Ho, ho, ho!

Thanks to Dr. Karen Boyle, Sloane's mother, our third graders donned Santa hats at their holiday party on December 17. During the party the girls decorated the hats with their names, and then today they wore them to lunch. What a festive sight it was to see all these happy Santas having lunch together! We wish all of the third graders and their families a happy holiday and the very best of New Years.

Susan R. Mills

Christine Rogers

Art: Master/Mentor Copies

Third graders have recently completed an in-depth exploration of a master work. Students first chose a portrait painting of a person or people they would like to be their mentor for the next few weeks. Third graders began by looking at their chosen portrait, and noticing everything they could about it. Using the prompt "Imagine you went to a museum and saw a portrait that really struck you. How would you describe it to your family at dinner, so that they could picture it in their minds exactly as you saw it?" students completed a descriptive writing passage about their chosen portrait. We used a peer feedback system for improving writing in which girls read aloud to a partner and their partner gave suggestions for what was missing. 

When it came time to draw, girls made complicated things simple using a variety of strategies. They learned how to sketch their chosen painting by finding the center of the painting, and identifying and copying shapes. They used their fingers and drawing tools to measure proportions and angles. Next third graders brainstormed various ways of changing colors. They realized they could add black or white to make a color lighter or darker, but they also drew on previous knowledge of the color wheel, noting a color can also be made darker by mixing its complement. They examined their paintings, noticing the complexities of color. Girls layered nupastels to achieve the colors they observed, completing large shapes first and adding details second. Third graders used the same partner feedback system for critique as needed. 

Occasionally during the drawing process, third graders were asked to pause and reflect on what their painting was telling them. Once they were asked "Teachers/mentors teach more than subject matter. What is your painting telling you about Bryn Mawr core values today?" Responses included "Be respectful of classmates and try not to talk when they are concentrating!" and "When you're struggling with color mixing, be resilient and try something different." Third graders drew upon these conversations after completing their master study. As a reflection, students created a comic in an iPad app called "Strip Designer" to show what their painting taught them about art and core values. 

Students also returned to their descriptive passage after drawing, adding new things they noticed. They realized that to draw is to see. The third grade will create a treasure hunt in which the viewer will be challenged to find a portrait based the descriptive writing passages. 

Next time you visit a museum, ask your third grader if she would like to bring paper and a pencil to draw what she sees! 

The Hour of Code

Last week, Mrs. Mills' class participated in The Hour of Code "a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries."  The girls used Tynker to continue learning the basic of programming.  We compared this app to Scratch Jr. and discussed the similarities and differences across apps.  Upon completion, each student was award a certificate of completion.Mrs. Rogers' class will complete this after winter break.      

We have also been busy working on our Brush Bots.  Brush Bots are made by attaching a battery and vibrating motor to a toothbrush head.  All Bots will be competing in the Brush Bots Winter Olympics this week!

From the Library

Thirteen Ways to Raise a Nonreader

by Dean Schneider and Robin Smith
originally printed in the March/April 2001 issue of The Horn Book Magazine

1. NEVER READ where your children can see you.

2. PUT A TV or COMPUTER in every room. Don't neglect the bedrooms and kitchen.

3. CORRECT YOUR CHILD every time she mispronounces a word.

4. SCHEDULE ACTIVITIES every day after school so your child will never be bored.

5. Once your child can read independently, THROW OUT the PICTURE BOOKS. They're for babies.

6. DON'T PLAY board games together. Too Dull.

7. Give little REWARDS for reading. STICKERS and plastic toys are nice. MONEY is even better.

8. Don't expect your children to enjoy reading. Kids' books are for TEACHING vocabulary, proper study habits, and good morals.

9. Buy only 40-watt bulbs for your lamps.

10. Under NO circumstances read your child the same book OVER and OVER. She heard it once, she should remember it.

11. Never allow your child to listen to BOOKS ON TAPE; that's cheating.

12. Make sure your kids only read books that are "challenging". EASY books are a complete WASTE OF TIME. That goes double for comic books and Mad magazine.

13. Absolutely, positively NO READING IN BED.

Got Squeebles?

The third graders certainly do!  On Tuesday the girls discovered the features on the Squeebles app that makes practicing multiplication facts so much fun.  As the girls worked together to figure out the answers to facts, we could hear lots of "good math talk."  When one third grader didn't know the answer to 9 x 4, her classmate said, "Remember you can multiply 9 x 2 and double the answer."  This handy app allows the girls to select the facts they want to practice, keep track of the "tricky" facts that stump them, and even see how fast they can supply the answers, if they want to time themselves. The girls worked enthusiastically throughout the period!  Who would have guessed that learning math facts could be such fun?

