The Soaring Pilots

Our Masterpiece!

2012-01-29T15:30:00.000-08:00

Here is the finished project! Be sure to bid on this at the Mark Twain Bash!

Bash Project

2012-01-29T15:29:00.000-08:00

Hagin's mom came by today with a great Bash project idea. As you can see she put the whole class to work to create this masterpiece!

What is the perimeter of your name?

2012-01-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

The Soaring Pilots took the information learned to find the area and perimeter of the letters in their names. This led to many discoveries about the size of letters and how that affects the area. Great job! Final products are on the hallway bulletin board for you to see.

Area and Perimeter

2012-01-22T16:17:00.001-08:00

Our first math challenge: area and perimeter. Here we are finding ways to explore area and perimeter using square inches or square centimeters.

First Morning Meeting of 2012

2012-01-22T15:57:00.000-08:00

The Soaring Pilots first order of business in 2012 was to greet each other in morning meeting! We had a lot to talk about! It was a great way to start our first day together in 2012!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-22T11:24:00.000-08:00

The Soaring Pilots reflected on their time so far in third grade and develop goals for the second half of third grade:

*My goal for 2012 is master my math and my reading strategies.

*I need to work on my reading skills and understanding new words.

*I need to improve more on getting better at my addition and subtraction facts.

*I want to learn how to solve alot of multiplication problems.

*My 2012 goal is think of grownup questions.

Look at those goals !! I think we are well on our way to a very successful year!

Assembly Lines Part II

2012-01-15T16:07:00.000-08:00

We ended 2011 with a big project! After researching different types of resources and how assembly lines work, The Soaring Pilots decided we needed to create an assembly with the whole class. We discussed how to make this happen and what we needed. First decision, we needed a quality control station. This was to insure that the rugs were made and glued properly. Next, we needed to have someone in charge. Since Bailey came up with the idea we felt it only right that he become the boss. He appointed two assistant managers and we were in business! The boss had a hard time keeping everyone motivated, but in the end we came together and created 22 rugs. Now, the question is: Who wants to buy a rug?

Field Day!

2012-01-15T15:51:00.001-08:00

Field Day in December! The weather was cool and perfect! Unfortunately my camera has disappeared and the loaner I used that day did not take any good pictures. Fortunately, I still have a Flip Video and I caught some of the excitement at the beginning of the day. The Soaring Pilots had a great time, especially with the tug of war and the jump roping contest!

Spreading Holiday Cheer!!!

2012-01-08T14:20:00.000-08:00

The Soaring Pilots walked over to Sheltering Arms to give a musical performance! As part of the performance we had violin players, a guitar player and a guest bass player!! Good fun was had by all and I think we brought a lot of smiles to everyone!

Holiday Party

2012-01-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

What an exciting party!! First, we had the biggest pizza in the world! Then we had stations where students could create their own wrapping paper, greeting cards and bracelets. As you can see from the pictures, everyone had a great time creating something. Thank you to everyone for all your help and contributions to this great party!

Gifts to the World

2012-01-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

Our discussions about holidays around the world led to this unique activity where students created a gift for the world. Inside the gift is their wish for the world.

Everyone can show integrity by speaking the truth

My wish to the world is that all homeless people get a home, get jobs and don't live on the street.

I want everybody to NOT bully anyone forever.

My Christmas wish is that everyone is tolerant to all the people with disabilities.

My holiday wishes are for every human and animal to have shelter.

My wish for the whole world is that nobody should waste water so then the people in Africa could get fresh water.

Geometrees!

2012-01-03T19:46:00.000-08:00

For this holiday activity, the students researched shapes. First they used reference books or the Internet to find out about different shapes. Next they recorded what they discovered and used the information to create a holiday tree.

Assembly Lines

2012-01-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

Our new planner, how we organize ourselves, explores economic systems. The first activity we used to explore this concept was assembly lines. We were inspired by the book, The Goat in the Rug which is about one woman making one product by hand. We realized that this takes a lot of time and therefore will not generate alot of income. Next, we examined various assembly lines and the types of resources they used. Finally, we developed a plan to create our own assembly line to weave a rug. Here are the results.

