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Early November in Thirdgradia

Welcome to our presentation of third grade.

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In math this week we took a math test.  During the “quick six” we did 286-99= ____ – 1.  We also had a review packet.   Mr Mirsky taught us how to estimate using front-end estimation.

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In writing we went to the computer lab and researched.  It was cool because Mr. Mirsky showed us this thing called Google docs. All week we have been working on claims, evidence and reasoning.  Mr.  Mirsky read us an article about the baseball team, the Indians and how Chief Wahoo is their mascot.  People disagree about it.  In spelling we have done a lot of spelling tests and this week for the first time we got spelling homework.  

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In Hebrew we played a lot of games with Morah Mills and Rotem.  We saw the video of Rotem’s old classmate.  We also had a quiz that was three pages long.  

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In community time we thought of a new job for the Life Keeper.  We needed a new job because the Guinea Pigs went back to Ms. Boor.  We decided the Life Keeper would write letters to the kids.  Also anyone can write them but they have to have their name, the date, and who it is to.  Inside you have to write something nice.  We also made a mailbox that is called the Message Rail Road station.  Our friends are decorating it right now and we are going to end this blog now so we can help them.  

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Peace out cub scouts!  See you next time on blogs on the run.

Spread Over Us a Sukkah of Peace

 

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Imagine that you are sitting comfortably in your Sukkah looking up through the branches on its roof and that the world is at peace. After discussing the Hashkiveynu prayer in which we ask God to shelter us with a sukkah of peace, the third graders visualized this wonderful possibility. They were inspired to write poems about peace. The students then wrote their poems on a dove, a symbol of peace, and decorated them beautifully. These doves adorned our school Sukkah throughout the week of the holiday, enjoyed by all who came to visit there.

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Thirdgradia Kid Edition. Vol II

Hello Thirdgradian Families!  We are the bloggers.  We have done so much in the last two weeks even though they were short weeks.  

yaelsammathIn math we learned mental subtraction and addition with number bonds.  Math is the most fun period ever because you learn stuff.  Today we learned about number lines and how to round up numbers to the nearest ten and hundred.  We played Math Battleship and we learned a new game too.  Both are fun.

writingella-readIn writing we did spelling activities while the rest of the class was reading.  We have also been learning how to write letters.  We wrote letters to people who are alive or dead, fictional or real, and then we got to write back to ourselves as the person who we wrote to.  Just a few days ago we learned how to write persuasive notes with claims and evidence.

hebrewIn Hebrew we did a game where we took different boxes and had to name each of them in Hebrew.  We have been talking about Sukkot.  We also made Ushpizin which means the seven ancient women who you are supposed to invite into your Sukkah. They were the wives of seven ancient old men, but really there are eight because Jacob had two wives.  

sam-peaceOur community has worked through a problem yesterday.  We are learning how to work together, respect other people, and try not to brag, but still feel confident.  We had a discussion and it went really well. Everyone felt happy at the end.

We added a bunch of stuff to the peace room to help kids be peaceful and get all the anger out.  We made: a bead bin that you put your hands in and it takes out all the sadness: we have a flippy thing that you shake and the glitter goes down slowly and calms you down.  We are really excited that next week we are making stress balls.  

From your Thirdgradian Friends,

-Student Bloggers.

 

Welcome to Design Lab

Shalom,

I am Rotem and I am so excited to teach Design Lab to JCDSRI students from PreK to 3rd grade (and learn with them!). We just ended our fourth week in Design Lab and I would like to share with you some highlights of our time together.

We began by asking: What do we do in Design Lab? How can we think like designers?

The students had great ideas: we build things, we create, we take something and make it into something different. Everyone loves to create and to explore the materials in the room, to build with Lego, K’nex, Lincoln logs, cardboard and more.

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Students’ name tags – you have to start with a paper roll…….

In Design Lab, we are learning about the process of Design Thinking. Design Thinking  is used to solve problems and create change in our world. The first step in this process is to look for problems. While not an easy task, the students were still able to share some great problems they are interested in solving:

  • Keeping our hands to ourselves
  • How to keep our stuff inside our cubbies
  • Food spilling in lunch box / water leaking in backpack
  • During quiet time it is hard to stay quiet
  • Caring for the guinea pigs in 3rd grade
  • Losing things
  • The way people judge your work
  • Playing ‘Monkey at the Bat’ during recess
  • Being distracted while working in class

We also started practicing paying attention to details. In Hebrew the expression for being empathetic is Lasim Lev — “putting your heart,” meaning we make sure to look with our soul and not only with our eyes. We played different games in which the students had to pay close attention to small details.

For example, I asked students to change one thing (the way you hold your hands, tuck your shirt in, untie your shoelaces, etc.) and can your partner notice the change?

Another was a visual memory game – who is missing from the class? What color is their shirt?

A long journey is ahead of us and it will be an interesting one.

