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9/3/2018 0 Comments September 03rd, 2018Welcome to Third Grade! BIG IDEA: ADAPTATION Enduring Understanding: Change is envitable, nothing ever stays the same. Essential Questions: Why do people make changes in life? How do non-living things change? We have all had to adapt to being in a NEW grade with a NEW teacher. We have spent a lot of time getting to know each other and creating our "school family." The 1st Day of Third Grade! Exploring Our Core Values 6th Grade Buddies Science Our first Unit in Science relates to physical science, so we started by introducing the 3 main branches of science. Physical science is the study of matter and energy. Life science is the study of life and all living things and Earth and Space science is the study of Earth and what it's made of. Space science is the study of other planets and our star, the Sun. We used a RAN chart to incorporate opportunities for students to use nonfiction text to research what science actually is. We listed what we "thought we knew" and then verified our facts and identified misconceptions. We found that science is all around us! As any good scientist who explores observations and answer questions we learned how to follow the 6 rigorous steps of the Scientific Method. We explored the six steps through various experiments. We also learned that matter is everywhere around us and is anything that has mass and takes space. It comes in 3 forms: solid, liquid and gas. Through the way of different observations and many experiments in class, we evidenced just that! Ask your child what happens to a paper towel that is inside of a cup when the cup is submerged into a bucket of water! Ask them to explain their answers! You can also ask your child how matter changes when energy is added or removed....we learned first hand that the changes that take place can be yummy! Math In Math, we started off the year exploring how numbers can be expressed, ordered, and compared. Students can now write multi-digit numbers, use place value to compare, order, and round numbers as well as describe number patterns. We then learned how place value can help add larger numbers. Addition properties such as (the commutative, associative, and identity) helps to add numbers more easily. We also explored how to round numbers to estimate sums to check to see if our answer was reasonable. We are now solving multi digit addition and subtraction problems (and how to add to check your answer) with regrouping! Estimation and mental math strategies and are important to learn because they can be used to check your work! Students do quick math or fast facts everyday to improve math fluency. When we are computing such big problems this really helps with accuracy and ease of solving such big problems. We have also been learning how to solve word problems using different strategies to decide which operation to use. Looking for key words and making sense of problems by drawing them out really help students to make a plan of how to solve. Students are also using computer programs for challenge work and remediation and are encouraged to do these at home as well to further their understanding. Programs we use are iXL and Dreambox. Social Studies In Social Studies we started off the year learning about South Carolina's six regions and four major rivers. We have also learned about the American Indians of South Carolina and how they interact with their physical environment, the Spanish and French explorers and their attempts to settle in South Carolina. Next month we will study the new colony of South Carolina, the Lord Proprietors and the pirates who sailed the seas off the coast of South Carolina. ELA We have spent the first few weeks so school building our reading and writing routines and procedures. We have worked to build our reading stamina through independent reading, buddy reading and read alouds. In reading, we have been learning to check our understanding of text we read and learning strategies to to decode unknown words including cross checking the pictures with the words and asking ourselves if what we are reading makes sense. We are working to build our own menu of strategies for students to choose from to support their reading comprehension accuracy, fluency, and increase our vocabulary. Students have been exploring with answering “right-there” and “author and me” questions with text. Students have been using texts to prove their answers while also learning to restate questions/prompts in their answers. In writing, we have been building our stamina through free writes! We have also been exploring writing fictional narratives. We learned how to organize our writing by including a beginning, middle, and end. In our beginning, we learned how to hook our readers, develop main characters, and introduce settings while using sensory details. We learned how the middle of our writing is the “meat” of our writing and how events can be told in sequential order using transitional words and phrases. We also learned how to use adjectives and dialogue to spice up our writing. For our endings, we learned how to close our stories and how to include conclusions that show how the characters changed throughout the story and also lessons learned. Jepson Center Field Trip