Super Speed Math

2012-01-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

One of our goals is to become an expert at ALL math facts. In order to do this we need to practice. Everyday for two minutes we play Super Speed Math! It is a great way to challenge ourselves to learn the facts and it's fun!

Morning Meeting

2012-01-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

Morning Meeting is our favorite time of the day. We start the day by greeting each other with a smile and then completing an activity. The Morning Meeting Leader is in charge of choosing how that will happen.

Math Time

2012-01-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

We continue to explore ways to challenge ourselves during math workstation time. We have a partner that we work with for the week and create learning goals for the class and for ourselves.

Mark Twain's Birthday

2012-01-01T13:43:00.000-08:00

The Soaring Pilots earned all their jewels the same week as Mark Twain's birthday! We earn jewels by exhibiting our PYP profile. Our jewel collector keeps a look out for when they

see us being knowledgeable, caring or principled (to name a few) and lets' us know

and then adds to the jewel jar.

When we began discussing possible ways of celebrating, The Soaring Pilots wanted to include our neighbor Mr. Nguyen's class.
In the end, we had a jewel party/Mark Twain birthday party/neighbor party!!

How are we going to soar this year??

2011-11-16T19:21:00.000-08:00

Come by the classroom and take a look at how your third grader is going to soar this year!

Student Led Conferences

2011-11-16T19:10:00.000-08:00

The Soaring Pilots did a great job sharing their planners and knowledge about communities and water. It was wonderful to see the excitement the students had when taking their parents for a tour around the room and teaching them about clouds, Daily 5, Found Poetry, saving water and how we try to soar everyday. Well Done, Soaring Pilots!

Storybook parade

2011-11-16T19:04:00.001-08:00

Storybook Parade on PhotoPeach

Found Poetry

2011-11-16T18:56:00.000-08:00

After creating the Found Poetry, the students worked together to create an image that matched the words. Come by our classroom to read the finished poems.

Literary Collages

2011-11-16T18:52:00.000-08:00

Today, The Soaring Pilots worked on creating literary collages. We read the story Whales by Cynthia Rylant and discussed the mental images the words painted for us. Next, we took the words of the story and put them together in a new way. Words were cut apart and manipulated and rearranged until a new poem emerged.

Water Treatment Trip

2011-11-16T18:24:00.000-08:00

What an amazing trip! Did you know that Houston uses 70 million gallons of water a day!! We took a trip through the water filtration plant. We started in Lake Houston, through the pipe to the mixing basin. What a great experience! Thanks parents for riding on the bus and assisting.

Making it Rain!

2011-11-13T09:24:00.000-08:00

Did you know that there are three basic types of clouds? They are stratus, cumulus and cirrus. Out of those three, only one cloud produces heavy rainstorms. That cloud is known as the cumulonimbus! We experimented today to find out how many droplets does it take before it rains.

Water Experiment Day

2011-11-12T16:16:00.001-08:00

Water Experiment Day on PhotoPeach

Genre

2011-11-12T15:53:00.001-08:00

This week The Soaring Pilots spent some time exploring genres. We looked at myths, legends, folktales and fairy tales. This is all to prepare us to write stories for our storytellers!

Field Day - Here we come!

2011-11-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

Check out our original design by Ellie! I hope you have marked your calendar because this years Field Day will be December 16th! We are guaranteed to have cool weather!

Pumpkin Math

2011-11-06T18:09:00.001-08:00

A slideshow design by Smilebox

Pumpkin Math

2011-11-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the sights and sounds of Pumpkin Math! What an amazing learning experience for us all!! A big THANK YOU to all the parents who helped put this together. We can't do it without you!

PUMPKIN MATH!

2011-10-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

WOW, what an exciting day! We learned a lot about pumpkins today and had fun doing it! Thank you to all the amazing parents for helping to put this together - we couldn't have done it without you!!

Pumpkin Creation Centers

2011-10-30T13:58:00.001-07:00

Before we officially started Pumpkin Math, we decide we would like to do centers. We created the following centers. 1. How tall are you in pumpkins (non-standard measurement) 2. How much do you weigh in pumpkins? (non-standard measurement) 3. How much do you weigh? (standard measurement) 4. Pumpkin Poetry (use questioning words) 5. Contraction Pumpkins (using our spelling words) 6. Fraction Pumpkins.

How We conserve water!

