Weather Watchers

We all returned from the Thanksgiving break rested and ready to work hard. This week the students used the notes  they took before the break to create strong, informational writing pieces. These mini weather reports will serve as the first piece of information in the Google Slideshows they are creating. After writing they used their engineering plan and Google Drawing tools to create blueprints of what their "dream home" would look like. The home has to contain features that would help it withstand their type of extreme weather. We had features like heated roofs and driveways, emergency bunkers, and water collection tanks to name just a few. For students who wanted to take on the extra challenge they were encouraged to add a glossary and import photos of their weather to make their presentation even more educational and entertaining. We will practice our presentations and share with our Kaleidoscope friends on Thursday. Stay tuned for pics!

This week in math we participated in two different surveys. Then we analyzed the data and create picture and bar graphs to represent our data. The students had to practice using a scaled graph, labeling axes, and giving their graphs a clear and meaningful title.

We ended the week getting dirty in Four Winds. The students learned all about the decomposition process of trees. We were amazed at how long it takes for one tree to break down...over ten years! We enjoyed pulling apart logs from the DeSantos' yard and we found LOTS of critters who were making their home inside these snags.

There are many events this month including a two Mosaic Traditions. The first is our R.A.D. (Reading All Day) event which will be held on Wednesday, December 21st. Students are allowed to come to school in their PJs with a small lovely and a blanket if they'd like. We have guest readers, buddy reads, digital reading, and much more. We are encouraging our students to bring in gently used books (appropriate for 3rd and 4th graders) that they would like to contribute to a class book swap. It doesn't matter how many they donate. All of the books are compiled and we turn the class into a "book store" to shop for books to take home.

On Thursday, December 22nd we will have another Mosaic Craft Morning. We are looking for parent volunteers to come in and run a festive, winter craft. A sign up sheet will come home soon. We hope to see you there.

Ask About:
What type of extreme weather did you study? What did you learn about it?
How did you design your house? What features did you think it should have?

Rocking The Vote

This past week in math we have been investigating efficient strategies for solving multiplication problems. The goal is to move students beyond the use of repeated addition to use known facts and structure to make sense of more complex equations. We did this by using cubes to build "multiple trains." Then we made observations about what these different trains had in common and thought about ideas such as, "How can knowing 10x6 help you to solve 5x6?" Being able to develop efficient strategies and think flexibly about multiplication helps students to develop a conceptual understanding that will help them as we build fact fluency and explore factors, arrays, and multi-digit problems in the future.

After working hard to prepare and deliver our campaign speeches, the students used Google Forms to vote for the fictional character whom they thought would make the best president and vice president. J.K. Rowling would be proud that both of her characters were winners. Harry Potter was the clear victor for President and his friend Hermione Granger was elected V.P. The students also got to take a tour of the real polling station and ask questions of the volunteers who were dedicating their time on Tuesday.

We have now moved in to our next integrated unit of study where students will be studying weather. The focus will be on the causes and effects of extreme weather phenomenon like hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards. Students will be learning about cause and effect relationships and how to use text and digital tools to research. They will also be tracking and graphing weather data on a location where their type of extreme weather occurs to observe and record patterns. The engineering challenge will combine this new knowledge and their design skills as they work in groups to design a virtual blueprint of a home that could withstand the effects of the extreme weather. Stay tuned for more exciting learning ahead!

The weather has been mild, but as we head into the winter season please be sure that your child has the necessary winter gear for heading outdoors for recess. We go out everyday unless it is below zero.

Please remember that we do not have school next week. We hope that you have a restful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.

Fondly,
Jess and Liz 

Celebrating the Season

We started the week out sweetly with our Harvest Crafternoon (or Crafter-morning) as the schedule would have it. Thank you to all who volunteered their time and contributed snacks and beverages. The students loved it! We then headed outside with all of the 3/4 teams to put the school garden down to rest with songs and cider.

This week the students continued to work on their persuasive speeches. The students thought about how to add strong words to their pieces that would convince the "voters" to elect their nominee. Then we learned how to add an image to the speech making sure to be good digital citizens and give credit to where the photo came from.

As the week came to a close the speeches were being edited and students began to think about how to read and present their speeches with fluency and confidence. We watched one of our favorite public speakers, Kid President and created a list of things to remember when public speaking. Here's a few things that they came up with:

• Speak with enthusiasm
• Use body language
• Look at your audience
• Use a loud crowd voice
• When you're nervous...just fake it! 

Students practiced with partners and used a checklist to score each other and give feedback. Next week they will present to other voters in small groups and then rock their own fictional vote on Tuesday.

Ask about....

