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!