Trout in the classroomHello Third Grade Scientists! I miss you very much and I am thinking of you each and every day. I wanted you to know that the trout are doing GREAT! I went to check on them today, and they have hatched! They are now in their "Alevin" stage, and are happily feeding on their yolk sacs. I took a video for you to watch. Also, I received news from the California Fish and Wildlife that the trout should be fine without food for a few weeks, so we won't need to feed them until April. In the meantime, hope you are doing well at home and enjoying time with your family. Big hugs. Love, Mrs. Lee
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Our students have researched and written their nonfiction essays. Now they are using peer critique to revise their work. First, they start with celebrations, then offer suggestions, and finally write new goals. More peer critique... this time to help revise our scientific sketches. Science lab: |
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A note from the
engineering lab:
3rd-5th Grade
Engineering has some exciting news! You can now see updates and pictures from engineering class by adding the instagram page #engineering_with_roxanne. On this page you can see descriptions and pictures of past and current projects! Also, we are always in need of more volunteers. If you would like to volunteer in engineering please email [email protected] Thanks so much!
Students are currently designing circuits for their light up greeting cards. Pictures and videos of some of the prototypes can already be seen at #engineering_with_roxanne. For this project students have been learning about open and closed circuits, materials that are conductors vs insulators, and how to design a switch. Learning the basics of circuitry opens the door to new discoveries and inventions. With a basic understanding of circuitry, students can learn how to manipulate those findings to create machines that push technology forward.
Standards
3-5-ETS1-1 Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
3-5-ETS1-2 Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
3-5-ETS1-3 Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
4-PS3-2 Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
Spanish
¡La ingeniería tiene algunas noticias emocionantes! Ahora puede ver actualizaciones e imágenes de la clase de ingeniería agregando la página de instagram #engineering_with_roxanne. ¡En esta página puede ver descripciones e imágenes de proyectos pasados y actuales! Además, siempre necesitamos más voluntarios. Si desea ser voluntario en ingeniería, envíe un correo electrónico a [email protected] ¡Muchas gracias!
Los estudiantes actualmente están diseñando circuitos para sus tarjetas de felicitación iluminadas. Ya se pueden ver fotos y videos de algunos de los prototipos en #engineering_with_roxanne. Para este proyecto, los estudiantes han estado aprendiendo sobre circuitos abiertos y cerrados, materiales que son conductores frente a aisladores y cómo diseñar un interruptor. Aprender los conceptos básicos de los circuitos abre la puerta a nuevos descubrimientos e inventos. Con una comprensión básica de los circuitos, los estudiantes pueden aprender a manipular esos hallazgos para crear máquinas que impulsen la tecnología.
Normas
3-5-ETS1-1 Defina un problema de diseño simple que refleje una necesidad o un deseo que incluya criterios específicos para el éxito y limitaciones en los materiales, el tiempo o el costo.
3-5-ETS1-2 Genere y compare múltiples soluciones posibles a un problema en función de cuán bien cada una de ellas cumpla con los criterios y las limitaciones del problema.
3-5-ETS1-3 Planifique y lleve a cabo pruebas justas en las que se controlen las variables y se consideren los puntos de falla para identificar aspectos de un modelo o prototipo que puedan mejorarse.
4-PS3-2 Haga observaciones para proporcionar evidencia de que la energía puede transferirse de un lugar a otro mediante el sonido, la luz, el calor y las corrientes eléctricas.
Engineering has some exciting news! You can now see updates and pictures from engineering class by adding the instagram page #engineering_with_roxanne. On this page you can see descriptions and pictures of past and current projects! Also, we are always in need of more volunteers. If you would like to volunteer in engineering please email [email protected] Thanks so much!
Students are currently designing circuits for their light up greeting cards. Pictures and videos of some of the prototypes can already be seen at #engineering_with_roxanne. For this project students have been learning about open and closed circuits, materials that are conductors vs insulators, and how to design a switch. Learning the basics of circuitry opens the door to new discoveries and inventions. With a basic understanding of circuitry, students can learn how to manipulate those findings to create machines that push technology forward.
Standards
3-5-ETS1-1 Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
3-5-ETS1-2 Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
3-5-ETS1-3 Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
4-PS3-2 Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
Spanish
¡La ingeniería tiene algunas noticias emocionantes! Ahora puede ver actualizaciones e imágenes de la clase de ingeniería agregando la página de instagram #engineering_with_roxanne. ¡En esta página puede ver descripciones e imágenes de proyectos pasados y actuales! Además, siempre necesitamos más voluntarios. Si desea ser voluntario en ingeniería, envíe un correo electrónico a [email protected] ¡Muchas gracias!
Los estudiantes actualmente están diseñando circuitos para sus tarjetas de felicitación iluminadas. Ya se pueden ver fotos y videos de algunos de los prototipos en #engineering_with_roxanne. Para este proyecto, los estudiantes han estado aprendiendo sobre circuitos abiertos y cerrados, materiales que son conductores frente a aisladores y cómo diseñar un interruptor. Aprender los conceptos básicos de los circuitos abre la puerta a nuevos descubrimientos e inventos. Con una comprensión básica de los circuitos, los estudiantes pueden aprender a manipular esos hallazgos para crear máquinas que impulsen la tecnología.
