Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Happy Winter!

From the Third Grade Team to you and your family, we wish you the winteriest of winters.  Enjoy your vacation and we'll see you in 2016!!

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Monday, December 7, 2015

From Impossible to Possible

In wrapping up our Global Read Aloud book, "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, scholars worked with Mrs. Rankin in enrichment.  In the book, Ally keeps a journal of impossible things.  As she learns more about herself as a learner, she comes to realize many of the things are possible and changes or creates new sketches.  Inspired by the book. third graders made their own sketchbook pages!  Watch the videos to see what our RES scholars find to be impossible and possible.

 

Computer Programming This Week with Hour of Code #resvt #vted


The week of December 7-11, RES third graders will have a hands-on introduction to computer programming, or coding, with Hour of Code activities. They will be using the Star Wars: Building a Galaxy with Code tutorial from Code.org. This programming activity and many more are also available for free for families to use at home.


RES scholars during the 2014 Hour of Code



Computer programming helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity in scholars of all ages. RES is joining over 190,000 other Hour of Code events around the world to introduce our scholars to this important skill. Please watch our Twitter feed this week for updates from Hour of Code!




Image and information courtesy of code.org

Thursday, November 19, 2015

RES Flight School: Cougar Cub Air

We celebrated the end of our information reading and writing units of study by taking flight!  Future flight instructors from Vermont Technical College joined us to talk about the forces of flight (thrust/drag, lift/weight) and to try out our skills by building our own (paper) airplanes.  Each classroom held a test flight competition to see which pilot could land their airplane closest to the "airport"...great skill was involved in the flying!



A giant THANK YOU to our friends at VT Tech for the mini-flight school and for helping us celebrate our accomplishments by learning even more!

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Pilot Project: Minecraft

Mrs. Rankin worked with a small group of third graders recently to try out Minecraft (the oh-so-popular building video game) as a possibility for sharing research related to our recent World Geography research project.

Here's an excerpt from Mrs. Rankin's blog about the project:
Due to the small group nature of our project we were able to team students together so that experts could support novice players.  Next, we explored the application.

When students understood the tool useage expectations, they got right to work! I could clearly see their informational knowledge as they designed, built and created!  Students had to problem solve how to create animals, stop ice from melting, and more.  They also collaborated on how to add labels (most settled on capturing a screenshot of their biome and then editing it in Explain Everything, but then others found a way to make signs inside of Minecraft!)

This project was a way to share already understood information.  Students could have certainly drawn a picture or written a description of their understanding...but I believe the Minecraft tool added three additional components to their learning:  a need to collaborate and learn from each other, high (very high!) engagement, and problem solving.
Below are two images created during our small group pilot.





We're hoping that we can bring this experience to ALL third graders next year!  Thank you, Mrs. Rankin, for helping us to pilot this project.  You can read Mrs. Rankin's entire post here on her Enrichment at RES blog.

 

 

Andes Manta Visits

This is a guest post from RES Enrichment Teacher Mrs. Rankin.

 

Today third graders had the amazing opportunity to make musical instruments with the musical group Andes Manta.  Students visited the Flynn for a performance this morning. Students and chaperones got to experience quite a show.

Embedded image permalink

Here is an example of a similar performance of one amazing part of the show, when the Lopez brothers create a rainforest:



We were very lucky to not only see this great performance, but to welcome Andes Manta to our school to create payas, an Andean musical instrument.  Each student created their very own paya and participated in small group discussions with the artists.  Students talked about music, creating instruments, Ecuador (culture and geography) as they worked alongside great musicians!



 

This work connected to students study of South America in Spanish classes as well as their third grade geography unit (biomes, landforms, and culture!).

This great opportunity was made possible by the Flynn Education Department, collaboration between enrichment, Spanish and third grade teachers AND a very generous donation from Cumbancha (http://www.cumbancha.com/). Thanks to everyone who supported this effort to bring an enriching experience to our school!

Friday, October 23, 2015

Making Andean Musical Instruments!

RES ENRICHMENT and SPANISH PROGRAMS  in collaboration with the FLYNN EDUCATION DEPARTMENT are excited to announce an: AMAZING THIRD GRADE OPPORTUNITY!

