We are so enjoying this lovely bout of sunny spring weather. I hope many of you had a chance to visit Lewis during the wonderful Garden Fair and take an educational tour through the Outdoor Center. The Clearing portion of our Portland Unit is now complete, and we are delving into Stumptown, 1844. Ask your child about the origin of our fair city’s name. It is an interesting tale of Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove. In literacy, we are focusing on the photo essay, Talking Walls: Art for the People. Students are solid on fact versus opinion, but would definitely benefit from more work on the main idea. Please take a moment and ask your child about the main idea of the book he or she is reading at home. For PE, we were able to head outside for one-on-one soccer games, and some of these third graders have some real skill! In art, we are using colored pencil to create a background for our da Vinci portraits. The accompanying photos in the style of Mona Lisa are very endearing. Math includes polyhedrons, scalene triangles, vertices, and fraction word problems. Our second round of state testing begins the first week in May, and students are strongly encouraged to practice a variety of skills on IXL Math and Raz-Kids.
Friday morning we depart for a field trip to the Portland Art Museum to view the Northwest Native American artifacts! We will be traveling on TriMet buses. The museum sent along a list of guidelines for proper behavior. Here is an abbreviated list to go over with your child: “Please respect a boundary of one foot distance around all objects; touching the pieces can cause damage to the artwork. Students and chaperones must stay together at all times. Quiet voices are important, especially on stairs connecting the galleries. Please walk slowly and remember that other visitors are here viewing the artwork. Please refrain from allowing students to wander through the gift shop. Please turn off cell phones and do not allow students to take photographs during their docent-guided tour.” Thank you! More photos on http://mskennedyroom17.posterous.com/
