Guest Teachers

Today in Math, we invited students to the board to teach the class. What was a welcome addition to our learning, not all of the sharing at the board was accurate. This was welcome, because our learning is not in striving for perfection, it is in developing a learning space where students are able to be themselves. We also learn more when we make mistakes and find the details of our errors then when we "just know" and can't break down why we "know".

This summer, Ms. Leom heard a master's classmate explain, "The person doing the talking is the person doing the learning." The conversations, the math vocabulary, and the class discussions - lead by students, was one of the most effective classroom lessons this year!

It took several weeks to develop the foundations for our classroom to be a safe learning environment to make this possible. Some days we are more ready for this style of learning than others.

Here were some of our teachers today. We got so involved in the learning and discussion, Ms. Leom forgot to take pictures.

Book Talks

Ms. Leom introduced the new books from our last book order to add to our classroom library. She invited students to read the new books and determine if they would be good fits. We will start a book recommendation opportunity. We will invite students to share Book Talks. We value talking in class, and even more when we get to talk about books!

It was a thrill when four or five students were so proud of themselves and so engaged in read to self. We can't wait to hear their thoughts!

Signal Words

Our Reading strategy this week is Sequencing. We learned signal words to help us identify the steps in a process.

It was fun when students were reading other texts during the day and noticing the signal words. 

Popcorn and a Movie

Our reward for Breakout EDU was a popcorn and a movie in Dahlager Theater in the high school. We watched Chicken Little.

Afterwards, we returned to class, and we talked about bullying that happened during the movie and what we could do.

Fluency Practice

During week three, we work on fluency skills. Fluency means to read like a person might talk, with different pacing, pausing, and more. This week, our learning was using short pauses on : ; - ... , and more.

We used a high school speech team skill to practice. Students found a space on the wall and read to the wall. 

It is exciting to have all students participating and growing in their fluency.

Breakout EDU

We had Breakout EDU last week. Breakout Rooms are popular with many adults. In education, we have Breakout EDUs, where students collaborate with small groups to solve different puzzles. When they solve the puzzle, it allows them a code to unlock various locks. When all the locks are unlocked, there is a secret prize or puzzle inside. 

Breakout EDU was the perfect Bully Prevention Week activity. Students worked together. They had to find way to include others who may not want to join in or may appear left out. They had to manage their enthusiasm to hear all the ideas. They have to persevere even when their first ideas might not work.

 Finally, all the locks were unlocked, and it was time to find out our super secret locked prize.

We won a popcorn party in Dahlager Theater!

Mrs. Stupar, one of our school social workers, who is responsible for our Olweus Bully Prevention program and projects came to speak to our class.

Breakout EDU is often used for the older grades and the ALP (Academic Learners Program). It was exciting for third graders to be included in the activity for the older students. We did very well!

Reading Buddies

We finally found our way to meet with our first grade Reading Buddies. Our third graders were so excited to the be the "older buddies" for the first time.

For years, as a teacher, I've walked my students to the hallways and to different events, and love to hear them point and call out their reading buddies. It is something special we do in Milaca.

Vocabulary

When we start a school year, we can't begin the entire third grade routine in the first weeks. We start the school year closer to "end of the year second graders", and we need time to develop our routines, expectations, and time to grow. We are now making solid progress, and it is time to add to our routines and extend our learning.

We are making our vocabulary a regular part of our daily routine.

Our Word Wall is growing and expanding.

Last Friday, we introduced the word layers. It was exciting to hear all the examples from the students of the may ways we consider layers ... of the earth ... on an onion ... clothing ... snowfall ... and so many more!

CWR

We use the Benchmark Literacy series. It is organized into ten three-week units. The first week is reading and metacognitive (thinking) strategies. The second week is a genre study. The third week is a fluency study. At the end of the first and second weeks, we have a CWR, constructed written response day. This activity has students take the skills and or texts we are using in class and apply them in written form. This deepens and extends the learning. For many learners, when they are writing their own example of the skill, it allows them to better recognize the writing in future texts. CWRs aren't always easy, and it is a skill we improve and develop over the course of the school year.

We start the learning with a basic example together, and we point out the key details.

It is exciting to see students apply themselves and successfully demonstrate the learning!

Our Routine SEL

Mrs. Terhaar came to our room for our regularly scheduled social-emotional learning (SEL) lesson. This round, she talked about paying attention and responding.

We had some practice sessions.

It is exciting to have guests in our classroom, working to support our success.

The Dot

On Wednesday October 16, we read The Dot by Peter Reynolds.

The Dot is a book that celebrates creativity, perseverance, encouragement, and success.

First, we sang The Dot Song. Students had the lyrics and sang along. This helps us work on our fluency, or reading like we talk.

 Then we had an opportunity to create our own marks, our our dots using water color paints.

We worked with dots used in Morse Code and Braille too.

Part of our third grade learning, is learning how to manage our emotions and feelings. Creating, and in this case, painting today, is one way we can relax and express ourselves. Sometimes, we don't know where to start, we can start with a simple dot. Other times, we get so focused on what other people think or what other people are telling us. When we are creating, it isn't about the end result. It can just be the moment. When we are in the moment, we don't need anyone else's voice or words. We listened to the dot song, and we created. After painting we signed our work. We chose one piece we wanted in our portfolio. We journaled on the back. The second image, we could bring home.