We are having lots of fun with the in class field trip! We have borrowed a big box of artifacts from Fort Calgary. We have been using the Thinking Routine of 'See, Think, Wonder' to closely observe one (as yet unidentified) artifact and several photographs. After we have looked really closely at all the pictures, we will try to decide which country they come from. They can be from one of the four countries we study as part of the grade three curriculum. Ask me what these countries are and which continents they are part of. You might also like to have a conversation about land mass and decide which of the four countries would fit inside Canada! We were sure about three of the countries but there was some dispute about the last. 

You can see from the pictures how engaged we were!

When we were looking at the one artifact, we wondered how long it was. We decided that if we were 'out in the field' we might not have access to a ruler. Like when we estimated, we decided that we could use a referent. Ask me what my referent for 1cm is! Tomorrow we will practice estimating using our eye alone then our referent. We should see that using a referent makes our estimates more accurate. Let me show you how I know I start from 0 when I use a ruler to measure and how I can measure accurately.

Great news! IXL is up and running. Your child has a letter explaining how to get to the website and what their user name and password is. I would recommend you use this site to review and practice math skills and concepts covered in class. For example, all sections in the Understanding Multiplication subheading, and Rounding under the Estimation and Rounding subheading would be great to review. Just remember that this site was created in the USA so there are some things that do not match our curriculum. For example, we just learn up to 5 X 5 for multiplication, with emphasis being not on rote memorization but on a deeper understanding. If you want to double check anything, you can Google Alberta Program of Studies, grade three. 

Housekeeping:

Important letter went home today

Field trip - 27th February - we will need volunteers

Next week we will be building musical instruments in the class. Please send in recycling materials and materials you have lying around the house that can be used. Be creative!