After our attendance at the Flynn theater on Monday November 2nd to watch Andes Manta perform,   ANDES MANTA WILL BE COMING TO RES!!!  

 

(photo courtesy of Andes Manta)

The four Lopez  brothers will spend an hour and a half in the afternoon creating authentic Andean musical instruments with our students. Each student will create an instrument to bring home!

This opportunity has been sponsored in part by World Music Record Label, Cumbancha (based in Charlotte Vermont), http://www.cumbancha.com/ and we are very thankful for their support of music and making at RES.  

This is a unique opportunity for students, and we know it will be memorable!  if you are interested in coming to support students as they build and make their instruments (from 1-2:30 on 11/2) please contact Darcie Rankin at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org.  

 

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

An Expert Talk #tcrwp

We are soooo lucky!  Katie Webster, a 3rd grade parent AND a published information writer, came in yesterday to share about her writing process.  She shared her cookbook, Maple, with us and even made us a little treat from her cookbook, Maple Sour Cherry Shirley Temples!

Katie DemoKatie ToC


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We were surprised to learn that she uses some of the same strategies that we use when writing our information books.   For instance, when Katie first started writing her cookbook, she began by writing the Table of Contents.  We were just working on that last week!  She also had to use elaboration strategies to introduce each recipe to her reader...she shared some her favorites and our mouths were watering!  She also shared her struggles with introductions; boy, can we relate!  We'll certainly be referring to her advice as we continue our work in this unit!

Here's just a snippet of what she shared with us!  (Thanks to Mrs. Redford for recording and Mr. Berry for putting together the video!)



A huge thank you to Katie for taking the time from her busy book tour & cooking schedule to come in and talk with us!  We learned a LOT!

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

A Celebration of Writing! #tcrwp

Last week, we completed our first unit of writing and celebrating by sharing our true, small moment stories.  We invited families and friends to join us in the Library Media Center to share our stories...and listen to those of our peers.  Superintendent Alberghini & Board Chair Mr. Milazzo joined us, too!  What a special day!

Here's a slideshow of our journey throughout this first writing unit:



After the celebration, Superintendent Alberghini shared another of his childhood tales...what a treat!  Here's the story of "Big Bad Bob, the African Bullfrog!"



 

How lucky we are to have a storytelling treasure in our midst!

Monday, October 5, 2015

The Global Read Aloud Begins... #gra15 #grafiat

Today is a very exciting day in 3rd grade!  We're beginning The Global Read Aloud with more than 500,000 other students all over the globe.  A fellow participant created this map to show other classes around the world that are also reading "Fish in a Tree"...we added our pin to the map!



Pernille Ripp, the founder of The Global Read Aloud, has welcomed us to this year's project with this message:



AND...Lynda Mullaly Hunt, the author of our read aloud story has also welcomed us and even read the first chapter of the book to us.  We're sooo lucky and can't wait to start the journey...



Throughout the next six weeks, we'll be following along to a specific plan for The Global Read Aloud.  We don't want to read ahead of our connected classrooms or fall too far behind.  So, if you're following along with us at home, be sure to follow our game plan!  Also, Mrs. Redford has purchased a few extra copies of FIAT for our RES Library that parents will be able to check out...feel free to join us on our Global Read Aloud journey!!

Week 1:  Chapter 1 – 8 (October 5-9)

Week 2: Chapter 9 – 17 (October 12-16)

Week 3: Chapter 18 – 24 (October 19-23)

Week 4: Chapter 25 – 33 (October 26-30)

Week 5: Chapter 34 – 42 (November 2-6)

Week 6: Chapter 43 – end (November 9-13)

 

Friday, October 2, 2015

Mystery Skype!

This morning, we participated in our very first Mystery Skype!!  A mystery skype is when one class meets up with another class somewhere in the world.  Each class asks a series of yes/no questions to try to determine the location of the mystery class.  Because the Skypers can be anywhere in the world, we had to start with a broad question like:  Do you live in the Northern Hemisphere?   Given that answer, we could then ask about the continent, then the country, and so on.

Eventually, with our cunning detective (& geographic) skills, we were able to locate our new third grade friends at Beechwood Elementary School in Fullerton, California!



