February 23 Library Visit
March 2 Read Across America Day (PJs and stuffed animals encouraged)
March 3 Fourth Grade NAEP testing
March 6 All School Meeting and Spirit Day
March 19 Empty Bowls Feast
Returning Student Form Due March 3rd
Click here to submit a Returning Student Form. Please fill out a separate form for each currently enrolled student who will be returning next year.
Homework Due Thursday, February 26th
1. Read for at least 20 minutes every night.
2. Complete Reading Response Letter OR Opinion Paragraph Packet
3. Complete at least 30 minutes of math practice*
*Suggested IXL skills for 3rd grade math practice:
E.1 Multiplication Sentences
F.3 Multiply by 2
F.6 Multiply by 5
*Suggested IXL skills for 4th grade math practice:
E.1 – E.4 Division
Literature Circles and Book Clubs
Students will continue meeting with book clubs this week for the following books: The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary, George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl, The Time Warp Trio: Not-So-Jolly Roger by Jon Scieszka, Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo and Class President by Louis Sachar. All Plovers will have time in class to read and write about their book, but some students may choose to read at home and complete their book club assignment as extra homework. I do not want this to be an extra burden for families, so if your Plover seems worried about completing their assigned reading or writing, please let me know so I can help their book club figure out a more reasonable pace.
Upcoming Out and Abouts
This week, we will go to the Backyard Garden and students will have some time to get to know their teammates for the spring's migration project. Next week, Jamie's dad will visit and talk to us about solar energy! On March 11th, we will go to Jackson Bottom Wetlands and on March 18th we will have an all day O&A to the Tillamook Forestry Center. Chaperone signups for 3/11 and 3/18 will be up next week!
Volunteer Opportunities - http://vols.pt/drMimF
We are in need breakfast donations and library chaperones. Thank you for your support!
Math Notes
Last week in 3rd Grade Math, students completed a complex multiplication story problem called "How Long, How Tall?" Using two large posters of a city center, students worked in pairs to measure buildings, buses, trees and other objects in the city in relation to the height of a character named Antonio, who is four feet tall. For example, one of the trees was determined to be 12 feet high since it was 3 times the height of Antonio. This investigation led to the creation of measuring strips, or number lines, to compare the products of different sized groups. To support your student with their IXL homework this week, remind them that a problem like "4 x 5" can be read as "4 groups of 5."
In order to augment our work with division using Investigations, students continued work last week on a "juicy" math problem regarding the division of sandwiches for a Field Trip. The context of fair-sharing submarine sandwiches is introduced to support the development of several big ideas related to fractions and division. Students explore four situations: 3 subs shared by 4 people, 4 subs shared by 5 people, 7 subs shared by 8 people, and 3 subs shared by 5 people. Students work with partners to determine how much of a sub each person in each of these groups receives. They then make posters of some of the ideas they want to share in a math congress, to be held later this week.
4th Grade NAEP Testing
FGCS 4th grade students have been selected to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP assessment will be given at FGCS on Tuesday, March 3. For more information, click here to read a note from our principal, Vanessa Gray. If you have questions, please contact school test coordinator Karen Torry at [email protected] or 503-359-4600.
Weekly Review
Last week, the Plovers focused on getting their projects ready to share at Celebrations of Learning. I was happy to see so many students sharing their Take Apart Day posters and circuitry quiz boards! Unfortunately, many of the quiz boards were not actually lighting up when you selected the correct answer. Thursday morning, the Plovers were able to troubleshoot their circuits and fix up any breaks. In less than 30 minutes, we were able to get all the quiz boards working! Then, the class had a great discussion about perseverance, team work and problem solving. We will have another opportunity soon for parents to check out these cool projects, possibly during arrival or dismissal time.
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.