Journey Stick Pictures

Here is an album of our Journey Sticks.

http://picasaweb.google.com/thirdgradestonypoint/JourneySticks#

Carly, Hannah & Andie's Tulip Poplar Movie

Enjoy!

Voices in History - The Story of Christopher Columbus

Over the last few weeks we have been reading, singing, and writing about Christopher Columbus. It's been interesting to see how he is presented in each text. Some authors show him as a hero, while other texts show him as a greedy man only looking for gold. Each of us chose a perspective to write from. This is helping us to see that history is not a single story, but a group of diverse voices.

Press the PLAY button (triangle).



Feel free to check out the website where we made this Voice Thread:
http://voicethread.com/share/695042/

You can even leave your own comments (audio or written). We'd love to hear what you think. There are few more of us that still need to record, so check back for an updated version tomorrow.

Investigating the strength of regular polygons

In math we have been exploring polygons:

You are a structural engineer, which means you work on designing bridges, roads, canals, dams, and buildings that are safe. You must have a strong understanding of two and three-dimensional geometry to be a structural engineer. Today you will be investigating the strength of polygons. When designing something like a bridge you need to know which shapes offer the most support and can hold the most weight. Did you know that some shapes are actually stronger than others?
Task 1: Before you begin your investigation, make a prediction about which shape you think will be the strongest.
Task 2: Create polygons using the strips and brads provided. You should make polygons with three, four, five, six, seven, and eight sides for a total of six polygons. Record your observations of these shapes using words, pictures, and numbers. Use mathematical language to describe the polygons.


You can see Will's recording work below. One of the patterns that he (and we) noticed is that "the bigger the shape the less sturdy it is," which means the triangle was the strongest shape. This surprised many of us who predicted that "the more sides a shape has the stronger it will be." It was an ah-ha moment to build the shapes and realize that we needed to revise our thinking.

Art for our podcasts

  

On Thursday, those of us who are researching animals met with Mary Lou in the Art Studio to begin sketching. Tree and plant researchers will meet with her next week. Above you can see Charlie's cardinal and Liam's blue-tailed skink. Below is Tenley's squirrel. These sketches will become part of our podcasts along with photographs (hopefully). We are looking forward to sharing some of our research and artwork with our families at the Fall Luncheon on October 30th.

Writing Haiku

 
Today we learned about Haiku, a Japanese form of poetry. We read two books that are written using only Haiku to tell a story.  Haiku usually consists of 17 syllables in three lines. The first line has 5 syllables, the second has 7 syllables, and the the third line has five syllables. Haiku typically contain a kigo, or seasonal reference. In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line, while haiku in English usually appear in three lines. 


We are experimenting with Haiku to explain our Journey Sticks. Today we tried using Haiku to tell about one specific thing we heard, saw, smelled, or felt near Post #1. Our goal is to do one Haiku for each part of our Journey Stick. Then other people can read our poetry and feel like they are on the trail too!


Here are some of first tries at Haiku for Post #1:


Fresh leaves grace the ground,
also getting my palms wet.
Glittering at night.
By: Hannah


Plants grazed the dirt
Soil was very red in the light
Many bugs moved on the leaves.
By: Aiden


Post One is quiet
No birds chirping, or moving life
It is deserted.
By: Will

Liam's Video About Post #10

On Friday we spent most of the morning writing the narration for our short videos about Post #10 on the Rocky Run Nature Trail. The aim was to show students the process of researching, writing, collecting, practicing, and recording. Next week students will begin to research their own specific plant or animal from the trail. We talked a lot about how the narration should be informational and entertaining. That is a hard balance. Taking a different perspective is one way that we thought the information could be presented in a more interesting way, rather than just listing off facts. Groups took on the perspectives of leaves, trees, deer, and even dirt!. Liam wrote from a leaf's perspective and volunteered to record his narration first. Here's a sneak peak at his video. Hopefully on Monday we'll get everyone else to finish up!