Spotlight on Specials
First Quarter
Third Grade ................... Exploratory Team
The teachers of these exploratory classes are committed to inspire the creative genius in all students through art, technology, library media, music, counselor and physical education.
Technology
We started the year reviewing expectations and the Acceptable Use Policy.
Students began working on keyboarding skills. We practice a portion of technology specials working with our Type to Learn Keyboarding Program. Students learned home row finger placement and various keyboarding techniques via lessons and games. Practice time at home tends to increase their words per minute and accuracy level. There are many free sites available. Our portal currently has Ainsworth Keyboarding available to kids for at home practice. Visit my site towards the to learn how to access the portal at home.
Third grade is the first year students have an email account allocated to them. This year we spent quite a bit of time learning how to add contact information and learning the parts and pieces. Coming up we will create a new message, learn about parts of an email, add an attachment, send an email, open an email and reply to an email. We will also touch on email etiquette and appropriate use at school.
Music
Third grade students spent this first quarter preparing for their program, “Pirates! The Musical”. I am very proud of the hard work and effort your children are putting into this project. Their excitement has been contagious! Looking into the rest of the year, students will be working on rhythm and note reading, writing, singing, and playing. We will also begin a recorder unit during the 3rd quarter! Listening is a huge part of music classes. Throughout the year, we will continue to build students’ listening stamina and discover new ways to describe the music we hear. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!
Library
In our library classes we reviewed rules and appropriate behavior, how to care for our books, and the proper use of shelf markers. We also discussed our safety procedures at RE, where we would go, and what our jobs are. We discussed ways to find a “just right” book to check out of the library. We talked about choosing “good fit” books when we come to the library using the acronym “I PICK. We took a look at the nominees for the William Allen White Award. Students are encouraged to participate in the William Allen White Reading Program for 3rd-5th graders by reading books off the lists. Students are able to vote on the book they want to win the WAW award as well as read some different authors they might not have read otherwise. More information is available on my website at: http://riverviewlibrary.weebly.com/
Physical Education
The first few weeks of school were focused on the structure of the class and implementing/practicing our warm-up activities and signals. Students have learned new warm-ups such as Restaurant Race, Turtle Tag, and Clean Your Room.
We then worked on cooperative activities; games and challenges where students have to work with one another to complete a task. We were able to play games such as Yogurt River, Beanbag Bash, Star Wars, and Aerobic Bowling. Students spent a lot of time in small groups and teams to work together.
We also learn a “Word of the Week” – a word that is important in Physical Education. The words we have learned so far are: exercise, cooperation, competition, pace, humility, and accuracy.
We are finishing up our soccer unit. I am very impressed with the talent each student possesses! We have learned many skills, such as toe taps, trapping, passing, “tic-tocs”, and dribbling. Students were able to participate in dribbling games as well as side line soccer and mini soccer games. We also completed the pacer test. The pacer test is a running test that students will complete at the end of each quarter to see how they progress throughout the year. It has been a great start to the 2015-201 school year! Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Art
To kick off the school year, all students created a self-portrait. The self-portraits were made in different colors so that we could create a school-wide rainbow self-portrait mural. The mural is on display in the cafeteria & it looks fantastic!
During the first quarter, third grade students completed three project in art. During the first lesson, third grade students learned about an artist named Peter Anton. Anton is famous for making sculptures of sweet treats. After viewing & analyzing his work, students created a doughnut sculpture out of clay. Students experimented with two clay building techniques including slab and coiling. Next, Mr. Case, our student teacher taught students about four different careers in art museums including : docents, architects, curators, & artists. Students were put in teams of four & each student was given a job. One student built the museum, one selected art work for the museum, one wrote a story to tell others about the art, and one created a sculpture to go in the museum. For the next lesson, Mr. Case taught student about Kandinsky, an artist who’s work was influenced by music. Students made a connect between art, music, & emotions. In art, emotion can be conveyed in the way that we draw lines & use colors. Students created three paintings inspired by three different songs. Their task was to visually depict how the song made them feel.
Counselor
In guidance with Ms. Munsey this quarter we started with getting to know you activities and understanding the role of the school counselor. We also focused on the character trait RESPECT. We spent much of our time discussing and understanding how to be considerate of other people’s feelings and tolerant of differences. During the first quarter we also celebrate Peace Week and Red Ribbon week. During peace week I taught students how to deal with their problems in a peaceful respectful way. We discussed strategies, reporting, and the definition of bullying behavior. Red Ribbon week is October 26th through the 30th. I will be teaching students the importance of healthy choices and good decision making.