We are thankful!

We have a lot of gratitude. We have written five things we are thankful for.  The Pilgrims had a tradition of putting five kernels of corn next to their plate on Thanksgiving to represent a blessing: autumn beauty, love for each other, God's love, friendship, and freedom. The first winter the Pilgrims sometimes only had 5 kernels of corn to eat a day. They found the corn buried in a basket in the sand that the Native Americans had left stored there. The corn helped them to survive that first long cold winter.

We have a very kind class this year. I am very grateful for how well they work together and support each other. They are really "filling each others buckets". Ask you child how they fill each others buckets!!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy working on those book report cubes.

November Informational Book Report

November Informational Book Report

The students have been preparing just over a month to be able to complete this particular book report.  They learned about sequence words (first, next, then, after, finally, second, third, fourth, last, etc.) and completed a writing project giving detailed instructions about something they were already experts on.  The informational book report takes things to the next level, by having the students read about something they aren't familiar with and create an information cube.  Below is a brief overview of the instructions, as well as a photo of a sample book report.

1.  Students choose an appropriate informational book on their reading level related to history/social studies, science, or the arts.  They should not choose topics they're already familiar with or that are too complex for a third grader to clearly outline in four steps.

2.  The topic they choose should include some type of process or sequence they can explain to others.  Here are a few simple examples:

History – "Ruby Bridges goes to the William Frantz Public School" or "The First Flight of the Wright Brothers" or "Man Lands on the Moon"

Science – "The Life Cycle of a Butterfly" or "How a Tornado Forms" or "Mining for Copper"

The Arts – "The Beginning Positions of Ballet" or "What to Prepare When You Audition for a Play" or "How to Draw Charlie Brown Cartoons like Charles Schulz"

3. Students then complete the cube according to the rubric in their homework folder and prepare to present it to the class.  Students are encouraged to practice their keyboarding skills by typing the sequence or process on the computer and gluing it onto the cube, as shown below:

Part of a sample cube book report before the cube has been folded.