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3/23/2018 0 Comments Mrs. Brutcher's May NewsletterWe ADAPTED to Third Grade and SURVIVED! Field Day Owens-Thomas House & Jepson Center Field Trip Cabbages Students grew their cabbages from seedlings! They measured and watered them weekly and researched ways to help them grow! Finally, their cabbage heads were big enough to harvest! They cut the roots, cut up the pieces, and Chef Lisa cooked them! She made two different flavors including teriyaki and southern style! All of the students got to taste the cabbage! The southern style cabbage was the class favorite! Shoe Box Habitat Projects Students researched various habitats including the rainforest, arctic, grasslands, and the ocean. Each student chose a habitat to create out of a shoebox. Students had to include animals and plants that live in their habitat and explain how they structurally and behaviorally adapt to their environments. Students shared their learning with their peers through a gallery walk. Then the students got to create their own imaginary animals that would be able to survive in their habitat and explain how these animals would adapt. Portfolio Night 2/6/2018 0 Comments February 06th, 2018Mrs. Brutcher's March Newsletter Our 6th Grade Buddies
Valentine's Celebrations! To spread the love on Valentine's Day, we made cards and decorated and filled treat bags with our 6th grade buddies to give to the children in our local CAPA program. To spread love within our own classroom, each student picked words to describe their peers and provided evidence to support their words. Then, the students wrote their words and descriptions on each person's Valentine's bag! ELA We have dug deep into so many reading and writing concepts and skills this trimester! We just finished up our figurative language unit as we learned about similes, metaphors, idioms, onomatopoeia, hyperboles, personification, and alliteration! We can identify these types of figurative language and use them in our writing as well! We made posters providing examples and illustrations of each! Who is telling the story is a question we ask ourselves every time we read a book! We learned how to identify the narrator of stories and how to identify and write in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person points of view. We learned key words to look for and how different characters can have different perspectives of the events that take place! It is amazing to learn how people can see things totally different! This concept is also helping us to see things from different perspectives with our classroom peers! We have been working hard to identify and use nouns, proper nouns, plural nouns, pronouns, homophones, compound words, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs in our reading and writing! We have also began learning how prefixes and suffixes can help us determine word meanings. We practice our skills daily with word sorts by first sorting words, matching them, checking our answers, writing them, defining them, and creating sentences for each sort! We finished our Sounder read aloud and watched the movie! We have really enjoyed being able to compare and contrast the movie and the book and actually see the story characters come to life!  MATH In Math, we have learned about the associative property and writing and evaluating expressions! The students enjoyed learning the order of operations using the sentence, "Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally!" We learned to solve numbers in parenthesis first, followed by exponents, multiplication and division, and then addition and subtraction! We also analyzed single and multi step word problems and created and solved expressions for them too! Students learned to use fractions to represent numbers equal to, less than, and greater than one. They have been solving problems that involve comparing fractions by using visual fraction models and strategies based on noticing equal numerators or denominators and cross multiplying. The students were able to share their knowledge about fractions by creating their own fraction pizzas! We have also explored measurement through capacity and mass. We learned how liters, milliliters, grams, and kilograms can be used to measure with and solved a variety of capacity and mass word problems. Next, students explored how to Represent and Interpret Data. We began with collecting and recording data using tally marks and frequency tables. We then learned about scaled picture graphs. We learned that picture graphs have keys to analyze. The key will often provide a number that is represented on the graph. Students then learned about line plots to represent data! The students came up with their own survey questions and collected data to create their own graphs! Science In science, we have started to learn about life. This leads us to our Cabbage Project. We have integrated math (measurement) into our study of cabbages. Students measure their cabbages in inches each week using a ruler. We look at the growth in both length and diameter. Students record this growth by creating bar graphs, drawings pictures, and writing notes about what they notice and have learned about their growing cabbages. Social Studies This trimester in Integrated Studies, we learned about The Civil war and its impact on slavery and the South Carolina economy. The students were excited to learn about the very first submarine that sunk an enemy ship, the "H.L. Hunley." We had a wonderful field trip to Braxton Bridge Plantation where we all enjoyed watching a battle reenactment.
