February 29th - March 4th Newsletter
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday, March 1 Returning Student Forms Due
Wednesday, March 2nd Out & About walk to Train Station. Chaperones are welcome, but not required. If you would like to join us, just email me and arrive by 1:45pm.
Thursday, March 3 Read Across America Day & Dr. Seuss's Birthday! All students are encouraged to wear their PJ's (Think warm and school appropriate) and bring their favorite books and pillows.
NOTE: This day is open for Mystery Readers!
Parents, relatives and other Puffin friends are invited to surprise us by being a mystery reader in our classroom! Mystery readers send in 5 clues about themselves (email: [email protected]) to be shared with the Puffins during the day, but the Mystery Readers true identities are not revealed until they arrive! Volunteers are asked to bring in their favorite picture book- this would be a 10 minute story to read out loud to the class.
(TIP: I recommend that you time yourself reading the story out loud at home to check that the story is an appropriate length to maximize student enjoyment & engagement.)
Friday, March 4 All School Meeting Spirit Day Theme: Fandom Day! Dress up in support of your favorite TV show, movie, book, or artist.
Friday, March 18th FGCS Yearbook Order Forms Deadline- Order forms were sent home this week on pink paper. Click here for an online Form.
Returning Student Form Due March 1st
Click here to submit a Returning Student Form. Please fill out a separate form for each currently enrolled student who will be returning next year.
Oregon Battle of the Books Club Announcement
Congratulations Daphne & Payton! As the winners of our school battles, Daphne, Payton (from the Puffin Nest) & Nasya (from the Plover Nest) will represent FGCS at the regional competition in March. Please see the revised meeting schedule below and remind your reader to turn in all books! Thank you!
Wed Mar 2: OBOB celebration for all teams – LAST MEETING!
Sat March 5: Regional competition at Westview High School (Beaverton)
CHESS CLUB
4th graders, Level 3 & Level 4 students are welcome to join a new chess club
Level 4- Chris' classroom
Mondays after school from 3:30-4:30pm
Homework will be due on Thursday, March 3rd:
Each week, homework is the following 3 parts:
1. Writing:
- Reading Response Letter in Writer's Notebook. Parents! Please take a look at the Directions for completing the Reading Response Letter (these can also can be found inside the front cover of the writing notebook.) Sentence starting ideas can be found on the last page of the notebook.
- NEW WRITING HOMEWORK OPTION: Students can TYPE their reading response and email it to:
[email protected] Title: Student Name/ Date - Students can get valuable keyboarding practice by typing their reading response letter each week. Please continue to proofread the letter and give feedback to your young writer. I recommend that students use Word or Pages to type/edit/save their work, and then cut and paste the finished response into the email. As you observe your kiddo typing, you will know if they need more "home-row" typing support. There are many free typing programs out there. Here are a few games/ websites to check out:
- http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html
- http://www.abcya.com/kids_typing_game.htm
- https://www.typing.com/typinggames
2. Reading: Read for at least 20 minutes every night- track at home
3. Math: Complete at least 30 minutes of math practice per week-(more is recommended)
Suggested IXL skills for 3rd grade math practice:
- F.3 Multiply by 2
F.6 Multiply by 5
Loops and Groups Multiplication Game
Suggested 4th grade math practice:
- Fractions Jeopardy Game- Use this Powerpoint to study for our assessment next week!
- Click here if you prefer a paper copy of the Jeopardy review questions
- Practice saying multiples (skip-counting) for numbers 2-12
- Multiplication facts up to 12: IXL (D.1- D.3)
- Division Facts up to 12: IXL (E.1- E.3)
Our Week in Review:
Project
This week, we jumped onto the Oregon Trail through a program at the Washington County Museum. We toured the museum and checked out a special exhibit on display this month about Forest Grove! If you would like to visit the museum with your family, it is free for families every second Saturday of the month. To learn more about these programs, visit:http://www.washingtoncountymuseum.org.
Next Wednesday, we will visit the Old Train Station with Friends of Historic Forest Grove to learn what Forest Grove was like in its early days. We will imagine our long trek along the Oregon Trail has finally brought us to the Tualatin Valley. We'll learn more about a small town called Forest Grove, and see if it might be a nice place to finally settle! Chaperones are welcome, but not required. If you would like to join us, just email me and arrive by 1:45pm on Wednesday (March 2nd).
4th grade Math:
FRACTIONS CC 4.NF
BIG IDEAS:
Decimal Fractions, Decimal Notation, Comparing decimals
We continued to review and work on these topics:
Subtraction of Mixed Numbers, Multiplying a Mixed Number by a Whole Number
Click on the images below to see the whole poster!
BIG IDEAS for Persuasive Writing:
- One way to become more informed is to do some background reading and see how that changes what you already know and think…
- To be CONVINCING,you need to be as INFORMED as you can be!
TIPS FOR RESEARCHING
- Read & look for important ideas (highlight/underline/add notes)
- Get the facts right by double checking for important names and numbers
- Rewrite in your own words and cite your sources
Puffins have started working on a Donors Choose page essay. They will be using their persuasive writing to seek grant money for our school. Stay tuned!
Reading Workshop:
Novel Study:
Students follow up sessions of focused, independent reading with a four part reflection. In their novel study journals, students list and define new words. They note examples of figurative language. They summarize the chapters they read, pose questions and make predictions about what might happen next in the story.
Literature circles:
These small group book clubs engage students in rich conversations about shared readings. Students can express their opinions, predictions, and questions about a text in a productive, structured way. Students take on specific group roles which are designed to develop reading, speaking, and thinking abilities.
Literature Circle Books we are reading:
- View From Saturday
- Bridge to Terabithia
- Holes
- Sideways Stories from Wayside School
- Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Class Read Aloud
We are currently reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.