Upcoming Events:
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.1 - V.3 Geometry
- D.7 Subtraction
Suggested 4th grade math practice:
- Multiplying using an area model: Kahn Academy Lesson Link
- Comparing with multiplication word problems: Kahn Academy Lesson Link
- Multiplication facts up to 12: IXL (D.2)
- Division Facts up to 12: IXL (E.1)
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:
This week we solved multiplication and division word problems and found missing numbers in ratio tables. Students continued to explore double digit multiplication using an area model. Everyday, we worked to support our fluency with multiplication and division facts by saying multiples (skip-counting) for numbers 2-12. Students are already quite fluent counting by 2, 3, 5 and 10 so we are focusing on 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12. Students work with a partner to help them practice out loud. 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 12 by the new year!
Reading:
This week, we continued our discussion of literal and figurative language. Our focus was on simile, metaphor, and personification. We enjoyed hunting for examples of rich figurative language in illustrated books. Students found wonderful examples in Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, and Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold. Learn more about Faith Ringgold here!
Writing:
This week, students worked on a final story/reflection from their NW story-path character’s perspective. After discussion and note taking, students organized their ideas into three paragraphs. We used a rubric to remind us of our writing goals: 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, including interesting details about the event and carefully editing our work so that everything sounds right, makes sense and is easy to read.
Out & About
What is Earth made of, and how does it change over time? In this week's In&About, we used different materials to explore how tectonic plates interact, and made predictions about what happens when they do. Students also read Native American myths about geologic phenomena like earthquakes and volcanos. Have any members of your family experienced an earthquake? Do they have a story they could share?
NW Coast StoryPath Project
This week, students experienced the final episodes in our NW story-path unit. We discussed treaties and relocation before wrapping up our story of the NW Coast Native Americans with a potlatch ceremony. In our First Salmon ceremony, we shared clan performances with percussion instruments. Students feasted with dried meat and fruit and learned about traditional games to play outside. Finally, we shared gifts and discussed the importance of honoring traditions and coming together as a community. Next week, we look forward to synthesizing our learning from this story-path unit by creating iMovie presentations.
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.