They are also reading Fish in a Tree for the Global Read Aloud project and we're hoping to connect again in the future!

Thursday, October 1, 2015

"Fish in a Tree" Predictions #gra15 #grafiat

The Global Read Aloud begins next week...we're sooooo excited!  This week, we prepared ourselves by thinking about the title of the book (Fish in a Tree), looking at the cover and hearing the quote below from the book to be able to make predictions.

"...a wise person once said, 'Everyone is smart in different ways.  But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life thinking that it's stupid." (Chapter 29)


Wednesday, September 30, 2015

RES Fun Run -- Saturday!



On Saturday October 3rd, 2015 Richmond Elementary School will host a FUN RUN  at the Volunteers Green in Richmond!  This awesome family event will include a kid friendly half mile obstacle course, and a 5K and 5K relay!

5K and 5K-RELAY and Kids ½ Mile FUN run

Saturday October 3rd, 2015 --  9am

Location:  Richmond Volunteer’s Green

Bring the whole family and enjoy a morning of being outside with friends and neighbors running to support students at Richmond Elementary School.  All money raised at this event will support enrichment opportunities for students at RES.

Pre- Registration is now open on line until October 2nd 2015.

To Pre-register go to:

http://tinyurl.com/2015RESFunRun

Pre-Registered Racers Sign in at 8:30 am

Race Day Registration Sign in at 8:15 am

Kids Race: 9am Start

Kids ½ mile will begin at the park and loop around the soccer field.  All entrants will receive an award.

5K Race: 9:15 am Start

5K will consist of three loops around the park area.  Relay teams will be allowed, so consider running with your spouse and making them do two loops while you do one!

Please note: This is a FUN RUN!  The course is narrow in some areas, which will not cater to passing, AND times will not be recorded!   Raindate (if severe weather):  Sunday, October 4th, 2015

If you have questions about the event, or are interested in volunteering to help organize this great day, please contact Darcie Rankin at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Writing Celebration! #tcrwp

It's time for a celebration!




 

We're celebrating the conclusion of our first Writing Unit of Study: Crafting True Stories in a big, big way!!

 

Thursday, October 1st, 2015


10:30-11:30 am


RES Library



Our 3rd grade authors will be sharing their stories from 10:30-10:50...listen to as many as you can to celebrate the fabulous writing (& learning) that has been accomplished in our first six weeks of school!


Then, Superintendent Alberghini, our storytelling mentor throughout the unit, will share another of his childhood tales with us...it's sure to be a great celebration of words!!


 

Global Read Aloud 2015 #gra15 #grafiat



 

This year, our 3rd grade classes will be participating in a project called the Global Read Aloud.  This project will start October 5th and will run for approximately 6 weeks.  The idea behind it is very simple; teachers around the world read the same book aloud to their students and then use technology to share the reading experience with these other classrooms.  

During the project, our class will be reading Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt and connecting with students around the world who are reading the same book.  We will use technology tools such as Skype, Padlet and our team twitter (@RESGrade3) to facilitate these connections and conversations.  In fact, our first connection will be on Friday when we "Mystery Skype" with a 3rd Grade Team from somewhere in the world!!



Here's a link to a book trailer we watched about the book.  FIAT Book Trailer

We are very excited to connect with others, especially since more than 200,000 students are already signed up to participate.  This project will allow for our students to use technology tools in a meaningful way, as well as learn about other cultures, all while listening to a fantastic read aloud.  


If you would like more information about the Global Read Aloud, feel free to visit the website www.theglobalreadaloud.com.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Self checkout station at the RES library



This is a guest post from our library media specialist, Beth Redford.








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The RES library has a new self checkout station! Third and fourth graders have new library cards that they keep in their classrooms. They have learned to use the station and check out their own books.  Now they can come to the library any time and check out new books, even if I am out of the library or busy teaching a class. This means the library is accessible for the whole school day, every day, whenever our fantastic RES readers need new books. Second graders will be learning to use the self checkout station later this year as well.





Did you know that family members can get accounts at the RES library? This is a great thing to do especially if your child is a new reader who may go through several "skinny books" in a week. Parents can get library cards and check out books at the self checkout station as well. Stop by the library and I will make you your own library card! - Beth Redford, RES Library Media Specialist


Thursday, September 17, 2015

We're featured on the RESVT Podcast!

