Mrs. Swanson's Curious Thirds

  Grade 3 Science & Art Blog: Dinosaur Creations! 🦕🎨 This week, Grade 3 students combined their science learning with art to explore the fascinating world of dinosaurs! Students researched a dinosaur of their choice and brought their learning to life through a beautiful watercolour landscape and dinosaur silhouette art project. First, students created a watercolour background, experimenting with colour and blending techniques to represent prehistoric environments. Then, they carefully painted the silhouette of their chosen dinosaur, thinking about shape, size, and placement within their landscape. This cross-curricular project helped students connect their understanding of Alberta’s prehistoric past with important art concepts while expressing their creativity. Science Learning Outcomes This learning connects to understanding Alberta’s prehistoric environment and fossils, including: Millions of years ago, Earth’s surface in Alberta included lush tropical forests and an inland...

  Grade 3 Math Blog: Exploring Multiplication and Division! In Grade 3, we have been busy building our understanding of multiplication and division in fun and meaningful ways! These important math skills help us make sense of numbers in real-life situations, like sharing, grouping, and counting faster. We explored multiplication as repeated addition . For example, instead of adding 4 + 4 + 4, we learned we can write it as 3 × 4. This means “3 groups of 4.” This helps us solve problems more efficiently and recognize patterns in numbers. We also practiced skip counting to strengthen our multiplication skills. By counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s (and beyond!), students began to see how numbers grow in equal steps. This strategy supports quick recall of multiplication facts and builds number sense. Another exciting way we learned was through arrays . Arrays are arrangements of objects in rows and columns. For example, 3 rows of 5 dots help us see that 3 × 5 = 15. Arrays help students visua...

  A Special Author Visit with Wonder Pup! 🐾 This week, our school had a very exciting visit from author Angela Murphy, who writes the Wonder Pup self-regulation series. Students from Kindergarten to Grade 3 gathered together to listen, learn, and be inspired! Angela’s real life dogs are two important characters in her books: Zane and his older brother Draper. Through fun stories and examples, we learned how Draper helps Zane develop important self-regulation skills that we can all use in our daily lives. Some of the strategies we explored included: Paying attention during learning time Speaking up when we need help Stepping up to try our best Using animal breathing to calm our bodies Practicing positive self-talk Respecting personal space Students were very engaged and even practiced some of these strategies together. Many of us tried animal breathing, and it helped us feel calm and focused! This author visit connects strongly to the Alberta Language Arts curriculum , as stud...