Wonderful Wednesday

Today we have a break from PARCC testing.  So, we are back to our regular routine.  :-)

After reading quietly, exchanging books in the media center, or practicing keyboarding, we began our math rotations.

During the small group, teacher-led instruction, we focused on solving word problems involving the addition and subtraction of time, otherwise known as elapsed time.  Today we focused on picking the most efficient strategy to use for each problem.

During math with a partner, the students worked together, using math discourse, to complete the elapsed time task cards from Monday.  Then they viewed an Educreations lesson in which I review how to answer each of the 20 problems.  If they finished early they played Time Bump.

Finally, during the technology portion, students revisited Sumdog and continued calculating future time using a digital clock.

There is no homework this week due to PARCC testing.  However, students can get extra elapsed time practice if they visit Sumdog.com.  There is an optional homework writing entry due Friday...but it is optional!!

Following math we took a Go Noodle brain break and then began our literacy block.

All groups began with a guided reading group assignment.  After that they practiced their word work words by doing a header sort (tigers and panthers) or a meaning check using 10 words (lions and leopards).  Next, the students used the Educreations lesson posted on the third grade web site, and their own research notes, to draft a paragraph informing about arguments against their issue.

As the children worked, I met with guided reading groups.

Panthers:  We began group by discussing World War II and people who helped the Jewish people escape from Hitler.  Then we discussed the title of their new book, A Passage to Freedom.  This is a biography about a Japanese diplomat who helped Jewish people in Lithuania during World War II.  Then we read the first two pages and retold each page in our own words.

Following lunch and outdoor recess the children continued working independently while I met with more guided reading groups.

Tigers:  Independently the students wrote three green questions that they are wondering and think might be answered in their new book, A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart.  In group we reviewed that green questions are those that are answered directly, in one place, in the text.  Then we shared the questions the children had written.

Leopards:  Independently the students read about the Revolutionary War via a link in Google Classroom, the literacy page, and completed an organizer to help them reflect on their new knowledge.  We began group by sorting their new word work words and discussing the meaning of any unknown words.  Then we reviewed how and why the Revolutionary War began as it is the setting of their new book.  Finally, I introduced their next book, a biography, called, The Secret Soldier.  This is a story about Deborah Sampson who dressed as a boy in order to fight in the Revolutionary War.

Lions:  Independently the students read about the Revolutionary War via a link in Google Classroom, the literacy page, and completed an organizer to help them reflect on their new knowledge.  We began group by sorting their new word work words and discussing the meaning of any unknown words.  Then we reviewed how and why the Revolutionary War began as it is the setting of their new book.  Finally, I introduced their next book, a biography, called, The Secret Soldier.  This is a story about Deborah Sampson who dressed as a boy in order to fight in the Revolutionary War.

F&P:  We began group by revisiting Dog Heroes.  Students reread page 16 and identified the author's point of view as to whether or not dogs can really be heroes and then explained whether or not they agree with it.  After that we did some word work focusing on homophones as words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings.

After our literacy block we identified why it's a good idea to save money in a bank and we identified the characteristics of banked and unbanked consumers.

The students ended their day in PE with Mr. Benco.