Sem 2 Week 5

What a strange weather week .. hot and sunny, cool and cloudy, cold and rainy .. I guess that is a sure sign that the seasons are changing. At least the weather was good for our anniversary celebrations on Wednesday.

Thank you to Jasmine’s mom for organizing the 3B flea market stand we made about NT$1,800 and donated about NT800 to the school and kept the rest for our class fund.

Well done to all the students for rehearsing so well and then performing like absolute stars on Wednesday.

In Science this week we continued learning about the planets, and then looked at how seasons and day and night occur and also at the phases of the moon.

In Math we have finished the first chapter on division which covered dividing by 2, 3, and 4. Well done to everyone for doing so well on the test on Friday. Most of the class got 100% or only 1 mistake. I am really proud of you all. Next week we continue dividing using bigger numbers.

This week we updated our "3B's got talent" board. We included everyone's dialogue and compare and contrast stories. Also on the board are some color poems. Great work everyone!

In English we read the play “Backstage with Chris and Casey” where we learned about the role of the director, actors, designers, and stage manager in putting together a play. We reviewed theme 4’s phonics: r controlled vowels which sound like “or” and are spelled or, ore, our, oar, and ar. r controlled vowels which sound like “ir” and are spelled ir, er, ur, or, and ear. We also reviewed suffixes –er, -est, -ly, -ful and prefixes un–, re-, and dis-. In Grammar we reviewed adjectives which answer how many and what kind of noun, articles (an, a, and the), and action verbs. All of this will be on the midterm exam.

Everyone did extremely well in this week’s English test with 80% of all the students making 2 mistakes or less. Great work everyone.

Don’t forget to review this week’s work for our test on Monday.

Thanks Alica, Gloria, Jolene, and Nicole for making such a wonderful class poster. It is one display on the stairwell between Grades 2 and 3.

In Social studies we completed the section on immigration and famous immigrants to the US such as Albert Einstein.

Happy Birthday Elijah. I hope you had a great day.

Congratulations to you all for reading so well. Keep challenging yourselves to read chapter books which will improve your vocabulary and general knowledge. Well done to those who received certificates this week – Jolene, Nicole, Victor, Nick, Elijah, Sandra, Ricky, and Nina.

Well done to everyone for reading so well and helping our community wall grow.

Well done to everyone who received Homework machine certificates this week. Great work on doing your homework so well each day.

I have asked the 3B subject teachers to choose a student or a couple of students to recognize for a job well done. This week was Mrs. Hsieh’s (the Chinese teacher) turn and she would like to congratulate Nicole for being organized, helpful, and caring. Well done Nicole.

3B you are all doing such a great job! Keep up the good work!

You are all stars!

Have a great weekend everyone

Mrs. DB

Sem 2 Week 4

There were some cold days and some really warm days this week. Perhaps spring is on the way.

Many students have not felt very well this week. I hope that everyone who had headaches are now feeling better.

A big thanks once again to everyone who brought in materials and loaned us flashlights for the science experiments and activities. These fun activities help a great deal in the learning process and your donations are greatly appreciated.

In Science this week we learned about the planets and did an activity listing the planets according the distance from the sun, size, and length of day compared to the earth.

On Friday we used flashlights to simulate the sun and graph paper to represent the earth. We shone the light onto the paper from directly above and noticed that the light formed a circle and was very bright. We then shone the light onto the paper while tilting the paper at an angle and noticed that the light formed an oval and was less bright. We concluded that this is why the equator is hotter than other parts of the world since the light at the equator shines directly above it. We will discuss this experiment more next week.

In Math we have begun two chapters on division. We saw how division and multiplication work together as fact families and knowing your multiplication tables will help you succeed well in division.

In English we read the story “Half Chicken” where we learned why weather vanes on top of building are often in the shape of a chicken. In phonics we learned about the prefixes un–, re-, and dis-. In Grammar we learned about action verbs. Next week we will read a play called “Backstage with Chris and Cassy” which will end theme 4.

Everyone did very well in this week’s English test. Don’t forget to keep reviewing your spelling and vocabulary every day and you will do better and better each week. Don’t forget to review this week’s work for our test on Monday.

Everyone wrote a dialogue or play on Friday afternoon and once they had finished there was a bit of time for some fun. I hope you all had fun playing cards, Uno, and painting.

In Social studies we started reading about how people throughout history have immigrated to the US for political or religious freedom, or for better work opportunities. We compared this to how many people have moved to Taiwan or from Taiwan for work or study.

Everyone is reading so much and it is great to see everyone with great books out during our morning and noon time quiet time. This reading will greatly improve your vocabulary and general knowledge. Please try and challenge yourselves in your reading but more importantly read what you enjoy. Well done to those who received certificates this week – Alica, Jonathan Chen, Jasmine, Nina, Nicole and Victor.

Well done to everyone for reading so well and helping our community wall grow.

Thanks to Nina’s mom we have some new books for our class library from the scholastic book order – “Grandma calls me beautiful”, “The Seven Chinese Brothers”, Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew”, and “Leprechaun in Late Winter”. I hope you will all be able to add these books to your reading log soon.

On Wednesday we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick’s Day is a traditional Irish holiday where people wear green, eat green food, and tell stories about Leprechauns. We ate green pancakes and read a story about a little girl who didn’t receive any Valentines cards and was sad. A Leprechaun came to help her and eventually on St. Patrick’s Day she received her wish.

