I thinking about NOTEBOOKS – Reader Response Notebooks, Writers’ Notebooks, Science Notebooks, notebooks to capture thinking in… If we keep them, over time can we see our learning? If we take time to capture our thinking, will we learn more from it? If we don’t write it down or draw it out, how will we know what we know? What do you think about notebooks?
This week’s quick write suggestions combine science and imagination. I wonder what you’ll choose and what you’ll write. Read through the prompts, think about them for a bit and when you’re ready, find ten quiet minutes to begin… It’s okay if you finish one idea and begin another. Just try to keep writing for the whole ten minutes. It’s also okay if you don’t finish when the time is up… you decide: stop, or keep writing. Post your Quick Write as a comment, or on your own blog. Have fun writing!
If trees could talk, what sorts of things would they have to say? What might they say to people? What might they say to each other?
What would you do if you suddenly found yourself able to communicate with animals?
Go outside and watch the clouds. Thank write about the shapes and they things you saw. What do you think is going on up there?
You and your friend time travel to a place in the distant future…what is your mission there? Write a story describing what happens. (Maybe you’ll meet Roz.)
Here are some problems to solve. Have fun!
I am Sonia Sotomayor
The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown
A few years ago Elias gave me a book written by his second cousin, Esta Spalding, 
Fitzgerald-Trouts
Here are some problems to solve. Enjoy!
One of my goals for the last few summers has been to read a book a day. A reading teacher from Texas began this challenge to help teachers read more and find ways to bring more books into classrooms. I think this has worked for us. I have piles of books EVERYWHERE around and on my desk at home. My goal this summer was to buy nothing new until there was nothing unread… we’ll see how long that will last.
Thank you for a wonderful year. As you could see from their portfolios, your children did many different things this year. They grew in so many ways. They deserve to be proud of their effort and their accomplishments.
We combined parts of everyone’s “The Important Thing about 3rdGrade” into this final piece of writing. On Thursday the class created posters to illustrate them.
You’ll discover every new friend has something a little like you and something else that is not quite like you at all.
I hope you all have amazing, relaxing and joyful vacation. Good Luck Gabriel! We’ll be thinking of you!
This week we’ve learned more about graphs and graphing, we tried to convince others to visit our state by describing the wonders we found there and we’ve had time to read, write, solve problems and reflect on our accomplishments. Thank you for selecting times for your children to share their portfolios with you. It has been interesting for them to realize all they have been doing this year.
As the children wrote about their State Wonders, many of them remarked on how they feel they have grown as researchers and writers. This piece had a little different twist. They were trying to make a claim and persuade others to agree with them. Some of the children were able to be strongly persuasive, while others began, but seemed to forget that voice. Regardless, the children have learned how to read information and select important facts to share. They have become better able to organize their facts in a unique way and to share their understanding and ideas.
Most of the children have been able to complete blog posts about the State Parade project and another sharing the Wonders of their state. Some of the children won’t find time to complete these posts this week, but will by Monday or Tuesday. Please keep checking their blogs. They hope you’ll find a moment or two to read and respond to them with a comment.
In 1949 Margaret Wise Brown wrote The Important Book. It follows a simple pattern in noticing how everyday things – rain, grass, apple, shoes, etc., – add greatly to our lives. Each poem begins and ends with a most important thing. For example, “The important thing about a spoon is that you eat with it. It’s like a little shovel, you hold it in your hand, you can put it in you mouth, It isn’t flat, it’s hollow and it spoon things up. But the most important thing about a spoon is that you eat with it.”
The children are using this format to write about what they’ve accomplished this year and what feels important about their 3rdgrade learning. It is interesting to think about all that we’ve done this year. Looking at our classroom timeline has reminded us of the many opportunities we have had to learn and to share with other this year.
We’ve continued talking about social problem solving in Open Circle and Morning Meeting. This week we’ve focused on what we can each do to make the situation better. We’ve talked about actions we can take to deescalate a situation. Again, we realized this is easier said than done. We’re trying to help each of the children feel as if they have many different options for themselves once they’ve calmed down and made a choice. We can use “I statements” and say something, but that doesn’t always change another’s actions. We can stay calm and walk away – as long as we are being polite. We’re really trying to consider what needs to be made a big deal of, and what can be ignored. There’s still a long way to go. Developmentally, this is the age when children begin to see through different eyes and like seeing themselves as part of the solution.
We had fun learning about different types of graphs while planning our perfect sundaes.Each of the children had to create a 12-scoop sundae, name the fraction of each type of ice cream and graph the information four different ways.
We’ve completed the Loop Group and are now on to the last group of cursive letters – Hills and Valleys.
