Author's Tea

Just a reminder that this Friday at 9 AM is our second Author's Tea of the year.  The students will be sharing the personal narratives they wrote from the perspective of their Chinook characters.  The kids have really incorporated a lot of their learning about the Chinook and salmon into these pieces.  They've been working on beginnings, endings, paragraphing, and dialogue to boot.  Consider yourself invited to join us for this on Friday.  If anyone would like to bring treats to help us celebrate, please contact me.  Thanks!

Musical Parent Volunteer Meeting

Just a friendly reminder that Ralph Nelson, our musical director, will be having a meeting for all parents who are interested in helping with "Portland - A Musical" this Thursday at 3:00 PM in Jeremy's room (203). The performance is coming up in just a couple of short months (Feb. 22nd), so now is the time to start preparing.  

Please attend if you can help in any way (including things that can be done at home, such as make the program). 

 Let me know if you cannot attend, but would still like to help in some capacity.  

Homework

Homework this week

There is no weekly homework sheet this week, just a math worksheet or two (each student is working on what they need to be working on in math) to be turned in on Friday. Instead, students are to bring their writing binder home AND BACK(!) each day until Friday when their personal narrative (about Chinook life) is due and we will celebrate with another Author's Tea. I really want these to be written by your child, but you are welcome to help in the following ways:

* The narrative can be typed (this is completely optional) if you or they type it exactly as written (incorrect spelling, capitals and all). You will need to turn off auto correct for this. They can bring the printout to school to work on and then home again each day.

*If they/you choose to type it, you can leave spell check on! It may seem overwhelming to them at first, but when the child sees the red underlined words, it becomes them vs. the computer, rather than them vs. you! You can guide them through the process of spell checking and choosing the correct word.

*If they ask for spelling help, offer language such as, "Would you like me to circle three, five or all misspelled words I notice?" Then you can offer the first few letters of the word and ask that they look it up using a resource at home or on the computer.

Tomorrow each child will be given a final publishing checklist from which to work. So far all students have been given separate revising and editing checklists from which to work. Look for this publishing checklist to come home tomorrow, along with their binder.

Homework over the break

There will be no weekly homework over the break. That said, over the break, some parents want me to assign no homework, others want me to assign a lot. Our team settles in the middle with some choices, suggestions and math fluency. We feel kids need a break to enjoy family. Look for the  homework sheet to come home this Friday. I'd love for the starred items to be done (you'll see, but there aren't many and I mainly request that kids read every day.)

Ride Share

One of our 3rd grade families has moved and no longer has reliable transportation to Sunnyside. She and her sister are hoping to find a carpool in order for them to be able to stay at SES, who lives near 82nd and Duke. Please e-mail me if you can help and I will put you in touch with them.

Thanks for sending such hardworking students to school each day,

Catie

Photos from another busy week

So thoughtful!

Buddy reading the latest issue of National Geographic

Native Fishing Tool Demonstrations

The first visit to the computer lab-the students set up their accounts and practiced placing their fingers on the correct keys (they will start typing practice soon, an essential skill!)

The Salmon release. Take care!

Another Native Event-January 19, 2013

WACIPI Fourteenth Annual Traditional Pow-Wow

Portland Community College and the Sylvania Multicultural Center are proud to present WACIPI - a celebration of Native American culture and tradition.

Please join us for an extraordinary campus and community celebration. This cultural event features drum groups and dancers from across the region and attracts more than 1,000 participants each year. The Pow-Wow also supports Native American businesses by offering vendor space. 

Proceeds from the Annual Winter Pow-Wow support the PCC Sylvania Native American Student Scholarship. Your participation and support of Pow Wow will ensure that the tradition of increasing access and retention of Native American Students continues. 

• Saturday, January 19, 2013
• Sylvania Campus, Health Technology Building (HT)
• Doors open at 12 noon

Activities for children:

12 noon - 9pm

College Fair:

12 noon - 4pm

Grand Entries:

1pm and 7pm

Community Dinner:

5:30pm

For more information about Pow-Wow or if you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the Native American Student Scholarship Fund please email Stephan.Herrera@pcc.edu  or call 971-722-4116.

http://www.pcc.edu/about/events/powwow/

Thanks Miriam!

Weekly Update-Catie's Class

Math

Last week we worked on a variety of strategies for solving 2 and 3 digit subtraction problems.  The team and I are working on a worksheet to send home to parents to explain the variety of strategies we are using.  As of yet, we haven’t found anything very helpful online and I’m not sure how to properly show math solutions in a typed format.

