Learning from an Author! #tcrwp

Yesterday, Juli Brenning visited RES and spoke to us about her process as a writer.

We learned that when she writes stories, it starts with an idea and then, using her imagination she transforms the story into one that will be a wonderful children's book.   In 3rd grade, we talked about how we can start writing a true story by taking a small moment and zoom in to tell all the little details of a story.  Juli's story, Maggie and Milo, is a small moment from a time Juli visited family in Richmond!

Also, Julie shared that it takes a million rewrites to get the story nearly perfect.   In writing workshop, we're always working to revise our writing, adding little bits here and there to improve our writing.  How reassuring to know that we're learning the process that published authors use!

Juli, thank you for sharing your story with us and talking to us about your writing process.  Mrs. Redford, thank you for making this possible for students at RES!

Studying Geology at RES #STEM

As part of our study of Geology this fall, scholars were tasked with researching the impact of water on the land around RES.  To begin this task, we first approached Mr. Berry to find out his expertise...he shared the following video with us:

Then, small groups from each classroom explored these areas, took photographs, and thought about how to share this information with others.  Using our Chromebooks, we tried out a new app (Movenote), but ran into some "technical difficulties" while working on it.  Scholars exhibited lots of flexibility as we worked through these problems together.  And, as is often the case with newer technology, sometimes it doesn't go as planned.

Here are some of the videos students created.  We would LOVE to hear your feedback about our research...please leave us a comment with your thoughts or questions.  Thanks!

Erosion Around the Edge of RES

Erosion Behind the RES Sign

Erosion at the RES/CHMS Hockey Rink

Erosion at the RES Playground

Erosion Behind the 3/4 Wing

Finding Creative Ways to Teach

Today, our scholars watched a short video clip explaining the importance of studying World Geography!  Studying and knowing geographical terms will help them to survive a zombie apocalypse!

Introducing...Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBACs)

This Spring, 3rd graders will be taking a new assessment aligned with the Common Core State Standards.  This assessment will be an online test that students will take using their Chromebooks.  As we progress through this school year, we are giving students an opportunity to become familiar with their Chromebooks, learn touch-typing skills, and practice tasks similar to those expected with the SBAC.

In the RES Podcast this week, Mr. Berry highlighted some of the important aspects of these tests in his conversation with Michael Hock, Director of Assessment from the Vermont Agency of Education.  (It's the second half of the audio, about 4 minutes.)  As the year continues, RES staff will be attending conferences and discussing how to best prepare our students for these assessments.  We'll be sure to share this information with you, too.



In the meantime, you can check out some of the released practice items for this assessment.  Sample SBAC Questions:  Preview questions (not necessarily Grade 3) in a format similar to those that will be asked on the SBAC assessment.

As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!