The reconstruction, which lasted 12 years, came with a price for South Carolinians. The war had destroyed the land, the work animals and the farm equipment and therefore cotton production was low. Cotton mills gave them a chance to try something new. Unlike the farm, a mill job provided steady pay and people enjoyed it. Even though the working conditions were very hard and dangerous not to mention child labor, mill villages became very popular. During WWI many South Carolinians made a lot of money. Farmers began to grow more cotton to keep up with the demand. People adapted to war time to save food. Many women worked in jobs that only men were allowed to do before the war. Black American soldiers were not treated equally after they returned from Europe. Then came The Great Depression, which greatly affected people all over the country! The New Deal program helped improve our state and provided jobs for many South Carolinians. The bombing of Pearl Harbor led our country to enter WW2. After the war many companies built factories in South Carolina, which caused people to move into the cities to find jobs. Entrepreneurialism emerged. New inventions created many jobs, and the economy was booming in the 1950's. The students enjoyed being able to pretend they were entrepreneurs and wrote and shared inventions of their own that they believed would improve lives today! 11/18/2017 0 Comments November 18th, 2017Mrs. Brutcher's January Newsletter We are PUBLISHED AUTHORS! Our third graders became published authors this trimester! We created our own class book titled How Core Values ROCK Our World! The students wrote acrostic poems and opinion essays to teach ways that Riverview's core values can be integrated into our daily lives. The students also showed their core values in action by illustrating pictures and capturing moments through photography of their own learning as the core values were being displayed. We got to experience first hand the editing and revision process and see how our hard work paid off. Camp Flintlock Field Trip Students traveled back in time to the 18th century when our nation was born. They learned about early American history, from the Revolutionary War to the everyday Colonial world. They experienced living like George Washington, Molly Pitcher, and Daniel Boone did in the 1700s. All of the activities were designed to promote a historical perspective while building character and having fun. Camp Flintlock Descriptions of Activity Stations: Indian Necklace Making: Students made an authentic style necklace using glass beads and hair pipe beads made from buffalo horn and buffalo bones. Quill & Ink Writing: Students used a turkey feather quill & bottled ink and learned to write like Thomas Jefferson. This is one of our most popular stations. Indian War Paint & Story: Students listened to the story of James Smith who was captured and adopted by Indians. Then they tried on some Indian War Paint for themselves. Colonial Games: Students had fun playing period games such as: Cup & Ball, Bilbo, Graces, Nine Pins, Pickup Sticks, Hoop Racing, and Tug-of-War. Knot Tying: Students learned some basic knots such as: the square knot, the granny knot, the bowline knot, and others. Tomahawk Throw: Students learned to throw an Indian style tomahawk at a wooden target. Colonial Dress Up: Student dress up involved trying on reproductions of 18th Century clothing. Colonial Store: The store had Authentic Period reproductions for sale. Some of the items sold were arrowheads, paper fans, and flutes. Shrek Field Trip
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Holiday Celebrations
To help others in our community, our class connected with our local CAPA (Child Abuse Prevention Association) organization. The students created a list of "treat bag items" that they could bring in. The students decorated their bags and filled them with a variety of holiday goodies including goldfish, gummies, rice crispy treats, candy, hats, and gloves. The students enjoyed being able to help other children in their very own community to have a special holiday.
We also enjoyed sharing a holiday lunch with our families and having our own class celebration! We went on a Christmas scavenger hunt to learn interesting facts about the holiday, shared holiday treats, and watched a holiday video!
We also enjoyed sharing a holiday lunch with our families and having our own class celebration! We went on a Christmas scavenger hunt to learn interesting facts about the holiday, shared holiday treats, and watched a holiday video!
Math
In Math, we just completed our study of multiplication and division. Students are working towards memorizing their times tables. You may be curious as to why your child needs to memorize the times tables? Just like learning to walk before you can run, learning multiplication and memorizing the times tables are building blocks for other math topics taught in school – higher learning such as division, long multiplication, fractions and algebra. Students who have not memorized the times tables will find these levels of math much more difficult than they need to be. There is no time to pull out a calculator or to take 20 seconds to work out a math strategy before coming up with the answer. Students who have not mastered their tables will very often fall behind in math (and other subjects that use math) and begin to loose confidence. All because they did not memorize the times tables! Memorizing can be facilitated by concentrating, rehearsal and memorization techniques. Remember to focus your limited time on the facts that need to be learned. By removing the facts they already know and by learning the reciprocal facts together (i.e., 6x7 and 7x6), there are surprisingly few left to memorize. Review all facts occasionally to make sure they have been retained in long-term memory. Music, stories and visual associations can help with retention.
ELA
In reading, we have been working in small groups based on our reading and word work individual needs. We have participated in novel studies and have explored main idea, supporting details, internal and external characteristics, and plot. We have just started exploring the different text structures authors use to write. We just finished up learning about descriptive writing which includes writing on a topic, providing details to support the topic, and using adjectives and adverbs to describe or "spice up" our writing. We also identified different texts with this text structure. We are becoming experts with finding evidence in text and working so hard to improve our reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension! We are learning to LOVE reading!
In writing, we have focused on opinion writing! We learned how to state our opinion and how to provide reasons and examples to support our opinions. We used the OREO graphic organizer to help organize our thoughts with multiple topics. We wrote our first drafts, peer edited our writings, and published our final copies to tell what the BEST part of our holiday break was! We have enjoyed learning how to be persuasive as we try to persuade our readers to agree with our opinions!
In writing, we have focused on opinion writing! We learned how to state our opinion and how to provide reasons and examples to support our opinions. We used the OREO graphic organizer to help organize our thoughts with multiple topics. We wrote our first drafts, peer edited our writings, and published our final copies to tell what the BEST part of our holiday break was! We have enjoyed learning how to be persuasive as we try to persuade our readers to agree with our opinions!
SCIENCE
The science unit for the second quarter is Earth and Space. We started our unit by talking a little bit about the history of inventions and technology in general, from 17,000 B.C. with the birth of pottery to the invention of microprocessor in 1970.
