Week of 2/1/10 - 2/5/10

Highlights for the Week of 2/1/10 - 2/5/10 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling - Lesson 17 - Review

The final test for this lesson will be on Friday, 2/5. Since this is a review lesson, the format for the final test will be different. 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 the words are correct. I recommend studying the spelling rules from each lesson to prepare for this test. There will be no "Words to Know" this week.

Reading - Making Connections

Text to Self & Text to World connections are the topic for this week. Students will make connections between a personal experience & the novel, Night of the Twisters. They will also relate this novel to the events in Haiti to make the text to world connection. We will continue our ISAT preparation by taking a peek at prefixes and suffixes, homonyms & analogies.

"Bite into a Good Book" - Independent Reading Program

Students must ALWAYS have a silent reading book with them at school!

English - Expository Writing

Students will continue making progress on our first expository essay about their favorite time of day at Prairieview school. They will be writing the second support paragraph and concluding paragraph. After proofreading & revisions, a final copy will be due the week of 2/8.

Social Studies - The Road to War

We have arrived at my favorite part of our Social Studies curriculum...the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. We will study the British taxation of the colonies, and learn the meaning of the phrase, "NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION"!

Science - Weather & the Water Cycle

The open note/book ASSESSMENT for chapter 11, lesson 1 will be on Wednesday, 2/3. Students should review the text book & be sure that their notes are in "tip top" shape!

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

We will continue with our study of fractions this week. Our focus will include equivalent fractions, simplest form, comparing & ordering fractions, and mixed numbers & improper fractions.

FYI...

NO SCHOOL on Tuesday, 2/2 - Teacher's Institute!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 1/25/10 - 1/29/10

Highlights for the Week of 1/25/10 - 1/29/10 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling - Lesson 16 -"Silent H"

The final test for this lesson will be on Friday, 1/29. "Words to Know" are sure-their. Workbook pages are due on 1/28, and menu work will be collected on 1/29.

Reading - Making Connections

The final strategy that we will be studying in reading is connections. Making connections involves relating what is being read to your own experiences, to other text, and to events in the world. We will begin our study by making text to text connections between the stories, Sheila Rae the Brave & Night of the Twisters. Students will also practice making text to self connections. In addition to woking on the connection strategy, we will revisit and practice writing an extended response.

"Bite into a Good Book" Independent Reading Program

The deadline for this trimester is 2/26. Students should be at least half way to their goal!

English - Expository Writing

We will take a rest from our English textbook & move on to the art of expository writing. This weeks focus will be on lead sentences & introductory paragraphs.

Science - Owl Pellets / Weather & the Water Cycle

We will complete the owl pellet dissection on Monday. Students will have an open note QUIZ on owl pellets on 1/26. On Thursday, we will begin our new science unit, Weather & The Water Cycle.

Social Studies - The Fight for a Continent

The TEST for chapter 7 is scheduled for Wednesday, 1/27. We will be reviewing on Monday. Students should focus on the chapter notes, review & workbook pages & the text book when preparing for the test.

Math - Number Theory & Fractions

Prime factors, factorization & greatest common factor will be our topics this week. Students will have their first QUIZ for chapter 4 on Thursday, 1/28.

FYI...

Congratulations to Beth & Patricia, winners of our classroom spelling bee. They represented our classroom in the 5th grade bee. I am very proud of ALL of my students for the outstanding sportsmanship that was shown as we had the practice bees in our room.

Many of my students have volunteered to work as Peer Buddies in our Multineeds and Music classrooms. These volunteers have generously given up their recess time to spend time working with younger students in the building. Kudos to them on displaying what Character Counts is all about!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 1/18/10 - 1/22/10

Highlights for the Week of 1/18/10-1/22/10 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom!

Spelling - Lesson 15 - Words that end in "-ery"

The final test for Lesson 15 will be on Friday, 1/22. "Words to Know" are school-suppose. Workbook pages will be due on 1/21, and menue work will be collected on 1/22.

