Jim Dine vs. Peter Max Comparisons

Third Grade Hot Air Balloons

Third Grade drew hot air balloons and added various lines as details. To color in their designs, they chose one color from the color wheel and filled in the space created between every other line. They then had to use the color wheel as a graphic organizer to figure out what their chosen color's complimentary color would be and color in the rest of the space. For the background, they colored the clouds with white crayon and then painted over them to create a crayon resist.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Using PebbleGo, we learned about the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The students then wrote facts they learned on a Bubble Map. They then chose five facts that they found the most interesting or important and added them to a handprint graphic organizer.

 

The Constitution

For Constitution Day, we used the website www.pebblego.com to learn about the history of the constitution. We then created a Double Bubble Map together to compare The Constitution to our class Social Contract. The Social Contract is a part of our discipline plan through the Capturing Kids' Hearts process. We discussed that The Constitution gives us freedom and rights. The students then wrote at least one thing that freedom means to them.

Inventors: Thomas Edison

Another inventor that we studied in Social Studies was Thomas Edison. After learning about his many inventions and accomplishments, the students discussed how things would be different today if we did not have his inventions. They then brainstormed various modern day inventions that use the light bulb. They drew a light bulb and then wrote some of those modern day inventions around it.

Inventors: Garrett Morgan

In Social Studies we have been learning about various inventors. One of the inventors we learned about was Garrett Morgan. We read a book about his life and inventions from Reading A-Z. As a class the students recorded facts they learned about him on a Circle Map. The students then created a traffic signal, one of his many inventions, to record at least three facts they learned about him.

Main Idea: Snow Camping

In reading the students have been learning how to identify the main idea and topic of a story using details from the text. Because we were learning about camping, we read Snow Camping from Reading A-Z. Using a triangle graphic organizer, the students wrote down key facts about snow camping on the bottom portion of the triangle. After this, they decided what all of the facts had in common to determine the main idea (middle section) and the topic (top section). The triangle graphic organizer can also be used by starting with the details on top.

Space Research Papers

After researching space from various informational texts, the students used their Circle Maps to independently write research papers. Before beginning, we had a mini-lesson on how authors often use a "hook" or something catchy to get a reader's attention. One of the ways we discussed is that author's sometimes ask a question to actually state a fact about their topic. The students all started their papers by ask a "Did you know?" question by stating their most interesting fact. They then wrote at least four more related facts about their topic. They glued their Circle Map and final draft (we always edit writing together) on a black piece of construction paper.

Space Research

In reading we have been learning about informational texts. As a part of those lessons, the students have been using various non-fiction sources to research space. The students were divided into groups. In their groups they chose a specific topic about space: astronauts, space shutttles, stars, the sun, or the solar system as a whole. They worked in small groups with me to research using PebbleGo. They recorded important information on a Circle Map. They then worked together to find book sources to record addtional important information.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In Social Studies the students have been learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We read several books about his life and accomplishments as well as using PebbleGo as a source. The students recorded information on a Circle Map. They then chose five facts that they learned about his life and added it to a handprint graphic organizer.

David: Character Traits

Before Christmas break we read David's Christmas and discussed David's behavior. It was a good way to remind the students that although the break was coming up soon, they still needed to behave. The students then used a character trait template to answer questions about David such as what he looks like, how he behaved, what they would do if they were David, etc. They then colored the template to loo like David.

Auntie Claus

In reading we have been learning about character traits. We recently read Auntie Claus to discuss how the main character, Sohpie Kringle, changed over time. After reading, the students retold the story on a Flow Map. As they retold the story, I introduced vocabulary to describe Sophie's character which we highlighted on the Flow Map. Later the students made connections to the lesson in the story which is that "it is better to give than to receive." They made presents out of scrapbook paper to write down four things you can give to someone that does not have to be bought.

Entertainment vs. Informational Texts

We have been studying Author's Purpose through a variety of texts. To assess the students' understanding, they worked in groups to sort pictures of books on a t-chart. The pictures of books came from Scholastic Book Club mail outs. The students could cut out as many books as they wanted to sort.

Johnny Appleseed

In Social Studies we have been studying about various American legends, including Johnny Appleseed. After watching a quick video about him on Discovery Streaming and reading several trade books, we created a Circle Map together on the Promethean Board. After discussing his various contributions, the students created their own apple trees out of construction paper as a graphic organizer. Each student added five apples to the tree and wrote "Did you know?" facts on the apples.