December 18th - Jan 1st: WINTER BREAK
Tuesday, January 2nd: School is Back in Session!
Monday, January 8th: Puffins to Forest Grove Public Library 2pm-3pm
Students should bring their library books to return, library card and a tote bag.
Chaperones Needed!
Friday, January 12th: All School Meeting: Puffins will present!
Spirit Day: Crazy Hair
Forest Grove School District building (1728 Main St.) in the Grove Room @ 9:45 am
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, your kiddo brought home the Tower of Books wall poster, which is a fun (and 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 Topic:
- Multiplication: 1 digit by 2 digit and 2 digit by 2 digit using the "area method"
- Introduction to Division
4th graders should be doing DAILY home practice of multiplication facts 2-12. Resources were sent home at conferences to support this practice.
What's Happening in the Puffin Nest?
Once upon a time…
Our storytelling theme is in full swing in the level 2 classrooms, as we launch our fairy tale writing unit.
What is a fairy tale?
The ancestor of the fairy tale is the folk tale. A folk tale has been created by a community over many generations. A fairy tale is a written folk story with wondrous elements.
The writing makes a big difference; when one person writes the story, he or she changes details to tell the tale his or her own way.
During the fairy tale writing unit, our kiddos will read and listen to familiar fairy tales, study adaptation mentor texts, and then write their own adaptations.
Why do we study these stories?
Studying folktales and fairy tales helps students with fiction writing. This is because in reading and listening to these stories, students deeply connect with story arcs, archetypes and lessons.
This connection helps them as writers to create the world of their story, and to bring their characters to life. It is all about bringing the resonance of a storyteller’s voice onto the page.
We have also been exploring humorous fairytale adaptations through Reader's Theater. Our goal is to explore fluency, characterization and to enhance reading skills and confidence through practice with a purpose.
How will we connect reading & writing with our project work?
As the weather gets cold, we are staying warm with our In&About Engineering Labs! This week, students imagined, created, tested, made improvements and found solutions as they built an item that would assist characters in well known fairy tales.
For one challenge, teams can constructed a house of toothpicks for the Three Little Pigs. Their creation had to support at least 20 grams of mass and withstand wind from a fan.
In another challenge, students built a raft for the 3 Billy Goats Gruff (using only straws and pipe cleaners) that had to support 10 grams of mass and float in water for at least 10 seconds!