Writing Hooks, Math Workshop, Summer Writing, and the Outdoor Classroom

Together in Reading we read the folktale, or pourquoi tale, Pushing Up the Sky. We discussed important story elements such as character, setting, problem, and solution. This folktale, from the Snohomish tribe in Washington State, explains why the sky is so high and where stars came to be. The characters in the story also learned the importance of working together as they used poles to push up the sky in unison.

In Writer's Workshop we are continuing our personal narrative unit. Good writers start with a hook to entertain our reader. We are also working on zooming in on small moments in our writing.

Also in writing, students drafted their summer writing entitled "This Summer was One in a Melon." An informative lead kicked off our writing pieces before sharing important details about a summer event.

Topic 2 had us using our rounding rhyme to estimate sums and differences. We ended the week with Math Workshop where we worked on problem solving, used playing cards to practice rounding, practiced math facts on the iPad minis AND with flashcards, and also played math games like Clip and Cover below. There's an incredible amount 

of math talk overheard in Room 16 during Math Workshop!

Our Buddy Reading block on Friday led us to the Outdoor Classroom where third graders shared their Fluency Friday Poem of the Week. First graders brought a few of their favorite books to share!

Today marked the start of Topic 3--a deeper look into addition and subtraction. Our first lesson focused on expanded algorithms. Using place value blocks as visuals, we expanded three-digit addends by hundreds, tens, and ones. We first added the value of the hundreds, followed by the tens, and ones. Our last step involved combining the partial sums to find the total. 

For example, when solving 456 + 328, we first solved 400 + 300 =700. Next, we added the tens: 50 + 20 = 70. We combined the ones and solved 6 + 8 = 14. Finally, we combined those partial sums and solved 700 + 70 + 14 = 784. Below, Rosie works on expanding algorithms.

Next up is a study of character traits, tall tales, and a few more folktales!