2011-10-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

After completing the sink and float experiment, the boys carried the water to the garden. (We had a little glich on the way when the tub developed a leak!) We then reused our water to take care of the plants. (Another great trick you can do at home.)

Sink and Float

2011-10-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy morning discovering why a pumpkin will sink or float. Here are some conclusions drawn by The Soaring Pilots:

Maybe the pumpkins are hollow. Maybe the stem will interfere with the floating

If it is a big shape (pumpkin) and does not have any openings it will float.

I noticed that heavy pumpkins can push water out of the way.

A Fairytale pumpkin has a different shape so it balances itself to stay up.

I also think that if it is symmetrical it will balance itself but if one side is heavier that side will go down.

When you put a rock in a tub of water it will sink because it does not have any air in it.

I noticed that it doesn't matter how big the object is it matters if it is hollow or not.

I've come to a conclusion that anything with air in it will float.

To read more, check your child's Tuesday folder to see all the documentation on this experiment. Continue experimenting at home, by trying other fruits and vegetables to see if the theory that things that are hollow will float.

Sink and Float

2011-10-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

Before we began our experiments with the pumpkins, I sent the girls to get the water for the tub. I did this with a purpose in mind. The boys immediately figured out that I was doing what happens in other countries. The girls are sent for the water and the boys stay behind in school. We discussed how this fits in with our planner and our attitudes. They immediately understood that they were learning how to be empathic. When the girls returned (triumphantly)we sat down and had a discussion before beginning the experiments. In the course of the discussion, Grace said, "This has changed my perspective!" Even though they did not have to walk three house for dirty water, they began to understand how difficult it can be.

Well Done Soaring Pilots!

Art ALa Carte

2011-10-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

We had another amazing lesson with Katherine's mom. There was a great discussion about still life before we attempted our own drawings.

RECESS

2011-10-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

I am not sure which classroom photographer took these pictures, but I thought they did a great job! We love having last lunch because we sometimes get the playground to ourselves!

Aquaman!

2011-10-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

The Soaring Pilots were well prepared for a visit from Aquaman! We were well informed about the need to conserve water after the "apple" experiment. After the WaterWise presentation, the students were given kits to take home and find ways to conserve water at home.

Conserving Water

2011-10-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

Did you know that 75% of the Earth is water? However, about 97% of that water is salt water. That leaves us less than 1% of drinkable water. This led the Soaring Pilots to think of ways to conserve water and to let others know what needs to be done.

Water!

2011-10-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

Students used mental images to create a painting of water. Each picture shows a unique and different perspective of water.

Key Concepts

2011-10-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

We explored water using the eight key concepts of: form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective, responsibility, and reflection. During this planner, we will be focusing on perspective, causation, and responsibility.

Intro to Water Planner

2011-10-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

As an introduction to How We Share the Planet planner, students engaged in a cooperative group activity to determine how we use water on our planet. We discovered that we use water everyday in many ways. This led us to wonder: Is there enough water?

Class Party

2011-10-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

The class party was a huge success. The kids were happy to be back on the playground again. Thanks to the classroom photographer for taking these pictures.

Looks like it's going to be a great year!

Researchers

2011-10-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

As we near the end of our first planner on Where We Are In Time and Place, the students had to find out what the local government was in Houston. Everyone seemed to know that Obama was the president and Rick Perry was our governor. After exploring the city of Houston website, we learned about the Mayor, city controller and the city council. The next step may be to write the mayor because all of the students had ideas on how to improve our city!

PARENTS!

2011-10-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here is Jack's mom reading to the class in order to help me out! Thank you to all The Soaring Pilot's parents you have been so great helping make things for the classroom or to purchase supplies needed. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I know the kids love all the snacks that you are supplying.

A big THANK YOU for all your support!

