Let’s keep talking about Summer. This week’s homework explores the connections between Math and Art.  It is from a great website called youcubed.org, where you can find lots of fun activities (some digital, some “in real life”).  Over the long vacation, you can keep your student thinking mathematically by checking out a few of the activities there.  In the same way, scheduling a little art time can really cement that thinking. I find that once students see how fun it is to explore patterns and designs, they dive deep into creative play with math and art ideas.

To send the kids off into a strong reading habit this week, I am no longer asking for a reading reflection.  Instead I want kids to make a Summer reading plan.  What books do they want to read?  How can they find them at the library? Please keep the plan at home to refer to over the Summer.

In case you did not hear it from the school district, we have shut off all access to drinking water at our school until lead testing can be finished.  The district did send in a couple of cases of bottled water to keep us hydrated, but feel free to send your child with a water bottle (or two), as the weather is going to stay hot.

Upcoming Events

6/8 Obo Addy Legacy Project Drumming Performance 1:30 @ Lewis

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 6/23

• READING: Summer reading plan (keep this at home)
• Math Art challenge

Summer Reading Plans

Let’s find some books you want to read this summer!  

Here is a website with lots of book lists.

The cool thing about this list is you can check out all of these books at the library.

Here is another list of  lists of books you can explore.

Use the table below to plan which books you want to read

Title	Author

LittleBits Challenge Ideas

Created with Padlet

Let's Talk about Summer

Let’s talk about Summer.  I look forward to it with the same mix of excitement for vacation and sadness about the school year ending that students do.  It is a long break, though, and it can be difficult to keep kids learning, exploring and creating.  In the next couple of weekly notes I will be sharing some handy resources and easy ideas to keep our kids engaged and growing.  

Multnomah County Library has great Summer programming for kids and a fun reading challenge with game boards, t-shirts and prizes. I will be in town for much of the break and plan on meeting up with students at the library from time to time.  If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram (@LewisRoom24, if you don’t), I will announce dates and times for us to meet at the Woodstock library to share books we are reading!

Your student’s login to their Google Apps account will stay active over the summer.  I will set them up with a summer diary document that they can add to over the break.  Also, kids love making slideshow presentations on the computer and they can easily create some to document your summer adventures.  Students can access to their accounts from library computers, too!

Homework over the coming weeks will be Math puzzles and ideas that you can easily do all during the Break.  This week Sudoku.

Upcoming Events:

5/25 Field Day

6/8 Obo Addy Legacy Project Drumming Performance 1:30 @ Lewis

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 5/27

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

Oregon Field Guide Form

Please use the form below to share your discoveries and your thinking about the episode that you watched.

Upcoming Art Residency

Dear families,

It was great to connect with everyone who could make it to Art Night.  Our docents were a little shy but still had great conversations with all of the visitors.  The school looked amazing in a way that captured all of the good work going on here.  It is nice, even for me who spends a lot of time here, to see what other classrooms are up to.  Such creativity and joy.  

I am excited that we have arranged for an art residency to wind up our year.  We will have five sessions with Alex Addy from the Obo Addy Legacy project teach us about Ghanaian culture, music and dance with a focus on drumming.  I was lucky enough to work with the Legacy project at another school where I worked and am really excited for our students to experience this residency.  You can find out more about the residency at Obolegacyproject.org

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Mark

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 5/20

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

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lQyooPErEDJj3EQs1g1L9uiLpMtTg3crJuioky9Eb1w/edit?usp=sharing

A lot is going on!

There is a lot going on!  Firstly our pea plants have yielded first fruit.  Cailyn and Sophia M’s bushy little plant soaked up all of the rain and hot sun we’ve had recently and gave us some really pretty little pea pods.  They are also pretty tasty.  Other plants have followed and soon we will have a bumper crop.  It is a good thing that this week we will be able to work in the garden with Ms. Kathleen because our beds need some weeding and watering.

Last week we had a number of special events.  All day Thursday we hosted visitors from Sunnyside Environmental School who gave us some thought-provoking hands on wildlife tours.  Our class joined Mr. Post’s class to learn about all kinds of creatures and play games.  We also had a nice lunch out on the lawn. We also had a visit from a Chinook storyteller and a high school band from British Columbia!

This week we are excited for Art Night.   We need docents for the big show. Docents will be guiding visitors through our artwork in short shifts.  Please see the attached sheet for Docent sign-ups and performance schedules.  Return docent sign-ups by Wednesday.

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Mark

Dear families,

To celebrate the end of testing let’s take a big breath and take a break from homework.  Your child may bring home some independent projects but I will not expect anything turned in this week.