Writer’s Workshop

This past week, we focused on writing Great Endings and adding dialogue to our personal narratives.  It’s very common for third grade writing to appear rushed at the end or to end abruptly.  I’m encouraging the kids to take time with their endings in order to leave their reader feeling satisfied.  We are also working on doing additional revising to their stories.  Our next Author’s Tea will be on Friday, December 14th at 9 AM.

Reader’s Workshop

This past week, we finished our read aloud, Island of the Blue Dolphins. We practiced asking questions and reflecting in paragraph form. The students need lots of practice with paragraphs, and we will continue to work on this in Reader's Workshop and Writer's Workshop. Next week,  we will work on the ART of Comprehension.  ART stands for “Actively Reading Text.”  I continually tell the kids that reading is not sounding out words, it is thinking.  Actively reading text means that they are constantly making meaning, asking questions, making connections, and visualizing in their heads.  After Winter Break, they will begin to do this with their own Independent Reading books.

Salmon

Thanks to all of you who were able to come out to release the salmon-that was pretty amazing. I've been thinking about those little fish all weekend.

Chinook

Last week, our villagers read about and created a variety of fishing tools in order to catch the many salmon that are spawning in our river.  We did indeed catch enough salmon to last us through the winter.  We also received a mysterious invitation to co-host a potlatch with two other nearby Chinook villages.  Next week we will prepare for our potlatch, which will be on Thursday afternoon.

Forest Festival

This coming Friday, Dec. 7th from 5:30-8:00 is Sunnyside’s Forest Festival.  This will be your only opportunity to come in and see all that the 3rd through 8th graders have been studying and working on this fall.  Our classroom will be open from 5:30-7:00 PM.  You will get to see your child’s longhouses, Chinook characters, native plant and animal cards, totems, salmon posters, and more.  At 7 PM, everyone is invited to join the community sing along in the auditorium.  There will be lasagna, music, and lots to see.  I hope you can come!

Ask Your Third Grader...

What were some ways that the Chinook people would catch salmon?

What is a potlatch?

How will you leave your reader satisfied at the end of your personal narrative?

What is your wish for the salmon that you raised at school?

Important Things Coming Up...

Dec. 6 - Potlatch 12:30-3:00 pm

Dec. 7 - Forest Festival 5:30-8:00 pm

Dec. 14 - Author’s Tea 9:00-10:00

Dec. 15-Jan. 1 - Winter Break

Thanks for sending such crafty students to school each day,

Catie

Classroom Wishes

Hello families,

There are a few things we could really use in our classroom, and perhaps you have them lying around your house and would be willing to lend or donate them:

-floor lamps (could just be borrowed until after Forest Festival)
-electric kettle
-gift cards to Powells
-2013 Nikki McClure Calendar
-Bean bags or comfy floor seats for silent reading
-Book sets: 4-6 copies of the same book 2-4 grade reading level

Thank you so much for all of your support, and especially to Greg H. for my standing desk!

Best,

Catie

Upcoming Native American Events

Please mark your calendars for these two upcoming Native American events.  Both of these events are connected to our study of the Chinook people and I highly encourage you to try to make it to one of them with your child:

1. Native Heritage Month Celebration at PSU on Friday, Nov. 30th. See the flyer in the previous blog post (Thanks, Susan!)

2. Tribal Cultural Heritage Night at Sauvie Island Academy on Thursday, Dec. 13th (time TBD).  This event is being put on by Jeremy’s friend and former student teacher, Asa Gervich, who teaches at Sauvie Island Academy.  It will involve learning Chinook Wawa, crafts, games, dancing, and more.

Weekly Update-Catie's Class

Math

Last week, we worked on creating efficient strategies for solving 2 and 3 digit addition problems.  We’ll continue looking at strategies for 2 and 3 digit subtraction problems next week.  I will add a post to the blog in the coming days about the variety of strategies that students are bringing to the classroom and the strategies that I am teaching.

Writer’s Workshop

Last week we focused on drafting our Chinook Personal Narratives.  We especially focused on writing Great Beginnings and paragraphing.  Students should finish drafting during the Thanksgiving Break so that we can begin revising and editing their stories when they return.  Right now I am tentatively planning on an Author’s Tea on Friday, Dec. 14th - mark your calendars and I will confirm the date and time soon.

Reader’s Workshop

Last week we continued working on summarizing what we are reading.  The students are getting better at this, but we need to continue practicing.  The key thing with summarizing is not trying to retell the entire book/chapter, but focusing on main ideas.  This is a difficult thing for many third graders to do.  You can support this at home by having them verbally (or occasionally in writing) summarize what they are reading.

