May 24th - 27th

 Hello room 5!

This week we continued to practice for our upcoming Grade 3 Assembly on Monday afternoon about leadership and making a difference in our community. A reminder to wear formal uniforms on Monday so that we are prepared to showcase our learning with the rest of the school.

In Mathematics, we have discussing mass and what type of measurement we would use, be it in grams or kilograms. We have also started to look back at some of the areas that we have covered this year including patterns, representing numbers and how to create an effective word problem.

In writing, the students were given several picture prompts to choose from and then they had to pick one to write a complete climbing story about. They had to include a great beginning, a problem with attempts to solve the problem and then extend the ending to wrap up their story. Students were also given time beforehand to write out a plan that would help to guide their story.

In Science, we spent some time looking at animals and doing some research about a particular animal of our choice to find out more about their life cycle, adaptations to keep them safe from any predators and interesting characteristics they may have.

In Social Studies, we are reviewing the various countries we studied this year and looking at the pros and cons of each community and the quality of life they provide to each individual who lives there. Students chose a variety of key points they would look for in a country to meet their needs to be comfortable.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

May 16th - 19th

 Hello and I hope all of you are having an amazing long weekend right now!

A very big thank you to all the parent volunteers who were able to come to back to back field trips last week. The students appreciated the opportunities to go and explore the Calgary Zoo on Tuesday and complete their animal scavenger hunts while stopping along the way to sketch a few of the many animals they saw during the day. On Wednesday, the students headed into the downtown area and we studied the many different types of bridges that span the Bow River as well as the many skyscrapers that dot the Calgary downtown landscape. The students were able to sketch the various bridges and find out what types of bridges were and end our day at the Peace Bridge before boarding our bus to return to school.

During our brief time in the classroom this week, we were working on perimeter of shapes in math, piecing together a complete climbing story and looking at how we could create our "own" perfect country that people would want to live in based on meeting the needs of the citizens and keeping a high quality of life.  

Wishing you the best for the rest of your weekend and see all of you next week!

May 9th - 13th

 Hi Room 5!

 Looking toward next week, it is going to be a busy week of field trips! On Tuesday, all the grade 3 classes are off to the Calgary Zoo for an educational day trying to complete our Animal Scavenger Hunt during our time there. On Wednesday, the students from Room 5 and Room 8 will be heading into downtown to our Bridge Walk field trip. A reminder that students need to be wearing their formal uniform both days and also make sure they have a 2 strap backpack, a bottle of water, a good lunch and some healthy snacks, proper footwear to walk all day and appropriate jackets for the weather. Both days will feature a lot of walking and students need to be prepared.

On Thursday, the students of room 5 and 8 started to work on our project of making a difference in our local community. We ventured to a local park and picked up lots of garbage that had been left behind. The students were surprised how much garbage they found, but wanted to make a difference and make this a place that people want to go to and play and enjoy nature.

In Mathematics, we have continued to look at measurement and using a variety of tools to measure the length and width of various items in the class and when to use a paper tape measure instead of a ruler to find an accurate measurement. We also keep looking at comparing numbers and also fractions to see which ones are bigger or smaller.

In Writing, we have looked at endings of stories and how we can extend our ending to satisfy the reader right to the end of our stories. We can use a variety of techniques such as an action, memory, wish or hope or decision for the future. 

In Science, we have looked at the types of bridges and explored the importance of choosing appropriate materials to make sure that bridges will not collapse. We had some hands-on experiments where students worked in teams to create a free standing structure with materials such as straws, cardboard, lego, logs or sticks.  Students found some materials were easier to use than others in the construction process.

In Social Studies, students were asked to pick a country that they would choose to live and provide factual arguments why they would choose that place. A big factor is choosing their country was how would their quality of life increase or decrease from their current life in Canada.

Enjoy your Sunday and don't forget it is formal uniforms on Monday and that homework will be due on Thursday, May 18th because there is no school on Friday.  

 Field Trips:

Our class along with Mrs. Kowalcyzk's class will be going on a Bridge walk to sketch and make observations about various bridge designs.  This will be happening on Wednesday May 18th. Thank you to the parents that emailed and said they are able to volunteer for this trip! We are waiting on bussing information to confirm that the Calgary Zoo trip can go ahead, I will keep you and the student's updated on this one as information becomes available.  Please make sure students are appropriately dressed for the weather on the field trip day(s) and are in formal uniform, wearing comfortable shoes for walking.  Please provide a healthy lunch and large water bottle that can fit in their backpacks.

This month the Grade 3's will be hosting an assembly on May 30th.  The theme is all about being leaders and making a positive difference in our local and global community.  This assembly will be sent home for parents to view through a video format.  As part of the assembly the Grade 3 teachers would like to make a slideshow featuring our Grade 3 students as babies.  This will be a sweet way to say farewell to our Grade 3's and showcase how our world's future is in the hands of these babies:) I am asking parents to please email a baby photo to Mr. Hakes (adhakes@cbe.ab.ca) by May 13th so that I can compile and make the slideshow in time for the assembly. Please send in your child's baby photos!

In writing, we continue to work on adding more details to the body of our climbing stories and recently created a great beginning with a problem and a solution about a mouse in our classroom. The students enjoyed sharing their ideas and realizing how they can vastly improve their stories by adding those extra details to make the reader want to keep reading on!

In Mathematics, we continue to explore fractions and look at how to determine whether one fraction is larger than another and what is our reason why this is true. The students also have been working on representing numbers and looking at measuring time on a calendar, perimeters of shapes and deciding which form of measurement to use, depending on what your are measuring.

In Social Studies, the students wrote a persuasive paragraph as to what country they would choose to live in and why. We explored climate, foods, type of government and access to various services the students saw as important. 

In Science, the students are talking about structures and various types of bridges that engineers create depending on what they are crossing and other natural factors that can effect the bridges being built. Students will have a chance to explore a variety of bridges on May 18th as we explore Calgary's downtown area and the many bridges that span the Bow River.

Enjoy your Sunday and see all of you on Monday morning in formal uniform.

Last Week of April

 Greetings Room 5 students and parents! I hope you have enjoyed a wonderful weekend that featured some beautiful weather to get outside and spend time outdoors!

In Writing, we spent time this week looking at adding greater details to our body in our climbing stories. Looking at a problem and then thinking of creative ways to solve the problems and adding descriptive details while doing so. 

In Mathematics, the students have focused on fraction and looking at the various parts of a fraction - the numerator and denominator and what each means in reading a fraction. The student also worked on reviewing addition, subtraction, number lines and ordering of numbers from least to greatest.

In Social Studies, we spent time researching each country and making notes on the pros and cons of living in each country based on various factors. Each country has good points and next week the students will be sharing their opinions based on what they found out about each country and pick which one they would ultimately choose to live in.

In Science, we continue to explore building and design and discussing how to keep a structure strong and upright. We looked at the work of engineers and how they are able to take a problem and design possible solutions that keep structures safe places that can withstand the natural elements that work against the structure.

****We currently have two upcoming field trips scheduled in a few weeks in May time. The first field trip is Tuesday, May 17th to the Calgary Zoo. The next day, we have our Downtown Bridge Walk on Wednesday, May 18th.  Unfortunately because of bussing availability, these were the only days we can schedule for these field trips. I need parent volunteers' help in order to make these trips happen...I need to have 5 parent volunteers for each day and if we don't get the volunteers in place, we won't be able to do the trips! So please, if you can volunteer for both trips that would be amazing. Please email me at adhakes@cbe.ab.ca to let me know you can help... Thank you very much!***

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and see all of you tomorrow morning!