Thoughts on a Friday....

I finished up the last of the Spring Conferences yesterday.  Thank you all for taking time to meet with me to discuss your child.  They have all shown such nice progress.  It was great to share that with each of you!  

There is always so much going on here it is hard to decide what to share.  But today was a very fun day.  We had dancing this morning.  This was the students' second day of dancing.  They worked on the merengue (mer-eng-gay) and also the hustle.  It was hysterical.  I stayed and participated and it was quite a work out.  I have to thank my dance partner, Mr. Stevens, for working patiently with me.

Partners got ready to dance!

Please check out the dancing videos on Twitter @ewatsonroom102

Also this afternoon we did a science experiment, which leads to introduce Ug and Grock! 

Meet Ug and Grock  

Ug and Grock are the two cavemen that need some help solving some problems.  Today, they had to decide on a way to get apples from the top of the tree.  Around them they found a rock and a large log.  

Students suggested catapulting the "smaller guy" high up into the air, but I told them that poor Grock was, in fact, afraid of heights. So he couldn't stand on Ug's shoulders either.  Wait!  After some discussion we saw that perhaps the two could made a "seesaw" and lift Ug.  But how?  They don't balance on the seesaw.  How can we make it work?  Ask your child! 

We did an experiment to investigate how to lift a larger load.  We used words like bar, fulcrum, load, and force as we explained our thinking.  We used gram counters to measure our findings. Then we talked about how the science word for the seesaw is actually, a "lever".  It is a SIMPLE MACHINE!  

Check out our groups! 

Should we move the fulcrum closer
to the load or the force?

Table 6 learned that precision matters!

Table 2 is thinking about their answer! 

Then students shared their learning 

and reasoning. 

They loved manipulating Ug and Grock on the lever! 

Connecting Reading to the Real World

As I shared with parents at conferences we are working on some PARCC practice.  Yesterday the students read an article entitled "A Howling Success" by Gerry Bishop.  The article shares how wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in an effort to increase their dwindling population.  In 1995, Yellowstone started the Wolf Project.  They captured 14 wolves in Canada and brought them to Yellowstone. Over time they have increased their numbers and changed the ecosystem of Yellowstone.

PARCC practice 

Because I am a teacher (and part nerd) I remembered seeing a video about how the scientists involved in the project shared their findings.  I searched for it and then found a great video that shared how the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone, after a 70 year absence, has now changed the entire ecosystem, including the rivers.  What?  How?

We watched that today in class.  I shared the link below.  Instead of just reading about wolves, they SAW them chase their prey and HEARD them howl. They saw the animals whose populations have increased due to the wolves.  They saw how the land changed and then eventually the rivers.  

Wolves and the Rivers!

As an added bonus... Some new words we talked about were :

• ecosystem
• prey
• predator
• livestock
• carcass (or carrion)
• reintroduction
• plentiful
• Endangered Species Act
• the "lower 48"

Wheelock Reads! Read All About It....

It is important to mention how our very special Wheelock Reads program started.  Wheelock Reads began in 2002 as a way to celebrate the life of Natasha Domeshek.  Natasha was a third grader at the Wheelock School who passed away unexpectedly.  Natasha was artistic, creative and loved to read. She loved to spend time at the Wheelock library! 

• Wheelock Reads will continue up until April vacation!

What else will we be involved in?  Here are just a few!

School Story

An iPad will be passed around and each class will add a page to the school story (in Book Creator).

Read Across America Trivia

Each morning during the week, we will ask students a trivia question about Dr. Seuss during announcements. All correct answers were then entered into a lottery and the winner for the day will receive a Dr. Seuss book. Stay tuned for the winners!

Book Shares

Bring in a favorite book to share.  Pair up with a classmate and read your books to each other.

Caught in act of reading #CaughtReading on Fridays! 

Prepare to be caught...Olivia was already caught last week! If you’re caught reading by the library staff or your teacher, your picture will be taken and posted on the library website and Twitter.  You can also choose a book from the library raffle cart.

Drop Everything and Read

Drop what you’re doing and join kids and adults around the building in celebrating reading together by...reading!