Last week, Mr. Berry joined our 3rd grade writers during Writing Workshop to hear a mini-lesson from Mrs. Ayer and listened in while Superintendent Alberghini shared his "Bear Trap" story with us.

Listen in...

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Superintendent Storyteller, Extraordinaire! #tcrwp



Last week, we were surprised to welcome Superintendent John Alberghini into our 3rd grade to tell us a story from his childhood.  In writing workshop, we're learning to use our "storyteller's voice" instead of the usual "news reporter voice" of our previous writing.  Lucky for us, Mr. Alberghini has lots of stories to share from his childhood growing up in Derby Line, Vermont.

We noticed that Mr. Alberghini used a funny lead in his story and shared a lot of information about the characters, mostly his sisters, Gina and Debbie.  We certainly remember which sister was the trouble-maker!

We're using Mr. Alberghini's story as a mentor for our own story writing, referencing it for the various pieces of our 3rd grade checklist and working to make our stories the best they can be!

Thank you, Mr. Alberghini, for taking time from your busy day to visit with us and support us in our writing!

And, thank you, Mr. Berry, for coming to our classrooms to video this story for our future use!

Friday, September 11, 2015

Writing Workshop

We use the "Writing Workshop" approach for writing instruction in 3rd grade.  The following slideshow will explain how and why we do what we do for writing instruction.  It will also provide answer to frequently asked questions AND provide families with ways to talk about and celebrate writing at home!

 

(Slideshow adapted from Two Writing Teachers blog, with permission.)

Friday, September 4, 2015

The Stoplight of Internet Safety!

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As third graders prepare to begin using Chromebooks for the first time, we are working to establish routines and expectations with students.  Mrs. Rankin stopped by each of our classrooms this week for a conversation about internet safety using the metaphor of a stoplight.  Each class discussed their ideas of what websites and activities might fall into each category of the stoplight.


Green Light: These are websites that are approved by teachers, parents/guardians or other adults and students can use these websites with confidence knowing they are safe.  Examples include: Fastt Math, Edutyping, PebbleGo, or anything on the CESU "Great Sites for Kids" page.


Yellow Light:  These are websites that should be used with caution.  Perhaps they require a sign-in or email address, or there is a "chat" feature that can be used.  These are sites that students should use carefully, under the supervision of an adult and stopping to ask questions if necessary.  Examples include: Penguin Jump.


Red Light: These are sites that should not be used by students because the material is inappropriate or unsafe for students.  If students happen upon one of these sites, they should either shut off their computer or find an adult immediately to help.


As we continue throughout the year, we will continue to revisit this discussion.  Please feel free to use this analogy at home, too, as you have your own family discussions about online safety.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Building a Powerful Reading Life

Today we launched our reader's workshop and third graders were so excited!  They shared where their favorite places to read were and why they love to read.  Our third grade readers eagerly jumped into some books, either rereading old favorites or discovering new ones.  We are so excited by the enthusiasm for reading displayed by all!IMG_1126 IMG_1125 IMG_1124

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

It's a New Year!

We have successfully completed our first day of the 2015-2016 school year...and it went by sooooo quickly!

  
While getting to know new friends and teachers, we also reminded ourselves of our school-wide expectations and routines.  Our favorite, of course, is recess!!

   
  

We look forward to a fantastic year together.  Welcome to 3rd Grade!!

Mrs. Ankerson's Class: 

   
Mrs. Ayer's class:

  

 

Miss Darby's class:

  

   

  

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Sneak a Peek to the New School Year



We're soooo excited to start the 2015-2016 school year and we're going to give you the chance to see a sneak peak on Friday, August 21st, from 2:30-3:30 pm.   We're opening the doors to our classrooms (before they're ready!!) in the hopes that you'll come in and say hello!

Hope to see you!

 

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Looking forward to a new year...

On move-up day in June, we asked our future third graders to share with us things they were looking forward to in the coming school year and they provided many.  We're looking forward to all of this (and more!) as we begin gearing up for the start of the new school year.

