2023-2024 Gr. Three Harris

In Social Studies, we have been discussing the term quality of life and what factors contribute to our quality of life. We discussed what makes us feel healthy, happy, secure, safe, and comfortable? These included,: Food and water, clothing and shelter, friends and family, job or source of money to buy necessary things, schooling to be able to read and write, freedom to act and ability to get around (transportation), opportunities to do interesting things, safety and protection and health care. We discussed the difference between needs and wants and learned to differentiate between goods and services. In math, we continued to practice our ability to add and subtract four-digit numbers with and without regrouping. This can be a tricky concept, so I have put several links containing videos on our Google Classroom to help explain the steps we have learned in class. It would be helpful if students continue practicing this skill over the holidays as we will move on to multiplication and di...

  This week in math, we have transitioned from adding three and four-digit numbers with and without regrouping to learning how to subtract with regrouping using 1 hundred blocks as 10 ten blocks, or 1 tens block as ten ones blocks or both. We learned how to use base ten sketches and the standard algorithm. As we moved into subtraction, we took some time to review the importance of understanding what a fact family is. A fact family is a group of math facts using the same numbers. In the case of addition/subtraction, you can use three numbers and get four facts. For example, you can form a fact family using the three numbers 18,22 and 4: 18+4=22, 4+18=22, 22-18=4 and 22-4=18. We can use fact families, to reinforce or learn the connection between addition and subtraction and to help memorize the basic addition and subtraction facts. If your child has been away over the last few weeks, I have put in Google Classrooms some slides that will help you review with your child the concepts th...

  Spelling Focus- Sept to November During the last few months, we have been learning how to find the syllable break in a word and gaining an understanding that each syllable must have at least one vowel. We have also explored long vowel combinations: ai, ay, a_e, eigh, ight, ie, y. This week, we focused on the letter "Gg" and how to create a soft g sound using the letters e, i, and y. Another strategy we have been learning is using rhyme knowledge to support us (When we know how to spell a word that sounds similar, we can often use this knowledge to help us spell a new word, i.e. light, bright, night).  Over the next few weeks, we will focus on letter combinations that make the long u,o, and e sounds and how to create a soft "c." Below is a list of the sight words we have been practicing. Many words don't follow the rules and can only be mastered through memorization. Please continue to support your child in learning them so they can be spelled without hesitatio...

  This week, we started discussing the importance of a growth mindset. We used the video Developing a Growth Mindset and the book Not Yet by Lisa Cox and Lori Hockem as a springboard that helped us appreciate the process of striving toward a goal and not being defeated by our mistakes. We discussed how the main character showed perseverance, kindness, assertiveness, and a positive mindset. As a class, we were challenged to create a cartoon that showed the process we have all individually gone through when striving to reach a goal and develop a strength. We also used this opportunity to examine how cartoonists can illustrate simple facial expressions to inform readers about a character's feelings. The students shared many examples of steps they took to develop strength, such as learning how to ski, snowboard, and ride a bike and reminding themselves that goals and strengths take time to achieve and setbacks are inevitable. https://youtu.be/rUJkbWNnNy4?si=TrnMHjhYjqDGDXh5 In math, we...

  How quickly October has ended, and a new month is upon us. We took the opportunity when changing our calendar to take an in-depth look at how to read a calendar using ordinal numbers ( 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. ), knowing the order of the months, as well as reciting the days of the week and knowing the abbreviations for them, i.e. Sunday/Sun. The grade three's are also beginning to learn how to read a calendar by indicating what day of the week a particular date falls on, how many specific days there are in each month and saying the date correctly. Throughout the school year, we will continue to develop and build on our calendar skills.  For the last few weeks, we have reviewed how to make 10, add 10, and use 10 to add and subtract. This math strategy can help your child deepen their understanding of addition and subtraction and help them become more confident as mathematicians.  In class, we have worked with tens to explore place value, ten frames, and hundreds charts. We le...

 On Wednesday, we had a lovely trip to Bow Habitat. Our day was filled with wonderful instruction and exploration as we became acquainted with this amazing facility. Our learning objectives for the day were to: 1. Observe and describe the growth and development of a rainbow trout from egg to adult.  2. Study the physical characteristics, behaviours, adaptations, and needs of fish to survive in their habitat.  3. Identify examples of environmental conditions and habitat preservation that can help maintain trout populations.  4. Explore the science of mimicking nature: understanding the technology of a fish hatchery and how it meets the natural needs of the fish. Below is a list of a few of the new vocabulary words we learned through this hands-on experiential process:  · Adaptation: A change in a plant or animal that helps it survive in a particular place or situation.  · Camouflage: When animals use their shape, colours and patterns to blend into their surr...

 In math these last two weeks, we have been reviewing the place value system for reading and writing numbers in base ten. We have been learning to distinguish between the place values of a digit in one-, two-, and three-digit numbers and understand the value of each digit. We have learned how to read and write three-digit numbers using words and numerals and understand the connection between number words, expanded form, and base ten block representations. This week, we will be comparing three-digit numbers using the symbols < and > with base ten blocks and using place value.  Remember that we will go on Wednesday's full-day field trip to Bow Habitat. This will be a wonderful opportunity to extend and build on our learning as it relates to how plants and animals interact with each other in various environments and how this interaction can be represented with a food chain. On our community walk this week, we explored patterns in Nature. Below are the “I can” statements we ...