Sam Houston Park

2011-10-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

The Soaring Pilots had an amazing trip to downtown Houston to learn all about the history of our city. Thank you to all the parents for helping and making the trip a huge success. When we returned to the classroom we wrote some newspaper articles about our trip. Here are some excerpts:
Amazing story about kids. Kids go to Sam Houston Park and saw different historic structures like a house called Old Place. The kids saw things outside the structures then they went inside the structures and touched the things the people used in everyday life. They also experienced how they would live. by Grace
At about 12:30 in the museum Ms. Musters class entered a room to watch a movie. Whey they went to the Duncan Store they saw a lot of things that were mentioned in the movie. We actually touched and played with the stuff! At the Old Place we saw a butter maker and an teeny bed, also an outhouse! by Arianna
The Heritage Society is a lot of houses that are from he past. Today on Friday September 30, 2011, Ms. Musters' class went to three houses and did a scavenger hunt. by Sarah
Sam Houston Park is a park that stores all of the old houses. Mrs. Musters' class visited Old Place, St. John Church, Yates house and the Duncan Store. It was amazing. to all of Ms. Musters' class Bailey said, " IT WAS A SPLENDID TRIP."

Sam Houston Park

2011-10-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

The Soaring Pilots took their first field trip to downtown Houston. We had the perfect weather and plenty of helping parents. We learned a lot from our tour guides about the history of Houston. (remember to hit pause on the playlist at the end of the blog)

Houston Timelines

2011-10-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

The Soaring Pilots stopped by first grade to hear how they developed their timelines. We wanted to apply that information to our own idea to make a timeline of the history of how Houston was established. Our class has been reading and watching informational videos to find out more how Texas came to be Texas and how Houston the city began. After our lesson, we brainstormed the dates and ideas that would need to be on our timelines. We spend some time sharing and discussing in a conference. Next, we turned our brainstorming information into a timeline about the history of Houston.

Properties of Addition

2011-09-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

After exploring the three properties of addition, The Soaring Pilots put their new knowledge to work during a Toss and Talk activity. Test your third grader and see if they can tell you about: the commutative property of addition, identity property of addition and the associative property of addition.

Garden of Learning

2011-09-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

This week we studied communities in nature. We learned about the living and non-living things that can be found in an ecosystem. Today, we put all our knowledge to work by becoming observers of our own pond habitat. Students had to explore and observe to find the living and non-living things and then use that knowledge along with the science vocabulary to come up with a description of our habitat. The lesson conclude with students creating a graphic source about the pond. Great job everybody!

International Day of Peace

2011-09-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

International Day of Peace

2011-09-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Soaring Pilots made pinwheels for peace. Each pinwheel contains a message or saying to help promote peace. We decided to take the pinwheels outside and try to make our own peace symbol. It didn't quite work, so we made a video with our sayings for peace. The final product is now on the Mark Twain wall of peace in the front hallway by Mrs. Gee's room.

Math Workstations

2011-09-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

Math Workstations is another component of our daily math lesson. Students work on math concepts already taught through games and activities.

Our Community of Words

2011-09-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

Acrostic poetry using words to describe a community like town or city and words that describe how a community works together like respect and cooperation.

Acrostic Poetry

2011-09-20T18:45:00.001-07:00

As part of our planner, we worked together to define what a community is and what it needs when it is established. This led to a 'wordle' - a word cloud describing community. The Soaring Pilots came up with the clever idea of writing an acrostic poem for each word! Each student choose a word and then used it to tell us what they know about it. Next, we illustrated our words using watercolors. The end result is amazing. They are hanging in the third grade hallway and are a must see! Mrs. Patin walked by today and was impressed with our knowledge!

Money Money Money

2011-09-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

We are playing a money counting game during math time. Your partner gives you dollars and cents to count and you have to show the amounts using dollar and cents notation. We have discovered that counting coins is easier if you start with the largest amount first. (That means don't start with pennies!) Also, you have to line up your decimal points when you are adding up all the amounts.

Introducing... The Soaring Pilots

2011-09-20T18:13:00.000-07:00

The Soaring Pilots on PhotoPeach
CLICK Pause on Playlist below.

Self-Portraits

2011-09-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

We read a book about Vincent VanGogh called Camille and The Sunflowers. It fit right into our planner about communities because the story was about how people did not like Vincent because he was different. This lead straight to the activity where we create our own self-portraits and notice how wonderful all our differences are!! I had a meeting in the office and noticed these mirrors and thought what a great way to show our reflections. Since I couldn't carry them all, the whole class snuck into the office and carried them upstairs. The class was noticed by several teachers because of they were being so principled and everyone was helping each other!

AAAAHHHHH Testing!!