In the coming weeks, you'll receive a summer letter (we'll post it here, too!) with information and a shopping list for the beginning of the school year.  And we'll begin organizing and preparing our classrooms for the first day of school, August 26th.  See you then!

Friday, June 19, 2015

Memories of 3rd Grade

As the year came to a close, we had an opportunity to reflect on our favorite memories from the school year...



Our last day of school was a celebration from beginning to end.



 

Thank you ALL for a wonderful year of learning and celebrating together.  Be sure to stop by and see us next year!

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Fairy Tale Read Aloud! #tcrwp

This afternoon, 3rd graders gathered on the lawn of RES to share the fairy tales that they've been writing and illustrating over the last few weeks.  A few of our families and a class of kindergartners stopped by to hear the stories...

We're really proud of our 3rd Grade Authors!

Friday, June 12, 2015

2015 Field Day

Yesterday, we celebrated the Annual RES Field Day & Walk-a-Thon (raising money for the Snow Motion program at Cochran's next year!)...we were exhausted by the end of the day!!

 

Monday, June 1, 2015

Cedar Knoll Golfing -- Postponed to 6/4

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Dear 2nd & 3rd Grade Parents/Guardians,

 

Due to the rain and wet grass, the 2nd & 3rd grade golf trip to Cedar Knoll Country Club will be rescheduled for Thursday June 4th.  If you were unable to volunteer for the June 2nd date and wish to help out with the June 4th date, please email Mr. G.  All lunches ordered through the school will be moved to Thursday.  Please make sure your child wears appropriate footwear (no flip flops  or sandals) and apply sunscreen at home.

 

  • 2nd Grade will leave RES at 8:30 and return at 11:30

  • 3rd Grade will leave RES at 10:30 and return at 1:45


 

Thanks,

 

Brian Godfrey

P.E. teacher

brian.godfrey@cesuvt.org

Sharing Westward Expansion Projects

A Guest Post from RES Enrichment Teacher Darcie Rankin.  This post originally appeared on the Enrichment at RES

blog.

Westward Expansion Projects



This year I have had the great opportunity to collaborate with the third grade teachers on many of their science and social studies units.  Last month, we worked together to elaborate on student learning about westward expansion by utilizing our enrichment time, and some library time to create student interest projects.  Students spent time learning about some westward expansion topics--everything from clothing, to dangers on the trail, to the Gold Rush was explored using books and online resources!  Next students selected an individual topic that they wanted to learn more about. Students took notes and found images to support their learning.  In their classrooms students wrote a research report on their topic.  During enrichment time students created a project.  The guidelines for this project were broad, and students were encouraged to be creative as they thought about what type of project would best share information about their topic with others. It was really great giving students a chance to explore something they wanted to learn more about, and it provided depth to their in class curriculum learning about westward expansion.

The projects that students designed were as varied as their topics and included: clay models, cooking, wooden models, Google presentations, green screen movies, songs, posters, cartoons, drawings and more!

One important aspect of any project is knowing that your work has an audience.  On Friday, third graders were thrilled to share their great work (reports and projects) with the second grade classes.  Third graders set up their projects and then answered questions as second graders visited each of the classrooms. I was really impressed with the conversations that I witnessed that showed that second graders were truly interested in learning about a new subject and that proved that third graders had become topic experts! This was a great connection for second graders who are starting to think about becoming third graders next year and our third graders were really proud to share their learning.

The below video shows the westward expansion project share so that you too can celebrate this great learning. Enjoy!



Sample Green Screen projects:



Friday, May 29, 2015

A Special Thank You for Our Parents

In an effort to find a way to thank you for all your support, here is a little something for you to watch:



Again, thank you!!

Friday, May 15, 2015

Live Webcast of Hatching

Spring has finally arrived!  Our chickens are due to hatch anywhere from Sunday to Wednesday.  You can click on the link to take a peek at any new arrivals.  It is an exciting time in the third grade classrooms.

Mrs. Ayer's Class

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Fraction Math Conjectures

Fraction Pizza

In math this week, third graders have been reading conjectures about fractions.  Conjectures in math are when a claim is made about a math concept or skill, but it hasn't been proved yet.  Working with partners or in small groups students had to decide if the conjecture was true or false.  Using the area model and/or distance model (number line) they then had to support their answer with evidence and present it to the class.

