November 13 Book Orders Due
November 19 - 23 No School
November 26 December Lunch Orders Due
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 "Tune Into Interesting Words" assignment.
3. Complete your math homework.
We had much more success with homework last week! The class agreed to celebrate with some time in the computer lab.
Upcoming Out and Abouts
We will take a tour of the Forest Grove Goodwill and learn how they help consumers reduce, reuse and recycle! We will be walking from FGCS to Goodwill, so please make sure your student wears comfortable shoes and a raincoat.
Weekly Review
To kick off our investigation into consumerism, waste and recycling, we had a wonderful In and About focused on packaging. An educator from Metro brought real-life examples of how packaging is used to make things looks bigger, to provide space for advertising and to make products seem more convenient (like single-serve drinks and snacks). The Plovers worked in small groups to figure out the price-per-ounce for bigger bulk packages and smaller single-serve packages. The bigger packages were much less expensive! Many students thought this was the most interesting Out and About of the year.
In reading, I have introduced three CAFE strategies. CAFE is an acronym for the four major components of reading: Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary. The students will learn targeted reading strategies within each category and these strategies will become tools for students to help themselves become better readers and writers. The strategies we are currently focusing on are: Tune Into Interesting Words (Expand Vocabulary), Make a Mental Image (Comprehension), and Use Text Features like Titles, Captions and Graphics (Comprehension). For more information about the CAFE approach, visit http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/913.cfm
Math Notes
This week in Third Grade Math, we will wrap up our unit on Place Value. Students will get more practice with manipulatives, coins and word problems. We will also visit the computer lab to try out math games that support addition and subtraction fact fluency, place value understanding and pattern recognition. To see some of the games we will be using, check out the Third Grade Math links on the Plover website: http://theploverportal.weebly.com/links.html
For homework, students need to complete the Museum Store worksheet. Students' number stories and models should follow the example given on the worksheet. If support is needed, parents can provide students with actual coins to work with.
This week in Fourth Grade Math, we will focus on multi-digit multiplication starting with the array model. Once we have mastered using the array model, students will have an opportunity to discuss and share their own strategies, as well as learning how to use an algorithm to solve multi-digitmultiplication problems. We will also continue our fluency and automaticity with 0-12 multiplication facts and continue our in class goal work this week.
For homework students are required to complete Independent Worksheet 2: Big Numbers. This is a review concept, but relatively new learning from Fourth Grade Mathematicians.
Questions/Comments/Concerns, please contact Becky at [email protected]
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.