May 14 Library Visit
May 18 FGCS Bike Ride at 1:30
May 23 All day O&A at Gales Creek Campground
May 31 Celebrations of Learning
June 1 Talent Show
Homework Due by Thursday, May 10th
1. Read for at least 20 minutes every night.
2. Complete at least 30 minutes of math practice
3. Complete at least 20 minutes of typing practice.
4. Optional: Submit Business Plan (for students who want to start their own classroom business)
5. Optional: Complete Paragraph of the Week writing assignment.
Prompt: Last week, our wagon train arrived in the Willamette Valley and families began to build their new homes. Write about a time that you moved or traveled to a new place.
Upcoming Out and Abouts
We will have another geology lab this week. Next week, we will visit the Fire Station to learn about first aid.
State (SBAC) Testing
This week, Plovers will begin working on the Smarter Balanced ELA (reading/writing) Performance Task. This activity asks students to read 2-3 short articles and respond to a narrative, opinion or informational prompt using evidence from the texts. This portion of the test is expected to take 1-2 weeks. Please help support your Plover by: encouraging them to do their best, making sure they eat breakfast and bring a snack, and helping them get plenty of sleep. 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.
I would like to have some extra snacks available on SBAC testing days, so if you are able to donate a healthy snack (cheese sticks, granola bars, washed/cut fruit 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: Tuesday 5/8, Wednesday, 5/9 or Thursday 5/10.
Volunteer Opportunities
Laundry and Dish Duty - Needed every Friday
Breakfast Donations - Healthy snacks needed daily for testing and fruit needed Friday 5/11
Library Chaperones - Chaperones needed for our next library visit 5/14
Out & About Chaperones - Chaperones needed 5/23, 5/30 and 6/6 for hiking and outdoor skills!
Weekly Review
Last week, the students began their earthquake and natural disaster preparedness unit. The students were very excited to start this unit and had many questions. We started with writing down what they already knew about earthquakes. Then, the conversation was opened up to what they wanted to learn and any questions they had. The students came up with great questions that we will research and learn more about as this unit continues. Next, we took a look at the Earth's layers and learned some facts about each layer. The students then took what they had learned and started making a 3D world model that included Earth's layers. This unit continue this week as the students start to learn how and why earthquakes occur.
All Plovers joined an adventure/survival book club last week to go along with our study of earthquakes and other natural disasters. Ask your student which of the following books they are currently reading: James and the Giant Peach, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Stewart Little, Race the Wild, Mountain Dog, or My Side of the Mountain. Students 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 a 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.
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 or set up a time to meet with me before/after school.