Come by the classroom and take a look at how your third grader is going to soar this year!How are we going to soar this year??
Come by the classroom and take a look at how your third grader is going to soar this year!
Student Led Conferences
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!Found Poetry
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
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
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!
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.
Genre
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!
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
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!
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
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!
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
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
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
We had another amazing lesson with Katherine's mom. There was a great discussion about still life before we attempted our own drawings.RECESS
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!
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
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!
Students used mental images to create a painting of water. Each picture shows a unique and different perspective of water.Key Concepts
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
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
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
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!
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Our Community of Words
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
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
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.
Self-Portraits
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!!
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
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
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
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?
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
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??
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!
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
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!
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
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...
Last year my students wrote down some quotes that apparently I ALWAYS say!!
Looking Good!
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!
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
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 onlyFantastic 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
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???
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.
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