Decimal Exploration

This week, Third Graders used many different hands-on materials to help solidify the concept of decimals. Students learned to use what they know about the familiar concept of money when trying to understand decimals. When thinking about dollars and cents notation, students know that the first digit to the right of the decimal point stands for dimes, or tenths of a dollar and the second digit stands for pennies, or hundredths of a dollar. Third graders modeled tenths and hundredths using base-ten blocks. They deepened their understanding by using base-ten blocks and grids to represent decimal and fraction equivalencies. Mathematicians built on their decimal knowledge by exploring decimals in metric units. Third Graders practiced comparing and ordering decimals using a centimeter/millimeter scale. Each day, these brave scholars gave 100% and they should feel quite proud of themselves!

“Year of The Dog”, A Glimpse into the Life of an Asian-American

Third Grade readers continued to build on their knowledge of the Asian-American experience during Reading Workshop this week. Scholars started reading a new novel by Grace Lin, an Asian American author, who weaves her multi-cultural background into her fiction stories. During Reading Workshop this week, students learned to identify the narrator and the point of view of the story. Readers learned to identify the difference in the narrator’s point of view and their own point of view. Next week, we will investigate character traits and find evidence through character actions and dialogue to support our claims. Through close reading, readers will also learn how to identify the plot of our novel by identifying the series of actions that take place. Readers were delighted to begin this novel and learn even more about the Asian-American experience that blends two different and beautiful cultures!

Learning Centers

This week, Third Graders were excited to jump into Learning Centers that offered a variety of ways to learn even more about our Asia study! Our Learning Centers allowed students the opportunity to make discoveries about the origin of tea, compare and contrast life in China to life in India, and explore the life of the Doplo people who live in the mountain biome of Asia. Ask your young scholar which center was most interesting to them this week!

Important Dates

Monday, Jan. 16                                MLK Day, No School

Friday, Jan. 27                                   Art Walk, 8 am