We then focused our discovery on our Blue Planet, its four layers and the three category of rocks, their cycle and their properties. Finally, this led us to talk about our planet seismic activity, the tectonic plates, earthquakes, volcanoes and the Ring of Fire.
We then focused our discovery on our Blue Planet, its four layers and the three category of rocks, their cycle and their properties. Finally, this led us to talk about our planet seismic activity, the tectonic plates, earthquakes, volcanoes and the Ring of Fire.
10/6/2017 0 Comments
November 17, 2017
Mrs. Brutcher's November Newsletter
Portfolio Night
The third grade students took their families on a gallery walk to share the learning that has taken place during the first trimester. The students were so proud of their perseverance and hard work.
Empty Bowls & Stop Hunger Now
Every student at RCS was able to help prepare food for those in need. The third grade students helped by cutting cabbages and mushrooms. Then the students and their families were able to taste the soup they helped to prepare while also realizing that some families' bowls are never full.
Students helped to package 40,000 meals to send to victims of recent Hurricanes. It was truly amazing to see the team work in action as each student had a part in getting the meals packaged, weighed, sealed, and boxed up ready for shipment.
Students helped to package 40,000 meals to send to victims of recent Hurricanes. It was truly amazing to see the team work in action as each student had a part in getting the meals packaged, weighed, sealed, and boxed up ready for shipment.
Our 6th Grade Buddies!
The 3rd grade students meet with their 6th grade buddies every week! They have helped us edit our fictional narratives and cooperated with us as we engaged in various morning meeting team building activities! You can truly see amazing relationships beginning to grow!
Reading & Writing
In Writing, we finished our personal narrative unit and jumped right into writing fictional narratives! We had a blast creating our characters as we learned how to describe our characters' internal and external characteristics. We then learned how to create and describe the settings of our stories by stating what we see, hear, and smell in our stories. We learned how to create and decipher between different types of conflict including character vs character, character vs self, and character vs nature and then how to create solutions to solve our problems! We used the narrative writing checklists as a guide to check our work for elements of fictional narratives and to determine personal goals of what we should work on next.
In Reading, we have been working hard in our small guided reading groups. We have been locating evidence in text with "Right There" questions and also using the text and our own knowledge and experiences with "Author and Me" questions. We have been analyzing character traits and how characters change throughout a story. We have been identifying the main idea of stories and details that support the main ideas. We have also been exploring cause and effect relationships.
In Grammar, we have been working hard with our "Grammar Boot Camp" activities! We have been learning and continuously reviewing nous, proper nouns, verbs, verb tenses, adjectives, synonyms, antonyms, commas, prefixes, and suffixes. We have been integrating our grammar skills into our reading and writing everyday! It has been neat to see how using prefixes and suffixes can help us read new words, spell new words, and also help us understand the meanings of words.
In Reading, we have been working hard in our small guided reading groups. We have been locating evidence in text with "Right There" questions and also using the text and our own knowledge and experiences with "Author and Me" questions. We have been analyzing character traits and how characters change throughout a story. We have been identifying the main idea of stories and details that support the main ideas. We have also been exploring cause and effect relationships.
In Grammar, we have been working hard with our "Grammar Boot Camp" activities! We have been learning and continuously reviewing nous, proper nouns, verbs, verb tenses, adjectives, synonyms, antonyms, commas, prefixes, and suffixes. We have been integrating our grammar skills into our reading and writing everyday! It has been neat to see how using prefixes and suffixes can help us read new words, spell new words, and also help us understand the meanings of words.
Math
In Math, we now have a good understanding of Multiplication and Division. We can solve these problems by using a variety of strategies such as drawing equal groups, arrays, or related addition/subtraction number sentences. We are also learning how to use a multiplication table and the patterns that exist within them. We will be starting our quick math drills again after Thanksgiving Break with a focus on Multiplication and Division.
Science
Our first unit was on Physical Science. Students got excited about the overview of the branches of science and how science has changed our world.
We defined that Matter is everything that is around us that has a mass and takes space.
We then introduced the 3 forms of matter Solid, Liquid and Gas. We backed up our statement by making many predictions and doing all kinds of experiments. We compared our predictions to the results. The students were amazed and they learned so much by doing…and they loved it!
The highlight of our experiments was the launch of a rocket! Using a plastic water bottle three tongue depressors and the small cork the student had to build their own Rockets. The full was vinegar, the retardant was tissue paper, and the reactor was baking soda. We showed them what the final product look like but we never gave them any directions. The idea was for them to try once, observe and reflect upon what happened and why it happened. Then based on their result, they had to modify their rocket hoping for a better second launch!