Chinook

Last week, there was a fire set near our village....but it was intentional.  The students learned about why native tribes would sometimes set intentional fires in the forest.  We also did a science lab to learn about what fire needs in order to exist.

Salmon

Our salmon are growing quickly.  We are getting a variety of estimates on the amount of time until they will need to be released.  My guess at this point is that they will need to be released next week.  We’ve been given strict orders from Oregon Fish & Wildlife to not release these salmon into a small creek, so we will need to release them into the Willamette.  Right now, let’s plan on a Salmon Release for Friday, Nov. 30th at 3:30 pm on the submarine dock at OMSI.  Students will need to get rides to this event.  Maureen will transfer the salmon to buckets and bring cups so that each child who attends can release some of the salmon into the Willamette River.

Ask Your Third Grader...

I’d love to hear your personal narrative.  Can you read it to me?
Why would the Chinook and other tribes set intentional fires?
What does fire need in order to exist?  How do you know this?  Is fire alive?
What are you thankful for?

Important Things Coming Up...

Nov. 24 - Chief Lelooska Performance 7 pm
Nov. 30 - Salmon Release at OMSI 3:30 pm
Dec. 6 - Potlatch 12:30-3:00 pm
Dec. 7 - Forest Festival 5:00-8:00 pm

Thanks for sending such grateful students to school each day,

Catie

Thanks Susan (Flynn's mom) for this flyer, the event looks great! I am going to try to attend, anyone else? Please comment on the blog if so!

Photos from yet another busy week!

Enjoying and observing nature and seasonal change at their sit spot

The joys and perils of angling

Native Plant Gathering

Oh no! They harvested Snowberry!

Another request-if you have any Paper Towel tubes (not toilet paper) the students are making their clan totems on Tuesday. Please send them with your student! We need 5.

Can you spot the frog? The students sure did! Also, a couple of the students and I were talking about the duckweed on the pond there and what makes that such a good place for it to grow? Please encourage and support your students to do research in things they are interested in! 

Weekly Update-Catie's Class

Math

This week we continued working on place value.  We especially focused on rounding numbers to the nearest 10 and using rounding to help us make estimations.  Estimating is challenging for 3rd graders!  They really want an exact answer.  It’s helpful to support this at home by asking them to give a rough estimate.  When you think about, as adults, we do far more estimation than exact calculation - it’s an important skill to have.

Writer’s Workshop

This week we read some personal narratives, learned what personal narratives are, and began working on some graphic organizers to help us organize our stories.  The students will be writing personal narratives from the perspective of their Chinook characters.  The kids are doing a great job of taking their own experiences and adapting them to their characters.  It will be fun to see how these narratives turn out.

Reader’s Workshop

This week we started practicing summarizing our reading and differentiating this from simply retelling the whole story.  We’ll continue with this skill next week. We also practiced empathizing with the characters to make a stronger connection with the story and help our understanding.

Chinook

This week the Chinook villagers went on a plant gathering mission in order to prepare for the winter ahead.  They did a fantastic job and learned a lot about native plants in the process. Thanks to Bonnie and Jamyelese and all of the Feast suppliers.

Salmon

Our salmon are now in the alevin stage, which means that they have hatched, but they still carry around their egg sac on their bellies.  This egg sac provides all the nutrients they need at this point.  Gradually these egg sacs will shrink and disappear.  Once their gone, our salmon will need to be released so that they can find their own food.  Right now we’re estimating that they will need to be released around the time we return from Thanksgiving break.  I’ll keep you updated.

Chief Lelooska

The tickets should be arriving this week.  I will e-mail you on the day I send them home so that you can check your child’s backpack.  I will give them out along with the order form you filled out.  Remember to mark your calendar for Saturday, Nov. 24th at 7 pm if you ordered tickets!

Ask Your Third Grader...

What is a personal narrative?

What is your personal narrative going to be about?

Tell me about the plant gathering your tribe did?

What did you learn about native plants this week?

Tell me about your experience “angling” at Columbia Children’s Arboretum?

Important Things Coming Up...

Nov. 12 - Veteran's Day Observed (No School)

Nov. 19-20 - Parent-Teacher Conferences (No School)

Nov. 21-23 Thanksgiving Break (No School)

Nov. 24 - Chief Lelooska Performance (7 pm)

Thanks for sending such persistent  and supportive students to school each day, (ask about the challenges of angling!)

Catie