Grade 3 Garden Update

The year is coming to a close but it seems like the garden is just starting to open! Although we are not working on the plant unit anymore, we have been going out to the garden two times a week to weed, water and observe. Many students are volunteering their recess time to be caring to the plants that we are cultivating. The flowers are blooming, the basil is ready for harvest and the beans are climbing higher and higher into the sky as they wrap around each other. Enjoy our photos!

 

Plant Unit Games

Hello everyone. The plant unit is in full swing and we are learning a lot about how plants grow with the

help of technology and how we use plants in everyday life. Here are two games that the Grade 3 Team has found. The students have been enjoying them.

3rd World Farmer

Extinct! Are You Smarter Than a Plant?

 

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!

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.

Mchicha

 Last week, the kids went out to harvest mchicha (spinach) from the garden. We rinsed it off really well, since it was very sandy and then the kids got to work. Ms. Irene led the entire lesson and it was great to learn from her. She taught us the secrets of cooking mchicha and even taught us how to taste your dish like a Tanzanian while cooking. She is a woman of many talents. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• mchicha
• 1 onion
• 4 tomatoes
•  1.5 carrots
• 2 tbs oil
• 2 tbs blue band (butter)
• 2 tbs peanut butter with 1/3 cup hot water
• salt to taste (Irene says "salt is unpredictable, so just keep on adding.")

Cooking Method:

• Heat oil with onions until they are brown. Add carrots in, cover and stir for about 5 minutes.
• Next, add the tomatoes and cook down for a while until it makes a sauce. Add salt and taste the "Tazanian way" (see photos).
• Add peanut butter and keep on stirring.
• Finally, add the mchicha. Cover to let it boil and let it cook down for about 5-10 minutes.

The kids did a great job and the mchicha was delicious!  We even ate it with ugali, and the kids dug in with their hands just like the locals. Some kids even lined up for seconds. Yummm!

 

PYP Plant Unit Guest Speaker

 On Tuesday, Grade 3 had the pleasure of hosting Arran's dad, Mr. Daniel, from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. It was an exciting presentation and the students were captivated by the interesting content, numerous props and audience participation. Mr. Daniel gave a good overview about plants and discussed the plant he works most closely with, the banana.

We learned that the banana actually does not have seeds and farmers need to plant them using cuttings. The difficulty is that banana plants get sick because of nematodes. His organization helps farmers by growing bananas in the lab and giving healthy plants to farmers so that they can have a healthy crop. It was great to learn more about local plants. Grade 3 sends a warm asante sana!

 

Informational Writing: Kids News Websites

 The final writing unit of this year for grade 3 is Informational Reports. Students are researching and
writing reports related to our PYP Plant Unit. Here are some websites for kids that have many examples of non-fiction writing. Kids, take a look through them and see if you can get any tips for your writing. Enjoy!

National Geographic Kids
Scholastic News Online
Science News for Kids
Time for Kids
 

Student Action: Plant Part Presentation

Shortly after arriving to school today after being sick all week, Arran surprised me with this lovely presentation. Nice work Arran!

Plant anatomy from Rorey Risdon

 

Planting in the IST Grade 3 Garden

While I was out sick yesterday with a headache and sore throat, the kids and Irene got to plant our garden with our Resident Gardener Frank. Yes, Frank is our transport manager at IST, but did you know he also runs his own farm? How cool. He picked up some manure and seeds from his farm and brought in so Grade 3 could get their garden started. The kids rolled up their sleeves, and pant legs and left their shoes on the sidewalk. They were ready to plant. I want to send out a special thanks to Irene for taking the photos... now I feel like I can experience it too, with all of you.