Our field trip to the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center was fantastic.  The weather was perfect, the buses were on time and our energy never flagged.  A special thanks to all of the family members who were able to come.  The first part of the tour was in the actual museum where students worked like actual historians choosing an artifact from the displays and then thinking about how that object helps tell the history of Japanese Americans in Oregon.  The second part of the tour was the Waterfront Park and Historical Plaza.  We explored the memorial and saw the bridges going up and down as working boats passed through.  We finished up with a nice lunch and run around at the Saturday Market pavilion.

Work Check-off

Trimet Public Art Exploration

http://trimet.org/publicart/index.htm

The Room 24 Museum of Science

Our Friday science museum was a terrific success.  Thanks for all of the support you gave our students in making such great projects.  We had such a wealth of projects and demonstrations - from onion DNA  to hand-shaken butter, from non-newtonian fluids to homemade fossils.  There were foaming monsters and dancing peppercorns. There was a dental floss-and-plastic-cup-duck-noise-maker and a surprisingly strong tower made out of marshmallows and spaghetti. The list goes on.  Students did  a great job demonstrating how they created their project and explaining the scientific concepts involved. Check our blog for photos and videos.

Last week students had a great experience in Tech Class with Mr. Jamesbarry.  They were able to create their own game or interactive scene using a programming environment called Scratch.  They then used Makeymakey kits to create a a game controller that would operate their games.

Next Tuesday 5/3, we are heading downtown for our visit to the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center to learn about the history of Japanese Americans in Oregon.  If you have not yet sent in the permission slip for the trip, please get it to us soon.  Also if you did not send the $5 get that to us too so we can reimburse our class account for the bus pass.  The cafeteria also needs to know soon if your child will need a school lunch for that day, so get those forms in!  

Thanks,

Mark

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 4/29

• READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.
• Math challenge
• Optional: Science project #2

Black Holes

Watch the videos below and then use the 3,2,1 connect to add your thinking.

Fraction Talk Slides

Slide show

As promised, Spring is here.  The classroom is getting kind of stuffy and we are making our way through the State tests.  Because testing chops up our schedule somewhat, we took the opportunity to do some more independent projects.  Based on some recent curiosity about Zika virus, kids watched videos about the human immune system and took notes.  We also used the Tinkercad program and Thingiverse to find 3D models of viruses, immune cells and different proteins to learn about the cellular shape of things.  After that kids had a choice on how to represent what they had learned.  Some students made posters, some made quizzes using Google forms and some made slideshows.  On Friday we had an Immune System museum where everyone shared their learning.  Great stuff!

To further the joy of independent learning we are switching up homework for a while.  We have a really nice class set of science project cards donated by a parent.  Kids are going to choose a card that they think they could do more or less independently at home.  If that doesn’t work out just let me know and we’ll get them a new card.  None of them require any special materials but feel free to embellish if you want.  I’m hoping the projects can be done in time to share on Friday for another museum time.  The science project will replace our normal math homework.  Enjoy the work together!

Thanks,

Mark

Two hour late opening on Wednesday 4/20.  It is also a school spirit day where students can dress as their favorite book character.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 4/22

• READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.
• Science project.

Health study: How does our immune system work?

Watch the following videos and then answer the questions in the form below.

Then, see if you can download stl files from this link or this link and then upload them to Tinkercad to explore them.

To finish up, make a poster, a slideshow or propose your own way to explain how our immune system works!

30 letters and 3D modelling

Dear families,

I’ll be honest; my faith in our class wavered for a moment but I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I thought our class would balk at writing 30 letters in 30 days, but they have taken on the challenge with real enthusiasm.  They’ve written fan letters, written thank you letters, translated notes into Spanish, translated notes into Korean and connected with friends in other schools.  So what is going here? Part of their excitement is meeting the challenge and part of it is the aesthetic pleasure of using the lovely stationery that Egg Press and Hello Lucky donated to our class.  But a big part of their engagement is the inherent joy of connecting with another person through writing.  Extending your thoughts and feeling through writing to meet someone else’s reality is a rewarding and meaningful experience.  Now I just have to get them to be a little more patient about getting notes back!

Last week we started exploring with some online tools for 3D design called tinkercad.  The website offers an open-ended design environment where students can create 3D objects and landscapes.  Our goals are for students to develop modelling skills and apply their understanding of geometric solids in space.  Long-term we are hoping students will be able to design models for Oregon Historical monuments that we can print using Ms. Kennedy’s 3D printer!  We will keep you posted!

Thanks,

Mark

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 4/7

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

30 letters in 30 days? We can do this.

