STEAM Buddies

It has been wonderful working with our third grade STEAM buddies so far this year! Here are a few of the challenges we've worked on: 

Paper chain challenge - Buddies were given one piece of construction paper to make the longest paper chain possible. It was great to see partners collaborating and sharing strategies! 

Photo Credit: Mrs. Cupit

Snap Cube Creations - Students used snap cubes to create different objects! When we finished students took a gallery walk around our classroom to see other creations. We will explore the object cards again using different materials in the future. 

Photo Credit: Mrs. Cupit

Shape Snow People!

We spent the day before our winter break making Shape Snow People! Our snow people are looking up into the sky at the snow which is why you can't see their eyes. To create our snowmen or snow-women we used a variety of different shapes from our geometry unit: trapezoids, triangles, circles and rectangles! 

Our snow people on display on the bulletin board outside of our classroom!

Geometry!

We have started our study of two-dimensional shapes in math! We have talked about the following shapes: circle, triangle, square, rectangle, trapezoid, rhombus and hexagon. We have thought of many different examples of each shape that we see everyday at school and at home! Students have been working hard on an activity called "Pattern Block Fill-Ins" that involves using pattern block shapes to fill in an outline. After students fill in their outline they have to record how many blocks of each shape they used and find the total number of blocks they used! 

Students complete their Pattern Block Fill-In using our classroom pattern blocks and then record their work by gluing paper pattern blocks onto their outline.

We have also been playing a fun game called "Fill The Hexagons." Students play in pairs and each partner has their own game board. Each player rolls both of the game cubes. The player takes the pattern blocks shown on the cubes and places them anywhere on the game board. Students have to think carefully because once a pattern block is on the board it can't be moved. The game is over when one player has filled all of their hexagons! 

Classroom Compost

During the month of September, we worked together to create a see-through compost container. We read the book, Compost Stew, by Mary McKenna Siddals and illustrated by Ashley Wolff, and had a discussion about composting. Last year, students had the chance to learn about composting during our spring greening day and remembered a lot of information! We are observing a banana peel, lettuce and a piece of newspaper as they decompose. Stay tuned for updates! 

Our compost container; the banana peel, lettuce, and newspaper. 

Elmer Elephants

Our elephants on display in our classroom!

During the second week of school we spent time as an entire first grade reading the book Elmer by David McKee. Elmer has a wonderful message about celebrating our unique qualities and appreciating how everyone is different! After we read the book, students created their own patchwork elephants using tissue paper, paintbrushes and a glue mixture. Students had a lot of fun and each elephant is beautiful! 

Welcome!

Welcome to our classroom blog! I will be posting news, information and photos here throughout the year. I hope to see each of you at the Open House and Ice Cream Social on September 2nd at 5:00 pm. Enjoy the final weeks of summer! 

Miss O'Brion :)