Grace Takes Action!

A few days ago Grace came to school with a website that she wanted us to check out. It is called Canadian Gardening and has a lot of information about various plants. She showed us around and gave us a grand tour. Check it out if you have time! One of the articles I recommend is 12 Ideas for Your Edible Garden.

Canadian Gardening


 

Planting our Seeds

About a week ago the kids planted the seeds that they brought in for homework. Some were found outside and others within food. We gathered the necessary materials and the kids went at it.

I wanted them to try to plant without me telling them what to do so they had at it. Some kids planted the seeds deep and others shallow, some put in only one seed and others added many. And then came the water. Wow, the variety in the amount of water was amazing. Some kids even added leaves at the top for nutrients. The kids recorded their process in their science journal.

Overall the kids had fun, but the wait has been the most challenging part. Especially since my seeds grew really tall in only two days. I may have cheated though... I planted seeds from a seed pack bought at the store!

Today the kids are taking their pots home to care for them over the holiday. I can't wait to see how they turn out. Neither can the kids. Grow plants, grow!

Kid Created: Inspirational People Video

As part of their end of unit project five students wanted to put together a video about inspirational people and who inspires us at IST. The planned, wrote, filmed and edited it themselves with some help with our tech teacher Ms. Elif. They did such a great job. Check it out!

 

2014 Grade 3 Aquathon

My kids impress me everyday, but last Friday... wow, was I blown away! My students participated in the Grade 3 Aquathon and got to run, swim and cheer for others. Bright and early first thing in the morning they put on their suits and trainers and got set to run 2-3 laps around the field and then jump into the pool and swim for 3-4 laps.

Although it was quite a challenge, they did so well. They really did a phenomenal job. Nice work 3R!

 

Observing Nature

Yesterday between the rain in the morning and the rain in the afternoon, we headed out with our science notebooks, clipboards, pencils and magnifying glasses to examine plants. The students came tup with great observations and were excited to show others what they found.

Thinking Routine: Connect-Extend-Challenge

Currently I am taking two classes to keep my teaching mind fresh. It is difficult to take classes in TZ and the internet is a wonderful thing for professional development opportunities. The two classes are on differentiation and visible thinking. I am talking with my kids open and honestly about my continued learning and they know that I am trying things out on them.

Today I tried a new visible thinking routine called Connect-Extend-Challenge. We watched a time lapse video of a watermelon growing and they had to write sentences fitting each category on three separate stickies. It was a good thinking activity and the students came up with some great thoughts. The extend part was the most challenging for them and I need to reflect on how to rephrase it and make it more clear, but all in all, it was great.

Try it yourself if you like. Watch the following video and then write one sentence for each of the three prompts. See what thinking comes out of it.