Our day started like any other Target class.  Little did we know, that while we were working on our Visual Vocabulary for last week's word-Heresy, a Mystery was developing right down the hall!  

Unit Study:
First thing, we heard about our mystery case-the Untimely Demise of Felix Navidad.  Then, we went down to Ms. Rhone's room to see the "Crime Scene".  Check out the photos below.  The kids brought their notebooks to record everything they saw at the scene and also TONS of ideas, questions, and possible conclusions.  They were completely immersed in the mystery, taking copious notes and asking Ms. Rhone and I many questions!  Later, we added our evidence to the "Crime Map" we created from the scene.  We also heard about each of the 4 suspects, including what they "told" the police and what the police observed about each suspect.  During this time, our Assistant Principal, Mr. Jones, and our Campus Resource Officer stopped by to share more details about the Case and to ask how our investigation was going.  The kids were BEYOND excited to see the photos that our Officer took of the Crime Scene and to hear his ideas about the mysterious footprints at the scene.  We'll be working on this case for the next several weeks, as we analyze evidence, draw conclusions, and make a final decision on who may have committed the crime.

We also watched a short video and read a few cases from Encyclopedia Brown.  The kids are getting better at solving some of the cases, before the answer is revealed!

Stations:
We used our convergent thinking to solve some cryptograms.  We have another one for homework.  It helps to start with the one and two letter words, then move to longer words as you solve letters.  We also learned about our next Weighty Word, Ingratiate.  The kids worked hard to find good images to represent this word.  

Affective Skills:
We continued our Mindfulness Practice with "Mindfulness Meditation for Children".  The kids enjoyed the peaceful, calm from this video.

HW:  Cryptogram

Remember that next week, Target will be on Friday morning, November 9th, since we don't have school on Tuesday, November 6th.

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

Our morning started with creative thinking on our Weighty Word-Geriatric.  It's interesting to see what ideas the kids come up with!

Algebraic Thinking:
We worked through some mixed problems using algebraic thinking and several strategies.  We had several questions about money, some of us could use a bit more practice with coins and counting change.  

Stations:
We used our divergent thinking to solve a '"Waker-Upper-The X Gang and Code Crackers".  The kids liked the variety of interesting questions to solve!  We also used our convergent thinking to solve our Versatiles: "Thimbletinders & Trufflewingers".  The kids worked on our new Weighty Word for this week, "Heresy".  This is a challenging word, so we talked about examples of famous people like Joan of Arc and Galileo.  

Affective Skills:
We began our learning about Character Traits with a card sorting game.  It was neat to hear the categories the kids sorted their trait cards into.  We'll revisit this sort in a future lesson.  
Our Mindfulness Practice continued with "Kick Logic Back into Gear", teaching kids to think about the Best, Worst, and Most Likely Scenario rather than worrying about things endlessly.  

Unit Study:
We researched Codes, Ciphers, and all things Cryptology today.  Many of the kids will bring their Cryptology Webquests home to finish up.  They can find the answers on the Target Glog-GR3-Mystery Page.  There's even a link to make your own coded messages-"Secret Codes"!
After that, we used our knowledge of fingerprint analysis to figure out "Who Robbed the Safe?"  The kids enjoyed working with partners to solve this mystery.

We ended our day with a chapter from, Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective. You may remember this classic from your childhood.  The kids really liked it, so we'll read another case or two next week!

HW:  Finish the Webquest and any other Catch-Up work

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

We started off our morning getting our creative juices flowing by finishing up our Weighty Word-Felicity-Visual Vocabulary creations.

Stations:
We kept those creative ideas coming to SCAMPER a Magnifying Glass.  The kids had LOTS of wonderful ideas!  Check them out on our 3rd Grade Bulletin Board in class.  We also used our convergent thinking skills to find who stole the "Missing Candy" in a logic puzzle.  Finally, the kids recorded their Mystery Stories on Flipgrid.  You can see their videos if you stop by outside our classroom.  Just scan the QR code (most newer phones can scan with the camera) and click to visit our "Mystery Story Theater" Grid.  Check out the great, spooky stories the kids wrote over the past few weeks!

Vocabulary:
We read our last Weighty Word story, Geriatric.  I think the kids liked the word play on this one: Gerry's Hat Tricks!  Take a peek at our student-created Visual Definitions hanging in our classroom, up by the ceiling!

Novel Study:
We finally finished our book, Be a Perfect Person in Three Days.  The kids loved the ending and saw the bigger message: "Being perfect isn't all it's cracked up to be."  

HW:  Draw your favorite scene from Be a Perfect Person in Three Days

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

We started our day with creativity by doing our Weighty Word Visual Vocabulary for Letter E-Expedient.  The ideas were EXCELLENT!

Algebraic Thinking:
We really applied those algebraic thinking skills with a math problem solving activity, "The Mystery of the Socks!"  The kids used charts/diagrams to figure out possible combinations.  Who says Combinations aren't until Middle School math class?

Vocabulary:
We had a great lesson with Mrs. Hazlett, our Technology Integration Specialist, on how to use Office 365, including how to log-in at school and how to create a Word Document online.  The kids used these skills to work on our new word this week, Felicity.  They has some wonderful images!

Unit Study:
We continued working on typing our Mystery Stories in Office 365.  Stay tuned next week for a special surprise with our Mystery Stories!

We also researched fingerprints and learned how to take a fingerprint.  After the kids took all 10 of their prints, we analyzed to see which type of fingerprint pattern each one was.  They had a blast doing this!

Our logic puzzle was also on the Mystery Theme this week, with "Broken Window".  The kids used their convergent thinking to determine who committed the crime, based on the answers in the puzzle and the time the crime was committed.

Affective Skills:
We learned about how to "Calm Down Your Amygdala" and reviewed our mindful breathing with some Square Breathing.

HW:  Edmodo Quiz
Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

Wow!  The kids were so excited to be back in school and back to Target!  They worked so hard all day!

Algebraic Thinking:
We started the day with some mixed problem solving with Math Stars.  The kids remembered and used a variety of strategies to get the problems solved!  

Affective Skills:
We practiced our sketchnoting by learning more about titles and containers for our text.  Later we used those skills to sketchnote about Courage from an Adventures from the Book of Virtues video.  It was interesting to see how the kids interpreted and visualized aspects of courage.  

We also used our sketchnoting to complete an Idea Flood titled, "All About Me".  There are some neat posts about the kids!

We continued our mindfulness with a Mindful Listening Exercise.  The kids did a great job focusing their attention on the Bell.

At the end of the day, we read more of our novel, Be a Perfect Person in Three Days.  The kids focused on perseverance, since this is what Milo has been showing.  They found images that represent this trait and will make a poster using the images next week.  

Stations:
We stretched our creative thinking with the Idea Flood and worked our convergent and evaluative thinking with Logic puzzles and a new game, "Rubik's Battle".  It's like War, but with images of Rubik's Cubes.  The kids enjoyed it!

HW:  Edmodo
Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger