Weekly Update

Research Workshop:

Students spent the entire week finishing up their notes on the 6 different topics they chose to research for their country report.  They used the sticky notes they had previously inserted into their country books to locate information.  Lessons were taught about paraphrasing (not copying exactly) the information in the text, but this is certainly a difficult concept for 3rd graders who are embarking on their first major research project.  At the end of the week, students began writing topic sentences for the paragraphs they will compose this week using the fact fragments in their notes.

Math:
We began Unit 4 this week: Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction.  The first lessons focused on place value review.  Students worked on building numbers with their "Secret Code" cards.  (See picture below) and solving word problems with place value.  Next week we will practice rounding numbers to the nearest 10 and nearest 100.

Here is a look at the "Secret Code" cards and how we used them in class.

Social Studies:
We made some exciting stops this week on our Southeast Region Tour!  We jumped aboard a riverboat and traveled down the Mississippi River to visit Memphis TN.  We then chugged out to an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico before heading to New Orleans, Louisiana.  In New Orleans, we learned about Hurricane Katrina and had a mini Mardi Gras celebration.

All aboard the Natchez Steamboat for our trip down the Mississippi!

Students wore beads and masks to take part in the festivities.

We listened to 4 different types of music famous in the south: Dixieland Jazz, the Memphis Blues, Cajun Music, and Kentucky Bluegrass.

As students listened to each type of music, we played, "Name that Musical Style."  They tried to hear the different instruments to determine the type of musical style.  

Cajun Music!!

Abby thinks she hears Cajun Music!

We made traditional King Cakes for our celebration!

Nanthana, Emma, Alex, and Allison helped frost the King Cakes.

Purple, yellow, and green sprinkles were added, the official colors of Mardi Gras.

Time to eat!

Jack is ready to eat!

Alina and Abigail were the lucky students who found a prize in their piece of king cake.  They will have good luck all year!!

Alex was especially excited about this tour stop because her parents lived in New Orleans!

Grace writes a travel journal to tell what she learned during the tour stop.

All-Star of the Week:
Nanthana was our Star of the Week!  We loved seeing her photos and listening to her read aloud her favorite book, Wise Up, Silly Owl.  Her parents created a very special book with heartfelt poems about Nanthana.  The class loved hearing them read aloud.  Below is a photo of Nanthana with her lunch buddies!