Fraction Frenzy!

In math, we have started a new unit all about fractions.  Students are sharpening their skills every day about this new and exciting concept.  Here are some of the charts that we have made so far based on the work we have done. 

Notice that "drawing" fractions is NOT a strategy that we are using in class. Being able to accurately represent fractions (equal sized wholes and equal parts), is very difficult for students.  Therefore, we use other strategies to more accurately compare fractions. For example, when compare 3/8 and 5/6 students might compare them to 1/2.  Students might say "I know that 3/8 is 1/8 less than a half and 5/6 is 1/6 MORE than a half; therefore, 3/8 < 5/6." This method of comparing fractions is MUCH more accurate than attempting to draw a representation.

Using an inequality sign (<,>, or =) compare the following fractions: 5/8 and 2/4. Leave a comment with your answer! 

Readers to Leaders: BINGO

Today, we celebrated together as a 3rd grade for those students who met the 2nd quarter reading goal.  We played Wild Bingo!!! 

Happy 100th Day of School!!

High Interest Nonfiction Books

This week we will continue our study of nonfiction. We are really enjoying reading our nonfiction texts. Unfortunately, we don’t have a large amount of high interest nonfiction books in our class library. We are asking for any nonfiction book donations to keep our students engaged. We have found that students really enjoy these DK Readers. They are high interest nonfiction books with lively illustrations and engaging age-appropriate stories. We really appreciate any donation! :)

Hard Work Pays Off

Today, our school got a visit from Adrian Peterson, Georgia Southern alum and former running back for the Chicago Bears. 

He came to share his message with us to strive to meet our goals.  We were able to hear his amazing story with a great message that includes his family and parents, hard work, and how a very difficult speech disability only motivated him to fight harder to reach his goals in life. 

His book, "Don't Dis My Abilities" is inspiring and full of hope. 

Synthesizing

Today we learned about synthesizing-when our thinking changes as we read. We read Animal Dads and students were shown the process of synthesizing with this nonfiction text. We first previewed the book by looking at the title and picture on the cover to predict what the book was about. As we read a few pages, our understanding deepened which caused our thinking to change some. We used examples from the text to support our thinking. Students then read through their nonfiction books to put together their new learning about their topic.

Flips, Turns and Slides

Transformations are flips, turns, and slides.  

A flip is when a shape or object is flipped across a line and faces the opposite direction. This makes the object appear to be reflected in a mirror. 

A turn is when a shape or object moved from its original location to a new location like the hands on a clock. The move happens on a fixed point. Neither the shape or the size of the object changes when the movement happens. 

A slide is when an object or image moved to a new location.  Neither the shape or the size of the object changes when the movement happens. Think of a person on a slide - they move locations from the top of the slide to the bottom, but nothing else changes about them.