Ask your child about one of the conjectures below.  They should be able to tell you if it is true or false and why!

  • Eating 1/4 of a small pizza is the same as eating 1/4 of a large pizza because they used the same fraction.  True/False

  • When comparing two fractions with the same denominator and different numerators, the fraction with the greater numerator is larger.  True/False

  • When comparing two fractions with the same numerator and different denominators, the fraction with the greater denominator is larger.  True/False


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Wednesday, March 18, 2015

More Book Trailers! #tcrwp

Never Girls #6: The Woods Beyond by Kiki Thorpe



Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume



Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk by Megan McDonald

Still More Book Trailers! #tcrwp

The Magic Bunny by Sue Bentley



Mr. and Mrs. Hay the Horse by Allan Ahlberg



I Survived: The Nazi Invasion of 1944 by Lauren Tarshis



Smile by Raina Telgemeier

More Book Trailers #tcrwp

Fudge-A-Mania by Judy Blume



 

Fudge-A-Mania by Judy Blume

The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-L0ng Shang



Harry Potters Series by JK Rowling

Book Trailers

 

Judy Moody Book Trailer

Balto Book Trailer

Book Trailers #tcrwp

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner



 

 

Danger at the Zoo by Kathleen Ernst


Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Book Trailer: Bigfoot Boy

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Book Trailers: We are So Proud! #resvt #cesuvt #TCRWP

This is a guest post by RES teacher librarian, Beth Redford

We are SO PROUD of our third grade scholars for their hard work and perseverance on their book trailers! A book trailer is like a movie trailer: it's a short video advertisement that tells an audience a little about a book. In order to create these trailers, the scholars did the following:

  • wrote voiceovers as persuasive texts during Writing Workshop

  • learned to use Google Advanced Image Search to find reusable (not copyrighted) images

  • found and saved images for their their trailers

  • learned to use either WeVideo or Screencastify Google Apps to create their trailers

  • added images and recorded voiceovers. Some scholars even added music!


Along the way they encountered some technical problems with the Google Apps they were using, but they showed great determination to finish their trailers and make them excellent. We think they succeeded!

We hope you enjoy these first few trailers. We will be sharing more soon.







Book trailer made with WeVideo

 

 




Book trailer made with Google Slides and Screencastify



Friday, March 6, 2015

Opinion Writing and Book Trailers #resvt #cesuvt #TCRWP







This is a guest post by our teacher librarian, Beth Redford.






As part of their current unit on persuasive writing, third graders are writing and producing book trailers to convince their classmates to read the books they recommend. A book trailer is like a movie trailer: it's a short video advertisement that tells an audience a little about a book. The scholars have finished writing the words for their scripts, and now they are finding images to put into their videos. As they do this, they are learning and reinforcing important digital citizenship skills such as citing their sources and only using images for which the photographers have given permission for reuse.

The scholars also put together a great list of tips for using images to make their book trailers even more persuasive. They made these suggestions after watching several professional and student made book trailers and deciding what made them less or more effective.

 

Tips for Making a Persuasive Book Trailer


by RES grade 3 scholars




Images






  • Your first image should be the cover of your book

  • Use the same image for a character throughout the book trailer (don’t use three different cats for one cat character!)

  • The images you use for your characters should actually look like the characters

  • You can use illustrations from your book if it has them

  • Your images should match your book - funny images for a funny book, creepy images for a scary book





Next the third graders will be recording their voiceovers and adding music to their book trailers. Stay tuned for updates on this exciting project!










Friday, February 20, 2015

An Electric Show!

On Wednesday evening, we performed our team play "It's Electrifying" in front of a sold-out crowd of 130+ of our dearest friends and relatives.  It was fantastic show and the actors did a fantastic job!

 

A collection of photos from our evening performance:



And a video of our dress rehearsal performance on Wednesday for the school:

 

A big THANK YOU to the following folks who helped make this show a success:

  • Mr. Godfrey for the use of his gym for rehearsals,

  • Mr. Arthur for the use of his music room for rehearsals & the audio equipment,

  • Brian for his assistance with additional audio equipment and sound assistance

  • Bad Wolf Press for the show & the music

  • Mr. Berry for photographing & videoing our performances

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Sneak Peek: It's Electrifying!



