Third Day in 3rd Grade!

Today in third grade we went on a field trip to Bonneyville Mill.  I didn’t really know what to expect going into the field trip because I had never been or heard of the place we were going. On our field trip we wear able to see the process in which cornmeal was made, and we also went on a nature hike.  I would have to say that my favorite part was the nature hike.  We walked on trail through woods and saw different types of trees, animals, and learned the difference between some of the berries we were and weren’t able to eat.  At first I was kind of nervous about eating the berries, but I did try them because my students kept asking me too, and much to my surprise they were pretty good!  After we were finished with our tour of the mill and nature hike, we all sat outside under a big pavilion and ate lunch.  We were so blest that today was such a beautiful fall day! :) After lunch, the students were split up into groups of four and assigned to a adult.  We were sent on a scavenger hunt looking for different types of trees.  The students had to record what leaves looked like, draw pictures, and make leaf rubbings.  On the bus ride home I for sure thought the students would be exhausted because I sure knew I was, but since I haven’t been in 3^rd grade for quite a while I forgot how much energy they had. :)

Second day in Third Grade!

Each day I am in 3^rd grade I start to like it a little more. Unfortunately, the teacher I am suppose to be observing wasn’t there, but it turned out to be a good thing.  Since my teacher was attending a meeting about the new academic standards that are going to be taking place here in the next few years, I got the chance to teach some of the math and language arts lessons and read aloud to the students at the end of the day.  This semester I am required to teach 5 lessons to the class.  They can be one-on-one, small group, or whole class instruction.  It all depends on what our observing teacher wants us to do.  I hope I end up teaching 5 whole class lessons because as a future teacher this is what I will be doing the most of and I want to get all that I can out of this 3^rd grade experience.  I am also excited to hear next Wednesday everything my teacher learned about the new academic standards. 



I would have to say the only thing I do not like is how students switch classrooms for different subjects.  I understand why they do, so that way they can divide the students into different group based on the level they are at and so each student can be challenged at the level they are at.  However, I feel like there is so much time wasted and that it is hard to get the students refocused again after the transition.  Throughout the day, the students have five different transitions.  If anyone else has been in a third grade or teach in third grade, I would love to know if the school your at switches for classes and if you felt the same way about how it is hard to get the students refocused again. 

First of Many Craft Nights! : )

Today was the first craft night for me and three of my friends, Erica H., Erica M., and Beth.  We decorated clipboards that we bought by mod podging scrap paper onto them.  This was the first three of us had used mod podge before, so it was a little tricky at first, but by the end we got the hang of it.  (One tip to keep in mind if you ever think about mod podging is to use a ruler to help get all the air pockets out of the paper.) Then, we used ribbons, buttons, flowers, jewels, and stickers to decorate them! It took us a while to complete them, but it was great just spending time with each other.  We plan on having many more craft nights in the near future, and can't wait for the next one.




Here are some pictures of the clipboards we made! : )

 {Erica, Erica, and Beth before we started}

{Beth}

{Erica}

 {Me}

 {Erica and Beth}

 

{Me and Erica}

Trade Fair

This week we had a trade fair in my Social Studies method class for upper elementary.  For those of you who don’t know what a trade fair is, I was right there with you when I first heard about it.  A trade fair is when you bring objects into the classroom and trade with fellow students or the teacher.  In the end, you end up with a different object than you started with that now becomes yours.  The week before the trade fair, I was racking my brain trying to think of something that other would like that I could bring or make.  Well it wasn’t until my friends told me about the website pinterest.com that I found the perfect idea.  I ended up making rainbow cupcakes inside of mason jars.  Here is what I did…

1.Mix a white cake mix as directed. Separate into baggies and then add food coloring to them. Cut corner off baggie.

2. Take the baggies and layer each color until you fill the 1/2 pint jar halfway full of cake batter. If you fill it more than that, it will bake over and out of the jar.

3.Place on a baking sheet and bake at 325 for 45 or so minutes until your knife comes out clean.

4.Scoop the top of the cupcake off.

5. Add icing and decorate as you wish! : )

The next day in class, I ended up trading my teacher my rainbow cupcake for three books, The BFG, Matilda, and Loser.  We talked about how this activity could be used in the classroom to talk about the trading that went on between the French in the Native Americans.  Through this activity, we were able to see what the process of trading could have been like for French and Native Americans and how they may have felt.

Overall, I thought that this was a fun activity that students would have a blast with.  It allows students to actually take part is what is being learned rather that just learning about the topic out of the textbook.  You could also have the students’ journal about being a French or a Native American and the process they went through trading with each other or how they felt to integrate Language Arts into the lesson.

First Day in 3rd Grade!

Today was my first day of observation in 3^rd grade! J For previous observations I have been in Kindergarten, 2^nd grade, and 5^th grade classrooms, so I was very excited to placed in a grade and school system I haven’t been in yet. The 3^rd grade classroom I am in has 30 fabulous kiddos. In language arts, the students are currently doing a novel study on the book Frindle which was great because I had to read and analyze the book for a children’s literature class I had so I didn’t feel lost and was able to jump right in and help the students if they had any questions. However, for math I wasn’t able to see a lesson taught because we had tornado drill. Overall, I had a blast in 3^rd grade and can’t wait for next Wednesday! J

Here is a picture of me on my first day!

What I Found Out...

On Tuesday, my teacher told the class that our assignment for today was to bring in five objects that represented who we were.  I took in a Vera Bradley bag, picture of my fiance and I, a book by Emily Giffin, a girly headband that had a flower on it, and a picture of my grandma and I.  Many of my fellow classmates brought in bibles and photographs, however, I was surprised that I didn't know some of peers as well as I thought I had.  I learned several new facts about some of my peers that I wouldn't have ever known if it wasn't for this project.


*This is a picture of all the objects that represent me and my fellow classmates. :)