Welcome Back!

Welcome back from Spring Break. Our pea sprouts have graduated to “baby plant” status over the rainy and sunny week according to the kids. And it looks like many of them have done an equivalent amount of growing.

This week we will be starting a new History unit on the history of Japanese Americans in Oregon.  We will use resources from Densho.org a grassroots online eudcation forum.  Please take some time to peruse their resources at

http://www.densho.org/core-story/  so you can join our class conversation about the resilience and struggles faced by the Japanese American community.  We will also be trying to make connections to current events, so take some time to talk about the news!  Students will develop their own culminating projects about the unit of study from a menu of choices.

Thanks,

Mark

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 4/1  (Really, not a joke!)

Mondrian art tool

http://www.tristesse.com/~howie/Flash/MondRect.html

We made it through the ill-derness.

Dear families,

It looks like we have made it through that nasty spell of sickness that was going around..  So many students have been sniffling, coughing and sneezing over the past few weeks.  We worked extra hard to wash hands and keep our areas tidy, but it seems like everybody, including me, got to enjoy the bug!  

We are moving into some new areas of study in Math.  Third graders are going to be working on adding and subtracting with larger numbers as well as understanding and using fractional relationships.  Fourth graders are exploring strategies for dividing larger numbers - what we were taught as “long division.”  While they will learn the traditional algorithm or method for division, we take time to build conceptual fluency first.  

Your child may have told you that we have been doing some mingling of classes with Ms. Elissa and Ms. Rotwein.   We call it the Triple Flip.  Each student will have the chance to work with each of us three teachers over the next weeks.  With Ms. Elissa the kids are learning about the history of the struggle for civil rights in Portland.  Ms. Rotwein is helping students understand and unpack gender stereotypes. Students in my class are writing odes to special places in their worlds.  It is so much fun to work with the different student groups.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 3/18

• READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.
• MATH: Math Practice

Garden Design Challenges

Ms. Kathleen, our garden coordinator, had a brilliant idea for our class. She challenged us to a Pea Race. Yes, the joke that immediately comes to mind has been brought to our attention.  The challenge is to see who can get pea plants to bear fruit first.  Kathleen had students use seed catalogs to choose a variety. They looked closely at whether it was a climber or a bush pea and how many days for germination and maturity. Next they designed and built trellises that they thought would best support the variety of pea that they’d chosen.  

The structures are so fun.  Some are heavily engineered teepees while others involved bicycle wheels and lots of twine. Most excitingly, the peas have started to sprout.  Come by when you have a chance to check  it out.  The kids will gladly give you a tour.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 3/7

• READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.
• MATH: Math Practice