Market Day: A Morning in Europe

A picture is worth a thousand words.  What a fabulous adventure we had in Europe.  Passports were stamped.  Flags were colored.  Suitcases were filled.  Exotic foods were tasted.  Stories were told about the countries.  Languages were spoken and books were read.  There was a waiting period during adventures with fabulous things to color and puzzle.  All in all it was a grand adventure!

I might be a little biased but I thought the students who presented Russia were just the best of the best!  Everything was student led and student made.  The Kalinsky trees were masterpieces.  The Nutcracker drawings divine.  The Faberge eggs were glowing.  The research boards were creative, informative and well organized.  The opening video had great personalities.  So proud to share Russia with you.  

See you at the edge!

Let Your Creative Juices Flow...

This semester, we have studied and written about many famous people and events.  What if you could give them a gift?

Work with your partner and write a paragraph in Google Docs to answer the following question.  You may post as many times as you like as long as your paragraph is creative and strong.

You could give a gift to ...

• the immigrants from Ellis Island
• the Aborigines
• Dian Fossey
• Francis Scott Key
• Susan B. Anthony
• Nancy Ward
• The Founding Fathers
• Africans who live on the banks of the Nile River

What would you give them and why?  Your starting sentences could be... If I could give a gift to _______________, I would give him a __________.

Write your paragraph and then post it to the blog below!  Good luck!  See you at the edge!

Market Day: We drew Russia!

Privyet (pree-vyet)!  Hello, in Russian.

Market Day is fast approaching.  December 17th, Thursday!  We are super excited about applying for our passports and then visiting Germany, Spain, Italy, England and France.  We are using our credits that we have earned this 9 weeks to pay for the passports as well as entrance to the countries, food and other items.

We will be tour guides through Russia.  We are so excited to learn about the largest country in the world.  Russia is almost twice as big as the United States of America.  Russia is a country in both Europe and Asia.  There are some interesting things in Russia.

• The Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest railway line in the world.  It goes from one side of Russia to the other - 5,772 miles!
• St. Basil's Cathedral was built from 1555-1561.  The building is supposed to look like flames in a bonfire reaching towards the sky.
• The cathedral was built for the Tsar of Russia named Ivan the Terrible.
• The Nutcracker is a ballet that opened in Russia in 1892.  It is performed to music by the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  
• The Russians were pioneers in space exploration.  In 1961, the first human trip into space was successfully made by Yuri Gagarin, a Russian.
• Matryoshka Dolls are sets of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other.  
• Faberge Eggs were created by Peter Carl Faberge from 1885-1917 for the Tsars of Russia.
• Wassily Kandinsky lived from 1866-1944.  He was the first artist to make abstract art. 
• Lake Baikal is the deepest and oldest freshwater lake in the world.  It is located in Siberia.

Please read our comments below to see what we learn about Russia during the next few weeks of school.  Paka (see you later)!

Social Studies Writing: What do you know about what you see?

After looking at the pictures, answer the following question:  Who are Aborigines?  This is an explanatory paragraph.  Just as a reminder, here is a document about what an explanatory paragraph should include.  Make a plan before you begin.  Use your informational text.  Pre-write by adding a Google Doc to your folder in our Google Drive.

We look forward to reading your thoughts.  See you at the edge!

Social Studies: Writing, Dian Fossey

Dian Fossey's work added much to the scientific world.  Your writing challenge is to tell why Dian Fossey felt more comfortable with gorillas than people.  We can't wait to hear what you have to say in your paragraph/s.  Feel free to write on Google Docs then copy to the blog.  See you at the edge!

Enrichment: Plants

This is a plant.  This is a plant with its parts labeled.  You have been working in stations that are all about plants.  Your challenge is to write a paragraph that answers the following questions:  Does this organism create its own energy?  How do you know?  We can't wait to hear what you say about plants.  Make sure you use your research from the stations.  Strong vocabulary is a must!  See you at the edge!

Math: Google Drawings and Area

This is a picture from Google Drawings and you should be able to find it if you sign into Mrs. Shelby's folder she has made for you.  You can draw using Google Drawings and that way you can do math with shapes! You can find this under New when you go to Google Drive!

BUT...  I want you to answer the 3 questions in the comments below.  

1.  What is the missing width?  (Write a number)
2.  How did you find the missing width? (Write an equation and a sentence answer)
3.  What is the total area for both shapes?  (Write an equation)

You can do it!  See you at the edge!

After School: I'm Building...Something

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjXYVpAyYG0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3pbVAYkGf0

Bottle tops and rubber bands,
Empty boxes, varied brands.
Plastic tubs and sticky tape,
Last Halloween's black Vampire cape.
Cardboard tubes and burst balloons,
Assorted bent and broken spoons.
Three magazines, my sister's shoes,
(I took them whilst she had a snooze.)
My winter gloves, a paper bag,
A flapping pirate castle flag.
A pot of glue, some old pen tops,
And two of my mum's kitchen mops.
A pile that's twice as high as me,
A diverse heap, as you can see.
I scratch my head as I begin,
What was I going to build again?
Poem by ©2005 Gareth Lancaster

Tell us about your Dream Car that you will build.  Be creative.  Give us details.  Write your great thoughts below.  We can't wait to read what you are thinking!  See you at the edge!

Veterans Day: We Remember.

This is my dad.  He is a Veteran.  His name is George Washington and he served his Country.  I think that days like we had on Friday at East Chester take on a particularly special meaning when someone you know and love has served.  We remember.

This is our principal Mrs. Kim and our assistant principal Mrs. Spring who believe that school is about growing academically as well as growing as a person.  This is why we are able to have a Veterans Day program.  Our administration serves the whole child.  We remember.

  These are the students who participated in the Veterans Day program.  Some of them had speaking parts, all of them sang 'You're A Grand Old Flag', and all of them stood tall as they said the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag.  We Remember.

 

These are just some of the Veterans who took time out of their day to come to East Chester and allow us to honor them for their service to our Country.  We are thankful to each man and woman who have served.  You are the reason we have the freedom to learn at East Chester.  We remember.

  

            

                            

This is the future of America.  At East Chester, we believe it is our duty to empower the future.  Our future are these students.  We are blessed to teach in a Nation that believes in the future.  We remember the past so that we can build a better future.  We remember.

To the wonderful 3rd graders at East Chester, what do you remember about Veterans Day?  Write your memories in the comment spaces below!  See you at the edge!