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!

First Week Adventures

Even after 15 years of teaching, the first week of school is still the most exciting and the most exhausting time of the year.  I meet these new, sweet faces with their brand new supplies.  The cubbies are ready, the books are counted, and off we go!

We started off with a graphing activity looking at how the students would be getting home.  We made a frequency chart then graphed our results together both as a pictograph (using SoftSchools.com) and as a bar graph which became anchor charts in my classroom:

In our next lesson, the students surveyed their classmates about their favorite things (pets, music, books, food, etc.). They had to make a frequency chart, graph it, and create three questions for other students to answer about the graph.  I modeled questioning with our class's graph using sentence stems as a guide.  I think they turned out well, and I got to break in my Pinterest-worthy bulletin board!

For our first Fun Friday, we brought out the iPads to do some Kahoot! quizzes and practice our digital literacy skills and responsibility.  We did a quick quiz on what they've learned about me, then we did some math review on addition, subtraction, and place value.  The students really loved this activity and I plan on using it for some future assignments.

Next time, we'll be getting into some science investigations to practice using our science tools, as well as more numeracy activities.  I'm still getting to know my kids, but I think I'm going to enjoy my time with them!

Have a FANTASTIC week!

Mission Organization: Putting it all Together

I was so excited to finally meet my awesome 3rd Graders this past week!  Still have a few things I'd like to do with my room now that I've actually had students in it, but I'm happy with how things turned out.  Next week, I'll show you what we've all been up to, but for now, I'll just give a little tour of my classroom!

Originally, I was going to decorate my whole door as the TARDIS from Doctor Who, however, the fire code in our district won't allow that, so I used some "3D" letters and a cute cartoon as a start for my door decor:

My favorite part of the room is the Large Group area with my awesome benches (see last week's post).  The rug is a great buy I found at IKEA for about $20.00!  I'm housing my library in fabric bins inside the benches, so this doubles as my reading center.  

I used 3M hooks, a curtain rod, and drapery clips on the back of my bookcase to use as a holder for my chart paper.  Below the chalk rail, I attached clothes pins to the wall with mounting tape to hold current anchor charts. The red and blue pocket charts will hold papers, task cards, and other items students will need during workstation time.

I'm back to using Every Day Counts this year, so I found the perfect corner for Calendar Time (think I may add a rug here too!).  I also used a Doctor Who theme with the months, weather, and seasons. The corner shelf holds all of the calendar items as well as drawers for pens, pencils, glue, and paper. This will also eventually house my Maker Space where I'll have Legos and other items for the students to use to create during workstations.  Oh, and of course, every room must have a TARDIS on the bookshelf, just for a little more awesomeness!

I'm actually still working on my final desk arrangement, but this is pretty close!  Once the plastic storage drawers go on clearance at Target, I'll add them to the middle of each group to hold notebooks and supplies.  On the back board you can see my Math Workshop rotation board.  I hope to get that started with setting up rotations in the next week or two.  I also have my small group table in the back along with all of my Math Tubs and some of the manipulatives I'll be using at hand.

I'm also very lucky to have a great Computer Station setup, along with an iPad cart that I plan on making great use of once we really get going next week.  I also love my TARDIS a la Van Gogh poster, and the banner I got from Staples on this wall! It says, "Welcome to 3rd Grade Adventures in Math & Science."

I really do want to try and make each day a little bit of an adventure for my students.  We'll work hard, learn a lot,  and have a little fun along the way!  This is always a work-in-progress, so who knows how this could change throughout the year, but I think we're off to a great start!

Until next time, have a FANTASTIC week!

Mission Organization: Making a Milk-Crate Bench

Vacations are done, teacher training has begun, and my kiddos come next Monday, so it's time to put my room together (tour coming soon!).

One of my favorite Pinspirations that I've been putting together is the awesome milk crate benches that are going to double as my book nook.  It took a little help from my tool-wielding hubby, but we finally put two of them together.  Here's how we did it!

How to Make a Milk-Crate Bench

For each bench you will need:

• Three milk crates 9"x 9"x 13" (You can ask for them at the grocery store, or buy from Home Depot, the Container Store, or online)
• 1/4 inch MDF cut to size (You can use other types of wood, but this is light, durable and less expensive)
• Three 5/16"x1 1/2" bolts, three 5/16" nuts, and six 5/16" Fender washers
• Polyfoam (most craft stores will have this)
• Fabric (I wanted Doctor Who fabric, so I found some on Spoonflower.com)
• Zip ties (at least 8)
• Spray adhesive
• Upholstery stapler and 1/4" staples

1) We  zip-tied the three milk crates together and then took measurements for our MDF.

2) Test the board to make sure it fits.  Then mark where to drill the holes for the bolts.  We did one on each end and one in the middle.

