Happy Summer!

Students made bookmarks with welcome messages for next year's 3rd graders. Love this one: "Dear ____?, I hope you like third grade.  You will be a poet, an author, a writer."  Mission Accomplished!

Summer is here, and thus marks the end of our amazing third grade adventures. It has truly been a pleasure and an honor to teach your children this year; they are energetic, funny, honest, fearless, and have an inspiring, unapologetic love for learning about the world. I will miss them so! Below is my summer-super-list of ways to keep those brains humming June through August! Below you will find reading lists, writing ideas, math games, upcoming events, etc...   Do take some time to sit with your child and reflect on their portfolios that came home this week - and celebrate how much your child has grown this year.   Also, note that in the post just below this one, I have placed a link to order your own paperback copy of our Wapato Poetry book.  Yay!

Many students were bummed that I won't be in the classroom right next door when they are in 4th grade - and requested my email and/or address to keep in touch.  Go for it!  I love getting letters or emails from former students - and always write back! 

Have a wonderful, fun-filled summer!

Fondly,
Asa

READING AND WRITING

Keeping up with reading and writing skills over the summer is key to maintaining learning throughout the year — here are some ideas:

Keep a journal: Kids can keep sharp in writing by keeping a journal, writing about summer activities and more.

Read throughout the day: Offer reading opportunities morning, noon, and night, with the newspaper, websites, books, magazines, and more.

Write a comic strip: Develop creativity, writing, and humor with a fun comic strip.

Read books about summer activities: Before heading to the beach, camping, or other adventures, pick out a book that discusses the activity. 

Email friends and family: Have kids write to friends and family over email to keep in touch while also keeping up with their writing practice.

Encourage reading in bed, even if it pushes bedtimes: Allow your children to read in bed, even allowing them to stay up later as long as they are reading.

Start a blog: Create a blog for your child to update over the summer, and share it with family and friends.  KidBlog is what we used in third grade - a great, safe, kid-friendly template.

Read everywhere, read the environment: Read street signs, billboards, and anything else you can find while you’re on the go this summer.

Designate a family reading time: Create a time when your whole family reads, individually or as a group.

Buddy up: Pick out books for your kids to read together with their friends for fun and a shared experience.

Pick up comic books: Build a renewed interest in reading with comic books this summer.

Read aloud each day: Even if it’s poolside,  listen to your child read aloud every day.

Summer reading camp: Scholastic offers a Summer Challenge, a virtual reading camp that engages kids in competitive reading over the summer.

 Most importantly, READ! READ! READ!

Looking for some new good summer reads?  Check out this reading list from Green Bean Books.

If you’re in the Portland area I recommend Green Bean Books on NE Alberta or Powell’s Books.   Of course, there is the Scappoose Library , the St. Helens Public Library , and the awesome Multnomah County Library. 

Most public libraries have summer reading programs and challenges where kids can win goodies as they log reading hours - check your library to see if you can sign up for one!

Here are some summer reading lists from Scholastic's Summer Reading Challenge (when you get to the page, find the downloadable pdf files for ages 8-10 and 10-12 book lists). 

MATH 

Try these hands-on experiences to keep math skills sharp:

• Money - practice adding, subtracting, and estimating money through experiences at the grocery store, lemonade stand, etc. 

• Multiplication - use multiplication to calculate the totals of groups of things; grocery stores, parking lots,

• Measurement - have your child help you with measuring length, weight, volume of things around the house.   

• Time - keep up conversations and practice telling time and calculating lapsed time

• Fractions - serving up a pizza? Cooking a recipe?  Get your child involved in the fractions!

Free, age-appropriate computer games can help your child practice basic skills at home. Play with your child the first time to make sure the game matches your child's interests and abilities. If your child has trouble focusing, the graphics may be too distracting. Children benefit from hands-on experiences and interaction with other people, so when you have time, play board games and talk to your child about the math he or she is doing.  There is no substitute for your interest and involvement!

Here are some great websites with games and activities for your child to keep sharp with their math:

http://www.multiplication.com/

http://www.fun4thebrain.com/

 

Basic Addition

Speed Grid Addition  Players select two numbers from a grid that equal the given sum. Timed game.

Math Lines   The player races to pair numbers that add up to 10. Before your child plays, review the pairs of numbers that add up to 10. Site contains ads.

Basic Subtraction

Speed Grid Subtraction  Players select two numbers from a grid that equal the given difference. Timed game.