2011-09-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

It's true we are testing on Fridays! The Soaring Pilots did a great job being respectful of each other, raising their hands when they had a question and being risk-takers when they got a tough question. The tests will come home in the Tuesday Folders. Please take a minute to go over the work with your child. Discuss their strategies for solving the problems and review problems that are incorrect. I have been known to make mistakes when grading!! If you have a question or notice a mistake please return to my attention.

Habitats

2011-09-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

We have discovered that there are many types of communities including animal communities. We spent some time researching about different types of habitats in small groups. Next, we had to teach the rest of the class about it. Did you know that there are cold deserts and three different kinds of grasslands?

Place Value

2011-09-03T08:14:00.000-07:00

We have spent this week exploring place value in different ways. Today, The Soaring Pilots had to work in cooperative groups to solve the place value riddle. As you can see they are using a variety of strategies to find the answers! Way to go!

Our Community

2011-09-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

The Soaring Pilots have completed their T-shirts and have bonded as a community. We have learned a lot about each other and have made new friends. We decided that our class motto is: We are risk-takers! We will utilize the powers of respect, cooperation, friendship and caring to keep our community strong. I am excited to see where we go this year!!

What is your name worth?

2011-09-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

The Soaring Pilots were very busy discovering what their name was worth using a coded alphabet. First we used the code to create unifix towers for each letter of our name. Next, we predicted whose name would be worth more or less based on the size and quantity of towers on their desk. Finally, we had to calculate the total and find where in the graph our name belongs.

Where We Are in Time and Place Planner

2011-08-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

Our planner for this first six weeks is an inquiry into communities. The central idea is: Communities are established and change to meet the needs of the people. First we will learn about our own school community. Then we will take a look at communities in the past to see what we have in common.

T-Shirts??

2011-08-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

We continue to build our community in different ways. These are t-shirts that are designed with our favorite things, things we are experts on, and foods we like. The students will be presenting the t-shirts to the whole class. This way we find out more things we have in common.

The Third Day!

2011-08-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

The Soaring Pilots had a lot fun on the third day of third grade! We did everything in threes, including recess! Here we are trying to find all the possibilities of making three using dominoes. Everyone is learning how to be a great partner and work together!

Math Time

2011-08-28T19:00:00.001-07:00

We have been very busy exploring place value in our classroom. The students are working on a game that involves math conversations. It is great to hear them using math vocabulary when discussing a problem.

The First Day!

2011-08-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

We have some very excited students! What a great day we had together! We are working on finding out what we have in common with each other. We learned from author Leo Lionni that friends can affect each other. As one student put it, "We are all different yet we are the same." Here the students are working on Bioglyphs. After finishing, we walked around the classroom reading the glyphs trying to find friends who we had some things in common. Come take a look they are all posted in the third grade hallway!

Welcome to Third Grade

2011-08-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

I spent Saturday in the classroom working on some last minute details. I was very lucky to have two special helpers to unpack supplies, make binders and sharpen pencils!! It was great to see some of the students and parents who came by to take a peak at your classroom. There was a lot of excitement in the third grade hallway! I think we are going to have a great year full of exciting adventures. Here are some tips to make the first week a little easier:

1. Bring a bottle of water (it's hot out there)
2. Bring a snack (we have the last lunch at 12:50)
3. Read and complete the school packet that will come home on the first day.
4. Any changes in carpool, please let me know in writing. (note or email will do)

I am looking forward to getting to know all of you. I know we will have a lot of fun learning this year.
Love Ms. Musters

Ms. Musters always says...

2011-08-21T07:41:00.000-07:00

Last year my students wrote down some quotes that apparently I ALWAYS say!!

Looking Good!

2011-08-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

The room is now ready for your eager third graders! Everything is almost in place. I can't wait to meet everyone.

Welcome Back Teachers!

2011-08-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! The floors have all been waxed, the walls painted and the desks cleaned. Now I need to empty that closet and try to remember where everything goes!

Good-bye Fantastic Frogs

2011-06-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well, this is it. The last picture of our time together in third grade. It was a truly FANTASTIC year! Thank you to all my wonderful, supportive parents without you I could not have done it. Thank you to my Fantastic Frogs. You are all one of a kind and will forever be the only

Fantastic Frogs in third grade!