3) Drill the holes with a 5/16" bit and then insert the bolt through the holes over Fender washers to distribute weight.

4) Cut the polyfoam to size, leaving about a 1 to 1 1/2 inch border.  Glue to the top of the board.

5) Cut fabric to size, gather and staple to the underside of the board.

6) Attach board to crates using another washer and 5/16" nut.

7) Cut the zip-ties and you have a completed milk crate bench!

I added cloth drawers for my classroom books and other storage.  They turned out great, and were even tested by one of my colleague's children.  They loved them, and I hope my 3rd graders will too!

My Quality Control Experts - Think these benches passed!

Now to get ready for another day of prep and training.  Once the whole room's together, I can't wait to show it off!

Have a FANTASTIC week!

Mission Organization Continues

Hubby has been out-of-town for a week, so I spent several days working on all sorts of things for my classroom.  I've been creating and labeling and sorting and Pinning like crazy!  My material isn't in for my benches and chairs, so that demonstration will have to wait until next time.

I'm especially excited about my organization for Math Workshop.  I made my rotation chart based on having four teams of students and four stations and adapted from printables I purchased from The Clutter Free Classroom.  I've decided on a black & white theme with elements of TARDIS blue, so her printables work perfectly!  I put my rotation chart on poster board so I can reuse it or move it around if needed.  I'll be using four small dry erase boards to list out the team members so that I can change them easily each week.

Math Workshop Rotation Chart

I've also finished numbering my Math Tubs and have been labeling my drawers for supplies.  I have discovered my new love for decorative duct tape and washi tape for decorating.  I like this particular tape because it looks a lot like Gallifreyan writing (for those that don't speak geek, that's the written language of The Doctor's home planet on Doctor Who).

Math Tubs

Drawer Labels

Then I got REALLY crafty (thank you Pinterest!) and made this sign for my students.  I'll find a special place for it in my classroom!  I used Google Drawing to make the words and frames, then printed and glued on to cardstock, laminated and attached to each other with ribbon.  I used leftover cardstock for the heart on top.

Last thing I did this week was create the bones of my teacher website using Google Sites.  I used the Classroom Website template and edited it for my needs. I still have a few details to add and adjust, but I think it's a great start.  You can check it out at http://goo.gl/5Gghgp.

I also posted several of these projects and more ideas to My Classroom Pinterest Board - Follow Amanda's board My Classroom on Pinterest.

I'll be starting my actual classroom setup in two weeks, so I can't wait to see how everything comes together!  

What do you think is most important to a successful classroom setup?  Let me know in the comments - I would REALLY appreciate it! :)

Have a FANTASTIC day!

Climb Every Mountain - Mission Organization: Part 2

Summer is for Vacation Too!

Just spent several days up in North Carolina dropping my son off at camp and then spending time with the best guy I know - my hubby Nathan up in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville.  We try to spend time in places we've never been to before when we can.  There's so much new to learn and do!

Me on the Balcony of Biltmore Estate

Selfie Time!

We spent one day at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.  It was built in the 1890s by George W. Vanderbilt, whose family made lots of money in the railroad business.  The house has over 250 rooms and over 40 bathrooms with indoor plumbing (not a common amenity at the time).  It also includes its own bowling alley and an indoor swimming pool!  He lived there with his wife and daughter for many years, and the estate is still owned and run by the family. Despite it's immenseness, it still feels like a family home - just a very nice one!

The next day we went hiking in the National Forest and climbed to the top of Mount Pisgah.  It's not the tallest mountain in the range, but it was pretty good challenge for me!  The climb was beautiful and the view worth it!

View from the Top of Mt. Pisgah

Mission Organization: Part 2

Things are starting to come together for my classroom plan.  First things, first - I am OFFICIALLY a public school teacher again!  Just signed my contract today and got my badge:

They actually misspelled my name the first time, so I had to go back and get a new badge. ( I didn't want to have to tell my kiddos that the"s" is silent!)

Love this fabric!

I celebrated with a Grande Skinny Iced Caramel Macchiato and then went shopping for my new classroom.  I went to Jo-Ann's and picked up foam and batting for my benches.  I'm getting my milk crates tomorrow, so I can get started on them.  I ordered some mathy Doctor Who and some TARDIS blue fabric from Spoonflower and am starting to work on labeling my math tubs/centers for Math Workshop.  During math centers, students will be assigned specific tub numbers to use during their rotation.  I'll change the activities in the tubs out depending on the objectives we are working on at the time.

One of my Math Tubs (decorated w/Duct Tape)

Example of Math Workshop Bulletin Board (from Clutter-Free Classroom on TpT)

Still LOTS more to do before training starts in a few weeks!  Looking forward to putting everything together and getting ready for a brand new batch of kiddos to have adventures with.

Have a FANTASTIC day!