3rd Grade Blog

I am so amazed by my kiddos!  We started our unit on Missouri Government this week.  I introduced them to the 3 branches of government, requirements for each group, positions, and roles and responsibilities of each.  They asked great questions and were so engaged.  Talk to him/her this weekend about what they learned.  I have a feeling you are in for a deep conversation.   I have so enjoyed their excitement about our social studies unit this trimester and I think you will too.  Jefferson City is right around the corner!

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We had an amazing turn out for the I WISH I MAY fundraiser! Thank you, families, for your generosity and support. There will be many happy kiddos on their birthday this year as a result of all the goodies that were donated. Third grade was the winner with the most donations this year. SPO is throwing them a birthday party with cake and balloons to congratulate them on their efforts on Friday.

Students assisted in loading all of the items to be delivered to I Wish I May.

Students were introduced to mean, median, mode, and range this week. Yesterday, they were given Skittles candy to use for their set of data.  They began by sorting them into colors and then finding the 3M’s and R for each set.  Next, they shared their data with a partner and a small group to create larger numbers to work with to find mean, median, mode, and range.  Third graders loved this activity and of course, enjoyed eating their manipulatives.

Raven’s Reach Out Day at the Watershed was another huge success!  The Watershed Committee of the Ozarks is a not-for-profit group whose mission is to sustain and improve the water resources of Springfield and Greene County through education and effective management of the region’s watersheds.  Third-grade students dug holes, removed rocks, and planted native plants to recreate a glade that had been taken over by invasive species of plants.

Students have been studying the parts and function of the human eye and how light works in our science unit this trimester. We dissected cow eyeballs for our culminating activity.  Why cow eyeballs you ask? Well, they closely resemble the human eye except for their size and the tapetum which is iridescent in color (makes eyes glow green at night) and in humans it is black.   Students were very careful with their scalpels and scissors.  Learning to properly use a scalpel is a skill in itself.  I was very proud of them.  Everyone participated even though a few were hesitant.

We had a very busy short week in third grade. Students learned about the structures and functions of the human eye and were visited by Optometrist, Dr. Mitzi Lewis of the Vision Clinic.  Dr.  Lewis explained how the eye communicates with the brain and even how it can play tricks on you such as in optical illusions.

We played a division with remainders game using pretzels.  Students used dice to determine how many bowls their starting number of pretzels would have to be divided into equally.  If there was a “remainder” that student was able to keep those pretzels.  The remaining pretzels in the bowl were the number the next student started with then divided into bowls.  The goal was to have the most pretzels at the end that were collected from the “remainders.”  They had a blast playing this game.  It really helped them visualize how the concept of division with remainders works.

Valentine’s Day was so much fun!  We made cards and bookmarks for a local assisted living facility, that I will deliver later today.  We had popcorn, cookies, and drinks (thank you Nikki-cookies were amazing) while they opened their Valentines.

We played a game of Valentine’s Day Would You Rather and made heart shaped origami bookmarks during our party.

Thank you for Starbucks gift card and goodies from the class.  I also received some beautiful flowers and chocolate as well.  You guys spoil me.  Thank you to the Newman family for the beautiful roses arrangement for the class.  They are gorgeous!

What a great Monday! We had an amazing field trip to the Alamo for a private showing of A Dog’s Way Home.

Today students experimented with light and color. They used glass prisms and CD’s to create rainbows and looked at bubbles to see the separation of colors.