Larger Addition

Falling Problems  A beat-the-clock game in which the player has to decide whether an addition or subtraction combination will be less than or greater than 10. In a more challenging version, the player decides whether an addition or subtraction combination will be less than or greater than 100. This game is great for developing number sense and estimation skills.

Larger Subtraction

Falling Problems  A beat-the-clock game in which the player has to decide whether an addition or subtraction combination will be less than or greater than 10. In a more challenging version, the player decides whether an addition or subtraction combination will be less than or greater than 100. This game is great for developing number sense and estimation skills.

Basic Multiplication

Times Square  This game provides practice with multiplication facts as players race to be the first to get 4 products in a row on the game board. Use "guest pass" to enter game list & play against the computer.

Factor Dazzle  Players score points for finding all the factors of target numbers set by their opponents. Your child may need some support to get started. Use "guest pass" to enter game list & play against the computer.

Multiplication Grand Prix  Up to 4 players compete in this race car game by entering basic facts. Students can race one another or play against the computer.

All Basic Facts

Math Magician  Specify facts to practice. Select from addition, subtraction, multiplication & division. Timed. 

Money: Subtraction with Decimal Numbers

Making Change   The player finds the difference between a price and the amount of money paid. Then the player shows that change using the fewest coins and bills possible. Talk to your child about some ways to calculate the amount of change mentally. For example, can he or she add up from the price to the amount paid to figure the difference? Site contains ads.

Telling Time

Bang On Time  The time is displayed in words. A player stops the clock when hands are in the correct position.

Watch and Learn  An extensive list of links to games and activities to practice telling time.

Fractions

Identifying Fractions Game  Identify which picture of a pizza represents the given fraction. Use arrow keys to choose the correct pizza. Select from 4 levels of difficulty. Turn off timer and sound if desired. One or two player game. Site contains ads.

More Games
The sites below contain some of the best games for elementary math students to play at home. Look through the sites to find other games for your child.
ABCya!
BBC Bitesize (skip money games on this British site)
Calculation Nation (register or use guest pass; for upper elementary & middle grades)
Cyberchase
Johnnie's Math Page
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

EVENTS! 

PDX KIDS CALENDAR - lots of great events listed... 

"Red Tricycle"list of kid-friendly events in Portland

Order a Copy of Wapato Poems by the 2013-14 Third Graders of SIA

Wapato Poems by the 2013-14 Third Graders of Sauvie Island Academy | Make Your Own Book

Classroom News! Read all about it!

Soon-to-be fourth graders - WOW!   The kids and I are both finding it hard to believe the end of the year is so close!    

Before I get into the summary of classroom goings-on – I'll begin with important dates/times you’ll want to put on your calendar for these remaining days:

•  This Thursday June 5 – Final, All-day Field Study @ Wapato Park  *sack lunch needed

This Wapato Field Study will take up most of the day, running from 9am-1:45pm.  We will be meeting our pen-pals from Sunnyside Environmental School for some hiking, nature awareness activities, lunch, and games.  Drivers/Chaperones please RSVP ASAP

• This Friday June 6 – Walking Bridge Tour in Downtown Portland  *sack lunch needed

On this all-day field trip, historian Nathaniel Hoover will lead us on a fun and informative tour over a minimum of three Portland bridges. Along the way, he will discuss the history and structure of each bridge, as well as its importance to the surrounding geography.  I welcome as many adults that want to chaperone as possible - please RSVP if you are planning on coming and haven't let me know yet!

• Tuesday June 10 – SIA Spring Music Concert at the Scappoose Auditorium from 7:00pm-8:00pm  

• Wednesday June 11  3rd Grade Author’s Tea - Imaginative Stories and More!  from 10:30am-11:25am.

Join us for tea, treats, and hear kids read aloud some of the fantastic fictional narratives, poems, articles, and other pieces of writing they've produced this year.  Sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, adventure?  We’ve got you covered!

• Thursday June 12 – LAST DAY OF SCHOOL:  CEREMONIES, AWARDS, FIELD DAY!

9:00 to 9:30am  Assembly in the Gym for standing recognition of volunteers and family members, Tom's Tree awards*

9:30 to 10:00 Individual student awards and parent volunteer thank you’s in the classroom

10:00 to 11:15 Field Day

11:15 to 11:45 Sack lunch in the classroom

11:45 to 12:00  Closing Circle in the classroom

Got all that?  Ok!  Whew!  Now, on to what we've been working on academically....

