Practicing Reader's Theater and Writing Fiction Stories

Last week we spent time practicing and preparing for our reader's theater performances. Two groups performed on Friday and two more groups will perform at the beginning of the week. I am recording their performances, so stay tuned for some awesome acting by 26 third graders! Reader's Theater is an excellent way for students to practice reading. It allows students to work on their fluency and expression through repeated reading. Below you will see pictures that were taken while they practiced.

We have been working on our fiction stories during writing. Here are some books we have used to gather ideas on what good fiction stories include.

Busy working on our stories!

Earth Plays Rough-Science Center Visit and New Read Aloud Book!

Last week the Science Center came to Waukee Elementary for a presentation on natural disasters. This fit perfectly with our weather unit we will begin this week. Their favorite part of the day was learning how to create their own volcano using a film canister (remember these?!), alka seltzer, and water.

We voted on our next read aloud book and Runaway Twin by Peg Kehret earned the most votes.

About the Runaway Twin:
A unique story of separated twins and the unexpected consequences of their reunion.
Sunny Skyland longs to be reunited with her twin sister, Starr. With only an old photograph, taken a few days before the girls were separated at age three, to guide her, Sunny begins the cross-country journey that she has dreamed of during her ten years in various foster homes. Sunny manages to locate her twin, only to be faced with a whole new challenge.

Award-winning author Peg Kehret combines suspense and action with reflections on the true meaning of family as Sunny learns that sometimes we must let go of our dreams in order to embrace a different, better future

PJ Day, Mighty Max Get Well Cards, and Reading Fun!

Who are these silly kids?! :)

The next few pictures show the students creating get well cards for Mighty Max. You may have read about his story in the Des Moines Register. Here is the link if you haven't had the opportunity: Mighty Max
We really enjoyed having the opportunity to help him reach his goal of 1 million cards!!

We went to the computer lab and tried out the Into the Book website. This website allows students to complete activities centered around different reading strategies. You can access the website on the right hand side of our blog.

Daily 5/Writing Photos

During our Daily 5 reading block we complete the following activties: Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Work on Writing, and Read to Self. Look below to see our Daily 5 in action! We have also been working on peer editing our trickster tales!!