September 22 Library Visit
September 25 October Lunch Orders Due
September 26 All School Meeting - Plovers will present (9:45am at School District Office)
September 29 Scholastic Orders Due
Homework Due by Thursday, September 25th
1. If you haven't done so yet, please bring in a framed family photo to hang on our family tree.
2. Read for at least 20 minutes every night.
3. Complete at least 30 minutes of math practice.*
*Suggested IXL skills for 3rd grade math practice:
Practice 3rd grade skills C.1 Add two numbers and C.2 Add two numbers - word problems
If you want extra practice with regrouping and place value, try these second grade skills: M.2, M.7, G.3 and G.5
*Suggested IXL skills for 4th grade math practice:
Practice 4th grade skills D.1, D.2, D.3, D.4, & D.8 Multiplication
Upcoming Out and Abouts
This Wednesday, we will work on a neighborhood scavenger hunt and mapping activity from 10:30 - 11:30. We need chaperones to help lead small groups for the scavenger hunt activity. Next week, we will go on a tour of the Metro Central Transfer Station and the Hazardous Waste Facility in Portland to begin our study of garbage!
Volunteer Opportunities
Out & About Chaperones are still needed on Sept 24 from 10:30 - 11:30 for a neighborhood scavenger hunt and mapping activity. You can also sign up now to join us for a tour of Metro Central on October 1st. This is an all day Out & About (9am - 2pm) and chaperones should plan to ride the school bus (no siblings, please).
Under new Forest Grove School District policy, criminal background checks will be required for all volunteers starting with the 2014-15 school year. This includes, but is not limited to, Out & About chaperones and classroom volunteers. Please visit the Volunteer page for more information.
Other ongoing volunteer opportunities:
Breakfast Donations - Sign up to donate cereal (or bagels, muffins, granola bars, etc) or fresh fruit for our Friday Community Breakfasts.
Mystery Readers - Surprise the class by being a Mystery Reader in our classroom this year. Mystery Readers send in 5 clues about themselves, but their true identities are not revealed until they arrive! Readers are asked to bring a picture book to read out loud to the class.
Library Chaperones - Walk with the Plovers to Forest Grove Public Library and help students check out books. We will visit the library every 3 weeks.
Math Notes
Last week in Third Grade Math, we started a unit on addition, subtraction and place value. In this unit, students will practice solving addition and subtraction problems involving 2-digit and small 3-digit numbers. During class, students spend time discussing problems and sharing their reasoning and solutions. By doing this, students are able to see that there are many different strategies for solving a problem; students should choose a method that makes sense to them and is also efficient and accurate. Last week, students practiced working in their new math notebooks, where they can record their work and ideas before sharing with the class. They have also been learning three math games that they can play independently or in pairs when they finish their work: Tile Math, Pico Ferme Nada, and Capture 5.
Last week in Fourth Grade Math, we began our first unit using Investigations titled “Factors, Multiples and Arrays.” In this unit, students review the multiplication combinations they know, identify the ones they need to work on, and develop strategies for learning them. They solve problems by using arrays. This week we will also focus in solving problems about factors of a number and number relationships, such as: If 25 is a factor of 100, will 25 also be a factor of 300? How do you know? Throughout this unit, we will work on the following goals:
- Find the product of any multiplication combination up to 12x12
- Use arrays, pictures, story contexts to represent multiplication situations
- Find the factors of 2-digit numbers
Scholastic Book Orders
At Family Visits, you hopefully received information about Scholastic Reading Clubs. You can view this month's selections and submit your order online at https://orders.scholastic.com/L79X9. When you place your order online, you'll help earn FREE books for our class! September orders are due Monday, September 29th. The books typically arrive about 10 days after I submit the class orders.
Weekly Review
Last week, we learned about our pen pals in Switzerland. A former Plover, Terra, came to talk to us about her time in Switzerland and the school she attended. Her previous teacher now has a new class of third graders, who are just starting to learn English! They sent us audio clips and told us their names and ages. We recorded videos for them and taught them a few English words for body parts (head, ear, hand, fingers, tongue and nose). We also watched YouTube clips of a German kids television show, called Woozle Goozle, so we could hear what their language sounds like! We could recognize a few words, but it mostly sounds very different! Check it out here: http://youtu.be/iNoIFDkCcO4
Classroom jobs began last week and each student received an employment agreement that they had to sign and return. Employees will keep their current jobs for about 8 weeks, and then they will have the opportunity to apply for a new job. I am so grateful that the students have been eager to help each other and the classroom! Everything is looking so well taken care of! Employees receive a check from the payroll department each week and later in the year they will be able to buy exciting rewards with their earnings (like dance parties, extra recess and maybe other special events). We now have two classroom bloggers, Francis and Tessa, who will be responsible for updating the student blog. Click on "Student Blog" at the top of the page to see their first two posts and leave them a comment!
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.