Oh all the snow stories! Coming back from Mid-Winter Break is always fun as I get to hear all about their adventures creating amazing games and gadgets at Kids Co. or being snow bunnies up in the mountains somewhere! We got to write about and share some of our silly stories before jumping into two new units on opinion and persuasive writing and fractions!
Having Opinions that Matter! How can we, as 3rd grade writers, write and present a persuasive speech on a topic that we are passionate about? Our newest Writing unit is all about seeing a problem in the world as a challenge and having the passion to envision a solution. The Changing the World Writing unit has officially begun! We have been listening to and reading the script of famous American speeches, from Dr. Martin Luther King to John F. Kennedy, to Chief Sealth, studying what makes a powerful and persuasive orator and writer. I also had the class tackle a quick write on why QAE should send a class to Dwankhozi in Zambia, Africa. They had just 15 minutes to prepare a speech and should be proud of the hard work and writing that they were able to complete! Two brave students gave their speech to the class as I captured the video with my iPad. The work doesn't stop there! Moving forward, we are exploring how positive change in the world begins as an idea and how we can have opinions that matter. We are working towards developing a strong thesis and supporting our thesis with strong details, facts, or examples. Already I see great motivation and excitement bubbling within the class at the challenge presented within persuasive and opinion writing. | Drafting, Drafting, Drafting... Our PBL continues as we have worked hard to create our first draft blueprint of our living wall and have successfully practiced giving and receiving constructive feedback from our peers! I am excited to see all the wonderful planning come together in their final blueprints. Next steps we are going to tackle the PTA by writing and giving a speech on why a living wall is important and sharing our final blueprint designs. Moving forward with our PBL, I am calling all parents who have an interest, curiosity, or expertise in construction or architecture to email me as we will need support in making our living wall a reality! About Our New Homework Sheet A quick note about the new format of your student's homework sheet. The expectation is that every student is reading every night, and I am now only asking for brief notes as what happened in their book or a personal reaction. ST Math, X-tra Math, Word Study and Flashcards are not expected every night, but do mark when practiced or when time is spent on such. ST Math should only be about 30-45 min a week. |