We defined that Matter is everything that is around us that has a mass and takes space.
We then introduced the 3 forms of matter Solid, Liquid and Gas. We backed up our statement by making many predictions and doing all kinds of experiments. We compared our predictions to the results. The students were amazed and they learned so much by doing…and they loved it!
The highlight of our experiments was the launch of a rocket! Using a plastic water bottle three tongue depressors and the small cork the student had to build their own Rockets. The full was vinegar, the retardant was tissue paper, and the reactor was baking soda. We showed them what the final product look like but we never gave them any directions. The idea was for them to try once, observe and reflect upon what happened and why it happened. Then based on their result, they had to modify their rocket hoping for a better second launch!
Social Studies
In social studies, we are learning about the Road to Revolution. Students summarized the causes of the American Revolution including; Britain’s passage of the Stamp Act, Tea Act, and the Intolerable Acts; also the rebellion of the colonists and the writing of the Declaration of Independence. The solution for the revolutionary colonists was to form the patriotic group called the Sons of Liberty. Students discovered the true meaning of “No Taxation Without Representation.” Students also compared the perspectives of South Carolinians, during the American Revolution, including Patriots, Loyalists, women, enslaved and free Africans, and Native Americans. Then they reviewed the battles of the Revolutionary War such as; The Battle of Charles Town, King’s Mountain, Cowpens, and Eutaw Springs and how the British wanted to reoccupy the southern colonies.
8/21/2017 0 Comments
August 21st, 2017
Mrs. Brutcher's October Newsletter
Welcome to Third Grade!
Our Core Values
Students exhibiting our Core Values by showing Mindfulness, Stewardship, Perseverance, Empathy, Integrity,
Cooperation, and Gratitude.
Cooperation, and Gratitude.
BIG IDEA: ADAPTATION
Enduring Understanding: Change is envitable, nothing ever stays the same.
Essential Questions: Why do people make changes in life? How do non-living things change?
We have all had to adapt to being in a NEW grade with a NEW teacher. We have spent a lot of time getting to know each other and creating our "school family."
Reading & Writing
Third graders have been working hard to establish their reading and writing routines and procedures.
In reading, students have engaged in small group novel studies and independent literacy activities including Read to Self, Word Work, and Read to Someone. We are working to build our reading stamina and improve our reading accuracy, fluency and comprehension.
In writing, students have focused on writing personal narratives. They have worked to "hook" their readers and are now learning to use transitional words and phrases to make their writing clear and easy for readers to follow.
In reading, students have engaged in small group novel studies and independent literacy activities including Read to Self, Word Work, and Read to Someone. We are working to build our reading stamina and improve our reading accuracy, fluency and comprehension.
In writing, students have focused on writing personal narratives. They have worked to "hook" their readers and are now learning to use transitional words and phrases to make their writing clear and easy for readers to follow.
Science
The first thing we did in Science this quarter was to look at the sun using eclipse glasses and some of us even got to
watch the eclipse in the path of totality!!! What a nice way to kick off the school year!
We created our own solar eclipses using flash lights (sun), play dough (moon), and an orange (earth). We enjoyed being able to measure, observe, and experience how solar eclipses occur!
Our first science unit has focused on Physical Science. Students have learned about the branches of science and how science has changed our world. We used the scientific method to engage in several science inquiry activities.
*We created "singing balloons" by blowing balloons up and pinching the neck of the balloon as we began letting air out. We saw how the tone of the balloons changed depending on how far we stretched the neck of the balloon. We saw how the rubber vibrated and created sound.
*We explored atoms, elements and molecules by conducting an experiment called Float and Sink. We used objects from around the room that were made up of different properties and made predictions on whether or not they would float or sink. We tested and compared our predictions with the results.
*As we explored solids, liquids, and gases, we wrote about which type of matter we think is most important and why! We explored what happens when solids and liquids are combined! We mixed baking soda with vinegar and saw how gas was created!
watch the eclipse in the path of totality!!! What a nice way to kick off the school year!
We created our own solar eclipses using flash lights (sun), play dough (moon), and an orange (earth). We enjoyed being able to measure, observe, and experience how solar eclipses occur!
Our first science unit has focused on Physical Science. Students have learned about the branches of science and how science has changed our world. We used the scientific method to engage in several science inquiry activities.
*We created "singing balloons" by blowing balloons up and pinching the neck of the balloon as we began letting air out. We saw how the tone of the balloons changed depending on how far we stretched the neck of the balloon. We saw how the rubber vibrated and created sound.
*We explored atoms, elements and molecules by conducting an experiment called Float and Sink. We used objects from around the room that were made up of different properties and made predictions on whether or not they would float or sink. We tested and compared our predictions with the results.
