March 9th-13th

Playing with Poetry: Discovering Haikus

In our Grade 3 classroom this week, we explored the creative and playful world of poetry. Students discovered that poets carefully choose words to paint pictures, share feelings, and express ideas in unique and imaginative ways.

We focused on a special type of poem called a haiku. A haiku is a short poem with three lines that follows a pattern of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, and 5 syllables. Even though haikus are small, they can create powerful images and feelings using just a few carefully chosen words.

Students experimented with describing nature, emotions, and everyday moments. They practiced listening to the rhythm of words, counting syllables, and thinking about how specific words can make their poems more vivid and expressive.

Our classroom quickly filled with beautiful ideas — quiet snowfall, bright sunshine, playful animals, and peaceful nature scenes. Students enjoyed discovering how much meaning they could share using only a few words. It was wonderful to see their creativity shine as they became young poets! 

Learning Outcomes

English Language Arts (Poetry & Creative Expression):

• I can investigate words or phrases used creatively in poetry to express ideas and feelings.

• I can examine poetic structures, such as haikus, that help organize and communicate ideas creatively.

• I can experiment with writing my own poems, including haikus and limericks.

We are incredibly proud of how our students explored language so thoughtfully and creatively. Through poetry, they are learning that words are powerful tools for imagination, expression, and storytelling.

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What is a haiku? How is it different from other poems?
  
  

• How do poets choose words carefully in a haiku?
  
  

• Can you share the haiku you wrote this week?
  
  

• What ideas or feelings did you try to express in your poem?
  
  

• Can you think of a moment in nature that would make a good haiku?

 

 March 2nd - 6th

What Did Students Do This Week?

This week our school had a great experience working with Trickster! Students showed their understanding of their Social Studies learning through storytelling and acting.

Working in their class, students used simple props to create shapes and scenes that helped them tell the stories of Alberta. They used their imaginations to come up with creative ideas and worked together to build a short show to present to different audiences.

It was wonderful to see students collaborating, sharing ideas, and bringing their stories to life. They practiced teamwork, creativity, and communication while connecting their learning to performance.

We are very proud of the effort and enthusiasm students showed during this activity!

Curriculum Connections

• I can investigate natural and created features of Alberta. 

• I can examine natural resource use in Alberta. 

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What was your favourite part of Trickster?

• What learning from Social Studies did you share in Trickster?

 February 23rd - 26th

💗 Pink Shirt Day: Choosing Kindness Every Day 💗

In our Grade 3 classroom, we are learning that kindness is not just a word — it is a powerful, positive choice we make daily, bravely, and intentionally. On Pink Shirt Day, we proudly stood together for kindness and against bullying. We promised to act gently, respectfully, and compassionately toward one another.

Students reflected on the question:

“What does kindness mean to me?”

They shared that kindness means helping others cheerfully, speaking politely, including everyone willingly, forgiving gracefully, and caring for others deeply. They described kindness as being a supportive friend, a welcoming classmate, and a responsible citizen in our classroom community.

Our bulletin board shines beautifully with a background painted in colours that represent kindness. Students carefully and creatively chose soft pinks for love, calm blues for peace, bright yellows for happiness, and gentle purples for empathy. Each colour was blended artistically to symbolize how kindness can spread through our school.

Learning Outcomes

Health & Life Skills (Wellness Choices / Relationship Skills):

-I can demonstrate respectful behaviour, build positive relationships, and develop strategies to respond to bullying in safe and caring ways.

English Language Arts (Oral & Written Expression):

-I can communicate ideas clearly by writing thoughtful reflections using descriptive vocabulary, including strong adjectives and vivid adverbs, to express personal understanding.

Fine Arts (Art):

-I can use colour, shape, and creative expression intentionally to communicate meaning and emotion.

We are incredibly proud of how our students expressed their ideas honestly and creatively. Together, we are building a classroom community that is kind, inclusive, and wonderfully strong — not just on Pink Shirt Day, but every single day. 💕

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• Can you describe what kindness means to you using adjectives and adverbs?

• Using your five senses, what does kindness mean to you?

• How do you show kindness in your school community?

• How is kindness shown to you?

Photos

February 17th - 20th

 What Did Students Do this Week?

Over the past two weeks, our Grade 3 students have been celebrating the Olympics through meaningful cross-curricular learning activities. It has been an exciting way to connect current events to students’ literacy and math skills!

In Language Arts, students practiced their reading comprehension skills by reading Olympic-themed texts and answering questions that focused on identifying key details, making connections, and understanding main ideas. They worked hard to support their answers using evidence from the text.

Students also completed small research projects on different countries and Olympic athletes. They practiced identifying important facts, pulling out key information, and recording their learning in an organized way. 

Our writing activities focused on using adjectives and adverbs to make descriptions more detailed and engaging. Students wrote about athletes and events, working to make their sentences exciting.

In Math, students tracked medal counts using tally marks and line plots. This gave them hands-on practice with organizing data and interpreting information. They enjoyed comparing results and discussing which countries had earned the most medals.

To celebrate as a school community, we watched parts of some events. It was a wonderful opportunity to come together, cheer respectfully, and experience the excitement of the Olympics as a group.

English Language Arts and Math Learning Outcomes:

• I can independently read and demonstrate comprehension of texts that vary in length or complexity.

• I can make connections between a text and personal feelings, experiences, or background knowledge.

• I can use research to create written text that is appropriate for an audience.

• I can represent first-hand data in a dot plot or bar graph with one-to-one correspondence.

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What was your favourite part of learning about the Olympics? Which task did you like best and why?

• What is something you learned about the athlete you researched?

• How did you use data to figure out where Canada is in the medal standing?

Photos:

February 9th - 11th

We hope you have a wonderful long weekend celebrating family!

We will see your child back at school on Tuesday, February 17th.

What Did Students Do This Week?

This week, students explored the concept of time. Through mini-lessons and hands-on math stations, they practiced reading and setting times on both analog and digital clocks. They also explored a.m. and p.m, as well as telling time with a 24-hour clock.

 Math (Time) Learning Outcomes

• I can look at relationships between seconds, minutes, and hours

• I can tell time using analog and digital clocks

• I can relate minutes past the hour to minutes until the next hour (e.g. It is 6:45 pm or quarter to 7:00 pm) 

• I can describe time of day as a.m. or p.m. within a 12-hour day

• I can express time of day using the 24 hour time

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child

• What is the difference between a.m. and p.m.?

• How many minutes are in an hour? How many seconds are in a minute?

• If it is 4:45 p.m., how else would you say this time?

• What time is it?  (using an analog and digital clock)

• If it is 4:15 a.m, how would you say that in 24-hour time? What about 1:25 p.m.?