Reading - Night of the Twisters

We will be finishing this exciting novel this week. The children are really enjoying this book, and many of them have a hard time only reading what is assigned for the day...they'd love to read on!Throughout this novel, we have been working on clarifying by identifying unknown vocabulary and by answering thought provoking questions. Students will have a vocabulary QUIZ for the novel on 1/22. I will also be collecting their vocabulary & question packets that day, so they should be in "tip-top" shape!

(from www.google.com)

"Bite into a Good Book" - Independent Reading Program

We have not had many book talks this trimester. Please encourage your child to sign up as soon as he/she has completed a book. It will be much easier than trying to squeeze 23 book talks in on the last day of our contract!

English - Adjectives

We will have the adjectives TEST on Friday, 1/22. Students should review the lessons in the textbook, the reteach pages that we completed together, and workbook pages to review for this test.

Social Studies - The French and Indian War

We will be finishing the last lesson of chapter 7, which focuses on the French & Indian War. The TEST on chapter 7 is TENTATIVELY scheduled for 1/26.

Science - Owl Pellets

It's time for my favorite science unit...owl pellet dissection! During this unit, students will learn about the owl's place in its food chain, and how and why owls create their "pellets". We purchase the owl pellets from a professional distributor, and each one is sanitized. The dissection will begin on Friday. Be sure to ask your child about the type of prey that was found in his/her pellet!

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

The chapter 10 TEST is scheduled for Tuesday, 1/19. Perimeter and area of polygons and circles will be covered. Students will be allowed to use a notecard with information that they feel will be helpful for the test. We will celebrate the completion of this chapter on Wednesday with the ever popular, "Pi day". On Friday, we will begin a new chapter that covers fractions.

FYI...

The fifth grade spelling bee will be on Thursday, 1/21 at 8:40. Prior to the grade level bee, we will be holding 3 practice bees in our room. The winner and first runner up of the third classroom bee (on 1/20) will represent our class in the grade level bee. One student from fifth will participate in the district bee on 2/4. Good luck to all my super spellers!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 1/11/10-11/15/10

Highlights for the Week of 1/10/10-1/15/10 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling - No lesson this week due to Iowa testing!

Reading - Clarify

We have begun our novel study of Night of the Twisters. The study will be conducted in small groups with guided reading and discussion in school. Students will be expected to independently read, answer questions and complete vocabulary work at home.


"Bite into a Good Book" - Independent Reading Program
We are almost halfway through second trimester, which means...students should be almost halfway to their reading goal! This includes writing a "Getting to the Core of the Book" report for each book read, and giving one book talk during the trimester.

English - Adjectives

We have "unpacked" our adjectives, and are moving ahead full steam! This week's focus will include articles & demonstratives, comparing with adjectives, comparing with good & bad, and using proper adjectives.

Social Studies - The French & Indian War

We will begin lesson 3 of chapter 7 this week, which covers the French & Indian War.

Science - Energy & Ecosystems

The TEST for chapter 6 is scheduled for Wednesday, 1/13. We will review for the test on Monday. Students should study their notes, open note assessments, vocabulary, and the text to prepare for this test.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

Circles...it's finally time for Pi! Students will study the origination and significance of Pi, how to find circumference and area of circles. The chapter 7 TEST is tentatively scheduled for the week of 1/18.

FYI...

Iowa testing in Fifth grade will be Monday-Thursday the week of 1/11. I hope that all of my students will be well rested for these important assessments. Every student should have a silent reading book at school, especially now that we're beginning standardized testing. Please ask your child the title of the book that he/she has at school!

We will be starting the "Too Good for Drugs" (TGFD) program, sponsored by the DuPage County Sheriff's department. Students will have a weekly session with Officer David Kovotsky during which they will discuss adolescent issues such as making good choices, peer pressure, and substance abuse. This programs is part of our science curriculum, and students will earn a participation grade by completing assignments and for appropriate behavior.

Stay warm!

Mrs. Karen Bell