CHAP Projects

Colorado History Affinity Project

You are starting your project this week! Below is what was shared with you about the project, along with a few helpful hints.

Demonstrate Your Learning:  Please refer to the list of ways you might want to demonstrate your learning.  If you have an idea that is not listed, please discuss this with your teacher for approval. Try to use materials you already have at home!  Please don't go out and spend a lot of money on supplies, but instead use resources you have available to you. Creating this project can include appropriate family involvement. You will need to label your project with your name.  This assignment will be completed at home for homework.

Technology Projects

All project completed on a computer need to be submitted to a teacher via e-mail, Google share, or saved on a flash drive.  If the project is completed on a tablet, you might consider bringing in the tablet for your presentation.

Educreations

Glogster

Keynote

Google Slides

Pic Collage

Keynote / Google Slides:  Make sure this is NOT an exact duplicate of your photo essay.  Choose new fun facts to share, give extra details on a specific picture, share music, etc. Write captions for each picture.  Please make sure you create at least 8 slides. Bring your Keynote presentation on a flash drive to present.

Building Projects

Label everything!

Model: building

Model: Bird’s eye view

Diorama

Homemade Scrapbook

Mobile

Memory Box

Map / Flat or Topographical

Paper movie on a scroll

Game

Be creative and have Fun!  This is DUE: FRIDAY, MAY 20!

Doc Grizzly

A Real Mountain Man! 

On May 16 and 17, excitement and adventure are coming to our Third Grade students. Doc Grizzly is coming to Graland. Doc Grizzly is a real Mountain Man. He will teach about an important part of Colorado history. He will demonstrate how traders and trappers lived and what a rendezvous was really like.

On his first visit, Monday afternoon, May 16, Doc Grizzly will show us some of the Mountain Man’s important tools. He will tell stories about how people lived in the mountains in the mid to late 1800’s.

On Tuesday, May 17,^, Doc Grizzly will set up camp on the field. He will pitch his tent, cook his food, share more wonderful stories, and trade with us

Here’s what our students need to do to be prepared for the TUESDAY visit:

·      Come dressed as a mountain man, explorer, settler, trapper, storekeeper, trader, or Native American. (There is no need to purchase a costume. Use things from your own closets.)

·      Bring a dozen items to trade in a plastic bag. Some examples are beef or turkey jerky, beads, buttons, fabric scraps, biscuits, cookies (please bring in the package with the label-homemade baked goods are not allowed), or other small items that you can trade. Be creative with your ideas. There is no need to make major purchases. Just remember that whatever you trade you will not get back. No items containing nuts, please. No chocolate, it melts. You may want to bring in your trading items on Monday (or even the Friday before) so that you don’t forget them on Tuesday.

·      Spend time thinking up a tall tale about your trading items. It makes trading more fun. Your teacher will give you examples.

·      Apply and bring sunscreen; we will be outside for most of the day. Teachers do not apply sunscreen.

·      Bring a water bottle and a towel with your name on it.

Writing Bills

Third Graders are becoming lawmakers and preparing for a Graland Constitutional Convention!

  

    

 

This picture of the House of Representatives is from our last field trip to the State Capitol.

Literacy Alive

Yesterday, the Lower School celebrated literacy with an event called Literacy Alive.  We focused on the 2016 Newbery winner, Last Stop on Market Street.  This book reminds us to focus on what we DO have and to be thankful.

The day started off with a literacy assembly.

Third graders had a choice between four classes (all based on Last Stop on Market Street): Making a collage, writing a postcard, writing the next page in the book, and writing a song.  After the assembly, the students went to the class of their choice.

Later in the day, all four classes met together and shared about their literacy classes.  Six students shared collages, three students shared their postcards, three students shared the next page in the book, and the whole group of singers sang their song.  It was a fun day!

May/June Newsletter

It is hard to believe that this school year is coming to an end. We have had such a wonderful experience with this special group of students, and we don't want to say goodbye! Lucky for us, we still have five weeks left to learn with them! We know there are a lot of activities, late nights, and busy schedules. Please help your child stay organized and get good sleep, as we wrap up this important third grade school year.

The Colorado History Affinity Project is in full swing and we look forward to seeing the first drafts due this Friday, May 6th. We have spent an incredible third grade school year studying Colorado history. Now, they are focusing on one area that really interests them. In the classroom, we are learning about how territories become a state. Students are in the process of writing a Bill that they will propose to the class. Our voting process will culminate at our Constitutional Convention as a whole third grade. Throughout this final social studies unit, we will be answering the following questions:

• What is a territory?
• How did Colorado become a territory?
• Who were the first territory governors?
• What was a Constitutional Convention?
• How was a Colorado territory law passed?
• How did Colorado finally become a state?
• What are some of Colorado's state symbols?

In literacy, we will continue practicing a variety of comprehension strategies, including story structure, monitor/clarify, compare and contrast, visualize, sequence of events, analyze/evaluate, author's purpose, questioning, text and graphic features, and inferring/predicting.

We are studying different phonics skills, grammar, and vocabulary strategies:

Base Words and -ed, -ing, -s, -es endings
Suffixes -ful, -y, -ous, -ly, -er, -est, -less, -ness, -able
Base word and prefix non-, in-, im-, un-, pre-, re-, bi-
Possessive Nouns and Pronouns
Less Common Plurals
Changing Final y to i
Abbreviations
What is an adverb?
Analogies
What is a preposition?

Our classroom writing instruction is now focused on two specific writing traits: voice and word choice. These traits will enhance our students' writing. We will continue to practice brainstorming, editing skills, and development of ideas. Due to the writing portion of the Affinity project, our next Go Write is scheduled for the week of May 9^th.

Students have been working hard in math. We are exploring the properties of angles and lines. This fun unit allows us to do activities that explore our classroom and find angles and lines all around us. Soon, we will begin our study of two-dimensional shapes to wrap up the year. It is still essential that students practice their math facts daily!

As you can see, we are busy in third grade, and we have even more events to look forward to. Mountain Man, Doc Grizzly, will be joining us on the afternoon of May 16, and all day on May 17. More information about this special event will come home soon.

The third grade tradition is to hold our end-of-year party on the last morning of school. Parents and students celebrate at a potluck breakfast on the terrace off the Anschutz Commons. More information will be coming from your room parent, and please plan to join us for breakfast from 8:30-9:30 on June 8^th!

We appreciate all of your support at home! We will be in touch many times over these last weeks. Thank you for a wonderful school year!

The Third Grade Team

Governor's Mansion and State Capitol

We had a fun field trip to the Governor's Mansion and State Capitol last Friday!  I want to say a special thank you to Samantha Thompson and Kim Jacoby for coming with us.

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