March 14 Library Visit
March 15 and 16 Make Up PE 2:00 - 3:00
March 18 Yearbook Orders Due (Order forms were sent home; click here for an online form)
March 18 Lunch Orders Due
March 30 Oregon Trail Dress Up Day and All Day Out & About - Chaperones Needed
Homework Due by Thursday, March 17th
1. Read for at least 20 minutes every night.
2. Complete Reading Response letter
3. Complete at least 30 minutes of math practice.*
Optional: Complete electronic Business Plan by Sunday, March 27th (for students who want to start their own classroom business)
*Suggested IXL skills for 3rd grade math practice:
F.10 Multiply by 9
H.4 Multiplication Input/Output tables
H.6 Multiplication Word Problems
Family Letter about 3rd grade multiplication goals
Multiplication activities to try at home
*Suggested 4th grade math practice:
Worksheet Pages
Multiplication & Division Skills Practice on Khan Academy
Multiplication facts up to 12: IXL (D.1- D.3)
Division Facts up to 12: IXL (E.1- E.3)
Upcoming Out and Abouts
This week, we will be getting our wagon teams ready for an Oregon Trail celebration that will take place after spring break! To prepare, students will learn a square dance, sew a small bag, and consider how their family will earn money and contribute to their new Oregon community.
For our celebration on March 30th, Level 2 students will travel to the AT Smith House as their Oregon Trail character. Students will imagine they have completed their journey and are ready to begin their lives in a new community. Plovers are encouraged to dress up and we will be working on simple clothing items, like aprons, in class. Some other easy costume ideas that you may be able to find around your house or borrow: long skirts, button-up shirts, suspenders, straw hats, and bandanas. We hope that some parents will be able to join us for a day of butter-churning, square-dancing and old fashion fun!
We would also like to thank the Friends of Historic Forest Grove for generously collaborating on this unit's Out and Abouts. Please consider donating to this organization. They are requesting in-kind donations of historical artifacts pertaining to this region and dating from 1940 or earlier. Contact the Old Train Station Manager Don Skinner, [email protected], if you have an artifact you would like to donate or loan the museum. Money donations are also accepted gratefully!
Volunteer Opportunities
Crockpots Needed - Email Laura if you have a crockpot that the Plovers could use on Thursday 3/17
Out & About Chaperone - Join us on March 30th for Pioneer Day at the historic AT Smith House!
Breakfast Donations - Fruit and cereal/bagels needed for this week.
Weekly Review
Last week we discussed to possibility of student-run businesses providing some competition to the teacher-run Plover Store. The first step for entrepreneurial Plovers is to complete the electronic Business Plan. They may have some time in class to work on this, but I expect most students will want support at home. Business plans are due by Sunday, March 27th and then potential business owners will need to present their plan to their potential customers (the Plovers) and community stakeholders (parents and FGCS administrators) on Thursday, April 7th. This process is completely optional and I intentionally made it a bit challenging so that students would really consider the responsibilities that come with managing a business! Please let me know if you or your Plover have any questions or concerns and I will be happy to help with the planning process.
For our Oregon Trail project last week, we looked at how Native Americans were effected by westward expansion. We learned that the U.S. government broke treaty agreements and eventually forced many Native Americans to live on reservations. We also learned that many Native American children were sent to boarding school where they would learn to be like white Americans. We discussed how it would feel to not be allowed to speak your own language, wear foreign clothes, and even change your name. Then students got to design a flyer to send to other settlers and/or the U.S. government that expressed their feeling about the treatment of Native Americans.
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 come into the classroom before/after school.