We have officially transitioned into our last month of school, and third graders have been encouraged to finish strong! Despite the rescheduling of our Denver Zoo field trip, students did a great job maintaining positive attitudes and working hard. This week, students reviewed what makes a great summary, learned more about modern day superstitions, studied their sprouting seeds, and researched animal adaptations! Reviewing how to write a summary is a skill we've saved for the end of the year, as third graders have had a lot of practice with it in the past! Before jumping in, we worked as a class to determine the difference between a summary and an ACE response. Third graders found that summaries are more focused on retelling a story, and include only the most important details. ACE responses are different in that they require evidence from the text and sometimes ask for an opinion. We will continue with this work next week, working in both the fiction and non-fiction genres. This week, we also read and learned more about common superstitions, specifically how they came to be. It all started with a Storyworks article, "Volcano of Doom." The article talks about Pele's Curse, a fictional curse supposedly brought upon people for stealing rocks from Hawaii's Kilauea. Third graders then transitioned into learning more about modern day superstitions like: Friday the 13th, knocking on wood, breaking mirrors, walking under a ladder, etc. We discussed as a class which of these superstitions students believe in, and talked about why we do in the first place. We then read an article, "How Superstitions are Affecting Your Behavior." The article explains that superstitions provide people with a sense of control over the uncontrollable (hence the focus on good vs. bad luck). After reading the article, third graders realized that their superstitions aren't based on fact, but are sometimes still fun to believe in! In science this week, third graders continued to care for and observe their sprouting bean, corn, sunflower and pea seeds. Our seeds have turned into mini plants, and are now in our "hydrocare" planters! Third graders also prepared for their Denver Zoo field trip by studying animal adaptations. We learned more about the adaptations of camels and platypuses... Interesting stuff!
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Mrs. Minatta is a third grade teacher at Cottonwood Creek Elementary. See and read all about what third graders are up to throughout the school year! Archives
March 2021
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