Week of 11/3/08 - 11/7/08

Highlights for the Week of 11/3/08 - 11/7/08 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling - Lesson 10 - Final "y" words and suffixes

The final test on this lesson will be on Friday, 11/7. "Words to Know" are everybody-family, and the vocabulary word of the week is diligent. Contract work will be due on Friday, 11/7.

Reading - Inferring

We will be starting a new reading strategy this week: Inferring. Students will be working on drawing conclusions from their reading. We will begin the week by reading together the story "Art of the Needle & Loom" from our textbook, and drawing conclusions about what is written in the text. Students will be typing their Tall Tale Story Pyramid project in the computer lab on Wednesday. The final project is due on Friday, 11/7.

"Bite into a Good Book" - Deadline 11/14

Students MUST ALWAYS have a silent reading book

with them at school!

English - Nouns

Our new unit for English is nouns. This week we will begin looking at what a noun is, and the difference between common and proper nouns.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

The chapter TEST for decimals is Monday, 11/3. Our next unit of study is plane geometry. Since there is a lot of vocabulary in this chapter, students will be taking more notes than in prior chapters. We will begin with a look at points, lines, planes & angles.

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom Class

Social Studies - Life in the New England Colonies

We will start our week with a recap of what we have learned about elections, and a look at Tuesday's results. The study of colonial life is the topic for Chapter 6, our next unit in Social Studies. Look for information about our class' TRADE FAIR to come home with your child on Thursday, 11/6. The fair will take place on Wednesday, 11/12.

Science - Measuring Weather Conditions

Our class will be setting up a weather station on Monday that we will monitor all week. Students will be studying the different tools that scientist use to study and to measure weather. We will also look at how to read a weather map.

FYI...

There is NO SCHOOL on Tuesday, November 4th due to teacher's institute.

Picture Retakes are scheduled for November 6th.

The Social Studies committee is looking for two parents who have an education or history background to be involved in the adoption of new Social Studies textbooks. You would have to meet with the committee and provide input choosing our textbook for the coming years. The Social Studies committee will be meeting once every other month for the next two years. Please email mpellin@ccsd66.org if you would be interested in joining the Social Studies committee.

THANK YOU to all of the parents who helped organize our Halloween celebration! The games were great & the treats delicious. We had a "spook-tacular" time!

Happy weekend...Go Bears...Go Mustangs...Go Air Force!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 10/27/08 - 10/31/08

Highlights for the week of 10/27/08 - 10/31/08 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling - Vocabulary Words

Our spelling list this week will consist of the vocabulary words that we have studied since the first week of school plus the words debacle, election and president. There wil be no pretest and no contract work for this week. Students will be given assignments to help them study the spelling and definitions of the words. The final test will be on Friday, 10/31.

Reading - Visualization

We have had a "ton of fun" studying the elements of tall tales and visualizing the exaggerations in the stories. This week we will study the tale of "Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind". Students will independently read the story of "Pecos Bill" and complete an assessment on Thursday. On Friday, our final project, a Story Pyramid will be assigned.

English - Capitalization & Punctuation

We will review the unit at the beginning of the week. The TEST for this unit is scheduled for Wednesday, 10/29.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

We are nearing the end of Chapter 3, Decimal Operations. There will be a second QUIZ for the chapter on Monday, 10/27. The final lessons will cover interpreting quotients and solving decimal equations. The TEST is TENTATIVELY scheduled for Monday, 11/3.

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom Class

Social Studies - Elections

We will be spending time in the computer lab this week to research the candidates' stance on a variety of issues. Once students have become informed, they will create a campaign poster for the candidate who they support in the election. They will have the option of using clipart printed at home to enhance their posters. We will work on them on Thursday in class, and they will be due on Friday, 10/31. We will also be reading TFK this week.

Science - What Factors Affect the Water Cycle?

We have completed our note taking and investigation for lesson 2 of chapter 11. On Wednesday, students will have an open book ASSESSMENT that covers the information in this lesson.

FYI...

Our Halloween celebration will be on Friday, 10/31. The annual Prairieview Halloween parade will begin at 1:15, and parties will start at 1:30. Students may dress up for the party, and are reminded that costumes must be school appropriate, and that no items resembling weapons are allowed. They will be given time to change in the classrooms prior to the parade.

HAVE A SPOOK-TACULAR HOLIDAY!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 10/20/08 - 10/24/08

Highlights for the week of 10/20/08 - 10/24/08 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling - Lesson 8 - Review

The final test for this week's list will be on Friday, 10/24. There will be no "Words to Know" this week, and no vocabulary word. The format for this week's test will be different, because it is a review lesson. Students will be given lists of spelling words, some of which contain a misspelled word. They will have to determine which word is not spelled correctly, or if all of the words are correct. I recommend studying the spelling rules from each lesson to prepare for this test.

