November News
Ms. Brokenshire's Grade 3 Class
What have we been up to?
We have been learning about the literary genre of nonfiction in our literacy time with a study of the writings of author Gail Gibbons. Students are thrilled to point out nonfiction text features such as table of contents, glossary, and index, and they can explain the difference between a photograph and an illustration, and tell you what a caption is. Just ask! Understanding the parts of a nonfiction text and how to read nonfiction is so important in other subject areas, such as social studies and science.
Speaking of these core subjects, we have just begun an integrated social studies/science theme called "Exploring Cultures". On the social studies side of things, we will be learning about the traditions and celebrations of other cultures, and comparing them to ours here in Alberta. In science, we'll study hearing and sound and integrate it into the theme by learning about the music and musical instruments of other cultures and find out the part that music and the arts play in cultural identity.
In math, we've been working hard to establish routines in our daily math workbooks, the math wall, IXL math on the Chromebooks, a little bit of digging into our math tubs, and having small group meetings with me. We can't forget that Mr. Singh, our student teacher, has been doing a mini-unit on fractions, too. So much on the go in math!
Finally... as always, we have been building up our skills as readers and writers, with a particular focus on writing these past few weeks. Students are learning to write a good lead sentence, then expand their main idea with some interesting details, and finally, to wrap up their piece with a satisfying ending. I have found it is so important to put in place a solid foundation of good writing practices early in the school year. Written expression is an important part of sharing our learning, so developing sound writing skills lets students become comfortable with expressing themselves in a variety of formats, both on paper and through digital means. Reading strategies are currently being taught whole-group with lots of independent practice time in good fit "growth books" as well as opportunities for shared reading in our daily "Pure Pleasure Reading Time". Once I have completed my individual reading assessments, I will be able to meet with students in guided reading groups, and instruction will be centered on individual needs.
All of this, and Mrs. Gustafson tells me it's time to start thinking about learning a Christmas song! :)
Introducing Mr. Singh
Parent-Teacher Meetings
Book Nook
Upcoming Dates
November 18 - Hot lunch (pepperoni pizza)
November 20 - Staff collaboration day
November 24-26 - Portfolio walks in our classroom (click here to sign up online)
November 30 - Parent Council "Sock Scramble" (click here for more info)
December 3 - White Elephant Sale for our class (click here for more info)
December 4 - Staff collaboration day
December 14 - Grade 3 Christmas Concert @ 6:30 pm
December 18 - Last day of classes before Christmas holidays
Contact Info
Email: lorelie.brokenshire@wolfcreek.ab.ca
Location: 5424 50th Street, Lacombe, AB, Canada
Phone: 403.782.8726 (4172)
Twitter: @3_brok