Grade 3
Welcome to grade 3!
On this page you can find information about our units of inquiry.
- UOI 1 Who we are
- UOI 3 How we express ourselves
- UOI 4 How the world works
- UOI 5 How we organize ourselves
- UOI 6 Sharing the planet
Check out our latest news and photos on the grade 3 blog.
Contact:
Joyce Bolyard
Unit of inquiry 1
Interdisciplinary theme
Who we are
An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.
Central idea
Listening to other people’s perspectives and communicating our points of view help us live together better.
Lines of inquiry
Appreciating other perspectives
How we resolve conflicts.
Key concepts
Perspective
Reflection
Learner profile attributes
Reflective
Communicator
Open-minded
Attitudes
Respect
Cooperation
During this unit we visited the Tsagaandarium Art Gallery to view Mongolian artists’ impressions of Mongolian culture and how it is changing. We will also have an architect come in as a guest speaker to talk about perspective in art. The students will work on drawing places from different perspectives, including one point perspective and a ‘bird’s eye’ view from above. Students are gaining insight into the perspectives of other people by interviewing family members, classmates, and other students on the playground about conflicts and effective communication. The students are also learning about how they learn best. By learning about differences, they can be more open-minded.
They will write a book giving advice on how to solve problems by showing respect to others and improving communication, as well as reflecting on how they learn best and the different levels of behavior they have learned about.
In math we began the year with addition and subtraction and are now measuring lines and area.
Mongolian A students are learning to read story books independently and discuss the main events and main idea. They recognize cause and effect in the story and expressing this to their peers is improving their reading and oral communication skills. In writing, they are focusing on phonetic spelling and are practicing to write simple sentences using appropriate word order.
In Mongolian B the students have been learning different types of greetings, they have been practicing numbers from 0-100 in many different ways and are learning to introduce family members. They are developing their reading by focusing on short vowels, long vowels, diphtongs and short words. The students are practicing their writing through handwriting and dictation.
In music the students have been working on songs from different countries, learning the origin of the songs and learning to sing in different languages. They have compared songs from their countries to songs from other countries. (ie. Hello song from Africa; Freedom song from America/Gospel). The students have also started working on songs for the musical ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and songs for primary assemblies. The students work on rhythm activities each lesson, They do this by clapping rhythms, learning to read rhythms and they are beginning to write their own rhythms.
Through our PE unit ‘Understanding a game enables you to adapt to it and perform better’, the students have been inquiring into strategies and skills needed for games and similarities between games. They are developing coordination skills, balance and spatial awareness through participating in simple lead-up games. The final assessment will include developing their own game and explaining the rules and skills needed for the game.
As an integration with the unit ‘Listening to other people’s perspectives and communicating our points of view help us live together better’ the students visited the Tsagaandaruim Art Museum to look at and discuss various pieces of art from the ‘Studios 2011’ exhibit. Students leant that artists perform an art work to express different points of view looking at people’s life and their culture. Currently students are exploring one point perspective drawing by learning techniques and skills to show 3D objects on flat surfaces.
Unit of inquiry 3
Interdisciplinary theme
How we express ourselves
An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
Central idea
Artists are inspired to interpret and express their ideas and feelings.
Lines of inquiry
The different ways artists create.
How artists become inspired to create.
How we can express our ideas, feelings and beliefs using artistic forms.
Key concepts
Form
Perspective
Learner profile attributes
reflection
balanced
risk-taker
During this unit the children will visit art museums to look at the different styles artists use. In art with Ms. Eret the children will explore the elements of art to express their own feelings. They will create their own Frida Kahlo-inspired portraits, Keith Haring-style dancing animals, and emulate Picasso’s rose and blue period artwork that will be displayed in and around the grade 3 rooms.
Language is integrated in this unit as the students experiment with journal writing and poetry to express their ideas. They are focusing on adjectives and how to explain the feelings that inspire them. The students will practice public speaking when they present their artwork to family at the end-of-unit art exhibition.