Wheelock Wake-Up Words & Story Clues 

(Mondays 3/7-4/11)

The best way to start the day is with wonderful words to say.  Listen each morning during Wheelock Reads for a fun or inspiring poem, quote, or riddle.  Stay tuned for an occasional Story Clue, where you are given several clues and must guess the story.  Answers will be posted the next day on the library bulletin board.

Bookmark contest

Draw your very own bookmark for Wheelock Reads. Blank bookmarks will be sent home to design.  The winning bookmark from each class will be photocopied for the rest of your class to keep.  

Mass Reading Readathon (3/7-4/1) 

For every 1 minute students read, they will earn 1 mile on the Mass Reading racecourse.

Horrible Harry Challenge (3/7-4/1)

Try to complete the Horrible Harry Challenge!  Can you read at least 18 of Suzy Kline’s Horrible Harry books?  

Pick up a bookmark in the library to keep track.  All who complete the challenge will receive a Who Was bookmark, an I Survived the Horrible Harry Challenge button, and learn the secret HHC handshake!

Wheelock Reads T-Shirt & Button Day (3/14 & 4/11)

Wear Your Words 3/23

Express yourself with words!  Everyone is encouraged to wear school appropriate t-shirt with writing on it.  It will be the loudest quietest Wednesday ever!

Book Choice Awards

Do you have a favorite picture book?  Do you want to share its awesomeness?  You’re welcome to read it during lunch and promote its power!  After a week of hearing several choices, students will vote on their favorite.

Read at the Beach or Courtyard

Classes are invited to come down to the library or courtyard to sit back, relax and read silently.  For Read at the Beach, please bring your own towel.  

School Poem

Both 2nd and 3rd grade will have their own school acrostic poem.  Each class will get its own letter to complete the word “Wheelock.” 

  

Book Character Dress-Up Day 4/7

See some of our favorite stories in a whole new way. There are so many characters that have come alive from the many books we’ve read.  Let’s make them come alive at school!  On Thursday, come to school dressed as a school appropriate book character and enjoy walking down the halls of Wheelock.  

Mystery Readers! Info coming soon...

Suzy Kline visits on April 13^th! 

Author of the incredibly popular Horrible Harry books (and many others), Suzy Kline, will be visiting the 

third grade!

Full Moon?

At about 11:20 this morning I Googled "full moon" to see if it was in fact a full moon today.  It is not.  But there is one on Wednesday 3/09 (in case you are interested).  The reason for my celestial wondering was caused by the pandemonium of the class this morning.  It other words, they were "wild".  I am not sure if was the no homework from last night, the wave of green clothes, Trav sharing that even his underwear was green, or that was Friday. 

full moon

noun

1. the phase of the moon in which its whole disk is illuminated.

   • the time when the moon's whole disk is illuminated.

     "it was several days after full moon"

Nevertheless, it was an eventful morning.  We read Green Eggs and Ham.  It was a hit and we were even able to discuss the THEME of the story.  We decided that persistence and taking risks were both apparent themes! Would YOU try green eggs and ham? 

We did our spelling tests, worked on finding the perimeter of all the rooms in a floor plan, and corrected our dictation sentences.  Despite the hullabaloo, it was the end of a fun week.  

Did you know.....

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on Howard Street in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904.  His first book, And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street was published after 27 rejections! His pseudonym "Dr. Seuss" is known throughout the world.  He published 44 children's books before his death in 1991.
Which one is your favorite?

Check out the Seussville website (link below) 

for games and activities. 

Seussville!

We wore red, white, and blue for One Fish, Two Fish... on Tuesday! 

And we got a NEW classmate!  Welcome A.J. 

On Wednesday, we wore crazy hats and socks for Fox in Socks!  Boy is that a tongue twister!  

On Thursday, we all participated in some Random Acts of Kindness inspired by Horton Hears a Who.  We learned that "a person's a person, no matter how small". 

Thanks Claire for the suggestion of No HOMEWORK!  

Also on Thursday we worked on a community writing activity. We were given the start of a story and we had to add the next part. Ask your child what we came up with!  

On Friday, we wore green and brought green snacks to celebrate Green Eggs and Ham.  

The Green Beans! 

We also had a D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) time at the end of the day.  We made the most if it!  

Chillaxing...