Please don’t forget to bring in your 2^nd hand books and toys on Monday and Tuesday for the flea market on Wednesday. Also, please join us at the Spring concert at the beginning of the Anniversary day celebrations. 3b will be doing a special dance based on soccer moves in honor of the “Soccer world cup” to be hosted by South Africa in a couple of months time. Join us and learn the “Diski”.

Well done to everyone for trying so hard in the group competition. Chairs are now being pushed in, everyone is ready for class on time, and everyone is listening really well during lessons. You are all stars!

Have a great weekend everyone

Mrs. DB

Semester 2 Week 3

We had some really cold weather this week but well done everyone for keeping going even though we were freezing cold. A special well done for those doing clean up outside – the sink cleaners and moppers hands were freezing, the green area cleaners had to struggle with wet leaves stuck to your brooms and dust pans, and those who went to the recycling center had to face the cold wind. Well done to all of you!

A big big thank you to everyone who brought in materials for the science experiments and activities. These fun activities help a great deal in the learning process and your donations are greatly appreciated.

In Science this week we learned about weather instruments and predicting the weather. The students have a new homework assignment for Science to complete a work packet to review the material learned so far this semester. There are even a couple of bonus questions. I hope this work packet will help you all prepare for mid-term exams next month.

In Math we started the week by looking at solid figures such as cylinders, spheres, and pyramids. We learned some new vocabulary and were able to count how many faces, vertices, and edges these types of figures have. We completed the chapter by looking at the number of cubic units in a 3D object. On Thursday we had a test on all the work in Chapter 7. Well done to all of you .. you really did very well and can feel proud of your efforts.

In English we read the story “Uncle Romie” where we learned that when we get to know people we discover what they are really like. In phonics we learned about the suffixes –er, - est, -ly, and ful. In Grammar we learned about articles – a, an, and the. Next week we will read a story called “Half Chicken” and at the end of the week each student will write a dialogue or play. Please think about what you would like to write about.

Everyone did very well in this week’s English test. Many students improved their grammar grades this week – well done. Don’t forget to keep reviewing your spelling and vocabulary every day and you will do better and better each week. Don’t forget to review this week’s work for our test on Monday.

In Social studies we started off the week by looking at cut away diagrams and how they can help us understand how something works. We then used a map of the world and plotted the location of the 10 famous places we had for homework last week. Everyone completed this homework assignment and now we all know some new famous places and where they are located. Good work everyone.

Well done to all our Homework Machines for trying your best with your homework. Remember to always turn in your homework on time and to do your homework the best you can. Please parents will you help your children by always signing their homework and reminding them to write down their reading so that they can get full marks for the homework competition. Thank you.

Everyone is reading so much and it is great to see everyone with great books out during our morning and noon time quiet time. This reading will greatly improve your vocabulary and general knowledge. Please try and challenge yourselves in your reading but more importantly read what you enjoy. Well done to those who received certificates this week – Nicole, Sonia, Ricky, Victor, Nina, Jonathan C, and Jonathan A.

On Friday we celebrated Pi Day. Pi is a mathematical expression which helps us calculate the circumference of a circle. (C = πD) Pi is a number with an infinity number of digits and so last week the students were given the first 1000 digits and asked to memorize as many digits as they could. The previous record of digits memorized by a Grade 4 student was 42.

We all wore clothes with at least one circle on it to commemorate this day.

We started off my learning about making a frequency chart and bar graph and in groups of two they were given 50 digits of pi to work with. They learned a lot about using these charts and draw up some really good graphs. These charts and graphs are on display in our classroom if any parents would like to come and see their child’s work. Everyone completed the task exceptionally well.

Next we set out to prove that pi is equal to approximately 3.14 or 22/7. We did this by using various sizes of cans and containers (thanks to all the parents who donated these). Each student chose a container and drew around it on a piece of paper. Next, they wound a piece of string around the circumference of the container and cut it. They then laid the string across the diameter of the container and cut it into 3 pieces. Everyone discovered that they had a small piece over thus proving the mathematical value of pi. Finally, they stuck the three and a bit pieces onto the paper and stuck it up on our board. Everyone completed their task very well and I am proud of their achievement in this difficult task.

In the final lesson of the day we began with a circle drawing competition. Archimedes who is a famous BC mathematician worked out an approximate value for pi without the use of modern technology. Legend has it that he drew circles all the time to prove his theory. Thus, in his honor we draw circles on pi day. Each student had two chances to draw the best circle possible using only pencil and paper. Everyone is the class did a great job and it was difficult to make a final decision. In the end we all agreed that Nick and Nina received 3^rd place, Joshua received 2^nd place, and Jolene was the 1^st place winner. Well done to all of you.

After drawing circles it was time for the pi memorizing competition. Every student stood up on front of the class and recited as many digits as they were able. Just standing up in front of one’s peers is a great achievement and for some students they were winners for just having the courage to do that .. so well done to all of you. Over ½ the class remembered 10 or more digits which is a tremendous achievement. Elijah, Jasmine, Jason, Justin, Nick, Nicole, Victor, and Yao remembered 20 or more digits. Well done to you all. In the end there was a tie for 1^st place and a tie for 2^nd place. Elijah and Victor tied by remembering 22 digits and Nicole and Yao tied by remembering 46 digits. So I now have a new record in this competition!

Thank you to all 3b for participating in this fun day to celebrate pi and math. You all did so well in all aspects of the day.

We not only drew circles but ended the day by eating circles in the form of muffins. What a delicious way to end the week.

Have a great weekend everyone

Mrs. DB