Normas
3-5-ETS1-1 Defina un problema de diseño simple que refleje una necesidad o un deseo que incluya criterios específicos para el éxito y limitaciones en los materiales, el tiempo o el costo.
3-5-ETS1-2 Genere y compare múltiples soluciones posibles a un problema en función de cuán bien cada una de ellas cumpla con los criterios y las limitaciones del problema.
3-5-ETS1-3 Planifique y lleve a cabo pruebas justas en las que se controlen las variables y se consideren los puntos de falla para identificar aspectos de un modelo o prototipo que puedan mejorarse.
4-PS3-2 Haga observaciones para proporcionar evidencia de que la energía puede transferirse de un lugar a otro mediante el sonido, la luz, el calor y las corrientes eléctricas.
Interactive word wall
This week we utilized an interactive word wall to practice using some of our project words. First we started in small groups based on the different animals we are researching. Then we completed it as a whole class. It was a so fun to hear students sharing their ideas and using the academic language from our project. It is also so interesting to hear students using the same words but connecting them differently between different groups. Check out the videos and images below to hear and see how our students are making sense of the language surrounding migration.
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3rd Grade Research party
On Tuesday all of the third grade research teams across the different classes got together and shared their information. It was a meeting of scientists sharing their research in thoughtful ways. Very fun and inspiring.
Morelia, Mexico
I was fortunate to be invited by my father's cousin to visit him and his wife in Morelia, Mexico. So, my family and I traveled down for the weekend. We spent an entire day traveling to the Monarch Butterfly Reserve about 2 hours away into the mountains at about 8,000 feet in elevation. Here are some videos and pictures that capture our exploration to learn about this amazing migrating specie that will soon fly through San Diego skies.
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A little fun with legos
Collaboration and group work are essential to our learning at High Tech High. Earlier this year we co-created a rubric about what makes group work successful. And we constantly practice. On Friday we practiced with a Lego Challenge to celebrate the 100th Day of School.
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Great Migrations Work
This week we chose our migratory animals that we will research and write expert essays to inform our study. We will explore using classroom books, San Diego library books, and online resources. Also, we will learn through hands-on explorations in the science lab with Mrs. Lee and through field work - more information to come. Please check in with your child about their animal of choice - each student wrote a reflection on Friday to help share this information with you.
If you're curious, you can always check out your child's Google Classroom; they can sign on using their school username and password.
If you're curious, you can always check out your child's Google Classroom; they can sign on using their school username and password.
Project launch
Join us as we go whale watching. See the gray whale rise out of the water for air, and then dive back down into the water, sometimes revealing its fluke. Also experience the high waves and rocking of the boat that claimed many stomachs on our trip.
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Preparing for our launch: Chalk Talk
A chalk talk is a protocol for sharing ideas using a marker (the "chalk") to do our talking, instead of a discussion format. It allows for quiet think time, sharing ideas with the pressure of a whole group, and a chance for all learners to be included. In this case we were assessing what students already knew about migration before our project launch.
Masks
Here are some photos of our students with their beautiful masks, which will hang in the hallways above the 3rd grade classrooms.
Peer Learning
Collaboration is a major part of our learning at High Tech Elementary. Check out below our math and literacy learning. Math partners were figuring out the size of various arrays, working together to learn the concept of multiplication and area. In reading workshop, we read to become experts on a topic and taught what we learned to a peer. | |
Great migrations
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Math
Please make sure to review your child's math reflection this weekend. This week we began a new unit on multiplication and division. Muffles' Truffle Shop asked us to help organize its truffles. This week we began by looking at groupings of 10, and the power of 10 with respect to place value. Next week we will focus on using an array model for multiplication. An array is a rectangular arrangement of rows and columns. Eventually, box outlines of truffles will become the context and the open array replaces the graph paper arrays, making it a model that can be used to examine product and partial product relationships. Check out the chart to the right for a visual of how a closed array becomes an open array, and some of the mathematical concepts we will be covering in this unit.
5th grade visitors
While sharing our learning during math work shop, we had two 5th grader mathematicians share their work. See below and be amazed, like we were, to discover how much work they did to solve ONE problem.
High School Science class
Yep. We were invited to a high school science class, and participated along with 11th and 12th graders. Their essential question is "What happens to water when it hits the ground?" Simple yet complex.
A Wow
welcome back!!
It was so much fun to get back into the groove. We completed several group activities, and spent some extra time talking about what makes a group work well together. The students created a rubric:
Listen to each other
Be inclusive
Work together
Ask for help
Calm bodies
Make a plan
Be kind
Listen to each other
- One person is talking.
- Everyone else is looking at the speaker.
Be inclusive
- Everyone is allowed to join.
- Everyone is part of the group.
Work together
- Everyone is talking with a soft voice.
- Everyone is helping each other.
Ask for help
- Students talking to each other.
- Students raising hands.
Calm bodies
- Still
- Quiet
Make a plan
- Everyone shares an idea.
- Everyone agrees on the plan.
Be kind
- Friendly words.
- Soft tone.
Monster Making
Math Workshop
We got back to work!
It was a glorious night. The students stood, proud of their masks. They recited their 6-word story to the audience while revealing themselves from behind their mask. Afterwards, each student presented their fairytale and the process of ideation and revision for both their mask and writing.
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Important Dates
March 23rd -
April 6th:
Spring break
(no school)
April 7 -
Return to School
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