April 28 Library Visit
May 2 No School
May 5 OAKS Reading Testing Begins
May 7 Out & About
May 9 All School Meeting (Plovers will present)
May 9 Garden Work Party
Homework Due Thursday, May 1st - More details posted on the Homework Page
1. Read for at least 30 minutes per day.
2. Complete your Reading Response Letter to Laura
3. 3rd Graders complete pages 61, 62 & 63 in Math Practice Book
4th Graders complete pages 60, 61 & 62 in Math Practice Book
Upcoming Out and Abouts - Chaperones Needed
This week, we will do some cooking at the UCC inspired by our Oregon Trail research. Next week we will begin our outdoor skills and emergency preparedness unit! On Wednesday (not our usual Out & About day), we will learn about setting up tarps and tents, probably at Tom McCall Forest. Please sign up on VolunteerSpot if you would like to join us!
Volunteer Opportunities - Sign up on our VolunteerSpot page: http://vols.pt/drMimF
I would like to have some extra snacks available on OAKS testing days, so if you are able to donate a healthy snack (bananas, cheese sticks, granola bars, or something else easy to distribute and eat) for the class, sign up on the breakfast donation page for any of the following testing days: Monday 5/5, Wednesday 5/7, Wednesday 5/14 or Thursday 5/18.
Words Words Words!
The students' job is to look for these words in their reading or listen for them in conversation. If they find one of our words, they should record the sentence or bring the book with them to Morning Meeting. Try using these words at home and see if your Plover notices!
1. Announcement
2. Distant
3. Admit
4. Progress
5. Decision
6. Council
7. Instinctively
8. Exhausted
Math Notes
Last week in Third Grade Math, we discussed the OAKS test and looked at some sample questions together. The students had some concerns and misconceptions about the test - like they wouldn't pass third grade if they didn't pass the test and that they had to get all questions correct on the test to pass! Once we cleared up those rumors and fears, we talked about test-taking strategies and started to review our major concepts from this year - addition and subtraction with re-grouping, reading graphs and charts, geometry, multiplication story problems and representing fractions.
Third graders will begin testing on Wednesday, May 14. 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 third grader 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 math test, please contact Laura at [email protected].
Last week in fourth grade math, we spent a lot of time discussing and answering questions about the upcoming OAKS Math Test. We also spent time continuing our fraction development and working through several OAKS practice questions. The fourth grade mathematicians are scheduled to begin the OAKS Math Test on Monday, May 12 between 9:30-10:30. If you have any questions or concerns about your mathematicians and The Test, please let me know ASAP ([email protected])
Weekly Review
The Plover Nest is being transformed into a free bookstore! Last week, we were able to dedicate a couple hours to working on the bookstore project. Students cleared the shelves of our classroom books and began organizing all the donations. Our new Scholastic books will arrive next week. Other groups of students worked on posters, advertising, designing book plates and choosing a name for our bookstore! We are also writing a request to the school to purchase a rotating wire bookshelf and making arrangements to visit the other classes to give a short presentation. Hopefully, the bookstore will be ready for a Grand Opening some time in May. Families and friends will be able to visit the bookstore at June Celebrations of Learning.
At Student-Led Conferences, you were able to see the beginning of our Oregon Trail writing project. Students created characters to travel the Trail and used a spinner to get their families members and wagons. Last week, students used a variety of texts to gather information about life along the Oregon Trail. They collected these facts in a Story Planning Packet and will begin their rough drafts this week. Using the Story Planning Packet, student authors will weave realistic problems and incidents into each page of their story. They will also include landmarks and important information about the trip. As a challenge, I'll be recommending (but not requiring) that students write their final copies in cursive, because that's probably what authentic 19th century writing would have looked like!
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.