October 23-24 Goal Setting Conferences (No School)
October 24 November Lunch Orders Due
October 28 Scholastic Orders Due
October 30 Pumpkin Book Project Presentation
November 3 Library Visit
Homework
Because of the short week and in-class work needed to prepare for conferences, there is no new homework due this week. Please encourage your student to continue reading and math practice at home.
Upcoming Out and Abouts
This week, we will be focusing on preparing for conferences and there will not be an Out & About. Next week, we will work on our Pumpkin Book Project display.
Volunteer Opportunities
Thank you to all our classroom volunteers, mystery readers, donors and chaperones! All spots are filled for this week, but you can sign up for future dates on our VolunteerSpot page: http://vols.pt/drMimF
Scholastic Book Orders
Take a look at the FREE books I was able to get for the classroom library with our first Scholastic order! There was something for everybody. Thank you to everyone who placed an order; it really does make a difference! You can view this month's selections and submit your order online at https://orders.scholastic.com/L79X9, or pick up a catalog at your conference this week. October orders are due Tuesday, October 28th (I will submit the order Wednesday morning).
Pumpkin Book Project
Level 2 students have been learning to write literary essays! Each student has selected a special book or character to write about and they have been developing their opinions about these stories during reading and writing workshop. Another fun aspect of this project is that they will be able to represent their beloved character on a pumpkin! We will be designing and decorating the pumpkins in the classroom and during Art this week. Parents are invited to see our pumpkin display on Thursday, October 30 at the end of the day. After the presentation, pumpkins will be sent home with students.
Math Notes
Last week in 3rd grade math, students completed assessments and a work sample to prepare for goal setting conferences. They also continued to review and practice the addition combinations to 10 + 10, often known as addition “facts.” Many students learned these combinations in 2nd grade, but the goal in 3rd grade is to develop automaticity. At home, students can choose a few combinations that they are working on and make flash cards. Help your Plover or Puffin think about strategies that will help them remember tricky combinations. For example: What is 6 + 7? I know 6 + 6 = 12, and 6 + 7 is one more than that, so it’s 13!
Last week, fourth grade mathematicians completed their first unit using Investigations titled: "Factors, Multiples, and Arrays." This week, we will dive into our second unit, "Describing the Shape of the Data." During this unit, students collect, represent, describe and interpret data. Students will also look at the probability of various events. Throughout this unit, we will be working towards these goals:
- Design an effective survey question to compare two groups
- Organize and represent data bout two groups in order to compare the groups
- Describe the shape of the data from a numerical set (mean, median, mode)
- Use data to compare two groups
- Use evidence from a set of data to support an argument
- Describe the likelihood of an event
Weekly Review
To help with our investigation into natural resources, 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 bulk packages and single-serve packages of the same foods. The bigger packages were much less expensive! Many students were surprised by the difference in cost and noticed how over-packaged some product are. Ask your Plover how many small, snack-sized chip bags it takes to fill up one family-sized bag!
During our investigation into natural resources and waste, we will focus four big questions:
- Where does the "stuff" we use everyday come from?
- How does the way we live affect the Earth?
- Where does our trash go?
- What are ways we can conserve energy and natural resources?
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.