Terrific Tuesday

The children began their day in PE practicing yoga poses...how cool!

When we returned to class, I told the children that I was quite impressed with their main characters and problem that they identified on their story maps yesterday.  The I cautioned the children to remember that their stories had to be realistic.

After that, I helped the children understand that people, and thus characters, deal with problems in different ways.  Therefore, it is important to KNOW your character so that you can determine what actions he/she would take to solve a given problem.  Then I modeled how to create and web a character.

After that, we identified ways that authors convey a character's traits in text.  One way is through dialogue.  So, we revisited the story The Memory String by Eve Bunting and examined what examples of dialogue, from the story, told us about the character.  We also examined the proper format for writing dialogue.

While I meet with small groups, the students will complete the main character and problem sections of their story map, create a main character web in their writing journal, complete reading group assignments and read realistic fiction picture books exploring the way the author uses dialogue.

Sharks:  We met and reviewed the expectations for answering a BCR.  I then modeled writing a good response to the "Schoolyard Toys" BCR.  Then we revisited my writing and I used different colors to underline the topic sentence, examples from the text, and the conclusion.  After that, the children were told to redo their responses showing what they had learned.

In math the children used Cuisenaire rods to identify equivalent fractions in two different ways.  I identified the unit fraction (the whole) and the fractions they were to break it into.  While the students worked on this task, I met with a small group.  The group's focus was to locate and name fractions on a number line.  We also discussed how to recognize if a fraction is equal to, greater than or less than a whole by looking at the numerator and denominator.

For homework:  Students are expected to practice their multiplication basic facts using the app, A Times Table Game, on Edmodo.  Practice should last at least 10 minutes.

Also, for HOMEWORK:  Students are to complete their main character web using the list below and share it with an adult. 

1. External – gender, name, age, appearance, special physical features (example:  very poor eyesight, lost without his glasses)

Students can draw and then write.

2. Family members, background

3. School situation, friends

4. What the character likes

5. Who the character loves

6. What the character dislikes

7. Worries, fears of the character

8. What the character wants, dreams of

9. Things the character always says, always does

10. Places the character spends time

11. Things that make the character different from other people

12. The history of the character (example: nearly drowned when she was six)

Following lunch and indoor recess, Mrs. Howard met with the entire third grade to do a lesson about test taking.

After that, we read about the reasons the Aztecs moved to Tenochtitlan and the modifications they made.