Grade 3: February 11, Caribou Contest

On February 11, students wrote the Caribou Math Contest. Although this is a split 2-3 class, everyone wrote the contest for grades 3-4. Students can use their assigned access code to sign in to the Caribou web page to check their results. (If the access code got lost, results will be available in class.)

This was the first time we had participated in this contest, and it was a learning experience for all. There are two more Caribou contests this school year. Every week from now on, we will take some class time to practice for future contests.

Grade 3: Fingerspelling ScratchJr Projects

As the "Sounds of Silence" unit of inquiry was wrapping up, students were asked if they new any American Sign Language. Some remembered using sign language as babies, and we practised a few simple signs. Everyone then practised the finger spelling alphabet.

Using the ScratchJr feature of including photos in characters, students then created projects that featured photos letters of their name, or another favourite phrase, formed in finger spelling. Great work!

Grade 3: Converstaions in Scratch

Last week, the grade 3 class made ScratchJr programs in which two (or more!) characters had conversations, where control was done using the "hi" and "wait" blocks. This week, students applied the same concepts in Scratch, using the "say XXX for X sec" and the "wait" block. Scratch allows the programmer more control over these types of conversations because the exact length of time the dialogue is displayed is specified (using the "say XXX for X sec" block).

Overall students created some excellent dialogues! Well done!

Grade 3: January Lessons

In January, we started using Scratch 2.0, off-line to do coding challenges. Students have starter Scratch programs that need to be modified to changed in specified ways. Example challenges include these Starter projects from the Scratch Help page:

• Paint with Gobo
• Starfish Choir
• Wizard Spells
• Five Random Facts About Me

Students also used ScratchJr on the iPads to learn how to make two characters have a conversation using the "talk" and "wait" blocks. First students extended these projects on the iPads, then applied the same concepts within Scratch 2.0.

Grade 3: December Lessons

In December, the Grade 3 class was very busy getting ready for the school Science Fair. With a partner, students researched, designed and then created a simple water filter using mostly organic or household materials. We then tested each filter to see how well it removed dirt, vinegar, oil and soap, and compared our results to a simple filter made only of cloth and dirt. Students created posters to display their work, and presented to the Science Fair judges.

At the end of December, students got a taste of programming with Scratch, with some introductory challenges.

Grade 3 November 17 Lesson Plan - Science Fair Continued

This week, students will continue work on their science fair projects. Purpose, Hypothesis, Method and Materials rough drafts will be written, and work started on building their filters.

Grade 3 November 10 Lesson - Starting our Science Fair Projects

This week, we introduced the idea for our science fair projects. Students will design a water filter to remove various pollutants from water (soil, cooking oil, soap, vinegar), and compare their filter against a basic filter made from a funnel, cotton cloth and dirt. Students researched on the internet about different types of filters that can be bought or built, and then drew pictures of their designs.

Grade 3 November 3 - Scientific Method

This week, students will start preparing for the upcoming science fair by applying what we have done and the results we collected from our Graham Creek field trip to the scientific method.

Grade 3 October 27, 2014 - Field Trip to Graham Creek

Today we went to Graham Creek to test the creek's water and participate in the World Water Monitoring Challenge. We measured the water's temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen content and pH. Next, we will analyze our data to see if Graham Creek is healthy.

Grade 3, October 20 Lesson Plan: World Water Monitoring Prep

Today, students are preparing for our field trip next week to Graham Creek, where we will be doing the World Water Monitoring Challenge. We will talk about temperature, pH, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen, the four indicators we will test. We will also learn about invasive species known to grow around Graham Creek. Finally, we will learn what type of clothing we need to wear on the field trip in order to stay warm.

Grade 3 aand 4, Lesson 5: More Loops (October 6, 2014)

This week, students practised finding and writing loops using paper activity sheets - no internet connection problems here! We then had a lot of fun using loops in our own Hopscotch programs, or some students continued to work on their code.org challenges.

Grade 3: Lesson 4 - Getting Loopy (September 29, 2014)

This week, we will learn what is meant by a loop in computer science, and find examples of items around the classroom that could be drawn using loops. Then we will practise using loops with the code.org "Maze:Loops" activities, and by using the "Repeat" and "Repeat Forever" blocks in Hopscotch.

Grade 3, Lesson 3: Perseverance; Artist Drawing (September 22, 2014)

Perseverance is a very important skill in computer programming. In this class we will build a tower using only q-tips and marshmallows that is strong enough to hold a book. Then, each student will work on the Artist sequence activities at code.org.

Grade 3, Lesson 2: Real Life Algorithms (September 15, 2014)

Today in class we talked about real life algorithms, such as getting ready for school in the morning. Students then created an algorithm for how to properly plant a seed. We finished off by continuing work on the code.org Maze Sequence activities.

Grade 3, Lesson 1: Graph Paper Programming (September 8)

Today we learned the word algorithm and did the first "unplugged" activity in Course 2 on http://code.org called Graph Paper Programming. Great first class!