Here's the TOP TEN list of what you felt was important to know about third grade:

1. Absolutely, positively no exceptions about homework in third grade.
2. Never sharpen your pencil when the teacher is talking.
3. You have to work your best at everything you do because it's all leading up to something else.
4. I know each grade is a little tougher than the other,
but it always has a little tweak of more excitement than the other one.
5 Always be thinking.
6. USE YOUR STRATEGIES!!!
7. The most important thing is to answer all your questions.
8. You will need to practice math and reading A LOT!!
9. It's not hard once you adjusted to it.
10. Always be prepared for tests.

But the most important thing...
Just believe in yourself and you'll go far and
Work hard and be positive

Tickets???

2011-06-09T18:24:00.000-07:00

The Fantastic Frogs recently determined that there are three important rules for our classroom community.

1. Follow Directions 2. Listen 3. Be Quiet in the Hallways

For the last month, I have been giving tickets to every student who is following these three simple rules. The person with the most tickets will get to choose something first to take home from the classroom. Today was the day we counted the tickets!!! Each and every student was able to take home a memento of our time together in third grade.

Camping in the classroom.

2011-06-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

Camping in the classroom was an unusual experience (as one student noted.)! What an experience! Thank you Patrick's mom and dad for coming to visit us. Patrick's mom started the campfire experience and made us smores! Patrick's dad showed us the work he is doing constructing a freeway. Quinn's grandfather also came to visit and gave us the builder's perspective on architecture. We worked in our cooperative groups to create straw and paperclip construction in our tents. We also researched famous buildings to determine their function, style and the resources used to make them. The camp ended with a class party!
Thank you to all the parents for helping to make this happen. It was quite a learning experience for all of us and we had fun too!

Honor Wall

2011-06-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

The Fantastic Frogs went on a tour to see the fifth graders exhibition work. As we walked thru the hallways reading and admiring the artwork; we noticed many things. First, we made the connection that the fifth graders were using the Learner Profile and attitudes in many different ways. Second, we noticed that each class was focusing on one area. We learned about learning differences, ways to stop bullying, and how different work connected to all the planners that we have been studying this year. The wall that had the most impact was the one with essays. The fifth grade students wrote about someone who inspired them and why. This in turn inspired us! We took our idea of talking walls in the classroom to create a honor wall in the hallway. I hope you had a chance to come by and read these comments. The Fantastic Frogs did a great job of choosing someone who inspires them and explaining why.

(Remember to click on the picture twice to enlarge it.)

Froggy!!!

2011-05-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

Our class mascot looks exhausted from moving everything in the room to get ready for camping. After clearing out the room, The Fantastic Frogs had cooperative group challenges to create a strong camping community.

The winning team is...

2011-05-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

This is the tallest tower (and the only tower that stayed standing!)! Congratulations team!

Newspaper Tower??

2011-05-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

Our first architectural challenge: build a newspaper tower with only two sheets of newspaper and a ruler. Oh, and to make it a little more difficult: NO TALKING!!! Each group had twenty minutes to try ways to make a free standing tower. Conclusion - a strong foundation is needed!

Getting Ready for Camping...

2011-05-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

Can you tell The Fantastic Frogs are excited about camping.

Art A La Carte

2011-05-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

Young architects at work!

A HUGE thank you to Cathi for teaching this exciting lesson

and tying it into our new planner on architecture!!

Toss and Talk??

2011-05-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

This is our favorite part of our Envision math program! After a lesson, we work with a partner to complete the game of the day. The idea is to have mathematical conversations while we are working. Each Toss and Talk game matches the lesson of the day. You flip the card over to find the challenge game. I love how some of the students are using their reference books to look up the math vocabulary! Way to go, Fantastic Frogs!

Camping Information

2011-05-27T04:25:00.000-07:00

Camping Anyone?

2011-05-27T04:20:00.000-07:00

Camp Falling Frog

2011-05-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

Our architectural adventure at Camp Falling Frog will begin this Friday, May 27th.

Tents are needed by 2:00pm!

Please contact Stormy if you can help out. We have the following bringing tents: Rota, Partridge, Wu, Ogle and Knipe. (Tents should not be bigger than a four person tent!)

The Fantastic Frogs can bring camping equipment on Tuesday.
If you would like to visit our campfire and share your architectural knowledge

please let us know we welcome all visitors!