• Who did you nominate for a fictional president? 
• What character traits does that character have that makes you think they'd be a good president? 
• Talk to your children about how you get informed as a voter and what traits you look for in a leader. 

Speech Writers

This past week students used the characteristics they determined a president needed to have to comb through various examples of fiction stories looking for a character they felt worthy of the presidency. We have a variety of candidates from Harry Potter to Olivia the Pig to Luke Skywalker. Students then had to provide evidence to support their theory about their character. For example, if they said that this character was determined, they needed to have an example or quote to prove it. They took these ideas and began to craft an opinion piece of writing that will be presented in speeches this week.

We are working on building our students confidence daily in a variety of ways. Speaking in public is an area that is new to our students and can test the confidence of even the most outgoing student. We are going to scaffold this process by observing and discussing other speeches, working in partners, and finally presenting in small groups. Then we will vote at the end of the week to see which character will become our fictional President of Mosaic! Stay tuned for the election results.

We also had the students register to vote this week. As they were filling out their registration forms we both noticed that many of our students do not know they addresses by heart. This is an important piece of information and we encourage you to remind them of their home address.

Thank you to any families who have volunteered to be a part of our Harvest Craftermorning event on Monday. We appreciate you volunteering your time and/or contributing snacks for us to enjoy on this fun-filled day.

Fondly,
Jess and Liz

Close Readers

This past week we began an integrated unit of study that combines social studies and literacy. The students began to closely read and analyze Judith St. George's book So You Think You Want to Be President to gather evidence about the character traits of presidents. Next we will follow the election process as students use familiar  books to "nominate" fictional characters whom they believe possess the traits of a leader. They will be writing opinion pieces to convince the "voters" of why their character would be fit for the important role of president. This interactive unit will have students reading closely, writing persuasive arguments, learning about the election process, and public speaking. Stay tuned for more information as the unit unfolds over the next two weeks.

We wrapped up Unit 1 of our math unit on efficient strategies for addition and subtraction and students were able to show all that they have learned in a post-assessment. This week we will be reflecting on those assessments and you will see both the pre/post assessments coming home. We like to provide you both so that you can celebrate the growth that your mathematician has made throughout the unit. They may not have mastered all of the skills around addition and subtraction yet, but everyone is able to see how far they have come since the start of the school year. We also use the post assessment reflection to set goals for upcoming practice within other units.

This week we will begin Unit 2. The concepts that we will cover throughout this unit are aimed to introduce students to multiplication by providing them with hands on opportunities to build off of the understandings they have around addition. Click here for more information about the content that will be covered during this unit.

Next Monday we will be having our annual Fall Harvest "Crafter" Morning. A notice went home in your child's homework folder today. We'd love to have parent volunteers sign up to run a craft/activity. If you have an idea please let us know. If you'd like to help but aren't sure what to do, just let us know on the form and we'll provide you with an activity. We look forward to a fun and spirited celebration.

Energetic Engineers

After learning about the E.D.P. (Engineer Design Process) this week the third graders were ready to use the process right away. They were given their first design challenge which was to build a tower that could "save" a beenie baby from a predator. The tower had to be at least 10 inches high and could only be constructed out of paper, index cards, and tape. Not one design looked the same and the groups had to learn to work together in a short amount of time to ask, imagine, plan, create and improve.

Next they will be using the EDP in our integrated unit of study on weather. The students will be reading and researching about a weather phenomenon in our country. Then they will have to use the EDP to create a house that could withstand the effects of that type of weather. Stay tuned to see some of the amazing "dream homes" they create using Google Drawing.

Yo! Yes?

This week students returned to some favorite big books to explore how author's use different types of punctuation marks to help us readers to understand the text and read with fluency and expression. We then read and practiced these skills with Chris Rashcha's book Yo! Yes?. Students also learned how to access their Google Drive and created a published version of their Someday Hope and Dream project.

In preparation for our upcoming unit on Weather and Climate we began to think like scientists and engineers by brainstorming ideas to answer the question..."What is technology?" Some of the responses were:

"Technology is something that you plug in."
"Tech is something that is an electronic."
"It's like an iPad or gaming system."

The students were shocked to realize that things like windmills, hairbrushes, and even pencils were actually considered technology because they were man-made items that solve a problem or meet a need.

Next we began to look at the job of an Engineer, the people who create these amazing technologies. All engineers follow the E.D.P. (Engineer Design Process) and so will we as we study extreme weather forces and design digital houses  that can withstand the effects of tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods. Stay tuned!

Ask About...

• What are the steps of the EDP? 
• What is a type of technology that you don't plug in?