What Did Students Do This Week?

This week, students explored the world of simple machines and discovered how they make work easier in our everyday lives. Students learned about the six types of simple machines: levers, wedges, inclined planes, screws, pulleys, and wheel-and-axle systems. They investigated how simple machines can change the strength and direction of forces, helping us push, pull, lift, or move objects with less effort.

Using a variety of loose parts and materials, students were challenged to design and build their own device that included at least one simple machine. They selected a real-life object or tool to create and identified which simple machine was being used in their design. Students explained how their simple machine changed force and made a task easier to complete.

Throughout the design process, students planned, built, tested, and improved their creations. They also learned about simple machines used by local First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples and discussed how these technologies have supported communities in daily life for generations.

Science Learning Outcomes:

• Explore how simple machines reduce the effort needed to move objects.

• Design and create a device that uses a simple machine.

• Identify how simple machines change the strength and direction of forces.

• Describe the purpose of simple machines used by local First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples.

I Can Statements:

• I can identify and describe different types of simple machines.

• I can explain how simple machines change the strength or direction of a force.

• I can design and build a device that uses a simple machine.

• I can explain how simple machines are used in everyday life, including by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples.

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• Which simple machine did you include in your design? (lever, wedge, inclined plane, screw, pulley, or wheel and axle)

• How does your simple machine change force? Does it make pushing or pulling easier?

• What real-life object did you create, and how does it work?

• What challenges did you encounter while building your device, and how did you solve them?

• Why are simple machines important in everyday life?

• Can you name some examples of simple machines used by First Nations, Métis, or Inuit Peoples?

June 1st - 5th

What Did Students Do This Week?

This week, students worked through the writing process to create imaginative narratives. They began by brainstorming ideas and developing a plan for their stories. From there, students drafted, revised, edited, and shared their writing, learning how authors improve their work at each stage of the process.

As writers, students focused on creating engaging story beginnings that captured the reader’s attention. They experimented with different ways to start a story, including action, dialogue, description, and sound effects. Students also worked on using a variety of sentence beginnings, including transition words, and sentence types to make their writing more interesting and enjoyable to read.

To bring their stories to life, students carefully selected descriptive words and sensory details to help readers visualize events, characters, and settings. They also practiced including dialogue, with the use of quotation marks, to help develop characters and events within their narratives.

English Language Arts Learning Outcomes:

• Writing processes used to organize ideas and information include planning, drafting, revising, editing and sharing.

• Create beginnings that catch the audience’s attention by experimenting with ideas and word choice.

• Include a variety of carefully selected words and sensory detail to add interest and keep audiences engaged.

• Include dialogue to add variety to texts.

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What steps of the writing process did you use to create your imaginative narrative? (brainstorming, planning, drafting, revising, and editing)

• How did you edit and revise your work? (Remember: ARMS and COPS)

• How did you make your story beginning interesting and engaging for the reader? What are the other ways to create an interesting beginning? (sound, dialogue, action, description)

• What descriptive words did you include to make your story more interesting?

• What are some transition words you used to vary your sentence beginnings?

Photos

May 25th - 29th

What Did Students Do This Week?

 

This week in Grade 3, we began reading our new novel, The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies! Students were excited to dive into this engaging story about siblings, Evan and Jessie, as they navigate friendship, competition, emotions, and problem-solving.

As we begin getting to know the main characters and the challenges they are starting to face, students explored the characters’ feelings and discussed how emotions can affect the choices people make. We talked about situations where characters may feel frustrated, proud, jealous, excited, or worried, and students shared connections to times they have experienced similar emotions in their own lives.

As we continue reading, students will further explore themes such as problem-solving, healthy relationships, roles and responsibilities, and financial literacy. We are looking forward to discussing how the characters work through disagreements, make decisions, and learn important lessons about spending and saving money.

Students are already excited to continue reading and discover what happens next in The Lemonade War!

Literacy & Wellness Learning Outcomes

This learning connects to personal wellness, relationships, and financial literacy, including:

• Examine how roles can provide individuals with opportunities to develop

• Identify emotions in a variety of situations

• Understand how problem solving and resolution can facilitate understanding and connections among people

• Explain the connection between resolution and developing healthy relationships

• Discuss the importance of responsible spending and saving

Student Learning Goals: “I Can” Statements:

✔️ I can identify emotions characters experience in different situations.

✔️ I can make connections between the story and my own experiences.
✔️ I can describe problems the characters are beginning to face.
✔️ I can explain why understanding emotions is important in relationships.
✔️ I can discuss how characters may learn lessons about money and responsibility.

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• Who are the main characters in The Lemonade War?

• What emotions have the characters experienced so far?

• What problems are beginning to develop in the story?

• What predictions do you have about the story?

• Why is it important to understand how others are feeling?

May 19 - 22

Families, thank you for such a warm welcome back. I am very happy to be working with your children again. It was a wonderful week together with lots of continued learning and many laughs. As always, if you have any questions or would like to touch base now that I am back, please reach out.

What Did Students Do This Week?

This week in Social Studies, students explored municipal and provincial governments in Alberta. They learned about the roles of representatives in both levels of government and discussed how they work to help communities and citizens.

Students compared and contrasted services provided by municipal governments, such as snow removal, parks, and libraries, with services provided by the provincial government, including education and healthcare. They also explored Alberta’s official provincial symbols and learned about leaders in the municipal and provincial governments.

Through discussions, activities, and sorting tasks, students strengthened their understanding of how different levels of government support people in their daily lives.

Social Studies Learning Outcomes

• I can describe similarities between the role of representatives in municipal and provincial governments. 

• I can differentiate between services provided by a municipal government and services provided by a provincial government.

• I can explore official symbols of Alberta’s provincial government.

• I can classify leaders in municipal government in a variety of communities in Alberta.

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What levels of government have you learned about?

• What is the municipal government responsible for? What about the provincial government?

• What are the leaders called in each level of government?

• Who are the leaders of the municipal government? What about provincial? Can you name the federal leader too?

 March 29th - April 2nd

We hope you all had a great spring break! It was lovely to be back together as a community after the time away.

We also hope you have a wonderful long weekend and a nice Easter, if you celebrate it. 

What Did Students Do This Week?

Thank you to our amazing volunteers who made our “What’s the Matter” learning experience such an awesome opportunity! Students learned a lot and had a very fun time.

This week, the grade three students explored the fascinating world of matter through a presentation and a variety of hands-on, engaging experiments. Students focused on how materials can change, especially when heated or cooled. Students investigated solids, liquids, and gases, describing their properties in terms of shape and volume, and deepened their understanding through simple investigations.

Science Learning Outcomes (I can….)

• I can conduct an investigation to demonstrate changes of state.

• I can describe solid, liquid, and gas states of matter based on properties like shape and volume. 

• I can describe the changes of state of water using the water cycle. 

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What was your favourite part of the “What’s the Matter?” presentation?

• What are the three states of matter? What is the difference between them?

• How did you make soap? How did the states of matter change during this experiment?

• How did the balloon blow up? What state of matter did it fill up with?

Painting Station

States of Matter Station

Making Soap Station

Oobleck Station