I spent most of my vacation traveling far west of Massachusetts. I started off in Snowbird, UT for the Gates Foundation ECET2 convening. Over 300 teacher leaders were invited from all over the United States to come together and talk…
What Makes our Writing Worth Reading?
We have been hard at work on our writing skills. Students have been learning strategies to hook their readers and keep them glued to their story. We’ve been analyzing what authors do and we notice there are many common features…
Padleting Together
With the iPads rolling in on Monday, it was a perfect time to talk about our planet research. I asked students to think of what is important to learn when studying planets. Instead of having them raise their hand and…
Economic Literacy
Is your child Economically Literate? You might be surprised at the answer! Over the past several weeks, Ally’s mom has been coming in to Room 204 to present lessons from Junior Achievement as a curricular tie-in to our Social Studies…
Multiplying Maestros
I’m really old, but yet I can still remember learning my multiplication tables when I was in 3rd grade. Mrs. Lynch would have us listen to each times table as a song on her record player, and I could sing…
Long Winter Weeks Ahead…
I am glad that we can soon put these short weeks behind us. As much as I enjoy the long weekends and vacations, the shorter weeks are a challenge when it comes to squeezing everything in. The upcoming months represent…
Next Generation of Assessment Systems
Usually around this time of year, I am writing newsletters about preparing 3rd graders for MCAS. MCAS has been a reality for students in my class since I began teaching third grade 9 years ago. Though the content has adapted…
Keeping Resolutions
“Every day, we decide who we will be by the actions we take.” Inevitably, this time of year brings about thoughts of reflection, resolutions and resolve. I like that Jan 1st falls roughly in the middle of the school year.…
How to Keep a Wave Upon the Sand
This past week, I watched the live broadcast of one of my favorite childhood movies, The Sound of Music. A line from one song stood out to me – “How do you keep a wave upon the sand?” The struggle…
Cup Factory
If this is third grade, that must mean we will learn multiplication! We’ve been exploring multiplication models, and discovering the relationship between factors and products. To demonstrate our understanding, students have been working with product cups in our Cup Factory.…