Math

We finished our unit titled Working With Larger Numbers (multi-digit addition, subtraction, and place-value concepts).  I am happy to see that nearly all of the kids in class are more confident with triple- and quadruple-digit subtraction - applying the “carrying” and “borrowing” algorithms with better accuracy and a more thorough understanding of the place-value concepts that really make these algorithms work.  A minority are still struggling with problems where there are multiple 0’s in the tens or hundreds places – for example:

2008 
- 458

I'll be doing some reteaching with a few kids this week.  Here’s a little video that is worth watching with your kids:

Over the last few days we worked on some real-life context-based story problems that touch on various concepts we’ve learned over the year.  Students used and shared a variety of strategies to solve a problem where you had to determine the range of outcomes/combinations on a frozen yogurt menu.  Kids attacked this problem with a variety of approaches (tables, graphs, multiplication), and we had a great discussion forum with different groups sharing out.  I am really trying to drive home that good problem solving is more than just getting the correct answer – it’s about communicating, proving, discussing, defending how and why your solution works.

Writing

In Writer’s Workshop, we're finishing revising, editing, and publishing our Imaginative Stories.  These pieces show significant growth in these young writers’ stamina, ideas, word choice,  and conventions.   It has been a joy to see how their favorite authors’ writing styles have influenced their own writing as well! 

Reading

We've been reading the classic book Runt - by Marion Dane Bauer:

 Deep in the Minnesota woods, four normal sized pups—Leader, Sniffer, Runner, and Thinker—are born to a wolf pack.  Then comes one last, very small pup. For him there is no name but Runt. Runt struggles to learn the ways of the wild alongside his brothers and sisters but often makes mistakes, many of them serious. When he feels the displeasure of the other wolves, especially his father, he withdraws more and more. The way Runt discovers his own worth makes for a uniquely moving tale. As is true with all good animal stories, it reflects our own world and reminds us of what it means to be alive. 

On top of all that,  this book has been a great echo of the the learning we've been doing about ecosystem relationships, food webs, and human/wildlife interaction issues. 

This week our nonfiction reading focused on learning about the different types of bridges, and taking notes on their different design elements, building materials, and examples from around the world.  Reading passages from books as well as the internet, we're again practicing using text features (table of contents, index, headings, bold print, etc) to locate specific information, as well as how to summarize the main idea in our own words.   

As always, we continue our core routines of silent, independent reading and notebook reflections every day.  Sometimes, we even get outdoors to read if weather permits :)

  
Social Studies & Science

Oakwood Park 

The last week of our Oakwood Park Storyline was quite interesting!  Students came to school one day to find that several of the wetland and/or water-loving animals had gone missing or left the park.  We brainstormed potential reasons for the animals' departure, and students did a quick-write from the perspective of their Oakwood character - what would they think or have to say about this?  What would they do?  This provided a fantastic authentic assessment of kids' ecological understandings - on their own, they discussed potential causes such as migration patterns, limiting factors (food/water/shelter), erosion and water quality, and possible pollution problems.  I was blown away at the sophistication of some of their thinking!

After that, to model how community members might deal with a pollution issue - the students read about a real issue (increased coal train traffic in their community) and came up with a role-play skit modeling how their Oakwood character might deal with it.  Students had interesting ideas - from contacting news organizations/journalists to educate the public, conducting their own citizen-science tests on the water quality,  and organizing boycotts and protests to get their voices heard.

Finally, to wrap up our unit - we were able to interview a local expert on wildlife parks!  Oregon State Parks Manager John Mullen visited our class and fielded questions for an hour from the kids about his career, experiences, and details about managing wildlife parks and what it entails.  He was quite impressed with some of the high-level questions they had ("How can we get more woman park-rangers?", "What kinds of costs are there to keep a park going?", "What kinds of issues do you have to work on?")   It was a very informative visit, and kids were so taken with John that they lined up for his autograph at the end!

The Physical Science of Bridges

We've been building and testing a variety of different bridges this week in class - and Friday worked on an experiment where we looked at the variance in load that could be held by beam, arch, and arch-with-reinforced-beam bridges. The students are doing a great job communicating their results and conclusions in a way that tied back to their testable question, demonstrating their proficiency with these key Oregon science standards:

3.3S.1 Plan a simple investigation based on a testable question, match measuring tools to their uses,

and collect and record data from a scientific investigation.

3.3S.2 Use the data collected from a scientific investigation to explain the results and draw conclusions.