*As we explored solids, liquids, and gases, we wrote about which type of matter we think is most important and why! We explored what happens when solids and liquids are combined! We mixed baking soda with vinegar and saw how gas was created!
Math
In Math, we started off the year exploring how numbers can be expressed, ordered, and compared. Students can now write multi-digit numbers, use place value to compare, order, and round numbers as well as describe number patterns. We then learned how place value can help add larger numbers. Addition properties such as (the commutative, associative, and identity) helps to add numbers more easily. We then learned to round numbers to estimate sums to check to see if our answer was reasonable. We are now solving multi digit addition problems with regrouping! Estimation and mental math strategies and are important to learn because they can be used to check your work!
Social Studies
In social studies, we started off the year learning about South Carolina's six regions and the four major river systems. Then, we began learning about the American Indians of South Carolina and how they interacted with their physical environments. We learned about the Spanish and French explores and their attempts to settle in South Carolina and created advertisements to try and persuade settlers to travel to our new land!
3/30/2017 0 Comments
May 2017
Mrs. Brutcher's Spring Newsletter
Field Day
"Eat Smart" Service Learning Project
"Eat Smart" Service Learning Project
ELA
SCIENCE
Social Studies
MATH
3/11/2017 0 Comments
March 2017
Mrs. Brutcher's March Newsletter
BIG IDEA: ADAPTATION
Enduring Understanding: Actions Have Consequences
Essential Questions: What causes war and what are the consequences?
How is our planet evolving over time?
Enduring Understanding: Actions Have Consequences
Essential Questions: What causes war and what are the consequences?
How is our planet evolving over time?
ELA
In ELA, we have soared with our guided reading groups. We are becoming experts with finding evidence in text and analyzing and comparing characters and stories. We have focused on elements of folktales and explored types of folktales including fairytales, myths, legends, tall tales and fables. We have also used these stories to practice retelling stories and determine author's purpose, author's perspective, and point of view. We can identify if a story is written in first person, second person, third person limited, or third person omniscient AND we can write in different points of view!
We continue to build our stamina to read independently and are working to use our strategies to decode unknown words and their meanings. We have reviewed prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, antonyms, compound words, contractions, and homophones. We have also been strengthening our writing conventions and editing skills while we peer edit our friends' writing samples as well as our own.
We continue to build our stamina to read independently and are working to use our strategies to decode unknown words and their meanings. We have reviewed prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, antonyms, compound words, contractions, and homophones. We have also been strengthening our writing conventions and editing skills while we peer edit our friends' writing samples as well as our own.
Social Studies
In Social Studies students have been exploring the following:
- World War II and how it affected the people of South Carolina, and changes in agriculture, industry, and home life following the war.
- Racial Discrimination in South Carolina and the U.S., and the fight for civil rights, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- South Carolina's state and local branches of government and civic responsibility.
- Our Essential question in Social Studies was "What causes war and what are the consequences?"
Math & Science
In Math we’ve focused on Fractions and Measurement. Students learned to use fractions to represent numbers equal to, less than, and greater than one. They have been solving problems that involve comparing fractions by using visual fraction models and strategies based on noticing equal numerators or denominators. We have recently moved into Measurement and have been discussing the following essential questions: When would it be best to estimate the mass of an object and when would it be best to get an exact measurement? What is the difference between the items you measure in grams and those you measure in kilograms? Does a large object always have a greater mass than a small object? How you might decide whether to measure capacity in milliliters or liters? Ask your child what they think?
In Science, we have started to learn about life! We looked at and explored different organism's life cycles. This lead us to our Cabbage Project. We have integrated math (measurement) into our study of cabbages. Students measure their cabbages in inches each week using a ruler. We look at the growth in both length and diameter. Students record this growth by creating bar graphs, drawings pictures, and writing notes about what they notice and have learned about their growing cabbages.
In Science, we have started to learn about life! We looked at and explored different organism's life cycles. This lead us to our Cabbage Project. We have integrated math (measurement) into our study of cabbages. Students measure their cabbages in inches each week using a ruler. We look at the growth in both length and diameter. Students record this growth by creating bar graphs, drawings pictures, and writing notes about what they notice and have learned about their growing cabbages.
BTR Pep Rally
We had so much fun preparing for the BTR pep rally! We made signs encouraging people to sign up to help raise money for RCS! We showed spirit by creating our own noise makers, painting our faces, and cheering on our third grade friends and teachers in the dance off and the relay race!
Hunley Field Trip
We enjoyed our trip to Charleston to see the REAL Hunley! The H. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War. The Hunley demonstrated the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare.
