Sheridan Enrichment 3rd Grade
3rd Grade Math and Language Arts
Enrichment
Third grade math enrichment students have continued
to study problem solving using timely , high-interest articles and their
correlating word problems from the Dynamath publication. These problems were
de signed to help students build their
conceptual understanding, computational fluency, and reasoning skills. In
November, students worked on problems related to the election and the electoral
voting system that touched upon reading and interpreting pictographs, using
place value to the millions , and mixed computation skills. They also solved
multiplication problems to find out facts about the cast members of High School
Musical 3.
Third grade language arts enrichment students
finished up typing and editing their journal entries about bioluminescent life
forms. In the middle of November, they wrote expository para graphs which
instructed their readers on how to cook a turkey, focusing attention on
providing step-by- step details as well as using interesting transition words to
ensure sentence variation. We will finish editing these in December.
Explore Program
4th Grade Math
In November, the fourth grade Explore students
studied fraction concepts in Chapter 4 of their math texts. Terms that they
studied include divisibility rules , prime and composite numbers, equivalent
fractions , greatest common factor , least common denominator , least common
multiple, and simplest form . Students worked on relating fractions to decimals
as well as comparing and ordering fractions , mixed numbers, and decimals. Their
work included word problem solving, creation of word problems, and both verbal
and written explanations of problem solving processes.
3rd Grade Language Arts
In November, the third graders continued read and
discussed the novel, The Sign of the Beaver, set in the wilderness of Maine in
1768, just after the French and Indian Wars. Each day they reflected on and
shared their thoughts and reactions to the situations Matt encountered while
looking after his family’s new cabin alone while waiting for his father to
return with the rest of his family. This novel provided a basis for interesting
discussions about teaching and learning, as Matt was asked to teach a Native
American boy, Attean, how to read. One favorite group project was the ABC book
that they put together for Matt to use to help teach Attean. Students wrote and
illustrated four pages, each for a letter of the alphabet. This novel also
provided many opportunities for discussing conflict and making inferences about
the emotions behind choices made by the characters. As we finish up reading the
novel in December, students may begin to notice
that Matt has learned just as much or more than Attean, and they will discuss
how people can best earn the trust and respect of others.
4th Grade Language Arts
In November, the fourth graders read the fantasy
novel, A Wrinkle in Time. We opened with a thought-provoking discussion about
possible positive and negative outcomes in the fol lowing hypothetical
situations: no one was poor or unemployed,
children weren’t forced to go to school, everyone always told the truth,
everyone had the strength, skills, and mental abilities, and everyone had a
college education. Students applied strategies for creating mental images by
painting a watercolor illustration one of the planets from the book based upon
the author’s description. One favorite activity so
far was the dramatic reading of scenes within the novel. Students enjoyed taking
on the part of a character to practice reading with fluency and expression. The
group also enjoyed designing and sharing their own ideas of what they felt would
constitute a utopia in the areas of education, government, and living
conditions. We will finish up reading and discussing this novel the first week
of December, and our study will culminate with the oral presentations of
“Props-in-a-Pouch” reports before winter break.