In mathematics the students are familiarizing themselves with the names and properties of 2D and 3D shapes, symmetry, and mathematical balance. They will build mobiles in the style of Alexander Calder.
In PE and in music the children are exploring how to express themselves through dance and movement.
Unit of inquiry 4
Interdisciplinary theme
How the world works
An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.
Central idea
The Earth is part of a vast and complex solar system.
Lines of inquiry
The parts of our solar system
People’s ideas about space
Key concepts
Form
Perspective
Learner profile attributes
Inquirer
Knowledgeable
Attitudes
Confidence
Enthusiasm
During this unit students will be developing questions and recording what we know about the solar system. They will observe and document the phases of the moon, research objects in the solar system, and present their findings during Astronomy Night. To find out how people have learned about outer space, we will invite a former NASA employee as a guest speaker to teach us about space technology.
In mathematics we will continue our long-term project documenting length of day and high and low temperatures in seven different parts of the world, including Mongolia.
Language is integrated in the unit when students create a Power Point presentation on their chosen space object. They will read books and websites about space and technology.
The students in Mongolian A are reading story books and talking about the main events in the story, in order to improve their reading and oral communication skills. In writing, they are focusing on phonetic spelling and how to use the suffixes ‘-ы’ and ‘-ий’.
In Mongolian B the students are learning adjectives. Students are using adjectives to extend sentences from simple to complicated sentences, and expressing their thoughts by using sentence forms.
At home, continue to practice multiplication facts with your child, and support their growing knowledge of fractions. Please help your child observe the moon on a nightly basis, and encourage sketching their observations in their moon journals. Students should read self-chosen books daily, and we will continue Reading Bingo as a motivational and fun way to focus on different aspects of reading. Don’t forget to practice the 14 March spelling words for the test at the end of the month!
Unit of inquiry 5
Interdisciplinary theme
How we organize ourselves
An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.
Central idea
News reporting is a dynamic process that gives information in a variety of forms.
Lines of inquiry
What makes something newsworthy
Gathering of news
Sharing of news through different media
Key concepts
Function
Connection
Perspective
Learner profile attributes
Open-minded
Thinker
Attitudes
Integrity
independence
During this unit students will practice active listening with a daily newscast and will discuss current events with their families and classmates. They are learning to ask open-ended questions and other interview skills to apply to local and international stories. After finding both facts and a balance of opinions for issues that interest them, students will work to write clear, concise and correct news articles. To support our inquiry, the class will visit a television station.
In math we will be measuring capacity, length, volume and weight as well as continuing to practice multiplication facts.
Unit of inquiry 6
Interdisciplinary theme
Sharing the planet
An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
Central idea
An ecosystem is a community of organisms interacting with one another.
Lines of inquiry
Producers and consumers
Food chains and food webs
Events that affect the balance of an ecosystem
Key concepts
Responsibility
Causation
Connection
Learner profile attributes
Principled
Caring
Attitudes
Empathy
Tolerance
Our final literacy project for the year is Novel Studies, in which small groups of students read a chapter book that interests them and learn strategies for discussing literature.
In mathematics, after collecting data online for the length of day and high and low temperatures of Ulaanbaatar and another city for the past four months, students are graphing the information, and finding data landmarks including mean, median, and mode. Students are also looking at mathematically fair and unfair games using probability.
In our sixth unit of inquiry students are researching the interaction of plants and animals in different ecosystems around the world. They will present their findings in a variety of formats. In art class they are creating a diorama of their chosen ecosystem. In Mongolian B, students are learning to describe animals and write short reports. To support our final unit of inquiry and as an end of year celebration, the Grade 3 classes will go overnight camping at a ger camp close to school. Learning outside the classroom supports kinesthetic learners, team building, opportunities to develop the learner profile, and an appreciation of and ability to connect with nature and with each other.