Getting a Grip on Graphing

It's the week before Thanksgiving, and we've been thankful for the cooler weather, especially during recess!

Last week we learned about representing data using dot plots by surveying the number of people in our families, creating a frequency chart, and then graphing on the number line.  We used a bingo blotter to create the dots (the kids LOVED that part!).  The students then practiced with a partner by rolling dice 20 times, collecting the data and creating their own dot plots. (Find the activity from Math Adventures on TpT here.)

Our completed dot plot

Rolling the dice to create dot plots

We're also wrapping up our weather unit and practicing our graphing skills at the same time. The students have been collecting weather data on a selected city for three weeks using accuweather.com.
As a class, we created a pictograph, bar graph, and dot plot for our hometown data:

 Then the students created graphs for the cities they researched.  Here are some of our examples:

We used our data to make conclusions about how geography affects weather and looked for trends over time. The students have worked hard and learned a lot during this unit, and are ready to continue our adventures after Thanksgiving break.

I am so thankful for my sweet and fabulous students!  Can't wait to see what other amazing things they do this year.

Have a FANTASTIC day!

Weathering Addition and Subtraction

What to do on a rainy Wednesday - write a new blog post of course!

A new quarter is upon us, and we are beginning our unit on Weather, starting with a review of the Water Cycle.  We worked together to make an awesome anchor chart to remember our vocabulary, then kept it going with the "Water Cycle Boogie" (see video below, you won't be able to stop singing!).

With Halloween last week, we spent our workstation time practicing our addition, subtraction and place value strategies with some Halloween Math Centers (from TpT).  The students enjoyed collaborating with each other to solve word problems using strip diagrams, classifying numbers by place value, and practicing addition and subtraction algorithms and mental math strategies.  Here are some of our third graders working and learning together:

We ended the week by reviewing modeling part-part-whole word problems using strip diagrams:

The students then used those strategies to create comic strips illustrating an addition or subtraction problem.

The students had a great time sharing their stories, and are becoming fantastic problem solvers!

Have a FANTASTIC day!

Time Flies in Third Grade!: Our First Nine Weeks

It's hard to believe that we have already made it through our first nine weeks of third grade!
We've accomplished so much, but I'm also looking forward to more adventures to come.

Here's a look at what we've been up to the last few weeks:

First, we finished up our experiment on the effects of the sun's energy called "Sun Prints."  We each cut out two handprints using construction paper, then hung one inside away from direct sunlight, and the other handprint in the window where it would receive direct sunlight.

Two weeks later, we took down both handprints, then compared and analyzed the changes that occurred.  Here are some of our results:

While we were busy reviewing our solar system research, the students created models of the solar system to present in class.  Here are a few of their "out of this world" creations.

In math class, we've started off our mornings doing our Daily Math Practice to keep all of our skills sharp.  The students are starting to become great problem solvers and are working on explaining our answers to the class.  We are also learning A LOT from our mistakes!

We finished up our numeracy unit by reviewing rounding strategies, working on place value workstations, and playing an awesome Kahoot! review game before our test (Click here to give it a try and see how much you know!)

Rounding Anchor Chart

Place Value & Numeracy Kahoot!

In our second nine-weeks we will be continuing addition and subtraction strategies, and then get to work on multiplication!  In science, we'll be studying weather and the water cycle.  With both subjects, we'll continue to work on becoming better problem solvers on our adventures together.

Have a FANTASTIC day!

Finding Our Groove in 3rd Grade

Well, we find ourselves about five weeks in to the year.  Our third graders (and their teacher) are starting to find our groove.  We're getting the morning routine down - lunch count, fill out agenda, begin math warm up, and remind Mrs. Thompson to send the lunch count to the cafeteria.  We're starting to really dig in to our numeration unit, did some measurement with our science tools, and are having a great time learning about the solar system.

Here are some of the highlights from the last few weeks:

We headed to the lab to practice using our measurement skills and science tools.  The students really enjoyed being real scientists and putting their problem solving skills to work.

The students are really getting into our Math Workshop rotations.  Here are some of my companions thinking thorough place value in the Hands On workstation.  They are doing an activity called Build A Number.  Students roll a 3- or 4-digit number with dice, then build the number using place value blocks.  Some of the students have moved on to comparing 3-, 4-, and even 5-digit numbers with Build a Number and Compare.

We're continuing our adventures through time and space learning about the planets in our solar system.  Last week we studied the characteristics of the Sun and created artwork with coffee filters and markers, and a spray bottle of water (our hands were orange for the rest of the day!).  

We've moved on to the terrestrial planets, creating a flipbook to keep track of our research for our Interactive Notebooks- found this one on TpT that has worked really well.

We'll be spending the next week reviewing our numeration skills for our first big test, and begin planning for our solar system projects.  Can't wait to see what my students come up with!

Have a FANTASTIC day!

Mission Organization - Part 1: The Binder!

You would think that after teaching for this long I would have organization down - well, think again!  I would never be mistaken for the Queen of Organization, the Princess of Perfection, or even the Court Jester of Consolidation.  But I am determined that this time - with a new school, new kids, and a new room - I will have it (mostly) together.

Right now, I have a couple of months before I can fulfill my dream Doctor Who decor scheme, so I'm going to start with something pretty basic, but also quite essential - THE BINDER!  With much thanks to Pinterest and TeachersPayTeachers, I actually have a pretty good plan of attack on this one.  I also found an awesome Doctor Who theme from Katy LaPlace for it, so we are off to a fabulous start. (Btw: She also has Wizard of Oz and Disney themes if Who is not your thing!)

Here's a picture of the front cover:

I have my planner divided into the following sections:

• Calendar (Long Range and Month-at-a-Glance)
• Lesson Plans (I do my plans on Planbook.com, but want to keep printouts here)
• Standards (TEKS, Common Core)
• Student Data (Click here for one example of an info sheet)
• Meeting Notes

I will also be making separate binders for Sub Information and Parent Contact/Conferences, all with the same Doctor Who theme.

Here are some pics of my completed binder:

Outside cover

Inside cover

Year-at-a-Glance

Student Information

It really feels great to have at least this first step done!  I will also be making another set for Guided Math, but that will have to wait for another blog.

Next week I'm going to a TCEA Tots and Technology Conference, so I'll have lots of ideas to share!
Have a FANTASTIC day!