Comic Strips

We made comic strips to show what the Wampanoags may have been thinking when they met the Pilgrims.  We used different apps to take photos, draw, and did image searches online and combined the results using our Comic Book app.

Class Poem: I Wish

I wish I could see my future.

I wish the school was made of blue, red, and orange gummy bears.

I wish I could swim in a sea of turquoise blue.

I wish I had the power of fire.

I wish I could climb a mountain that was 1,000,000,000,000,000 feet high.

I wish that the whole class was made out of chocolate cake.

I wish I could breath underwater.

I wish I was an eagle swooping down with the wind to get my prey.

I wish I could climb the Great Wall of China.

I wish I had a white silk dress that swirled like a snowstorm in St. Petersburg.

I wish that I was a wolf with gold eyes and grey and white fur.

I wish I could turn into a silvery fish and swim below the waves.

I wish I had one hundred books at my house.

I wish to be in Seattle among the blue and lime green. 

I wish that I was back in Pennsylvania where my heart is.

Thanks to Diana (poet and mother) for leading us in this writing activity!

How did the change in season affect the lives of the Wampanoag?

To find out, we took some notes from a really awesome website. 

We had to read and then determine the main idea of each paragraph.  Then we had to summarize what we learned.

Publishing Poems

We have been working on publishing poems.   This involves writing, rewriting and changing things, editing, typing, and selecting visuals to go with the poem.  Many of these poems are on display in the hall outside our classroom.  I will try to post more of these poems soon.  This poem was written by me but rewritten with the help of the class.

Ivana Seedatown Visits!

Perhaps you remember that my old friend from college had decided to visit?  And that she loves history?  Well, we all wrote letters to her, telling her about the history of Brattleboro and also about many of the resources available in town today.  This afternoon, she surprised us with a visit!  It was so exciting to share our knowledge with her about the town.

Pumpkin Contest

Our pumpkin display was inspired by a poem called "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams.

Four Book Reviews

          If you pick up a book that is called The Penguin and the Pea and read it you will laugh.  In the pictures the bed has penguin feet.  In the picture they made hand puppets.  It was very funny.  The words are very funny throughout the book.  In the words she says "they lived flappily every after" instead of "happily ever after."  If you ever read this book you are going to blow up because you will be laughing so hard.
    by Sam

          The Penguin and the Pea is funny.  The words are funny because they said "flappily ever after" instead of "happily ever after."  The pictures are funny too.  When she is lying on the ground she did not even want to climb.  I think that picture is funny.  I know you will like this book because it is funny.
     by Vivi

          You will laugh at the book called The Penguin and the Pea.  The words at the end are funny and in the beginning and the middle.  At the end the words were "flappily ever after" instead of saying "happily ever after."  The prince asked for the princess' fin instead of her hand in marriage.  The pictures are funny like when she takes off her rain flippers, they are rain boots.  In the picture before the last one there are angels that are penguins.  You will enjoy this book because it is funny.
      by Cameron

          You will laugh at the book The Penguin and the Pea.  When you read at the end, you will see the words "flappily ever after."  Also the princess is not a person.  She's a penguin!  The picture that is funny to me is the penguin angel.  I think you will love the book.
      by Troy

Downtown Brattleboro

Last Friday we took the Beeline bus into town.  We saw the sites of old mills along the Whetstone Brook, surveyed the businesses in town, and learned more history at the library.  Here are some photos from our trip.   (Thanks to Diana Whitney for accompanying us.)

Tutoring Each Other About Brattleboro History, and a Letter to Ivana

We are learning so much about Brattleboro history.  Some of the students in the class have worked with me during skills block to learn more.  They researched and wrote books on their ipads.  Then they tutored their classmates.

 Also, I just received a letter from an old friend, Ivana Seedatown, who wants to come visit us here in Brattleboro.  She is a historian and so she wants to know lots about Brattleboro history.  The class volunteered to write to her!

NECAPs

It's a special day today!

Third graders are going to work so hard on their NECAP tests!

The NECAP Cheerleaders are rooting for you.

Another Pattern Block Pattern

by Anna and Ava

West Brattleboro Field Trip

Our field trip yesterday was a great success.  I think that many students were skeptical at first about this being a "real" field trip, but in fact we were doing some real field work to learn about our neighborhood. 

We walked down Western Avenue just past the post office and then turned around to come back to school.  Our goal was to find out what types of businesses and other buildings there are near Academy School.  Students worked with a partner to record what they saw as we went along.  Back at school, we cut out the data and sorted into different categories:

1.  stores that help with our needs and those that help with our wants
2.  stores that provide goods vs. those that provide services

Many students were surprised that there were so many services near our school.  They also wished that there were more restaurants and an ice cream shop. An important discussion ensued as to whether Disney World would be a nice addition to our neighborhood.  Most people decided that it would be unfair to displace all the existing businesses and that the noise from a park like Disney World would be disruptive to all the people living nearby.

Pattern Blocks at Choice Time

Each week we have a little bit of quiet work time.  This is a chance for students to finish any incomplete work from the week.  If they are done with their work, they can choose a quiet choice.  Here's a pattern block beehive created by three third graders last week during choice time.  See if you can find three bees in the hive.

How to Work With a Partner

Welcome to third grade!!!

We will do lots of work with partners this year.  Students are using this rubric to learn how to have a good conversation about their work.

Last Day of Third Grade

 We did it!

A Visit to BEEC

Dragonfly Nymph

Our class visited BEEC to explore the aquatic organisms in the vernal pool and pond.  We observed, collected, recorded, and discussed.

Christina helps us learn more about the organisms that we'll be finding.

Aidan and Keegan share their thoughts about snail adaptations.

 Josie observes and draws the vernal pool.

Caddisfly larva case made from small sticks and pebbles.

Salamander larva with gills.

 Collecting organisms at the vernal pool.

 A leech from the pond in a 16 oz. yogurt container.

A frog caught at the vernal pool.

A Visit to the Stream