Teaching Division Through Literature

We have introduced division to third graders through literature!  In the book, "The Doorbell Rang" by Pat Hutchins, Ma bakes 12 cookies for her two children.  They are excited to share them among themselves.  Suddenly the doorbell rings and two more children enter.  Being gracious hosts, they decide to share them equally with their new guests.  Unfortunately, more guests keep arriving to share.  The best thing is when Grandma arrives with more cookies!

Students modeled the story in math using equations and drawing diagrams to represent them!  They even added onto the story thinking about what would happen if more kids or cookies entered the house.

Science in Antarctica!

Yesterday, third graders has the opportunity to participate in a webinar presented by Time for Kids with David Bjerklie (a TFK writer), Peter West (a scientist with the National Science Foundation) and Jean Pennycook (a penguin researcher).

We learned some fascinating information through the webinar...check it out:

• Antarctica is a continent located at the South Pole and is the size of the United States and Mexico combined!


• 98% of the continent is covered by ice, some of it is 3 miles thick!  Scientists have recently discovered that there are rivers and lakes under all of the sheets of ice on the continent.


• It is 3 times higher than any other continent.


• Antarctica is a desert, receiving less than 8 inches of precipitation each year.


• It is the coldest place on earth.  The mean temperature is -76˚F; the coldest temperature ever recorded was -128.6˚F.


• Yesterday, January 23, the temperature at McMurdo Station was 30˚F.  (It was 8˚F in Richmond, VT!)


• Mount Erebus is an active volcano on the continent.

While watching the webinar, we kept notes on our Wows! and Wonders...

[caption id="attachment_209" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Third graders gathered to watch the webinar LIVE! from Antarctica.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_212" align="aligncenter" width="584"] We were shocked to learn that Antarctica was warmer than Richmond, VT![/caption]

Thank you Time for Kids and edWeb for this fantastic opportunity!

Check out the Time for Kids Antarctica website for more information.  Miss Darby's friend, Sheryl, has lived on Antarctica supporting the scientists researching on the continent.  You can find her story here.  You can also explore the Twitter chat where classrooms just like ours all asked questions of the scientists in the webinar by following #edwebchat.

Listen Carefully as Third Graders Try to Convince You!

Students in Mrs. Ankerson's class have also been working on writing speeches in order to persuade or convince. Topics ranged from making a change, like having soccer goals for the playground or bringing in more box tops for our school, to appreciating people who make a difference in our lives. Click on a topic below to hear their speeches.

Soccer Goals       Soccer Goals4       Soccer Goals3       Playground Equipment

Lunch in Classroom       Eating Lunch Outside       Box Tops

Appreciating our Bus Driver       Appreciating Mrs. Redford        Appreciating June Banks

Soccer Goals2       playground equipment2       More equipment on Playground

Appreciating June Banks2

Students in Mrs. Ayer's class have been working for the last month on writing speeches. They explored a variety of topics before settling on one to publish.  Their topics range from getting different drinks in the cafeteria to trying to negotiate a later bedtime.  Click on a topic below to hear their speeches.  Have they convinced you?

Chocolate Milk                     Computers for Live Y'ers             Chocolate Milk 2                    A Later Bedtime                We Need More Sleds                               No Pledge in School     Longer Recess                     Places That are Noteworthy in London                                 No Chores on Monday and Tuesday                  More Percy Jackson Books  More Equipment on the Playground in the Winter          Lemonade in the Cafeteria                 More Equipment on the Playground Every Season                 Family Dinners Together        I Need a German Shepard

Groups of students in Miss Darby's class read articles, looked at advertisements and watched videos about the pros and cons of chocolate milk.  Then, they collaboratively wrote speeches to convince Mrs. Kent and Mr. Berry to offer chocolate milk in the RES Cafe.  What do you think?

Chocolate Milk is Good For You    Chocolate Milk Makes Happy Kids                      Chocolate Milk in Schools       Chocolate Milk is Good Good Good                                       It Doesn't Make a Difference             Super News for Kids

 

 

Follow Boo!

This fall, third graders read a fiction story in Scholastic's Story Works magazine titled "Following Boo."  In this story, while a family vacations in Florida, brother and sister find a lost dog in the swamp behind their camp site AND uncover a "fountain of life."  At first, they think they should leave Boo behind so he can continue to drink from the fountain.  However, Nate remembers what his grandfather said about having lived a good, long life and being with his family and decides that maybe Boo would want to be a loving family, too.  So, they bring Boo home with them.

After reading this story, third graders were given an opportunity to participate in a contest for Scholastic, writing a paragraph to explain how Boo helps Nate heal from the loss of his grandfather.

Congratulations to the winner from our class...one of only 10 winners in the contest!

Check out the Scholastic Story Works website here: Story Works!