Lehitraot (see you again)

Rotem

Thirdgradia, Kid Edition.

Hi.aviva-garden

We are the bloggers on the run and we write short things about school. We’ve been in school for almost a month but it feels longer. We’ve been doing DEAR time, it stands for Drop Everything And Read. Some kids call it SQUIRT. That stands for Silent Quiet Uninterrupted Reading Time. They are basically the same thing but different names, but some kids think we are better at DEAR than SQUIRT.

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In Thirdgradia we have a thing called Project Time. We make projects where we build using paper. Some kids do their jobs. Since I was the blogger, my job now is writing this blog that you are reading right now. Other kids during project time like to make a flag. We did lots of rough drafts and we combined all of them and made a big flag. It was cool because our class name is called Thirdgradia and just like the American Flag, now we have one too.

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In writing we have personal journals, but in Hebrew we have Hebrew Books where we learn songs in Hebrew and do writing. We play games that are fun. One game that was really fun was when Morrah Mills put on a song, and then by the end of the song you had to pick up one of the boxes. It was Awesome.

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In math we get to use white boards and Mr. Mirsky writes questions on the board so we can answer them on our white boards. We have worksheets sometimes, and sometimes they are double sided. The most fun we’ve had so far in math is tower building. We used base ten blocks to try to make the biggest building. Mr. Mirsky said before we started building we had to write how many blocks we were gonna use. It wasn’t that hard, except the first time.

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That is all from the Blogger on the run. The end. Check out our blog next time to hear about the other activities in our classroom. Thanks for reading our paragraphs.

Dispatches From Thirdgradia, teacher edition.

Welcome to Thirdgradia!  fourthgradians

This is a taste of the Morning Message that Thirdgradian’s respond to every day.  This way they start their day building community, expressing themselves, and thinking about sweets!img_20160912_093322895_hdr

 

Morning Message is usually followed by snack, then math.  In math we have been exploring place value, and building towers with base ten blocks (but not before counting each block!)

 

 

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After that, Thirdgradians have ELA, where they are being read books about civilization building (Roxaboxen by Barbara Cooney, Weslandia by Paul Fleischman) and doing the impossible (Emmanuel’s Dream by Laurie Thompson, and Rain School by James Rumford).  They have been reading, writing, and discussing at a high level.  They have especially enjoyed the spelling activities. They were able to draw comics, write stories, or make mini dictionaries as long as they used ALL their target spelling words. aviva-speling  ari-ella-spellingdaniel-spelling

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirdgradians have also spent a lot of time brainstorming about what our civilization should look like.  We have come together and agreed on our civilization’s name, style, and core values.  Every Friday, kids get a full period of Project Time to take part in building their classroom.  Now that our first priority, The Thirdgradian Armory of Mythical Weapons, is completed, there are a slew of projects that need our attention.

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First among these upcoming projects is assisting our classroom bloggers in taking ownership of this space.  Tomorrow I will upload the children’s dispatch, and from here on this space will feature their thoughts, their pictures, and their perspective.  I will continue to add additional context and photos as needed.  Stay tuned!

Second Grade Raises Money for The Nature Conservancy

018Students in the second gra011de class held a Read-a-Thon during which they raised money for an endangered animal charity, The Nature Conservancy. Students raised over $800.00! They voted on which organization to support after doing a lot of research on Top Wildlife Conservation Organizations. Students feel very passionate about this subject and, as they researched this topic, several projects came out of it. I am so proud!

The Nature Conservancy works with local communities, businesses, and individuals to 015protect over 100 million acres of land around the world.  In doing so, The Nature Conservancy preserves entire wildlife communities and the rich species diversity that inhabits those lands.  It’s a holistic approach, one that we feel is vital to the health of our planet.

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Special Day

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Judaism Meets Design Thinking Meets Science and Math on Special Visitors Day

The second graders and their sp009ecial visitors had a wonderful time collaborating and working together.

How might we take this Jewish phrase and show it in a visual 3-dimensional form, so that we have a deeper understanding of the phrase?

Groups chose one of the following phrases and then began creating a 3-D form together:

019“What is mine is yours and what is yours is yours.”

“You are smart, smart, smart, but you are not so smart.”

“There are three important things in life. The first is to be kind, the second is to be kind, the third is to be kind.”

 

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Cultural Traditions are Celebrated in the Second Grade!

Students in the second grade have had the amazing opportunity to learn about various cultural traditions that are special to our JCDSRI families.  Our project began when we learned about immigration and, through our fa241 mily research, decided that it was important to celebrate our diverse cultural backgrounds and traditions. We celebrated Holi – the Hindu spring festival of colors or the festival of sharing love:)

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We learned how one special family makes edible centerpieces made up of dried and fresh fruit for special holidays.

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Another family shared their beautiful tradition of reading books and asking important questions about Passover.

 

 

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And a fabulous grandmother came from Texas to teach about the history of Texas and the many traditions that are practiced there.

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