Celebrating 100th Day of School with Kindergarten
We enjoyed celebrating the 100th day of school with our Kindergarten friends by visiting their 100th day museum! We got to see all of the creative ways the students represented their 100 days of learning!
11/3/2016 0 Comments
February 4, 2017
Mrs. Brutcher's Winter Newsletter
BIG IDEA: ADAPTATION
Enduring Understanding: Actions Have Consequences
Essential Questions: What causes war and what are the consequences?
How is our planet evolving over time?
Actions Have Consequences
To integrate our big idea of actions having consequences, students wrote New Year's Resolutions to show how their actions can have positive consequences on their lives. Students worked in cooperative groups to identify specific ways they could show each of our Core Values. Then the students identified areas that they individually wanted to improve upon and tied their goal to the appropriate Core Value. Students had to identify their personal goals and create a plan to help them reach their goal.
To integrate our big idea of actions having consequences, students wrote New Year's Resolutions to show how their actions can have positive consequences on their lives. Students worked in cooperative groups to identify specific ways they could show each of our Core Values. Then the students identified areas that they individually wanted to improve upon and tied their goal to the appropriate Core Value. Students had to identify their personal goals and create a plan to help them reach their goal.
Frampton Plantation Field Trip
Holiday Celebrations
Empty Bowls & Stop Hunger Now
"Litter Trashes Everything" Puppet Show
We VOTED!
Challenge Island Field Trip
Portfolio Night
Math
Our essential questions that we have been exploring in Math are What does multiplication and division mean?, What is the importance of patterns in learning multiplication and division?, What strategies can be used to learn multiplication and division facts? and How can multiplication and division facts with smaller numbers be applied to larger numbers? Students are also now applying their knowledge of multiplication and division to properties and equations. We stress that using models to represent these operations will help students more easily solve problems that require abstract reasoning.
Social Studies
Students have been connecting our Big Idea: Adaptation and our enduring Understanding: Change is inevitable, nothing ever stays the same and Actions have Consequences to our study of South Carolina history. We’ve looked closely at our essential questions such as: How did war change the lives of slaves on South Carolina Plantations?., What role did the Confederate submarine, the H.L. Hanley had on the Civil War?, How did reconstruction affect South Carolina? and How did the Cotton Mills help keep people afloat after war? As we continued to study the Civil War, we took a field trip to Frampton Plantation. Students were able to see first hand the confederate and union uniforms, the horses’ role during war, the types of weapons and how they were fired, different types of furs and what they were used for, and a relic of the Hunley. When students returned they sketched, labeled and created their own Hunley and explained how it impacted the Civil War. Recently we analyzed photos of mills and mill workers, ads and newspaper articles on Cotton Mills. Students were able to choose an activity such as: creating their own child labor schedules, making a persuasive poster convincing people to come work in the mills or integrate writing by analyzing a picture of mill workers and producing an informative, entertaining or persuasive (author’s purpose) writing piece.
Science
This semester our science unit focused on Earth and Space.
We started out learning about the history of technology and inventions from when pottery was invented to when electricity was discovered and to today’s human genome and space shuttle!
We then explored our planet and talked about the 3 categories of rocks and their cycles. Our students were fascinated by the different layers found beneath our feet, unleashing plate tectonics, mountains, volcano eruptions and earthquakes.
The important role erosion plays on our planet led us to talk about the weather and its consequences in our lives.
We also learned about the history of astronomy including why we have seasons and how the phases of the moon work.
Understanding what our solar system is made of and how it functions was key to a better understanding of what our galaxy, called the Milky Way, is and it also helped us realize how insignificant we are among billions of other galaxies within an ever expending universe.
These lessons were all supported with videos and hands-on experiments.
We started out learning about the history of technology and inventions from when pottery was invented to when electricity was discovered and to today’s human genome and space shuttle!
We then explored our planet and talked about the 3 categories of rocks and their cycles. Our students were fascinated by the different layers found beneath our feet, unleashing plate tectonics, mountains, volcano eruptions and earthquakes.
The important role erosion plays on our planet led us to talk about the weather and its consequences in our lives.
We also learned about the history of astronomy including why we have seasons and how the phases of the moon work.
Understanding what our solar system is made of and how it functions was key to a better understanding of what our galaxy, called the Milky Way, is and it also helped us realize how insignificant we are among billions of other galaxies within an ever expending universe.
These lessons were all supported with videos and hands-on experiments.
ELA
In Writing, we have been focusing on persuasive writing. We learned how to state our opinions and provide reasons and examples to support our opinions. We have been using the CUPS strategy to edit our own work and peer edit other’s work by checking for capitals, noun and verb usage, punctuation, and spelling. We have also been learning how to form and support opinions with nonfiction texts. We are able to use actions and dialogue from text to support our opinions.
