Fun with Tangrams!

Students have had opportunities for free time over the past couple of weeks.  They often choose to work together to create patterns with tangrams!  Here are some pictures that show their creativity!  Some students chose not to be photographed with their patterns.

        

Learning about Magnetism!

Part of our force unit involved learning about contact forces and non-contact forces.  Magnetism is one type of non-contact force.  For this investigation, students predicted whether or not magnets would be attracted to certain objects.  In the pictures below, students are testing their predictions!

        

Learning About Force!

We recently completed our unit on force.  Below are some pictures of students working together to find out how they can make a ball roll through a "roller coaster!"  Students had to think about how gravity would affect the ball in order to make it move the way they wanted it to.

I can't believe it's already October...

I hope everyone had a nice weekend!  I think some of my third grade students were tired today... they were unusually quiet.  We had a great day, though!

This morning we talked about how good readers ask questions about the title of a book.  What do I already know?  What will I find out from reading this book? etc.  We also started our new read aloud book "Cabin Creek Mysteries: The Secret of Robber's Cave."  I read to the students outside today!  That was a special "prize" they earned for collecting 50 Cougar compliments as a class.  Then, we had silent reading time.

In writing, students wrote letters for Mill Creek mail and started a graphic organizer for a new small moment story that they will write tomorrow.

On Friday, students created parachutes with a partner.  We had just discussed air resistance and gravity, so they were hoping to design a parachute that would travel slowly to the ground.  Today, we timed their parachutes.  I think the winning (slowest) time was 2.6 seconds, and the fastest time was 0.7 seconds.  Then, we watched a fun video on gravity.

We went to the computer lab for Fast Math, and then had a math lesson on subtracting big numbers by breaking them down into smaller chunks.  

Today marked the start of Pizza Hut's "Book-It!" program.  Please encourage your child to read every night!  We set a goal as a class for everyone to read 200 minutes by October 31st.  Students who meet the goal will earn a certificate for a free personal pan pizza.  The program runs until the end of March.

Don't forget to return the photo permission slip and send in change for United Way tomorrow!

Have a great evening!