3rd blog – 3/30

It was so nice seeing you all at conferences and sharing your child’s progress. It’s amazing how far they have come since the beginning of the year!

After exploring different biographies, each student was assigned a person of color to study that has made major achievements or contributions in their field. We are researching people of color throughout history until today who were active in politics, law, science, music, writing, dance, and others. Using the skills we learned during our Lenape research, we began to research and write a biography on our person.

We have been looking at articles, books, books online, and videos to learn as much as we can about our person. Since some of them were alive more recently (or still are), they were able to watch or listen to them. Once we finished taking notes we began turning them into sentences and paragraphs. Paragraphs usually start with an introduction or what the paragraph is about. Then there are supporting details and examples. When a new topic comes up, it’s time for a new paragraph. Then we revised for understanding, edited, and added pictures. I will be sending around the link to all of our books soon!

In Social Studies, we zoomed back into New York City, and started learning about why the Brooklyn Bridge was built. Ferries going across the East River were not the most efficient so John Roebling, a German architect, had the idea to build a bridge. Like the Erie Canal, people initially thought it was a crazy idea, but when the East River froze and Brooklyn residents couldn’t get to work, they realized a bridge was the way to go!

We learned all about the construction of the bridge, looking at old photographs and figuring out the order that the different parts were built. The story of the building of the bridge took one unexpected turn after another. First John Roebling dies from injuries sustained to his foot while scoping the land before the bridge is built. Then, Washington Roebling, his son, becomes paralyzed from “caisson disease” from the different pressure levels in the caisson. Finally, Emily Roebling takes over and the bridge is completed under her direction! After 14 years of construction, the bridge finally opened. We then looked at different photographs from different time periods to see what kinds of transportation crossed the bridge. People were always able to walk across, but the bridge opened to horse and carriages, had trains and cable cars, and eventually cars. What an amazing structure it is!

Math with Luis

In math, we’ve been doing fractions, fractions, fractions! In the past couple weeks, we’ve learned how fractions can represent part of a whole (half of a pizza, five sixths of a cookie, etc.), how fractions can represent part of a set (half of the class, one third of the teachers, nine out of ten scientists recommend this toothpaste!) and which fractions are larger than others. We found what fraction of the class had which eye colors, what fraction of the class had which hair colors, what fraction of the class had more than one pet, and also got to ask the class our own yes/no questions and see how when we add fractions, the numerators add but the denominators stay the same. 

The fractions test was Thursday (3/30), and our next unit will be measurement of mass, volume, and real-life applications of those ideas. We’ll introduce these ideas before break, but the important things come after Passover break. I hope everyone has a great break!

Art with Iviva

Students are working on multi-week Pesach projects, decorating matzoh plates with symbols and images related to the holiday. We can’t wait for you to see them soon! In fact, some might have come home already. 

STEAM with Sammi

In STEAM, the 3rd graders have begun our bridge unit which compliments and builds upon their Brooklyn Bridge unit in social studies. We started off by examining 5 very different bridges and thinking about what materials they were made of, why they were there, why it was a certain type of bridge, and what shapes we could find within the bridge. After we looked at each individually, we were able to think across all bridges and realize that at least 1 arch, triangle, or rectangle could be found in each bridge. Often 2 of these shapes were combined. Students then started their first quick bridge build. With 20 index cards and a roll of tape, they needed to construct a bridge with at least 1 arch, 1 triangle, and 1 rectangle in it.

I hope everyone has a great Passover and I look forward to continuing our bridge study when we get back!

Music with Heidi

In Music class, Third Graders now know the C, C7, G, F, Dm and A7 chords on the ukulele! After singing and playing Michenichnas Adar for Purim, we have been learning the Erie Canal Song. With patience, practice and persistence, Third Graders are steadily growing as learners and as musicians!

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Hebrew with Rimma