2023-2024 Gr. Three Harris

This will be my last entry for the grade 3 class of 2023/2024! We have had an amazing June filled with great explorations and time outside. I would first like to say a big thank you to the parents who made our day prior to National Indigenous People's Day such a wonderful success. The students had a fantastic time exploring St. Patrick Island Park and participating in many hands-on learning tasks outside in nature. We were so proud of the stamina they had to do such a lovely long walk.  Our math year ended, reviewing past lessons and exploring translations.  In the first part of this unit, we performed, identified, and described translations on a grid, including simple maps. We also identified reflections and rotations of simple shapes and connected reflections to symmetry. In an integrated art activity, we also demonstrated how a shape can be translated to create lovely visual patterns.  Our math year ended, reviewing past lessons and exploring translations.  In the...

 Our last unit in Math returns to Geometry and Transformations. In this unit, we are performing, identifying, and describing translations on a grind, including simple maps. We are also learning to identify reflections and rotations of simple shapes and connect reflections to symmetry. As part of this unit, I thought it would be a great connection to the art of printmaking.  Printmaking is one of the fine arts (including painting, drawing, collage, and sculpture) that involves making a “master plate,” which you can then use to make multiple images printed in reverse. There are so many ways to print; it’s almost endless! Potatoes and veggie printing, linoleum printing, bubble wrap printing,  yarn printing… basically any object can be used to print with. Styrofoam printing is really one of the simplest ways to teach printmaking for kids. The students did a great job creating a design and then transferring it to a Styrofoam plate. They enjoyed the process, and I know I would ...

  In class this week, we began to understand the art of persuasion and the art of persuasive writing. We looked at several stories that helped us see characters trying to persuade someone for something important to them. "I Wanna Iguana" by Karen Kaufman Orloff and David Catrow is a great example. This story is a series of letters between a mother and son. In his letters, the son tries to convince his mom to let him get a pet iguana. In her letters, she makes counter-arguments against his reasons for getting an iguana. Some arguments are good, and some aren't as good. But, in the end, Alex's reasons prevail, and he gets his iguana. We discussed what the word "persuade" means, and as a class, we brainstormed topics that we could write a persuasive argument. Here are some examples:  -Being allowed to get a puppy - Extending our recess time -Staying up 15 minutes later in the evening -Getting a new set of golf clubs -Having a swimming pool built in your backyar...

This week and last, we  revisited  our unit on Data analysis . We  spent time reviewing how to read and interpret information presented  in the form of  pictographs, bar graphs,  line graphs, and line plots . We  learned how to analyze the data presented in the graphs to solve one- and two-step word problems . We  discovered how to use multiplication skills to find the numbers represented on these scaled graphs . As  a class, we collected data about a topic that interested us and created our bar graphs . In  the following week, we will compare all four types of graphs and solve story word problems with the information on the charts.  Our fraction unit is also coming to a close this week. In our unit, we started with paper folding . We  began learning what a unit fraction is and learned the denominator in a fraction is the number of equal parts in the whole  and  the numerator is the number of shaded or selec...

In Science this week  we  started our new Unit on Mattter. We are beginning to discover that everyday materials around us generally fit into one of three categories: solid, liquid, and gas. Along with plasma, these three categories represent the different possible states of matter. A table is solid, while the air we breathe is a gas. Some materials can even transition between the  different  states. For example, water can exist as a solid (ice), a liquid (water), or a gas (steam or vapour).  On Friday, we had a fun lesson that explored the properties of  “ oobleck ”  – a simple mixture of cornstarch and water. Oobleck is unique because it can behave as  both  a solid and a liquid. We discovered that Oobleck acts like a liquid when  poured,  but like a solid when a force  is acting  on it. You can grab it  and  then it will ooze out of your hands. Oobleck gets its name from Dr.  Seuss...

  A big "Thank you" to our dedicated volunteers who joined us on our excursion to Weaselhead Park. Despite the unfavourable weather, the students did amazing and it was a wonderful morning exploring another fantastic natural area in Calgary. As we continue to participate in these great field studies, the students have begun to develop wonderful reflective and scientific journaling skills. Our discussions after our excursion are fantastic and the effort they are making to represent their learning is a great indicator of the educational value of our trips.  This week in Math, we have started our money unit. In this unit we will learn how to count money, including coins and bills. We will learn the relationships among coins, including the penny. Although the penny is no longer used in Canada, the value of the penny as one cent is still important as the base value of all the other coins. We will count money amounts involving coins starting with the larger value, and we will learn...