Third graders started the year by reading the latest installments in some of the series we read together in second grade last year. Dodsworth and his travelling buddy the duck found their way to Tokyo in Time Egan's 2013 Dodsworth in Tokyo. In which major city will they land next? How will they get there? Two beloved characters shared a few more adventures in Bink and Gollie, Best Friends Forever.
Our most recent project has been to design, in teams of scientists, an experiment that fails. Easier said than done! After reading Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter's very funny 11 Experiments that Failed, groups of scientists designed questions, hypotheses, a list of things needed, steps for what to do, results, and an illustration, and sprinkled them with a little humor.
One team wrote:
Question:What happens if you put ice in Dad's socks?
Hypothesis: Dad will like it because he usually has sweaty socks
What You Need: Socks and Ice
What to Do: Put Ice in Dad's socks
What Happened: Dad freaked out and his feet got numb and he had to stay in bed
We followed this up with a reading and discussion of cause and effect with another book by the same authors, 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore.
