This month the grade 3’s are starting their last units in every subject. In math we will begin our unit on multiplication and division, in ELA we will be performing an author study on Roald Dahl, in social studies we will begin learning about communities around the world, and in health we will finish learning about family differences and begin a unit on harmful substances. We also started our last science unit off with a field trip to the Saskatchewan Science Centre last week. At the Science Center, we began our unit on structures with a workshop where students built structures over a “person” (an alka-seltzer tablet) who needed to stay dry. There were three stages of “rain” (a spray, squirt bottle, and cup of water) to test the strength of the structures. The grade 3’s did so well with this activity! Afterwards they spent some time exploring all of the interactive exhibits and concluded the day with the IMAX movie, A Beautiful Planet. We look forward to all of the exciting learning that will take place for the rest of the school year.

This month the grade 3’s have been busy writing stories with detail. We have also continued to work on paragraph writing and will be able to write 3 detailed paragraphs by the end of this month! We have been working on making inferences while we read, and will soon be practicing how to read with expression. In science we continue to mend to the garden with our Kinderpartners and we are also learning about forces and magnetism. We have been combining our social studies and art to learn and create artwork of how climate effects the environments and societies of different places around the world. The 3’s have also been learning about spirituality and what makes up their inner spirit or soul. We found our spirit animals and are finishing up our ‘heart maps’ using pictures and words to describe what we are like on the inside. In math we are finally finishing up our addition and subtraction unit. We will begin our new unit on fractions after the February break! We look forward to this warm weather and will hopefully be able to take some of our learning outside in the coming weeks! Mrs. McCubbing & The Grade Threes

The Grade 3s have a lot going on right now. In math they are moving onto measurement with Mrs. Koroll and addition and subtraction with Mrs. McCubbing. They will be finishing off their soils unit in science and then we will be working with the kindergarten class to start planting our indoor garden! More later to come on that! The students gained a lot of new knowledge about the two World Wars and the Holocaust. Their Remembrance Day posters were very well done! We will return to our geography unit and create paper mâché globes. During reading time we have been working with students to practice reading aloud with more expression. We are also having students pay attention to the emotions of the characters and to make predictions about how they may be feeling and why. Everyone is reading chapter books during school-wide reading time, so many of the kids are having to visualize their stories for the first time. Mrs. McCubbing has been teaching the students different styles of dance in phys. ed. Next month will be even more busy as we head into the Christmas season!

This month the grade 3’s are learning all about inquiry. We have discussed that we carry background knowledge with us, and that we need to ask deep questions in order to do quality research and gain information. By the end of the month, the grade 3’s will be ready to start their first Genius Hour projects! We have continued our soil study and have done a ton of fun hands-on activities. We investigated worms and learned how important insects and animals are for soil. We are also learning about soil erosion and the ways to protect Earth’s soils. This month Mrs. Koroll has given the grade 3’s a variety of geography challenges, where students must use their determination and group work skills to work together and solve. The 3’s have done great so far! In math, we have continued learning about numbers with Mrs. McCubbing and patterning with Mrs. Koroll. Soon we will be moving on to Measurement! This month in phys. Ed, we will begin to learn and practice dance and gymnastics along with the continuation of cooperative games. We are still creating beautiful fall art. We have used pastels, watercolour paints, and acrylic paints for a variety of art pieces. Since it seems as though winter is here to stay, we may have to soon move on to winter themed art projects! Stay warm everyone! Mrs. Koroll, Mrs. McCubbing & The Grade 3’s

It has been an exciting time in the 1/3 room! On Wednesday, we had our class mascot election. Everything was very official and the grade 3s did an excellent job with their campaigning and election duties! Sam the Wolf came out ahead and is our class mascot! The 3s also started their plant investigations. Some mixed soil with vinegar, oil, and sugar to see if it has an effect on a plant’s growth. Some are comparing sunlight vs. no sunlight and different watering schedules. It should be interesting! They will be studying structures next. The 1s continue to take care of our garden with Miss B., and they just started a weather unit. In math, the 1s finished their geometry unit. They learned the difference between 2-D and 3-D shapes and went on a shape scavenger hunt throughout the school. Up next is addition and subtractions to 20. The 3s are studying geometry. Currently, they are describing 3-D shapes (edge, face, vertices) and they will be constructing skeletons of these shapes next week. The 3s have been utilizing iPads to get extra time on ixl. I have found that this has really enhanced their math unit and they all have a deeper understanding of geometry. In health, the 3s will be studying tobacco and its affects and the 1s will be learning about street safety. In social studies, the 1s will be studying peace and dealing with conflicts at school. The 3s will be exploring conflict resolution when it comes to people having different opinions on the same issue. We have been working on building our reading stamina during E.L.A. We have daily stamina all-stars and this has been keeping the kids motivated. The 3s are learning about persuasive writing and the 1s are working on reading and listening to multi-step directions.

Wow, February is flying by! The 1/3 class has been busy! We have created a lot of fun winter and Valentine’s art! The students were very excited to create their mailboxes. Thanks for sending the materials! The class is looking forward to their potluck on the 12th. Thanks to Group A for sending the food! In ELA we have been focusing on paying attention to the questions we ask while reading a story. By seeking out answers to our questions, we are paying closer attention to the text. The grade 1s are starting to write good copies of some of their stories. They are pushing themselves to write five sentences and are doing a great job! They are also working on using uppercase and lowercase letters properly and spacing out their words. The 3s are focusing on paragraph writing and writing mechanics. In science, the 3s continue to study plants and the 1s are studying materials. We will be transplanting our garden and planting our beans and lettuce! Exciting! In social studies, the 3s continue to work on their Byron Through the Seasons project and the 1s did their own version by exploring how they spend time outdoors during the four seasons. The Grade 3 math test will be this Friday. A review was sent home this week. The 1s are studying numbers to 100.

The 3/4 class has had a busy month! We have paid attention to our mental images while reading and are working on our questioning skills to build background knowledge and to gain deeper meaning of what we are reading. The 3s are off on their second writing projects and many of them are writing non-fiction texts. The 1s have been practicing spacing out their words, using lines properly, using upper and lowercase properly, and writing 2-3 sentences at a time. The 3s are studying addition and subtraction strategies in math and the 1s continue with addition and subtraction. In science, both groups are taking care of the garden and studying plants. The 1s did an excellent job on presenting their family traditions! The 3s have been drawing comparisons between schools in Kenya and in Canada. They have been also practicing  their note-taking skills. The group just learned about healthy and non-healthy behaviours in health class by applying them to the Medicine Wheel. The 3s are learning some basic first aid and will be practicing their skills on the grade 1s! Stay warm!

The 1&3 class is off and rolling! We have been focusing on building our reading stamina. We are up to 14 minutes already! Both groups have been working on their writing skills. The 1s are being encouraged to sound words out and label their pictures. The 3s are paying attention to their spelling, capitalization, and word usage. In math, both groups are working on patterning. The 3s are exploring forces that repel and attract in science, and the 1s are learning about living things. In social studies, the 1s are learning about different types of families and are thinking about their own families. So far we have drawn family portraits and discussed the jobs each family member has around the house. The 3s are exploring their identity and how they fit into the world.
This will form a basis of comparison as we look at how other people live in different parts of the world. In phys. ed. we are focusing on volleyball skills and cooperative games and in health we are discussing how to get along with others. Students have painted beautiful watercolour selfportraits and created fingerprint fall trees. Don’t for-get to send your family photo!