These last days of school we'll continue delving into physical science, and learning all about bridges:  how they are planned, built, and the physical forces at work.   Please note that if your child does not have the time/materials/support to build a bridge at home by Monday June 9th – I will be keeping the classroom open during recesses this week and have materials on hand so they can build one at school if need be.  I also have a ton of cardboard tubes, scraps, popsicle sticks, and other stuff if your child simply needs some materials to bring home to work on it.

That's the news for now- stay tuned for my summer reading lists, and suggestions on how to keep academic skills sharp until September...

Here's a picture of Jamie, myself, and fellow Sauvie staff after running the Starlight Run yesterday.  My first 5k!  Woot!

Fondly,

Asa

Links about Wolves!

Hi there!  We've been interested in learning more about wolves as we read our current read-aloud, Runt (by Marion Dane Bauer).  Here are some links and games you might check out:

http://www.wolf.org/learn/wild-kids/

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/wolf/

http://www.endangeredwolfcenter.org/

http://www.wolfquest.org/index.php

Classroom News!

Math

We’ve been working on place-value and computation with larger numbers.  Major focal points these past two weeks have been: adding and subtracting 3- and 4- digit numbers using traditional algorithms (alongside models that reinforce those algorithms); estimating sums (addition) and differences (subtraction) of 3- and 4- digit numbers; and solving story problems involving adding/subtracting 3- and 4-digit numbers.  Many kids come into this unit attempting to “carry” and “borrow” but with mixed success due to  misunderstandings about place-value and how it makes the algorithm work. 

Note that this coming Tuesday and Wednesday May 13^th and 14^th, many of the students will be taking their second round of the OAKS Mathematics assessment.  I’m hoping we will see some big gains after our lessons and hard work learning about fractions this spring. Please help your child do their best by making sure they get the full 10 hours sleep and a hearty, protein-rich breakfast each morning.

Writing

Building upon the instructional routines and craft lessons we’ve worked on in previous units, the students are now working on Imaginative Stories.  This unit focuses on the ‘sense of story’. Students plan their story by creating a map or flow chart.  This last week, we looked closely at some of our favorite read-aloud novels from this year and mapped out who the main characters were, and what the central conflict was.  We then spent time creating and developing characters.  This week, we will map out a conflict and solution for our characters to solve. 

Reading

We continue our daily core practice of silently reading to self from “just-right” texts, and occasionally responding to our readings by writing thoughts, questions, scene sketches, etc. in our Reader’s Notebooks.   This last week, I had each student write me a letter about the book they are reading, including their personal thoughts and analysis of the text. 

Social Studies/Science: The Oakwood Park Storyline

Having created a name, entrance, signage, and map to the park, as well as a field guide to the animal species found there, we are now thinking about how humans would use this place.   Different characters that work in and use the park have been created, including park rangers, wildlife biologists, conservation workers, and various citizens. Students spent the last week or so crafting paper portraits and writing detailed biographies of the people who use or work at Oakwood Park.   This week, we will explore how humans impact (or mitigate their impact in) a wildlife area by seeing how we problem-solve a series of “incidents” that occur in or near the park.

That’s the news for now!  

~ Asa

Important/Upcoming:

This Tuesday and Wednesday May 13/14

Math OAKS Round II

Monday May 19^th – Friday May 23^rd

Volunteer Appreciation Week!  Please visit the staff room for tasty treats brought in for you by our staff – we really appreciate all our parent volunteers do to help our school and kids thrive all year long!

Thursday June 5th

Final, all-day field study at Wapato Park

Friday June 6^th

Portland Bridge Tour Field Trip – we encourage as many parents as possible to join us on our last field trip of the year!

Classroom News!

Hello there! Here is the skinny on our latest third grade learning…  (I apologize for the delay in update; I used my regular Sunday writing time to draft a statement encouraging the Scappoose School Board to fund our students at the full 100% ADMW in the new charter contract! Hopefully they will see the light!) 

 Students conducting nature observations and comparing Wapato Park with their imagined classroom model "Oakwood Park".  

Math

This week, students took the post-assessment for our unit on fractions.  Over the past several weeks, we have been learning about and working with fractions across a variety of models and contexts. Kids have a good grasp on the classic “pie” and “brownies” models, strong understanding of the part-to-whole relationship, and can point out equivalent fractions. Most recently we’ve been tackling more challenging problems that deal with fractions on a number line, and calculating fractions from a number of given objects (e.g. ¼ of 24).  These models haven’t come easy to most kids, so I encourage you to get keep up those fraction conversations at home, or have them play these games:

http://www.brainpop.com/games/battleshipnumberline/

https://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/fractions/AnimalRescueFractionsNumberLineGame.htm

http://www.freewebs.com/weddell/equivalent.swf

http://www.counton.org/games/map-fractions/falling/

Here is a GREAT website from the BBC for some review as well.  Watch the video and look at the interactives with your child:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/topic/fractions

Our next unit is on Place Value & Computation with Larger Numbers, including some work with money and probability.

