April 8 Library Visit
April 10 & 11 OAKS Testing
April 11 Make Up PE Class
April 12 No School
April 18 Student-Led Conferences
April 19 No School
Homework - More details posted on the Homework Page
1. Read for at least 20 minutes per day and fill out your reading log each night. Your parents must sign your reading log.
2. Complete your math homework.
3. Respond to the "Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant" writing prompt.
Upcoming Out and Abouts
We will walk to Tom McCall forest on Tuesday to continue working on our nature journals. Please remind your students to bring raincoats and wear appropriate footwear - it is a long walk! Next week, we will be helping with a service project along the B Street Trail.
Math Notes
This week in Third Grade math, we will continue to work on finding fractions in everyday life and solving story problems that involve division and fractions. Over the next few weeks, we will review and expand on concepts previously covered this year - such as geometry, multiplication and computation with larger numbers - in preparation for student-led conferences and the OAKS math test. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
For homework, students will complete the Division and Fractions worksheet.
Fourth Grade math students will begin this week focusing on connecting fractions to decimals. We will also continue to review fourth grade math concepts in preparation for the student test. Over the course of Unit 6, your Fourth Grade Puffin or Plover will:
- Identify fractions and decimals that are equal to each other
- Compare decimals numbers and fractions
- Add and subtract decimal numbers using a variety of strategies
Homework This Week: Home Connections 44: More About Cups, Quarts & Gallons Questions/Comments/Concerns, please contact Becky at [email protected].
Other Important Notes
We will begin state testing (OAKS) this week. The first round of testing will focus on reading and we will take the math test later this month. All third and fourth graders will take both tests. Testing is administered in the computer lab in short sessions, and students have the opportunity to work on the same test over multiple sessions so they can work at their own pace. Please help support your student by: encouraging them to do their best, making sure they eat breakfast and bring a snack, and helping them get plenty of sleep. If you have any questions or concerns about the state test, please let me know.
Weekly Review
Last week, we read a collection of funny poems by Jack Prelutsky called "Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant." In each of the poems, the author combines an animal with an object - such as an elephant with an umbrella - and writes about the unique features of the new creature. See an example below. Some other crazy combinations are: clock + octopus = clocktopus, tuba + baboon = tubaboon, and toaster + toad = a pop-up toadster. For homework this week, students will write about their own strange and unusual creatures! Each Plover also has a brand new poetry notebook for writing their own poems or collecting poems that they like. We read a poem titled "All The World," at the All School Meeting last week and have also been reading poems written by other children. During our short study of poetry, students will publish and illustrate a poem about themselves.
"Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant" by Jack Prelutsky
Behold the bold UMBRELLAPHANT
That's not the least afraid
To forage in the broiling sun,
For it is in the shade.
The pachyderm's uncanny trunk
Is probably unique,
And ends in an umbrella
That has yet to spring a leak.
And so the bold UMBRELLAPHANT
Is ever at its ease,
No matter if the temperature
Is ninety-nine degrees.
And when a sudden thunderstorm
Sends oceans from the sky,
That fortunate UMBRELLAPHANT
Remains entirely dry.
Communication
Please contact me with any questions or concerns. Parents and students can e-mail me at [email protected]. You can also leave a voice message on the class phone, come into the classroom before or after school, or call me before 8PM at home.