Dear families,

Last week we took on an exceptional challenge.  Mr. Richner arranged for two stationary printers, Egg Press and Hello Lucky, to donate enough cards and envelopes for our students to write thirty letters in thirty days.  Some kids got so excited they took home cards over the weekend.  Many kids wrote notes to friends here at school.  Some wrote letters to their former teachers.  One student decided to connect with his grandma that he’s never met.  After working on his letter for a long time he came over and showed me that he’d translated the whole note into Spanish using Google Translate because his grandma doesn’t speak English! We do not have a budget for stamps to mail the letters so be on the lookout for letters coming home with your students.

Math homework this week is a healthy challenge that I’d love for you to try with your child.  We have been working on reading problems carefully to understand the situation and make sense of what is being asked.  For one of the problems, making comparison tables is a useful way to start while the other is rather open-ended and will require some observation.

Thanks,

Mark

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 4/7

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

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

Leap Day News

Upcoming special event: Read across America Day Celebration, 2:00-2:45 Wednesday 3/2

Thanks to everyone who made time to complete the Notice and Wonder activity with their child.   The questions you asked about the different math pictures were very probing and showed real engagement with mathematical ideas.  

This next week we are launching some new writing activities and beginning to talk about the state assessments.  We have not yet received any information about when we will be taking the tests.  I do not spend too much time practicing for the tests because I know the regular work we do in class will prepare the students to show what they know when they take the tests.  However I do like to give them some experience navigating the online assessments and in doing the particular kinds of thinking that standardized tests require.

If you would like some information about the tests and the standards please check out the following links.

PPS Overview of the SBAC tests and Common Core: http://www.pps.net/Page/732

State of Oregon Notice about Assessments including Opt Out information: http://www.ode.state.or.us/superintendent/priorities/opt-out-final.pdf

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 3/4

Weekly News!

This week I am sending home a new homework piece that I hope you will complete with your child.  This is a very open-ended Math routine we have been doing for the past few months.  I described it in last week’s note.  Simply, we look at a mathematical image and then discuss what we notice and wonder.  This is intended to be an open-ended and exploratory activity.  There is not a right answer.  If the class needs prompting I simply ask them to tell me what they see.  It is magical how putting observations into words drives our brain to make connections and inferences. I’m also going to ask the class to challenge you to pose a mathematical question about the images!

Our class has wrapped up our personal essays.  I am very pleased with the work they have done.  You should be receiving a typed copy of the essay with a self-reflection  attached.  

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 2/26

• READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.
• MATH: Notice and Wonder.

Names __________________________________________

Take a look at the images below.  Record what you notice and about the images and what you wonder.

What do you notice?

What do you wonder?

What do you notice?

What do you wonder?

Notice and Wonder

If you follow our classroom on Twitter you may have noticed that I interact sometimes with a lot of people who post about teaching Math.  Math was not my first love.  I’ve always been more of a Literacy guy.  But seeing all of the amazing work that my virtual colleagues of the (ahem) Math Twitter Blogosphere has given me inspiration and a lot of ideas.  One of the key techniques I’ve garnered  is called “Notice and Wonder.”  It is nothing too sophisticated; in fact it is quite simple.  You present an interesting mathematical picture or graphic and ask students what they notice and wonder.  What happens can be a slow burn but is always kind of magical.  Slowly students start to perk up.  They will ask questions and share startling mathematical realizations and connections that I would never think to show them.  

This process feeds a student’s independent stance toward learning.  It gives them ownership of the learning and challenges them to find their own way into understanding a situation.  At this point in our time together this is my main goal for students.

In the coming weeks, I will be sending home interesting images that pertain to mathematical ideas and simply ask students to notice and wonder.  I hope you will join them in adding your observations and questions.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 2/19

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

Wapping up essays

Thanks to everyone who responded to the favorite place family interviews.  We learned about our connections to places all around the world.  If you have not yet had worked on your family interview, please do so this week.  

This past weekend I read through all of our class’s essay drafts.  What a treat.  The students have tackled some mature essay concepts like making a clear claim in a thesis statement, backing the claim up with evidence and then connecting the evidence to the thesis with analysis. The essays are based on “I believe” pieces that are collected at http://thisibelieve.org/  I was moved by the anecdotal evidence our young writers included in their pieces: tales of triumph, woe and resilience.

In the coming weeks we are going to break out an old type kit I created with a previous class so that students can typeset their thesis statements and print a few posters.  If you are available in the afternoon this week to help set type and print please send me a note or a text.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:   Due Friday 2/12

• Family interviews if not yet complete
• READING: Daily reading and one Reading Journal Response.
• MATH: Practice pages!