QUEST Reading 3

3rd graders have been learning about point of view and perspective and how they can affect a reader's understanding of a text. We started by reading the story The Most Magnicent Thing by Ashley Spires.

We then used a video clip from the movie Toy Story 3 to analyze how the scene would be described differently when told from the perspective of Andy, his mom, Woody, and his little sister Molly. 

Next week we will begin reading our novel Frindle by Andrew Clements, where we will continue to study point of view and perspective, as well as delve into the differences between physical traits and character traits. 

QUEST Reading 4/5

Throughout the past few weeks we have been focusing on establishing context for our upcoming text, Schooled by Gordon Korman. We have been learning about the challenges the United States was facing during The Sixties, listening to some of the songs from that time period, and learning about the history of the American Search for Utopia. While we read these articles, we focused on the strategy on "chunking" information into bits in order to help our brains retain and understand new information. Next week we will begin reading the novel, placing an emphasis on identifying the character traits unique to each individual, and discussing how the point of view and perspective from which a story is told can affect the reader's understanding.

QUEST Math Grades 3 & 4

In QUEST Math, we have been focusing on the Growth Mindset and how it relates to an individual's thoughts about math. I have been following lessons from a unit called Week of Inspirational Math. We have focused on the ideas that 1) anyone can be good at math, 2) it's helpful to think about the visual representations of numbers, and 3) that the depth of understanding a concept is more important than speed. We also discussed the purpose of Math Talks, as well as how to engage successfully in a Math Talk. In the upcoming weeks we will continue to explore the importance of identifying patterns and the importance of making mistakes!