Hop on over!

Memory Boards

2011-05-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

You must come by our room to see these amazing memory boards! The Fantastic Frogs had so much fun helping each other put them together. Now, we are writing to one or two of our friends every single day. The pockets are filling with wonderful third grade memories! Parents, you can particpate too by adding a special note or photograph to your child's pocket.

Memories in my Pocket

2011-05-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

This one of my favorite projects to do with the kids. Together we create a huge poster board version of ourselves with a pocket. While we were working, we shared stories of our lives in third grade. There was a lot of laughter as we remembered all the special times we had together. The second part of the project will be to write letters to each other describing one of those fun times. The memories in our pockets become the most favorite thing to read. Stop by the classroom to see the display.

Getting ready for Student Led Conferences

2011-05-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

Now, on to the hardest part - getting all our hard work into the portfolio binder. Afterwards, we met with a partner and discussed our portfolio to prepare for when we meet with parents.

PYP Bulletin Boards

2011-05-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

Here is the end result of their hard work. Each bulletin board represented one of the five planners completed this year. Students worked in small groups discussing and rereading their portfolios to determine what information should be included on each bulletin board.

Our Classroom

2011-05-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

With the TAKS testing behind us, we had to reinvent our classroom. The students worked in cooperative groups to determine the important information we needed to display from the five planners already completed this year. With that information students began to design a bulletin board to use as a teaching tool during student led conferences.

The Garden

2011-05-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

The Fantastic Frogs are reflecting on all that they have learned during our Human Rights Planner. The beautiful weather afforded us the opportunity of sitting in the garden to write the reflections.

Who We Are

2011-05-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

The final project of our Human Rights Planner was to choose one activist, research this person and discover what obstacles they overcame and what their message was. Next, the students presented this information in the form of a speech. We found after listening to the speeches that the most important human right was equality.

Human Rights Speeches

2011-05-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

We had a great time Thursday and Friday listening to the speeches. Each student was required to pick one person who made a difference. It could be for human rights, civil rights, women's rights, or workers rights. Each speech led to a great discussion about the obstacles some people face and what they do to overcome those obstacles. I videotaped each one and will send them to your personal email. Great job, everyone!

TAKS Performances

2011-05-01T17:19:00.001-07:00

The Fantastic Frogs had a great time on Monday encouraging each other with performances about using your TAKS strategies! It sounds like everyone is well prepared to handle any question as long as we use our strategies!

TAKS Strategies

2011-05-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

Original performances by The Fantastic Frogs!

The Butterfly Project

2011-05-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

One way we choose to make a difference, was to teach others about the Butterfly Project. The Butterfly Project is an effort by the Holocaust Museum of Houston to memorialize the Jewish children who perished during the Holocaust. The Fantastic Frogs went to first grade to teach that you should not like someone just because of their religion. They did a great job and the resulting butterflies are hanging in the stairwell.

Adinkra Symbols

2011-05-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

The Fantastic Frogs were inspired by the Adinkra Symbols we found on our recent field trip to the African American Library. We decided to incorporate the idea with our idea of presenting a speech from a Human Rights leader. First we researched the person we were interested in and took notes about their life, their obstacles and what rights they believed in. Next, we developed a symbol that would represent this individual. In the process, we decided we needed a symbol to represent us: The Fantastic Frogs. After much discussion, the symbol is the world and the word: Knowledge. The conclusion was that we have learned about the world from our planners and have gained knowledge which we can use to teach others and make a difference.

Adinkra Symbols

2011-05-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

Customize your own picture slideshow

African American Library at the Gregory School

2011-04-29T04:18:00.000-07:00

The African American Library was a great learning experience. It is housed in one of the first African American schools. It contains an exhibit that tells the story of African Americans through video, pictures, artifacts and oral storytelling. We were especially inspired by the Adinkra Symbols embedded in the walkway in the front of the library. The field trip was a great way to begin our new planner: Who We Are.

THe Third Grade Program

2011-04-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

The Fantastic Frogs were very excited to participate in the program!! They had a great time working together with Mrs. Bardin to make it happen. Way to go!

Fantastic Frogs in Action!

2011-04-27T18:42:00.000-07:00