Here's a sneak peek from our rehearsal yesterday...actors wore pieces of their costumes and practiced curtain calls! Can't wait for our performance Wednesday, February 18 at 5:00pm.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Beast Quest

Do you like Dragons and sad stories? Then you should read Beast Quest Ferno the Fire Dragon, by Adam Blade and illustrated by Ezra Tucker.  In the beginning the Knight tells his skwire “ I'm going to climb that mountain.’’ So he did. He climbed the mountain and his scwire was frozen with fear . When the the brave knight got to the top his skwire yeled “Come down!!!!’’ Then he realised that the mountain WAS the dragon! The brave knight released that the dragon WAS the mountain to! My opinion of this book is that it starts out sad then everything changed and it began to be awesome and cool.
Theres also a character that is eager and adventures.  He is eager when he really wants to save his village from the DRAGON. Tom’s uncle Henry set up an emergency meeting and he was looking for someone to ask the KING for help.  THEN THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!!!!  When Tom woke up and quickly got up and put something called a chain-mail. I don’t know what a chain-mail is but you can find out if you read this book!
Just read this book to find out [what a chain-mail is and also see] if Tom wins against the DAGON!!
By Benjamin

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Snow Motion Postponed

 

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Due to the expected chilliness on Friday, February 13th, the 3rd graders Snow Motion visit to Cochran's Ski Area has been postponed.  We will be at RES all day on Friday.  If there is still snow at Cochran's, we'll be visiting on March 20th.

Thank you for your understanding!

 

Friday, February 6, 2015

Dinosaurs Before Dark

                                                             
            I am reading Dinosaur Before Dark and If you like Magic Tree House then you will like Dinosaur Before By Mary Pope Osborne.
This is about a boy and a girl and a Dinosaur and they try to see is there more Dinosaur’s in the wood’s but if you want to know you should read this book it is fun to read.
The characters are a boy and girl and there name’s are Annie and Jack.
Jack find’s book’s in the tree house and they were duster and dirty. Jack  found a book and Jack called it ‘About  dinosaur’s’ and Jack said’s in it dinosaur are fuzzy skin, small brain.
Annie like’s Dinosaur’s and Annie find’s one. Jack said don’t kiss, hug the dinosaur I meant it and Annie said ok but I love dinosaur’s please then Jack said ‘dinosaur are mean’ then Annie said ‘ok’ but Annie kiss, hug the dinosaur. when Jack was not looking at Annie.
Annie and Jack thought the dinosaur is ugly but it was not ugly it was just a regular dinosaur.
and Annie is cool,brave.
I like this book because it is a Adventure book and I like Adventures books and if you like Adventure books then you should read this book Dinosaur Before Dark By Mary Pope Osborne.

by kailey

Afternoon on the Amazon

Do you like books that have magic in them? If you do you will love Afternoon on the
Amazon  by Mary pope Osborne. This book is about two kids that go on Adventures.  They go places long before them. Annie is scared of big bugs but she is not afraid of really scarey stuff. Jack is not scared of big bugs. Jack and Annie are eventres.
For example when they go on a wild boat ride. Thats adventurous because it could be any where and they don’t know what is in the river.  
And Jack likes naming big bugs. Thats eventers because it could be any kind of bug like a poisenis bug.  And Annie cares about animals. Thats eventers because it could be any kind of animal.
In the book they go on an adventure on the Amazon with them they brought a mouse. And they run in to a Crocodile. And they run in to piranhas. And a monkey that keeps throwing pears at them.Then finally when they get out of the water Annie finds a jaguar that tries eating there heads of.
Jack loves to read. I know that because every time in a bad places he takes out a book to read what it could be that there ethor  hearing or seeing or where they are.
I think you should read this book because it makes you feel like you are  in the Amazon.
It tells you what things are in the Amazon. And makes you feel like you’re seeing the animals that are in the book.

By Owen N.

Angels Don't Do Karate

Do you believe in angels? I believe in angels too and that they come and check on you once in awhile. The book is Angels Don’t Do Karate by ___________. Angela Michaels is a crossing guard, a karate teacher, and saved Eddie. She’s the main character of the book.People think she’s an angel and people think her jacket is hiding her wings.

