Week of 2/2/09 - 2/6/09

Highlights for the Week of 2/2/09-2/6/09 in Mrs. Bell’s Classroom

Mrs. Bell’s Reading Class

Spelling
We will start lesson 19 this week, which focuses on adding suffixes to root words.

Reading - Clarify

We have all enjoyed sharing the suspenseful novel, Night of the Twisters. We will be finishing the book this week. Students will have a vocabulary QUIZ on Friday for the new words that we have studied for this book. We will finish our week by viewing the movie version of this story. Students will be comparing and contrasting the movie and the novel.

(from www.google.com)

“Bite into a Good Book” Reading Program
Students must reach their reading goal and give one book talk by 2/27!

Language Arts - Expository Writing
Our focus this week will be on writing the introductory paragraph of the expository essay. We will practice writing an introduction together, then students will have the opportunity to write several on their own. Pen pal letters have been delivered, and everyone did a wonderful job writing their first letter. We are all anxious to hear back from our new friends!

Mrs. Bell’s Math Class
Fractions, fractions everywhere, not a drop to spare! We will continue our study of fractions with writing fractions in simplest form, ordering like and unlike fractions, and converting mixed fractions to improper fractions (and vice versa). Students will have their second mid chapter quiz on Monday, February 9th.

Mrs. Bell’s Homeroom Class

Social Studies

We will continue to march down the road towards the Revolutionary War. Students will consider point of view as they delve further into the causes of American independence.

Science
We have gone from the deep blue see to the world beyond. Students will learn about Earth's seasons and take an open book assessment on Tuesday, February 3rd. This will cover the material from lesson 1 in Chapter 13.

FYI…

Congratulations to Sarah & Andrew, the winners of our classroom Spelling Bee. They will be competing in the 5th grade level bee on 2/3. I'd also like to thank all of my students who showed true sportsmanship and good character throughout both of our classroom bees.

The field trip to Naper Settlement is Wednesday, 2/4. Students MUST have a SACK LUNCH that day...no exceptions! We will be eating our lunch while at Naper Settlement. We will be walking outside between buildings throughout the day. Please be sure that your child dresses for the weather...boots, hats, gloves & warm coats are a must!

Our Valentine's Day celebration is scheduled for the afternoon of 2/13. Students will be given a class list of homeroom students for the Valentine card exchange. Due to time constraints, we are asking that students only bring cards for the homeroom class.

Enjoy your Weekend!

Mrs. Karen Bell & Miss Allison Cronin