October 14th, 2016

Mrs. Brutcher's Class Website
October 2016

We have enjoyed many community building activities that have embraced our Core Values to help us create a
​safe and positive environment.

Students exhibiting our Core Values by showing Mindfulness, Stewardship, Perseverance, Empathy, Integrity,
​Cooperation, and Gratitude. 
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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."
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​Meet Our Friends

​Reading & Writing

Third graders have been working hard to establish their reading and writing routines and procedures. 
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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. 
 

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.