Reading - Visualization

This week we will begin a new reading comprehension strategy: "Visualization". Being able to create mental pictures while reading is beneficial to comprehension. Students will practice this skill while focusing on the genre of tall tales. We will begin with the study of the stories of Bess Call and Paul Bunyan in our textbook.

"Bite Into a Good Book" program

We have been enjoying the book talks given by students. They should be at least half way to their reading goal by now!

English - Capitalization & Punctuation

We will be finishing this unit this week with a look at titles. We will review the concepts that we have studied in this unit in preparation for the test that is tentatively scheduled for the week of 10/27.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

Division of decimals by whole numbers and decimal numbers will be our focus this week. We will practice our skills in the multiplication and division of decimals by playing a round of "Matho" on Tuesday.

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom Class

Social Studies

We will be taking a break from our textbook for the next 2 weeks to study elections. We will begin with a look at the process of electing a president, and the function of the electoral college. In addition to the election unit, we will continue to enjoy our weekly editions of Time for Kids.

Science - Weather & the Water Cycle
We will begin lesson 2 of Chapter 11 with a look at the water cycle and its effect on weather. Students will participate in an activity in which we will study evaporation and condensation over a four day period.

FYI...

For the next five weeks, our class will be participating in the Junior Achievement program. The goal of the program is to introduce students to basic concepts of business.

The Pocahontas FIELD TRIP is Friday, 10/24. Students MUST HAVE A SACK LUNCH that day!

Don't forget...early dismissal on Wednesday, 10/22. Students will be dismissed at 11:00.

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 10/13/08 - 10/17/08

Highlights for the Week of 10/13/08 - 10/17/08 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling - Lesson 7 - "Soft & Hard G"

The final test on this lesson will be on Friday, 10/17. Words to Know are different-every & the vocabulary word of the week is concur. Contract work is due on 10/17.

Reading - Summarizing with The Wishgiver

Students will continue to create their comic book projects by writing summaries and illustrating events in sequence. I am assigning this project one page at a time. They will be given time in class to work, but are expected to also do some work on this at home. The final project will be collected on 10/17.

"Bite into a Good Book"

Students must ALWAYS have a silent reading book with them at school. The deadline for reaching the reading goal is 11/14...we are more than half way there!

Language Arts - Capitalization & Punctuation

Abbreviations & titles will be our focus this week.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

We will continue our study of decimals with a look at scientific notation and multiplying decimals.The midchapter QUIZ for chapter 3 is scheduled for 10/15.

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom

Social Studies

We will finish our study of Chapter 5 this week, and have our TEST on Friday. Students will review by writing questions for, and playing a game of "Hot Seat".

Science - Weather & the Water Cycle

We will finish lesson 1 of chapter 11 this week by focusing on local and prevailing winds. Students will have an in class assessment on this lesson on 10/17. They will be allowed to use their textbooks.

FYI...

THANK YOU to all of the families that sent healthy snacks and drinks for our pizza party. We had a marvelous time!

The Pocahontas field trip has been moved to Friday 10/24. Students must bring a SACK LUNCH that day!

Happy Weekend...Go Bears...Go Mustangs...Go Air Force!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 10/6/08 - 10/10/08

Highlights for the Week of 10/6/08 - 10/10/08 in Mrs. Bell’s Classroom

Mrs. Bell’s Reading Class

Spelling - Lesson 6 - "Plurals with -es"

The final test on this lesson will be on Friday, 10/10. Words to Know are coming-didn't & the vocabulary word for the week is benevolent. Contract work is due on 10/10.

Reading - The Wishgiver - Summarizing

Student will continue working in groups to summarize portions of the text. At the end of the week, we will begin the final project for the summarizing unit, which will be to create a comic book using the summarizations written by each student. Students will be given time in class to work on the project, but also must complete work at home.

(from www.google.com)

"Bite into a Good Book"

Students should ALWAYS have a silent reading book with them at school. Has your child given his/her book talk yet?

Language Arts

Writing sentences with commas, interjections & quotations are our topics for the week.

Mrs. Bell’s Math Class

Our focus this week will be estimating with decimals, addition & subtraction of decimals & using decimals for metric measurement. We will pause midweek to apply our knowledge of decimals by doing some "Menu Math".


Mrs. Bell’s Homeroom Class

Social Studies
The first colonies will get our attention this week. Students will read about and study the differences between the Northeastern, Middle and Southern colonies. They will participate in a "jigsaw" activity in which their group will become experts on one region of colonies and present their knowledge to the rest of the class.

Science - Weather & The Water Cycle
We are officially beginning our weather unit by investigating differences in the heating & cooling of soil & water. This will be followed with a look at the atmosphere.


FYI…
Book orders are due 10/7.

Just a reminder that the Pocahontas field trip has been changed from 10/17 to 10/24. Students MUST have a SACK LUNCH that day.

Don't forget...Columbus Day is October 13th - No School that day!

Happy Weekend...Go Cubs...Go Sox...Go Mustangs...Go Air Force!

Mrs. Karen Bell