelling List A (March 14 – 20)

lamb	bomb	limb	comb	numb
they	because	goes	don’t	our

 

Spelling List B (March 14 – 20)

thumb	climb	crumbs	plumber	tomb
where	because	would	could	why

 

Spelling List C (March 14 – 20)

dumbbell	climbing	numbness	plumbing	entomb
laugh	because	about	eight	together

The theme this week is -mb words, but there aren't a whole lot of those, so I threw in some sight words as well. Everyone needs to know how to spell because!

Big elephants can always understand small elephants.

Good luck,

Zac

Friday, March 14

 Hi parents,

Today wasn't the best day for Room 3. In the morning, we had another ~90 minutes to finish working on leprechaun traps. I was disappointed to see that after 3 hours of work time, many groups traps still do not feature a simple machine, which was the main purpose of the project - a lot of students spent their time almost solely on aesthetics despite many reminders... 

We will have a tiny bit of time to work on them on Monday, but the leprechaun may have already struck by then.....

We did the Spelling Quiz, and then had a good conversation about the importance of sleep. We watched a video and learned more about the many ways sleep helps us, and then brainstormed ideas. The students started to write paragraphs about sleep - we'll finish those up next week.

Something our class is really struggling with is proof-reading our writing. I have told the class many, many times, if their good copies do not feature capitals and periods at the starts and ends of sentences, it is virtually impossible to get a 4 in writing. But still this is our number one issue. Luckily it should be an easy one to fix.

We ended our day with Music.

Have a nice weekend,

Zac

Thursday, March 13

 Hi parents,

We had a fun day today. In the morning, the students had a 2-hour long work period, where they worked on spelling, writing, morning math, and everyone's favourite, building a leprechaun trap. Here are a few works in progress:

In math, we learned how to use the Division Bead Board material. This material is basically the same as the Multiplication Bead Board, but the process of using it is slightly different, as students must start with a given quantity and divide it equally. The familiarity is a good thing though, as it helps students build connections between multiplication and division.

In the afternoon, we spend time reading quietly for our novel study project. Students who wish to take their books home for extra reading are welcome to do that, but please remind them to fill out their tracking sheet - this sheet helps ensure they're comprehending what they're reading, and also records important information about events in the book, which may otherwise be hard for students to recall!

We also had Music and Social Emotional Learning with Mr. Ripka.

Tomorrow is World Sleep Day, and so our school is having a Pajama Day! We are also having a spelling quiz, so hopefully everyone rests up. 

Have a nice night,

Zac

Wednesday, March 12

 Hi parents,

We had another pretty good day today. In the morning, we started one of my all-time favourite projects - it's a personal Novel Study, where each student picks their own chapter book from our school or classroom library. Then, we spend 15-20 minutes doing silent, independent reading each day for two weeks. Students also have the option to read their books at home. After each reading, they fill out a quick tracking sheet, to record how many pages they read, and what the main events of those pages were. Finally, when the book is done, students start working on the 'Book in a Box' portion of the project, in which they choose 4 items that connect to the text, put them in a box, and write paragraphs for each one to explain its significance to the plot, characters, setting, or theme.

So anyway, today we started that project by visiting the library and choosing books. Ms. Smith and I helped the students find chapter books that were at a good reading level for them. 

In math, we continued to explore division using concrete materials. We're staying on this 'concrete' phase for a while to really ensure kids have a solid grasp of the concepts, before we move on to the slick division algorithm.

In Writing, the students received a very informally written paragraph about Montessori, and were tasked with re-writing it in a more informative, formal way.

We started planning Leprechaun Traps (or Treats), and will start building them tomorrow. 

Have a nice night,

Zac

Students will be visiting the book fair next week! They will fill out their Wish Lists, and can bring money on Wednesday or Thursday for purchasing. 

Tuesday, March 11

 Hi parents,

We had another pretty good day today. In the morning, we zeroed in on one of the common issues students faced with their paragraph writing - using the correct tense consistently! Students were given some poorly written paragraphs and asked to rewrite them using the correct tense. This involved considering word choice, such as 'are' vs. 'were', 'had' vs. 'have', etc. Tomorrow we're going to address another common problem - writing like a Youtuber.

In math, we officially started division. We watched this Numberblocks video:

Then the students used counters to model the process of division. We had some interesting conversations around how fractions and division are connected, and why you can't divide by 0.

In the afternoon, we went over the last simple machine we'll be addressing this year - the wheel and axle. Students used K-Nex to build carts, cars, and wheelbarrows.

We rolled them down a ramp and it was fun.

Leprechaun Trap or Treat Project - Materials Wanted!

On Thursday and Friday, students will build their choice of a trap, or treat (something fun) for a leprechaun. They will be required to use at least one simple machine in their creation. We will start planning these out tomorrow, but it would be awesome if students could bring materials for Thursday and Friday. Students who don't bring materials will still be able to use K-Nex, Lego, and any other building materials in the classroom.

Please book your conference if you haven't already!

Have a nice day,

Zac 

Monday, March 10

 Hi parents,

We had a pretty good day today - lots of kids away though! 

Much of our day was spent learning about pulleys. And the best way to learn about pulleys is to build them. The students used K-Nex once again to build pulleys that could lift slightly heavier pieces of K-Nex.

 

In Math, we were going to start learning Division, but with so many kids away, it seemed better to wait. We played Classroom of Doom and practiced multiplication facts instead.

In writing, we talked about one of the most common errors that occurred in the class' dinosaur paragraphs - changing between past and present tense, and alternating between singular and plural subjects. For example, a student might write:

"An allosaurus was a dinosaur that lives in Africa. They are carnivores. It has sharp teeth." 

We're going to practice editing for those kinds of errors throughout the week.

Have a nice night,

Zac

Pajama Day - March 14

Spelling Words! (Week of March. 9)

 Spelling List A (March 7 – 14)

water	fault	talk	also	fall
vault	walk	haunt	auto	aunt

 

Spelling List B (March 7 – 14)

because	walked	audio	fraud	chalk
father	always	pause	talking	sauce

 

Spelling List C (March 7 – 14)

almost	August	although	author	autumn
sauna	waterfall	launch	default	laundry

 

This week's them is the 'aw' sound, in particular the ways it is created using a single 'a', or the vowel team 'au'.

Good luck!