Reading with Rover

Our class had our first visit from Rover today.  Actually the dog's name was Juliet.  At the end of the school day the students took turns going to the back of the classroom and reading a book to Juliet.  Juliet and her owner will be back to visit our classroom in the near future.

Lego WeDo 2.0

Our class started their first lego task last week.  They are working on answering the questions, "How can a car go faster?"  All of the steps they are being asked to complete are shown below.  Most groups are beginning to build their race cars now.  Soon they will be connecting them to bluetooth and programming them to move.

How can a Car go Faster?

Friction

Hot Wheel Cars

Pinewood Derby Car

1. In order to answer the question above, watch the first video.  Only watch the beginning of the video about the racecar.  Stop it after this part.  What did you learn?
2. Now watch the next video, “Hot Wheel Cars.”  What did you learn from this video?
3. Finally watch the last video, “Pinewood Derby Car.”  Only watch about five minutes of the beginning of this video. You will watch the rest of the video at a different time.  What did you learn?
4. Now answer these questions.

What are some ways that cars have been improved to become faster?

What factors influence the time a car takes to travel a distance?

5.   Build you racecar.  Use the directions from the Lego app.

6.   Program you racecar to travel 3 meters.

7.   Time how long it takes your car to travel three meters.  Do this four times.  Use a tile floor.

Trial	Time

8. Take the wheels off, time how long it takes your car to travel three meters.  Do this four times.  Use the tile floor.

Trial	Time

9. Now you will be completing the same two experiments but on carpeting.  What do you predict will happen?

10. Now test your car traveling 3 meters.  Put the wheels back on your car.   Do this four times and use a carpeted floor

Trial	Time

11. Now test your car traveling 3 meters.  Take all four wheels off.   Do this four times and use a carpeted floor

Trial	Time

12.  Experiment with the types of wheels you are using.  Use all small wheels or all big wheels, etc.  Have these cars go 3 meters.  What do you notice?  Does the wheel size make a difference in the speed of your car?  Change the pulley system.  Look at the last circle in the create part of the app to learn how to do this.  How does you car work after you made this change?  Why?

12.   Write a paragraph explaining what factors make a car go faster.  If you were designing your own car, what would you do to make it go faster.

Lake Michigan Field Trip

Last week our class learned a lot about Lake Michigan.  The students completed five stations throughout the day to learn more about this great natural resource.  They learned different ways that they can help in keeping Lake Michigan healthy for future generations.  Please ask your child more about this field trip.

Birthday Girl

On Monday was Brianna's ninth birthday.  It took me a couple days, but I eventually remembered to bring her a birthday balloon.  I guess better late than never.  Happy birthday again Brianna.

School Store

It was our turn to run the school store yesterday.  Blake, Charlie and Deagin worked at this sale.  Julian helped get the store ready during the school day.  The sale was a  huge success.  It was the biggest sale of the school year.  This group of students made over $83 for our third grade team.  I had to teach a robotics club after school, so my wife Melissa helped out.  I wasn't able to get a group picture at the end, but a did get a couple of pictures of them getting ready for the sale.  If any parents would be interested in helping out at our next sale in three weeks I would greatly appreciate it.  I will be doing the robotics club and could use some help.

Multiplication Fact Game

Today the students were introduced to a new game.  This game is BigBrainz.  It's an interactive game that helps students learn their multiplication facts.  Third grade is lucky to pilot it this year.  I used in a few years ago with my students and it helped a majority of them learn their multiplication facts.  It was quite successful.  I put a link below for you, so you can learn more about it.  I will try to send a letter home so your child can play it there as well.

BigBrainz

Where I Live

Today the students started to create a Google Slideshow of the different places that they live in.  They used the website listed below to locate their house.  Tomorrow they will have to zoom out and show their city, state, country, continent, and planet.  It is a great activity for them to learn about some of the different communities that they belong to.  I will share some their slideshows when they are finished with them.

Mapmaker

Address:  different for each of us

Neighborhood

City:  Sheboygan

State:  Wisconsin

Country:  United States of America

Continent:  North America

Planet:  Earth (the World)

Tower Challenge

Last week the students competed in another playground challenge.  In this challenge the students used a box of toothpicks and a can of play-doh to construct the tallest tower possible.  They started this challenge by researching on the web different ways to create a tall structure.  Then they design their tower on paper.  Finally they started to build.  Deagin and Haylee built the tallest structure.  The list of team names and heights are listed below.  Each structure was measured in centimeters.  It was a great STEM experience for us all.

Math Playground

Last week I introduced the students to a math website.  This website is mathplayground.com.  They spent a lot of time working on the word problems.  Also, the students were given some time to work on their math facts by playing games on this website.   They were able to create games and play against one another.  Below is the link to this web page.  Everything on the site is free.

http://www.mathplayground.com/

Reading Theatre Scripts

Last week the first group of students performed their reader theatre script for the rest of our class.  They did a great job for their first time reading in front of our class.  They read the story, "Why Rhinos Have Wrinkly Skin."

Math Collaboration

Everyday the students spend at least 15 minutes working in small group solving various math problems.  It's a great way for them to use math talk with friends.  As a class we always talk about how we can learn more from each other than by ourselves.  Below is an example of the types of problems they are being asked to solve during these times.

A marine biologist is studying the different species of sea turtles.  She was able to catch 6 different kinds of sea turtles to get information on.  Below is a table showing the types of sea turtles she caught and the weights of each one.  Use this information to solve the problems below.

Types of Sea Turtles	Weights
Green Sea Turtle	427 pounds
Hawksbill Sea Turtle	135 pounds
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle	83 pounds
Leatherback Sea Turtle	1,567 pounds
Loggerhead Sea Turtle	175 pounds
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle	98 pounds

1. About how much more does the Green sea turtle weigh than the Loggerhead Sea turtle?  Without finding the exact values, tell how you can solve this problem.
2. About how much less does the Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle weigh than the Leatherback sea turtle?  Without find the exact values, tell how you can solve this problem.
3. About how much do the Hawksbill sea turtle, Green sea turtle, and Olive Ridley sea turtle weigh in all?
4. How much more do the Leatherback sea turtle and Green sea turtle combined weigh compared to the Kemp’s Ridley, Loggerhead, and Hawksbill combined?

state populations

1. Find five different states and estimate their populations to the nearest million.
2. Then choose two of these states and find the difference between their estimated populations.
3. Find the estimated sum of these five states.

The Okee Dokee Brothers

The students attended a concert at the Stephanie Weil Center last Monday.  The Okee Dokee Brothers played some bluegrass music for the students.  It was a great way to spend a Monday morning.  I put a link below that will lead you to one of their songs.

Okee Dokee Brothers

Zoo Trip

Our class had a great time at the Milwaukee County Zoo on Friday.  We didn't let the rainy day get in the way of having a fun time.  I hope you enjoy the photographs below.