Friday, October 13th: NO SCHOOL for students
Statewide Teacher Inservice/Professional Development Day
Friday, October 20th: NO SCHOOL for students
Professional Development/Grading Day
Thursday, October 26th - NO SCHOOL for students
Student Conferences
Friday, October 27th - NO SCHOOL for students
Student Conferences
Level 2 Suggested Weekly Homework:
Reading Homework
Spend at least 20 minutes reading (outside of school) every day.
Reading is on the "honor system" and we ask that you help your kiddo to develop a daily reading routine with good-fit books. At fall conferences we will send home an optional reading genre challenge.
Typing Homework
Level 2 students have typing homework to develop and support important keyboarding skills. Please practice at least 20 minutes per week on: Typing.com
Math homework
It is strongly recommended that your student practice math skills
at least 30 minutes (or more) per week.
This can be completed online with Dreambox or Khan Academy. Students can also play math games, or complete worksheets (you can find grade level workbooks online or at the Learning Palace).
Current 4th grade Math Topics:
- Place Value
- Multi-digit Addition with Carrying & Subtraction with Borrowing
- Rounding Whole Numbers
- Factors & Multiples, Multiplication Facts 2's -12's
What's Happening in the Puffin Nest?
This week, students learned more about the culture and methods of communication of early Northwest Coast people by creating art that incorporates the Northwest Coast style and conventions.
We are learning that art is one way communities of people define and express themselves to others and to one another. By imitating the art of the Northwest Coast people, students strengthen their character and community identities, as well as their understanding of the Northwest Coast culture.
This week, we asked and answered the following questions:
- Why did the Northwest Coast people have so much art in their culture?
- Why was wood an important resource for art?
- What animals were depicted in Northwest Coast artwork? Why?
- What is symmetry? Why does so much NW Coast art have symmetry?
- What shapes and colors were common in the art?
- What were some of the items on which people carved their designs?
This week, students had the opportunity to create their family “plank house” and gather around the “fire” to share “daily life” writing from last week.
On Wednesday, we had an in-class presentation from the Museum of Natural and Cultural History. Students learned how Native Americans used science and engineering to create tools, homes, clothing, and more – passing this knowledge down through generations. They also had a chance to explore artifacts designed by Oregon’s first engineers and try out their own engineering skills!
Next week, our kiddos will read and analyze stories from the early Northwest Coast oral tradition. These stories were an important vehicle for clan legends, family histories, and life lessons. Students will also prepare for our first critical incident: dealing with a trader. Students will have the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills by defining the issues or problems that might arise from dealing with the trader. After group discussion, students will write about their experiences.