Upcoming Events:
December 11th- All School Meeting and Spirit Day (Favorite Team)
December 14th, Monday- Library Visit
December 21st-Jan.3rd NO SCHOOL: Winter Break!
Homework due on Thursday, December 10th
1. Reading: Read for at least 20 minutes every night- track at home
2. Math: Complete at least 30 minutes of math practice per week-(more is recommended)
Suggested IXL skills for 3rd grade math practice:
- V.5 Symmetry
- D.1 and D.3 Subtraction
Suggested 4th grade math practice:
- Multiplying by multiples of ten: Kahn Academy Lesson Link
- Area of squares and rectangles: IXL (P.21)
- Review number sense: IXL (A.1 A.2 A.3 and A.5)
- Multiplication facts up to 12: IXL (D.2)
3. Writing: Reading Response Letter- Notebooks due Thursday morning
- To help them to improve as writers, students were given a scoring rubric for this homework assignment (you can find it in their homework composition book). Please take a moment to look over this rubric with your child. Talk about the expectations and give support as needed to help them reach these writing goals.
- Writing Homework Home Support: Ask your child to read the letter they have written out loud. Take a look at the letter and provide them with feedback about what they have done well and how they might make it better. Give reminders about proofreading and working on neat handwriting. (A handwriting homework page will be assigned to those who need extra practice.)
- Directions for completing the Reading Response Letter can be found inside the front cover of the writing notebook. Sentence starting ideas can be found on the last page of the notebook.
Our Week in Review:
4th grade Math:
Students began exploring multiplication with multi-digit factors by creating arrays using base ten blocks, and later solved problems using an area model. We talked about and practiced multiplying by multiples of 10. We also took the time to review the meaning of multiplication. (9 "times" 10 is really 9 "copies of" 10 added together). Next, we worked to support our fluency with multiplication and division facts by saying multiples (skip-counting). Students are already quite fluent counting by 2, 3, 5 and 10 so we are focusing on 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11. Students wrote out these numbers first in a table (1 copy of 3 is 3, 2 copies of three is 6 etc.) and again using a number line. Students used this visual reference when working with a partner to help them practice out loud without looking at the numbers. Example: saying out loud 3-6-9-12-15-18-21-24-27-30-33-36 (adding 3 each time our partner holds up another finger).
Your child can demonstrate this activity for you and should practice this at home. We set a goal for our math group: we want our whole class to be fluent with saying multiples for 2 through 11 by the new year!
Reading:
This week, Readers Workshop continued with novel study. Students identify new vocabulary (juicy words!) and summarize what they read in their own chapter book novel. We have also been discussing literal and figurative language. In the coming weeks, we will be studying simile, metaphor, and personification. Learning to appreciate and evaluate language of comparison is a key part of an avid reader’s journey.
Writing:
After topic discussions and planning, students worked independently to write short stories about NW Storypath events from their character's perspective. Our focus as writers this week included: beginning with a lead sentence to spark interest and draw the reader into the story, focusing on the important event and providing clear information, using words to create vivid pictures, and including interesting details about the event. We also worked to edit carefully, making sure that our sentences sounded right and made sense when we read them out loud. Finally, we took the time to write carefully and neatly so that the stories would be easy to read.
Out & About
How can rocks tell a story about the past? This week, students learned how paleontologists and geologists learn from the past by studying clues like fossils and stratigraphy (layers of rock). Students also used shells or other natural objects to create their own fossil. This was an in-class lab.
NW Coast StoryPath Project
Before Thanksgiving Break, a trader visited the students' Native American village. Families decided to trade their artwork for coins and gems. Many characters were excited to make trades with Captain Morgan and some even happily gave him special gifts from their homes! But after he left, the class reflected on how the trader treated the villagers and how the trading experience could affect the community. We also learned that traders often brought diseases that killed up to 50% of the native population. This week we learned of the arrival of settlers and had a very lively village meeting to discuss it. Students continued to write about their experiences.
Oregon Battle of the Books
This year, Laura,Gretchen and Karen are working with teams of 3rd-5th graders who are participating in Oregon Battle of the Books. Teams meet Wednesdays after school to study and discuss the required reading. There will be a school competition in February and the winning team will represent FGCS at the regional competition in March. You can get more information from Laura ([email protected]). She has created a new page on the Plover Portal for students that are participating in OBOB. There is a link to team rosters and reading assignments. They are also looking for parents who want to read and discuss some of the books with students at the weekly meetings, so please contact Laura if you're interested!
Community Resources
Check out these amazing and free Fall programs offered at Tillamook Forestry Center:
http://tillamookforestcenter.org/events_05.html
Class Read Aloud
We are enjoying the award winning novel, Flora & Ulysses.