Words Their Way
9/28/2019
Words Their Way is our differentiated, hands-on approach to word study. Throughout the week, students engage in different kinds of word sorts and games to understand and practice spelling patterns. The benefit to this approach is that students are learning patterns instead of memorizing isolated words. I wanted to share how some of these activities work in our class because they are also super simple to implement at home.
Blind Sort- With a partner, students write the spelling pattern categories at the top of a white board. Without the partner seeing the words, one person reads one of the spelling word cards. The partner tries to write the word in the correct category. It is similar to a practice test, except students are writing them into spelling pattern categories.
Adaptations
9/21/2019
Third graders have been busy exploring the driving question “How do we protect the endangered species in our area?” Before we could take action, we first needed to research about these endangered species. Students explored these species by doing various activities to learn more about a few endangered species in Alaska. After learning about animal adaptations, they made connections on sticky notes concerning how adaptations allow each endangered animal to exist in its environment. Though PBL units usually focus primarily on a science or social studies concept, students are learning countless skills in other areas along the way. For example, while they are reading for information on an online article, they are learning how to navigate a website by looking at the headings and captions, scrolling down with two fingers, and avoiding that really enticing lego advertisement on the side. :) As we were looking at a sea turtle article, a student made a connection that the nonfiction article sounded like a “news reporter” and not a “storyteller” (something we have been learning in our narrative writing unit). We often write reflections of our learning together, reinforcing how to write a topic sentence, details, and a concluding sentence. When kids used a tape measure to measure out a beluga on the floor, they needed to figure out how many inches were in foot to be accurate. For me, teaching in this interdisciplinary way allows my students to learn in an authentic and more meaningful way.
Math Scavenger Hunt
9/14/2019
The Bridges in Mathematics curriculum is a great balance of direct instruction, independent work centers, and exploration. On Friday, students practiced using tape measures correctly by looking for objects that had varying lengths. This week, our class began using math work stations. Work stations are math centers that students engage in to practice different math concepts while having fun in the process. These centers not only support their math education, but also give students opportunities to practice social skills, cooperative problem solving, and responsibility as they keep track of their progress. This is one of our favorite times of the day. :)
Work stations, and other exploratory math lessons, positively impact students because the best learning happens in a social context. Endangered Species
9/7/2019
We started our first PBL unit of the year! In Project Based Learning, students work on a project over an extended period of time that engages them in solving a real-world issue or a complex question. As they tackle a meaningful project, they practice critical thinking skills while learning key third grade science and social studies standards. Over the next several weeks, we will be exploring the question “How do we protect the endangered species in our area?” Throughout this unit, we will be going through the inquiry cycle in order to end with taking action in the form of a public product. Before our class can answer our big driving question, we needed to brainstorm smaller questions that we decided to research first. We then organized these questions in the order we thought we should research them. These questions were…..
An endangered species in Alaska that you can observe in our area (especially during the next few months) is the Cook Inlet beluga whale. To learn more about this species, students spent time exploring inquiry centers. These centers involved reading articles, watching live beluga cams, listening to short video clips, and measuring the length of one on the floor. Later students made posters of their learning. We are excited to learn about the habitats, life cycles, and adaptations of other endangered species in our area next week. Why does Project Based Learning work at PNA? This type of learning triggers curiosity. Students have an active role in the planning, learning, and even the outcome of the unit. As they work through a PBL unit, they learn how to take initiative and how their voice matters.
We are looking forward to another week of investigating! |
Jessica GrahamMs. Graham graduated from the University of Alabama with a BS in Early Childhood/Elementary Education, and is currently working on her master's in reading. She enjoys hiking, traveling, arts & crafts, and playing the ukulele. Archives
April 2021
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