In ELA, we have continued our small guided reading groups. Groups have focused on CAFE strategies to improve their Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and to Expand their vocabulary. Specific reading strategies we have focused on include identifying the main idea of texts while providing supportive details, retelling texts, making inferences, comparing and contrasting characters, analyzing how characters change overtime and identifying internal and external character traits,
In ELA, we have continued our small guided reading groups. Groups have focused on CAFE strategies to improve their Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and to Expand their vocabulary. Specific reading strategies we have focused on include identifying the main idea of texts while providing supportive details, retelling texts, making inferences, comparing and contrasting characters, analyzing how characters change overtime and identifying internal and external character traits,
10/14/2016 0 Comments
October 14th, 2016
Mrs. Brutcher's Class Website
October 2016
October 2016
We have enjoyed many community building activities that have embraced our Core Values to help us create a
safe and positive environment.
safe and positive environment.
Students exhibiting our Core Values by showing Mindfulness, Stewardship, Perseverance, Empathy, Integrity,
Cooperation, and Gratitude.
Cooperation, and Gratitude.
BIG IDEA: ADAPTATION
Enduring Understanding: Change is envitable, nothing ever stays the same.
Essential Questions: Why do people make changes in life? How do non-living things change?
We have all had to adapt to being in a NEW grade with a NEW teacher. We have spent a lot of time getting to know each other and creating our "school family."
Enduring Understanding: Change is envitable, nothing ever stays the same.
Essential Questions: Why do people make changes in life? How do non-living things change?
We have all had to adapt to being in a NEW grade with a NEW teacher. We have spent a lot of time getting to know each other and creating our "school family."
Meet Our Friends
Reading & Writing
Third graders have been working hard to establish their reading and writing routines and procedures.
In reading, students have engaged in small group novel studies and independent literacy activities including Read to Self and Word Work. We are working to build our reading stamina and improve our reading accuracy, fluency and comprehension.
In writing, students have focused on writing personal narratives. They have worked to "hook" their readers and are now learning to use transitional words and phrases to make their writing clear and easy for readers to follow.
Math
In math, students practice their math fluency by completing daily "math facts" with addition and subtraction. They complete "problem of the day" questions and are shown videos that help them connect their learning to their daily lives. Students receive whole group, small group, and individual instruction and support to differentiate learning based on individual needs. Concepts and skills learned so far include ordering, comparing, and rounding numbers, identifying patterns in numbers, and adding and subtracting two, three, and four digit numbers with and without regrouping.
Science
Our first science unit has focused on Physical Science. Students have learned about the branches of science and how science has changed our world. We used the scientific method to engage in several science inquiry activities.
*We sorted items brought from home into different types of science based on their characteristics.
*We explored sound by creating tools (cones) to make it easier to hear faint sounds and created "singing balloons" by blowing balloons up and pinching the neck of the balloon as we began letting air out. We saw how the tone of the balloons changed depending on how far we stretched the neck of the balloon. We saw how the rubber vibrated and created sound.
*We explored atoms, elements and molecules by conducting an experiment called Float and Sink. We used objects from around the room that were made up of different properties and made predictions on whether or not they would float or sink. We tested and compared our predictions with the results.
*As we explored solids, liquids, and gases, we wrote about which type of matter we think is most important and why! We also engaged in Soda Science and explored which soda (coke or diet coke) is denser and why.
*We sorted items brought from home into different types of science based on their characteristics.
*We explored sound by creating tools (cones) to make it easier to hear faint sounds and created "singing balloons" by blowing balloons up and pinching the neck of the balloon as we began letting air out. We saw how the tone of the balloons changed depending on how far we stretched the neck of the balloon. We saw how the rubber vibrated and created sound.
*We explored atoms, elements and molecules by conducting an experiment called Float and Sink. We used objects from around the room that were made up of different properties and made predictions on whether or not they would float or sink. We tested and compared our predictions with the results.
*As we explored solids, liquids, and gases, we wrote about which type of matter we think is most important and why! We also engaged in Soda Science and explored which soda (coke or diet coke) is denser and why.
Social Studies
In social studies, we started off the year learning about South Carolina's six regions and the four major river systems. Then, we began learning about the American Indians of South Carolina and how they interacted with their physical environments. We learned about the Spanish and French explores and their attempts to settle in South Carolina and about the Lord Proprietors and the pirates who sailed the seas off the coast of South Carolina. Ask your child who they would chose to follow: Anne Bonny, Stede Bonnet, or Blackbeard? Next we will study the life in colonial South Carolina and how the colony affected the Cherokee and the conditions of slaves.
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