My Very First Post!!!

Welcome to Waters, Waters Everywhere, Ms. Waters' Third Grade Blog!  This is my first post, so let me first say that I am extremely excited to have yet another opportunity to share all the amazing learning, fun, and shananigans that is our life in room 26!  Above is our fantastic team, minus me (someone had to take the picture!)  They are a terrific group of athletes, comedians, designers, inventors, writers...the list goes on and on.

There has been a lot going on lately, but then again when isn't there a lot going on in third grade?!?  In the last few weeks, we have had Raven Madness, Shrove Tuesday, Valentine's Day parties, and are in the thick of researching and writing state reports!  Not to mention that the second trimester just ended, so I got to have a love fest with all my fabulous parents during conference day :).  While part of me is sad and in disbelief that I only have one more trimester with this amazing bunch, I cannot wait to see what the third trimester will bring.  We have some amazing learning and activities ahead of us!  In fact, take a look at the following to see what is in store for us in social studies...

Ms. Waters’ Homeroom- Trimester 3

On Friday, February 22nd, we will begin a new unit of study from the International Primary Curriculum called, “How Are You?” In Science, we will be focusing on healthy food choices, why our bodies need exercise, how we digest food, how our muscles contract and expand, and how germs get in our body. After developing a basic understanding of our health, we will shift gears to research the history of important medical discoveries of the past and scientists and/or doctors who have helped develop the vaccinations that we have today. We will learn about the Great Plague of London in 1665 and how Doctors treated those that were sick. We will compare the well visits that we have with our doctor today with the well visits children have in different parts of the world. For our international goals, we will explore the water process and how water in the United States is cleaned and purified for us to drink. We will analyze how people in developing countries get their water. The students will learn about organizations that are helping people get access to clean water. They will have the opportunity to speak to WaterAid representatives and ask questions about how they are helping with the water crisis. The most exciting part of this unit is that the students will apply what they have learned about health and water in order to take a closer look at the water quality around us in the Chesapeake Bay. We will learn about efforts being made to Save the Bay and ways that we can act locally to protect our bay. Then, on May 15th the third grade will go on a field trip to Annapolis to visit the State House and see how legislators are working to pass laws to protect the bay. We will also tour the Naval Academy and take a short cruise of the Annapolis Harbor. I will continue to send details about what we are learning in social studies in my email updates. If you have any connections or real world experiences to what we are studying, please let me know! We welcome guest speakers (in person or via Skype).

Thank you for taking the time to visit and read my first post...more to come!