Mr Keeler   Grade 3   (June, 2022)

Playing with Prepositions

A preposition is a word or group of words which governs the relationship between items in a sentence. They can be used to demonstrate time, place, direction and location. In Grade 3 we have further explored how to use prepositions to expand on the student’s previous knowledge. In this class we focused on preposition of place. We began by reviewing prepositions by watching a fun, interactive video. Students worked together in their teams to identify the correct prepositions to correspond with pictures.

Next we worked together to investigate the mischievous classroom ghost! As some eagle-eyed students had already noticed, there were a few things amiss in 3.4. The students were asked to talk in pairs to spot which items were out of place and to form sentences with prepositions to describe the location of these items. Some of these ideas were shared with the class and students volunteered to explain where the various objects should be located, whilst again using full sentences with prepositions.  

After that the students worked in pairs to describe something they would like in their dream house. The students took turns to tell their partner about this and described where it would be and what it would look like. Their partners then drew pictures based on the descriptions given.

The students then reviewed each other’s drawings and discussed how accurately the pictures portrayed their descriptions. Well done everyone!

Mr Drew Grade 3 (March, 2022)

Past Tense Verbs (regular and irregular)

 Past tense is a difficult concept for our second language students. It takes time and lots of exposure to the language to master it.

We here at Clifford School can incorporate some fun and helpful methods and tips to help students with this difficult concept and train them to think in the past tense.

The first step is making students aware that verbs change based on the time. We can do that with illustrations, demonstrations, and by reading stories aloud.

Then, the students will learn that adding –ed to the end of a verb is a common rule, and they try to remember the most common irregular verbs. We encourage students to try to make a word past tense by adding –ed if they are not sure. They can go back and correct irregular verbs later, but the important thing at this stage is thinking in the past tense.

The next step is practicing it. We can do that with a game we call “Yesterday.” The lights go off (13), and then back on. Some students “wake up” and do an action. The lights then go back off, and everyone goes to “sleep” again. When the lights do on again, the teacher asks the students “What did (student’s name) do yesterday?” If they answer correctly, they get a point.

From there, it’s an ongoing exercise to use it every day when speaking or writing about the past. Students get better at it the more they use it, and with enough time, it becomes a natural part of the way they speak. 

Mr Shelhamer  Grade 3 (March, 2022)

Powerful Prefixes

Prefixes are really important because many English words can be changed with prefixes. We can do something again with ‘redo’. We can easily describe opposites like ‘lucky’ and ‘unlucky’. So many English words can be modified like this, that it is necessary for us to practice listening, speaking, reading, writing, and understanding these prefixes in our class.

We started by listening to the teacher say the words and repeating after that. Then we read the words together as a class, and then by table groups. We wanted to get familiar with saying the word with and without the prefix so we could hear the difference. 

After practicing the focus vocabulary we worked on a task in pairs. Students looked in the dictionary to find five words with each prefix. Then they wrote the words and drew a picture to illustrate the meaning of each word.

Finally we shared our posters and read them to each other. Through this task, we got familiar with these prefixes and how to use them to enhance our language.

Now we can start using these words and prefixes in our daily talks and journal writing. We can try to say and write more complex sentences like, “I will retell an unhappy story to distract you.”

Mr B Grade 3 (March, 2022)

Guided Reading

Our Guided Reading program caters for all students. At the beginning of the semester we assess each students reading ability and put them into different colour coded groups based on their reading levels. We will then use special leveled reading books from the Reading Resource Room that are suitable for each group’s level.

We start the class by separating the groups. Two groups will be reading with the teachers and the other two groups will be doing independent work, like comprehension and vocabulary activities, from the reading books. We will rotate the groups every class to give the students equal amount of reading and writing. 

The reading groups will read with the teachers in the classroom. The teacher will read the book first, and the students will listen and follow. Then the students take turns to read the storybooks. If they come across some unfamiliar words, we help them using different strategies, like looking at the pictures, sounding out the words using the phonics they have learnt, or what word fits into the place (context). We also help them with pronunciation and intonation.

The other two groups are working independently, doing tasks or exercises related to the book. From the exercises we can assess the students understanding of the books content. Throughout the school year the students are assessed, and the level of book will increase in difficulty as the students improve their reading skills.

Our Guided Reading program helps all students to learn the skills they are ready for, and ensures that all students progress successfully. 

Ms Marit  Grade 3 (April, 2022)

Sequence Words

In grade three, during the second semester, one of our focuses is on using sequence words while writing about a topic. This time, the topic was “A Spring Day”. The students were able to learn about how to use sequence words appropriately while telling a story.

First, the students were then asked if they knew of any special words to describe the beginning, middle and end of a story. Many hands went up as we wrote, “First, Next, Then, After, Last, and finally” on the board. Then, the students were asked to look at series of four pictures that were displayed on the board. They looked at the pictures for one minute before asked what sequence word belonged with each picture. We labeled each picture using our sequence words before moving on to the next step.

Our next step was writing our sequence words on the board, in correct order, on page two of our assignment. Students raised their hands and told the class where First, Next, etc. should be placed. After that, we reviewed the vocabulary words that went along with the topic “A Spring Day”. We reviewed the words sky, sun, shine, storm, dark, clouds, rain, puddles and rainbow. Then, the students raised their hands and had to say a sentence using a sequence words and a vocabulary word. For example; “First, the sun was shining and the sky was blue.” (18,19)

Following the classroom discussion, the students received page one and were ready to write a story about “A Spring Day”. The students’ task was to use sequence words in the correct order while telling a story. In addition, they had to use all of the vocabulary words appropriately while writing about the pictures. When they were finished they self-corrected their work with the help of the teacher.

Once the students completed their rough draft, they had to use their best handwriting and follow their rough draft corrections to write their final draft. Their final draft showed that they have the ability to use sequence words while telling a story about a series of pictures.