Angela Michaels protects people. She saves Eddie.She caught him at the bottom of the tree. Ben called him a scaredy cat so he climbed a tree. It collapsed and Edie fell. She is a crossing guard and makes sure people don’t get hurt by cars. She teaches karate and she teaches people to protect themselves from bullies.

You should read this book once in awhile. You should believe in angels, same as the kids in this book, Angels Don’t Do Karate.

by Hanna

The Red Pyramid

Do you like books with adventurous characters? Well if you do then read The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan.                                                                                     
This story starts with two kids whose names are Carter and Sadie Kane. One d figure out that they are magicians of the house of life (Magicians are people who fight against Apophis and don't like the gods). Carter and Sadie are also hosted by gods. Horus hosts Carter and Isis hosts Sadie (which means that the house of life doesnt like them). But the house of life still decides to train them to defeat Apophis. The house of life gives them a teacher named Zia Rashid who is hosted by the river goddess.Then Sadies cat muffin play with knives(because muffin is really the cat goddess Bast) who takes them to Brooklin house which is a warehouse to mortals and a mansion to none mortals (like magicians). And they met their uncle Amos Kane!

I think Carter is brave because he fights the sun god Set in hand to hand combat at the red pyramid and he won! but he almost passed out because he used too much magic

Another reason I think Carter is brave is when he fought the 5th powerful magician and the 6th powerful magician who both summoned suffixes from Egypt. And Carter won another battle again.

Saide is chance giving for example when she gives Set a chance to help the other gods defeat Apophis or to help Apophis defeat the other gods and rule the world.

Another reason Saide is chance giving is when she gives a demon a chance to help them defeat Set because he thinks that Set is evil even to his minions (demons) because he makes them build the red pyramid.

As you see Carter and Sadie are adventurous, brave and chance giving characters. You will probably like this book if you like characters that are adventurous, brave and chance giving like Carter and Sadie Kane.

by Cyrus

Frog and Toad Are Friends

The I book Read  was Frog and Toad are friends  by Arnold lobel.
 
Frog is very clever because he tricked toad into  thinking that it was May.
Frog got sick and went into toads bed and frog asked can you
tell  me  a storey toad thought and thought and told Frog
that he could not think of a story so they went on a hike. and  and went back home and Toad fell  a sleep.  I enjoyed this book because it was funny.
              In another chapter Toad lost his button frog was clever and he told Toad we can retrace are steps they asked everyone  so Toad went back home and the button was on the porch with all the buttons they found he  made   a coat for Frog.
  In this  book it teaches you how to be clever and it is a very hilarious  book. it is hilarious because toad had a funny  bathingsuit and everyone laughed  at him.

by  Alex E.       

The Panda Puzzle

January 27, 2015
Do you like books that have kids that solve mysteries?
Well the book I am going to tell you about is called The Panda Puzzle by Ron Roy. And it has three kids that solve mysteries!The three kids names are Dink, Ruth Rose and Josh. In the book they go to panda park together. In panda park the day before they went a new baby panda arrived. The next day when they did go to panda park the mother panda ran out of the cave and banged on the fence BANG! And the kids did not know why she banged on the fence.Then when everybody left the kids found a fishing knife and an alarm clock.And they found the fishing knife lying in the bamboo in the panda cage. Then they knew somebody stole the baby panda!Because the baby panda was gone! And they wanted to find out the mystery of the stolen baby panda.And who stole it.    

I think Ruth Rose is good at finding clues Like when they found a fishing knife lying in the bamboo.And she does not give up because in the book she really wanted to find out who stole it. And I think Josh tells little jokes.And he does not like to watch his little brothers. And Dink keeps track of things they find. Like when they ask Flip some questions and Dink wrote it down in his notebook. Flip is a character who they think stole the baby panda. And he makes health shakes.   


I also think you should read the book to find out who stole the baby panda.And I think you will like this book because you might like books that have mysterious characters.  

I like mystery books because they have surprises.And they are mysterious. Find out who stole the baby panda in the book the Panda Puzzle by Ron Roy. HAPPY READING! By     Ava!