As we are wrapping up our learning in grade three, the students each chose a topic we learned about as the basis for their own trivia board game. Students used their knowledge from a variety of subject areas to make trivia questions, game boards, and characters. We had a board game party where we got to play each other’s games, and the class had a blast admiring each other’s creativity and celebrating their learning in grade three this year! Today the grade three classes celebrated our learning about Tunisia, Ukraine, India, Canada, and Peru with a big cultural celebration! Each classroom was transformed into one of the five countries, complete with activities, decorations, and (most importantly) tasty food! The students flew around to each destination, and it was a great way to cap off all our learning about these global communities. They are officially expert global citizens!
The students of 3SB have continued their Lego robot work this week, now building a variety of innovative robots. Students have constructed robots that move, speak, and respond to their environment, showcasing their growing skills and creativity. The hands-on experience of building and programming these robots is enhancing their understanding of robotics and engineering principles. This exciting project continues to foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork!
We had a meaningful, learning-filled, and fun time celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day today as we participated in some special activities and games. Students learned about a variety of special cultural items many First Nations, Métis, or Inuit people, and we got to hear some Indigenous stories and challenge ourselves in a scavenger hunt around the school. We also had library outside which was a lovely celebration of nature. We were so lucky to learn about and celebrate Indigenous culture today!
Our class is exploring computational thinking by coding with Lego Spike robots. Through solving problems and using creativity, students are learning to approach challenges methodically and inventively. The integration of sensors allows the robots to interact with their environment, adding a layer of sophistication to their programming tasks. By exploring various robot behaviors, our young coders are developing critical skills that lay the foundation for future STEM learning!
3SB was full of book characters today as we celebrated Book Hero Day at Millgrove! We have many enthusiastic readers in our class, so unsurprisingly there were many enthusiastic book heroes in our room (and the rest of the school)!
One of our favourite math activities as a class is an exciting game called Loonie Words. Each letter is worth a different amount, and students add them up to try to get a word worth exactly 100. For every word they calculate that's worth exactly 100, they get a chocolate loonie. This week, they very impressively found three loonie words, so there was a lot of chocolate enjoyed in 3SB! The students are having a blast with this fun and educational challenge, and it's wonderful to see their enthusiasm and mathematical skills in action. This week we went to explore all the animals and plants at the John Janzen Nature Centre! We took a look at a local pond, explored animals in the pond with nets, and identified local species of critters and plants! We got to peer at a pond creatures life cycle from beginning to end and discovered the web of life of a pond ecosystem.
In the afternoon, we had a picnic investigated habitats around the Nature Centre. It was a warm and fun day to explore the river valley, and we learned so much about plants and animals! We had our last swimming lesson of the week today, and the students were especially excited to play some games, and check out the slide and diving board. The students were real pros in the water this week, and learned some skills from our great instructors as well. It's always cool to see all the different places we can apply and learn our PE skills!
This month, our grade three class has been buzzing with excitement as we tackle a variety of fun building thinking classroom problems. We've been busy reviewing and honing our addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills. The students particularly enjoy stretching their thinking and collaborating with their peers on challenging tasks. It's wonderful to see their enthusiasm and teamwork grow with each problem they solve!
We were very excited to get an update from Mrs. Hardy about our chicks this week! They're growing so well, and have a nice big home to explore now. Mrs. Hardy describes the home they're in now as the elementary school for chickens, and soon they'll be graduating on to junior high! We miss them, but are really glad they have such a wonderful home, and they've been adopted by an excellent hen mother.
Our mantises have been growing well this month with a steady diet of crickets, and they might be ready for the odd meal worm soon! We have three that we're taking care of in our classroom, and we've grown quite fond of them. They've gone through several incomplete metamorphoses where they shed their skin and grow larger, and it's always impressive to see how big they get over a matter of days and how impressive their hunting skills are! To celebrate the warm weather and the arrival of spring, Millgrove had a day themed around one of spring’s best things – rainbows! Our class enjoyed the many colours that people dressed up in, and we had fun with some rainbow-themed dancing and literature. It's always special to see the school come together, and it was definitely a colourful bunch at Millgrove today! Our class has been captivated this month by the chapter book Matilda. It is about an extraordinarily intelligent and brave young girl who uses her remarkable gifts to overcome adversity and challenge injustices. Roald Dahl's storytelling prowess is evident in every page, with vivid characters and a blend of humor and heart. His skillful use of descriptive language and a playful narrative voice makes the book a joy to read and a powerful example for us as writers. We can't wait to find out what happens next to poor Matilda! We recently wrapped up an exciting writing project inspired by the Who Would Win? books by Jerry Pallotta. These books pit two animals against each other in a fictional showdown, using facts and illustrations to compare their strengths, behaviors, and abilities to predict a winner. To create our own versions, we researched two animals of our choice, gathering information on their habitats, diets, and unique characteristics. Using the structure of Pallotta's books, we wrote nonfiction pieces that presented our findings in an engaging, comparative format. This project not only honed our research and writing skills but also sparked lively discussions and debates about the animal kingdom. It was a fun and educational way to combine creativity with factual writing. Our class has been closely observing the seeds we planted as they grow and bend toward the light at our window! This fascinating behavior is teaching us how plants have senses and respond to stimuli. We've also observed the essential needs of plants and how they obtain energy. Watching our plants thrive has made our learning on plant biology come to life!
Three grade three classes had a blast today in the gym because we had indoor recess with the rain that kept us inside. We enjoyed fun and lively guided dancing that got everyone moving and laughing! The energetic music and dance routines brightened our rainy day and brought a lot of joy to the gym, despite the inclement weather.
We've had a delightful month with the chicks, and they officially made the trip back to their farm today! We got to spend some time with Mrs. Hardy again who taught us a lot about the chicken development and behaviour and how the chicks will live on the farm, and we got to see some older chicks from a couple of months ago who had grown so much! The class was very sad to see them go because we've grown accustomed to their silly antics, musical chirping, and cuddly-soft feathers. We learned so much about this animal, and the students were devoted caretakers to these newborns. The students of 3SB were wonderful chick parents!
In our language arts class, we watched the movie Because of Winn-Dixie after reading the book, which allowed us to compare the two versions. We noticed that while the movie stayed true to the book’s core themes and major plot points, some scenes and details were changed or omitted. The characters' personalities remained consistent, though the visual and emotional interpretations differed. Overall, this experience deepened our appreciation for the story and sparked discussions on storytelling in different mediums. In both versions, we loved Kate DiCamillo's heartwarming, honest, and humourous story!
Our grade three class had an exciting visit to see the Caine's arcade creations made by the grade four students in Mrs. Gallant and Mrs. Constantin's classes! The creativity and effort put into the cardboard games were truly impressive, showcasing a variety of fun and inventive designs. We had a blast playing the games and learning about the engineering and imagination that went into building them. This visit inspired us and gave us great ideas for our own future projects!
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Mrs. BarkerMrs. Barker is a grade three and literacy teacher at Millgrove School. She loves science and reading, and lives in a little brick house with Mr. Barker and her kids Jack and Ellie. Archive
June 2024
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