November 6 O&A to Oregon Historical Society - Chaperones Needed!
November 11 No School
November 12 Book Orders Due
November 14 O&A to Oregon Children's Theater
November 18 Library Visit - Chaperones Needed!
Homework Due Thursday, November 7 - 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. Complete pages 4, 5 & 6 in Math Practice Book (for both 3rd and 4th graders)
Upcoming Out and Abouts
We will join the Puffins for an all day Out and About to the Oregon Historical Society on Wednesday. Chaperones are still needed for this trip. Next week, we will go to the Oregon Children's Theater to see a Magic Tree House play! To help cover the cost of the tickets, we are asking families to contribute $8, if possible. All Plovers will be able to attend, even if your family cannot contribute at this time. Please have your student turn in money directly to Laura.
Volunteer Opportunities - Sign up on our VolunteerSpot page: http://vols.pt/drMimF
Please sign up on our VolunteerSpot page to be an Out & About Chaperone for a Level 2 trip to the Oregon Historical Society. Chaperones may ride the school bus or drive separately. We will leave the classroom around 9:15 and return by 2:30. There are also still spots available for Mystery Readers, Breakfast Donors, Library Chaperones and O&A Chaperones for the Magic Tree House play!
Scholastic Book Orders
I did not receive new Scholastic catalogs to send home this month. However, you can still view this month's selections and submit your order online at https://orders.scholastic.com/L79X9. I also created an online Wishlist if you would like to make a donation to our classroom library! November orders are due Tuesday, November 12th (I will submit the order Wednesday morning), and books should arrive before our Thanksgiving vacation.
Math Notes
In 3rd Grade Math, students began investigating bar graphs and pictographs last week. We completed a class survey about favorite ice cream flavors and students constructed a pictograph to represent the data. 3rd Graders also began working in their math journals last week. Math journals will be a place for students to keep track of different strategies and models that we cover in minilessons. Right now, minilessons are focused on developing clever and efficient mental arithmetic strategies for solving multidigit addition and subtraction problems. Throughout the year, minilessons will continue to focus on flexible thinking and explicit instruction of strategies for multiplication, division and working with fractions.
Last week in 4th Grade Math, students continued working on multiplication memorization with flashcards and Rocket Math. The majority of students also finished our first mini math project: designing a backyard play area for my dog Benson. This project included some important mathematical restrictions that required students to apply mathematical thinking to a real world problem. We also reviewed prime and composite. Your fourth grader may be interested in sharing the following video about prime numbers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRz4hW9SPPc.
Weekly Review
Last week we tried out a new tool called Class Dojo. As a class, we came up with a list of behaviors that we want to encourage in each other, such as cleaning up right away, staying on task, helping others and using a quiet voice. We also came up with some behaviors that cause problems in our classroom community, such as talking out of turn, refusing to follow directions, rough play and playing with something distracting. Class Dojo lets me recognize positive behaviors and provide feedback to students who need to work on challenging behaviors. Most of the students enjoyed using Class Dojo last week and thought they saw improvement in classroom behavior.
Today I will send home information with students about how parents can access Class Dojo and view behavior reports. You do not have to sign and return the form. Please let me know if you do not receive this information and I can send it to you electronically. The focus in our classroom will be on building a positive and safe learning environment, not on individual points or earning a reward. However, you may want to set a goal with your student at home and think of a way to recognize growth and improvement. My hope is that this information will be helpful in discussing challenges and successes with your student and that this will be an easy way for me to share information with families. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback about the Class Dojo website.
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.