In this next unit your child will:

• read, write, and compare whole numbers to 10,000

• recognize and create models (e.g., pictures) for whole numbers to 10,000

• add and subtract 3- and 4- digit numbers using traditional algorithms (alongside models that reinforce those algorithms)

• estimate sums (addition) and differences (subtraction) of 3- and 4- digit numbers

• solve story problems involving adding and subtracting 3- and 4-  digit numbers

Writing

We finished publishing our Poetry Anthologies, and they look beautiful!  The kids worked hard last week to read through their Writer’s Notebooks and curate the poems they thought would best make an anthology representing them as a poet.  We also went into the forest to read poems written by the 1^st graders, and gathered sticks and twigs to use for our poetry book binding.

Currently, we are working on a short research article about an animal that lives in our park “Oakwood Park” (see below for more about Oakwood Park).  The kids have been using graphic organizers to record the facts they find about habitat, diet, physical characteristics and behavior.  This week we will start developing a rough draft from our notes.  Big goals for this writing assignment are: gathering information from at least 2 sources (e.g. field guide, books, internet articles) and putting it into one’s own words, and crafting an introduction, body, and concluding sentence/ending.  

In addition to this, we’ve also been writing on our blogs, and responding to another round of pen-pal letters.

Reading

We’ve been doing a good deal of reading for information this week, as students read from field guides, internet sites, and library books to learn about their animal.  With a specific research goal in mind (e.g. “I need to find out about this frog’s habitat”) this has been great practice using nonfiction text features like the table of contents, index, bold print headings, etc. to find certain information.

We also continue our daily core practice of silently reading to self from “just-right” texts, and occasionally responding to our readings by writing thoughts, questions, scene sketches, etc. in our Reader’s Notebooks.   The Scholastic Book Fair put many shiny, exciting new books into kids’ hands, and a big THANK YOU to parents who bought new books for our classroom library as well – some great new titles are gracing our shelves!!

Our current read-aloud, The One and Only Ivan, has turned out to be the PERFECT book to show kids what inference is!  Because the whole book is told from the perspective of a gorilla, he will describe something that he doesn’t necessarily have the vocabulary for. In one example, he observes humans “foraging about, filling bags with things, and exchanging little old green pieces of paper” – for which the kids immediately infer: Oh! He’s describing people going shopping!  In addition to learning about point-of-view and inference, this text has also brought up some spirited discussions and debates about the ethical treatment of animals.

Storyline (Social Studies, Science)

After returning from Spring Break, the students received a letter from a land management agency tasking them with turning a parcel of land into a state wildlife park. 

Some of the questions addressed by this unit include:

Why do we have wildlife parks?

What does a wildlife park need?

What animals and plants might you find in various habitats in a NW state park?

What causes animals and plants to move?

Who works at a park?

Who uses a park?

How are people and living things affected by an event, problem, or issue at a state park?  How are these issues mitigated?

What do people need to know about a park, and how do they acquire that information?

We started off with brainstorming sessions.  What is a wildlife park, exactly?  What would it need to have?  What animals might we find there?   So far, the students have come up with some great ideas - all very much informed by the background knowledge and environmental ethic they’ve been developing over at Wapato since October.  This past week, students created a name, entrance, signage, and map to the park.  We compared our emerging designs with Wapato on our field study last week.  Now students are creating and researching the animal species found in their "Oakwood Park".  

What is ‘Storyline’?  Click here to learn about this teaching methodology…

We also had another special guest lesson from the awesome nature and science educators at Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership.  James and Andy visited our classroom last week to teach us more about different types of NW habitats, and model them using a stream table.   Next week, we will go canoeing with them out on Scappoose Bay!  

That’s the news for now! 

Fondly,

Asa

Important Upcoming Dates, Field Trips, etc.:

Thursday April 24 – Field Trip Canoeing Scappoose Bay with LCREP (*pack a lunch)

Thursday May 1 – Morning Field Study at Wapato Park

Thursday/Friday May 8 and 9 - OAKS Reading Round I

Tues/Wed May 13 and 14 - OAKS Math Round II

Thusday June 5 - Last Trip to Wapato - all day (with pen-pals!)

Friday June 6 - Portland Bridge Tour