Day 168 - Recorder Concert, Author Fest, and Duck Boats - Mrs. Hayes - Pine Glen Grade 3

These posts originally appeared on Mrs. Hayes' Blog

Thank you to everyone who came to see the third graders perform at their Recorder & Violin Concert.  They have worked hard all year learning the songs and practicing.   They did an outstanding job! I hope you enjoyed all of the writing that you saw.  Everyone in Room 205 has made improvements in some area - sentence structure, adding detail, or even on handwriting.  I am so proud of them and know they will be ready for whatever 4th grade throws at them.  Thank you for coming to celebrate our writing accomplishments. 

It was a beautiful day in Boston! We learned a lot about the history of Boston and saw a lot of historical sights! We even had a chance to drive the boat. Thank you to all the chaperones for joining us on the trip. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Driving the Boat!

Day 167 - The American Revolution Comes to Life with Chatter Pix - Fox Hill Grade 3

This post first appeared on the BPS EdTech Blog

Ms. Saia’s third-grade social studies students recently conducted research about famous Patriots from the American Revolution including John Hancock, Abigail Adams, Benjamin Franklin and more. Through their research, students learned about their Patriot’s childhood, the contributions they made to our country which made them famous, and other interesting facts. In addition to their written research, Ms. Saia had her students create portraits of their famous Patriots. Students used crayons, markers, and colored pencils to make their portraits and their amazing finished products are proudly displayed outside of Ms. Saia’s classroom door.

Ms. Saia was so impressed by her students’ drawings, she decided to add a digital component to this unit. Specifically, Ms. Saia wanted her students to bring the portraits to life using Chatter Pix and compile their research in a book using Book Creator. The digital component of this unit allowed students to gain additional practice with keyboarding, oral reading fluency, and digital design principles. I was able to co-teach with Ms. Saia on this unit and coach students through the “app smashing” process which combined Chatter Pix and Book Creator. Taking this project to a digital level gave students the opportunity to share their voice with a larger, authentic audience, exercise their creativity in the design process, and demonstrate their competency in using technology. The finished Book Creator projects, featuring their Chatter Pix, were shared with parents through Seesaw. Below are several examples of students’ finished Book Creator projects and we hope you enjoy viewing them as much as we did!

Day 165 - Categorizing in Grade 3 - Mrs. Johnson - Memorial School

This post first appeared on the Burlington Keys to Literacy Blog

I have been working with third-grade students on KTL strategies for a few months now. They have had numerous opportunities to categorize, starting with everyday, familiar vocabulary such as sorting appropriate vs. inappropriate behaviors in reading class which we used as a review of the class behaviors they had generated, as well as types of food, basic vocabulary to review nouns, verbs and adjectives, and so on.

Students have also had experience using top-down webs to organize their ideas for writing a paragraph, and have also been guided through generating details for scaffolded 2-column notes on short stories and Newsela articles.

One of the core books for third graders is Helen Keller. This book is a challenge for this group of students, so using KTL strategies was certainly helpful. First, we did an adjectives word sort to describe Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller. We read the words to them and discussed their meaning. Then, students worked with a partner to sort the words. The discussions that evolved around this word sort led to a much deeper understanding of the characters particularly since several words could have applied to each of the characters for different reasons. Students were able to support their reasons with examples from the test. 







After reading a chapter, students worked with a partner to sort sentences from two paragraphs which told about two different events in the text then wrote the main idea of each paragraph.


Most students were able to write what the paragraphs were about but some needed more discussion...a work in progress.

Day 137 - Weather & Climate Project - Mrs. Hayes - Pine Glen Grade 3

As our final project for our Weather & Climate Unit, every student worked in a group to create a Google Slide Presentation.  They had to pretend their family was moving to another city and needed to tell their family what the weather and climate would be like, how they should be prepared for natural disasters, and the differences in the climate from here in Burlington.  Students used data books, science books, and information they saw online to help them complete the project.  They presented their Google Slide presentation to the class so we all learned a little about the different weather and climate patterns around the United States.  Everyone did an amazing job researching, writing, and creating their presentation.  You can access your child's Google Presentation by going to their Google Drive.  I'm sure they can tell you all about the how they worked through this project!

Chicago, IL - Vivianna, Melody & Shayla

Miami, FL - Jada, Zachary & Redha

Seattle, WA - Arianna, Brian, Mackenzie & Eric

 Phoenix, AZ - Adam & Liam 

Oklahoma City, OK - Dylan & Kai

Miami, FL - Ben, Sadie & Brooke

Los Angeles, CA - Phoebe, Safa & Addie

Day 89 - A Trip To Lowell Mills With Memorial Third Graders - Asst. Superintendent Larkin

This post first appeared on Asst. Superintendent Larkin's Blog

I was thrilled to have the chance to accompany the Memorial third graders on their annual field trip to Lowell Mills yesterday.  I had a great time learning about the history of the textile mills that operated along the Merrimack River canal.

We had an opportunity to learn about the construction of the mills and the development of the surrounding area in the early 19th Century. In addition, we got to see the different roles that men and women would have had both on the farm and at the mills. It was a definite eye-opener to see the relentless schedule of the Lowell Mills Girs who stayed 5 or 6 to a small room and worked from morning until night with few breaks.

Finally, we ended our visit with a firsthand experience picking cotton seeds out of cotton. After spending some time developing their own tools to pick out the seeds, they all got a chance to spin the wheel on the Cotton Gin.

The students in Mrs. Kippenberger’s and Mrs. Ferullo’s classes were a joy to spend the day with. Thanks again for the invitation!

Day 52 - Plimoth Plantation Field Trip - Mrs. O'Neill - Francis Wyman Grade 3

This post first appeared on Mrs. O'Neill's Blog

Our field trip to Plymouth was really fun! It was a little chilly and wet, but it was great to visit the Wampanoag Homesite and the 17th Century English Village where the Pilgrims lived. Thank you to our chaperones!

We had lunch then started our day in the Wampanoag Homesite.

soft deer skin

Riding in a mishoon

"Rain in the Face" invited us into the nush wetu
 to learn about the Wampanoags. 

The children asked great questions!

Thank you, Mrs. Dickie and all our other chaperones!

The corn watch tower - Wampanoag children had
the responsibility of sitting in it to throw stones
at the birds trying to eat their crops in the garden.

The 17th Century English Settler Village

The fort at the top of
the Pilgrim village had cannons.  

Men in the village ages 16-60 were trained
in the militia and had to wear armor like this.

Perfect fit!

The kids were so good traveling to and from!

And tired!

The 3rd grade concert featured songs
about Thanksgiving and delicious food!

Our violinists were outstanding!