  

 

Mrs. Mills, Mrs. Rogers, & Mrs. Broadus

Math Facts

The girls' knowledge of their multiplication facts continues to grow!

Be sure to ask them their special tricks!

Math: Associative Property of Multiplication

Ask your girls about the ASSOCIATIVE PROPERTY OF MULTIPLICATION and they will tell you that...

regardless of how you group your factors, the product is the same!

Code Talk

During the month of November the girls have been working hard in Scratch Jr.  They have learned how to do a variety of things including moving a sprite from scene to scene, telling a story, creating talking sprites, and much more!  We will continue to work on coding during December by participating in the Hour of Code.  Students will choose from a variety of programs to increase their programming skills!

Soaring News, Paws and Claws

Soaring high in the library, Wild Wings hears the different points of view from all the animals!

For this month's book report, the girls created clever animal masks to represent the main characters in the books they read.

 Each writing piece described a favorite scene from their book and was written from the animal's point of view. 

Their creativity is never ending! 

A Joyful Conclusion

Watching the movie Because of Winn-Dixie with your daughters, after we have read and discussed the novel, is one of our third grade traditions. While Mrs. Rogers, Mrs. Hanley, and I enjoy this well-executed film version of the book every year, we loved your daughters' response to the film. They were excited to see each character make his or her appearance in the film, they were quick to take note of the differences between the book and the movie, and they were so caught up by the happy ending that they sang and clapped right along with the characters as the movie drew to a close. Their delight in the film revealed how much this poignant story by Kate DiCamillo has come to mean to them this fall. Reading in class and independently, the third graders are demonstrating through their class discussions and their well-prepared book reports how they are practicing the art of reading thoughtfully.

In the last scene (below) from the movie Because of Winn-Dixie, the characters gather to celebrate their newfound friendships.

From the Library

Third graders have been reading a few " clever strong girl" books with a few old favorites mixed in. Happy Like Soccer is a new book in which city-kid Sierra makes a plan with Coach Marco so her auntie, who works on Saturdays, can finally come see a game. Author Maribeth Boelts also wrote the discussion-spurring picture book Those Shoes. Clever Beatrice is set in upper peninsula of Michigan, near the Canadian border (so we talked a bit about geography around the Great Lakes). Ask your daughter how Beatrice outsmarted the Giant. This book reminded us of Jack and the Beanstalk. Old favorites included Bernard Waber's Ira Sleeps Over and Fred Marcellino's I, Crocodile (a nice link between Egypt and France). We are now reading a couple of books by Tomi Ungerer, including the mystical Fog Island (was it just a dream?).
Third graders have become experts at the Thesaurus Game. They are told the part of speech and how many strands of synonyms the word has. They listen to all the synonyms and guess the original word. We will continue to expand our vocabulary and stretch our brains with this thesaurus "work".

Art: Op Art Pyramids

Third graders have been looking at works of art by Bridget Riley in order to find out more about Op Art. They noticed how her early work used contrast, pattern, and value to create optical illusions. They noticed her later work looks significantly different, and learned that this change happened after a trip to Egypt where she was inspired by the work of the past. Girls practiced being inspired by the work of the past as they recreated patterns they observed in ancient Egpyptian art. 

Next they chose four adjectives that describe aspects of their personalities. They created optical illusions and patterns that match each of these adjectives, being sure to include a pattern inspired by ancient Egyptian art. Third graders added these designs to a pyramid template using pencil, permanent marker, and drawing tools, and then used hand-lettering techniques to add text of their chosen adjectives to the base.  They cut, folded, and assembled the paper pyramid. Girls practiced precision throughout the unit. Ask your third grader which was the hardest/easiest step for her, and why. Also ask her how she created a pattern that somehow depicted an adjective. 

Math: Commutative Property of Multiplication

Ask your daughter about the COMMUTATIVE PROPERTY OF MULTIPLICATION...

and she'll tell you that ORDER DOESN'T MATTER.

Art: Third Graders Explain Clay Artifacts

Third graders created clay objects to represent things that are important to them. They will store these tiny sculptures in their "time capsule" boxes. Girls explained why they chose their items and how they made each sculpture using coil, slab, and pinching, and mark-making techniques.

Room Service With a Smile

Earlier this week I decided to join the girls and wear my pajamas to school. The opportunity to order breakfast from my hotel room in Paris was so inviting. 



Their excitement was well understood as I observed the first room service phone call.  








The girls spoke French with confidence and listened to each others' reply with equal understanding.

Every student was able to place her order and selected hot chocolate and a croissant with butter or jam, or even both.  

Smiles continued as time was available for warn refills!

Merci beaucoup Madame Gray for the delicious delights of learning!