Week of 4/5/10 - 4/9/10

Highlights for the Week of 4/5/10 - 4/9/10 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling - Lesson 26 - Review

The final test on this lesson will be on Friday, 4/9. Because this is a review lesson, the test will be in a different format than usual. Students will be given rows of words and will have to identify which spelling word is spelled incorrectly in the row. I recommend that students focus on the spelling rules that we have studied in lessons 19-25 to prepare for the test. Workbook pages are due on 4/8 & Checklist work will be collected on 4/9.

Reading - China

This week we will focus primarily on summarizing, and touch on the other reading strategies while continuing our study of the country of China. Students will begin the final project for the unit, which is a travel poster for China. All of the work on the poster will be completed in school.

"Bite into a Good Book" - Independent Reading Program
Students must ALWAY have a silent reading book with them at school!!!

English - Verbs
We are moving on to a look at different verb tenses. Present and past tense verbs will be our topics this week.

Social Studies - A World Turned Upside Down
The end of the American Revolution is the topic for the week with a look at Washington's victory at Yorktown, and the roles of others who helped in the war.

Science - Earth's Oceans
The movement of ocean water is our focus this week. We will look at the formation of waves, currents & tides. The open note/book ASSESSMENT is tentatively scheduled for Friday, 4/9.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

We will begin our week by reviewing the concepts from chapter 5 on Monday. The chapter 5 TEST is scheduled for Tuesday, 4/6. The next unit that we will cover in math will be ratios, proportion & percents.

FYI...

TGFD Graduation is scheduled for Friday, April 9th at 9:00 a.m. Parents and family of fifth grade students are welcome to attend this event. The students have worked hard and should be proud of what they have learned and accomplished in this outstanding program.

Have a safe & relaxing Spring Break!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 3/22/10 - 3/26/10

Highlights for the Week of 3/22/10 - 3/26/10 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling - Lesson 25 - Silent Letters

The final test for this lesson will be on Friday, 3/26. Workbook pages and Master 25B are due on 3/25 & menu work will be collected on 3/26.

Reading - China

As we continue our study of China, we will be focusing on using nonfiction text to practice the reading strategy of clarifying. Students will be completing an internet sightseeing activity in which they will visit and gather information about many of the famous sites of the China. The website that we will be using is: www.timeforkids.com/aroundtheworld . We will also take a look at the legend of the dragon in Chinese culture & create our own decorative dragons.

"Bite into a Good Book" - Independent Reading Program

It's never too early to give a book talk, or to start writing your "Getting to the Core" reports. I would love to have EVERY student on our team meet his/her reading goal this trimester.

English - Verbs

We will continue our study of verbs with a look at main & helping verbs and linking verbs.

Social Studies - Patriots at War

The Declaration of Independence & the battle of Valley Forge are the topics for the week. Students will have a creative writing assignment in which they will write a letter from the point of view of a soldier who was at Valley Forge with George Washington. Completed pages for the Patriot/Loyalist book will be collected on Monday, 3/22.

Science - Earth's Oceans

The open note/book ASSESSMENT for chapter 12, lesson 1 will be on Tuesday, 3/23. Students should review their notes and the lesson in the textbook to prepare for the assessment.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

We will finish chapter 5 with a look at renaming to subtract mixed numbers and solving fraction equations. The TEST for chapter 5 will be on Friday, 3/26.

FYI...

The Naper Settlement field trip will be on Tuesday, 3/23. Please have your child dressed appropriately for the weather. We will be spending some time outside moving between buildings during the field trip, so if the weather is cold, hats, gloves & even (yikes) boots may be necessary. Rain, snow or sunshine...this field trip is a fabulous way to experience the colonial life that we have learned about in Social Studies. We will be eating at Naper Settlement, so every student must bring a SACK LUNCH that day!

The movie permission slip is due on or before Wednesday, 3/24.

Happy Weekend!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 3/15/10 - 3/19/10

Highlights for the Week of 3/15/10 - 3/19/10 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling - Lesson 24 - Words that End in "ar"

The final test for this week's lesson will be on Friday, 3/19. Since we have finished the "Words to Know" list, the final test will consist of 15 words from the current lesson, and 5 from the previous week's lesson. Daily work is due on 3/14 & menu work will be collected on 3/15.

Reading - China

We will continue clarifying using nonfiction text throughout this week with our focus on China. Students will continue using our "China" trade book and will explore the world of panda bears via this website: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/Panda. They will also be creating their own unique panda for our "Pandas on Parade" display.

"Bite into a Good Book" Independent Reading Program

The reading celebration for second trimester will be on Monday, 3/15. EVERY student must turn in the movie permission slip in order to view the movie, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". Students have signed their reading contracts for third trimester & are ready to go!

English - Verbs / Me Front Page

We will continue our study of verbs with a look at direct objects and main & helping verbs. I hope that we will also finish typing the Me Front Page project. I am asking that each student bring in an 8x10 or 5x7 portrait of him/herself to be used for this project. The photo will be used for tracing purposes, and will be returned after your child has completed tracing. Please send the portrait ASAP.

Social Studies

We are moving on to chapter 9 & the American Revolution. Students will study the battles of the war, how & why the Declaration of Independence was written, and how the Patriots were ultimately successful in defeating the British. We will also finish the typing portion of the Patriot/Loyalist book project. Students will be compiling their books which will be collected for grading on Monday, 3/22.

Science - Earth's Oceans

We have completed an investigation on how salinity affects the freezing point of water. Ask your child if salt water or fresh water freezes first. We will begin taking notes on the first lesson of chapter 12 this week.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

The midchapter quiz for chapter 5 will be on Monday, 3/15. After that we will continue with a look at least common multiple, estimating sums & differences of fractions, addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike fractions & the addition & subtraction of mixed numbers.

FYI...

Mark your calendars...Too Good For Drugs graduation has been scheduled for Friday, April 9th at 9:00 a.m. Parents and family are invited to attend this celebration of the completion of the TGFD protram.

It was a pleasure meeting with so many of you during conference week. I encourage all parents to contact me with any concerns or questions at any time.

Happy Weekend...don't forget to "Spring Forward"!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 3/8/10 - 3/12/10

Highlights for the Week of 3/8/10 - 3/12/10 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling - Lesson 23 - Forms of "ad"

The final test for this lesson will be on Thursday, 3/11. The "Words to Know" are write-you're. Since we only have 4 words left on our Words to Know list, this week's final test will have 10 words from lesson 23, 6 words from lesson 22 & the four Words to Know. Workbook pages will be collected on 3/10, and menu work is due on 3/11.

Reading - China

This week we will be focusing on clarifying by identifying the main idea and details in nonfiction text. Our new unit in reading is China. We will be using a variety of materials to revisit reading strategies that we have covered this year, including trade books, websites and magazines.

"Bite into a Good Book" - Independent Reading Program

The reading celebration for second trimester will be on Monday, 3/15. Look for an invitation to come home with your child next week. We signed reading goal contracts for 3rd trimester on 3/5. They need to be looked over by parents, signed and returned on 3/8.

English - Verbs / Me Front Page

We're back to the book! Action verbs will be the first topic that we study in this unit. We will also be writing a narrative story and short and long term goals for the Me Front Page project.

Social Studies - The Revolution Begins

The Patriot/Loyalist paragraphs for Paul Revere's ride & the battles of Lexington & Concord are due on 3/9. Hopefully, we will finish typing the project this week. The chapter 8 TEST will be on Thursday, 3/11.

Science - Weather & the Water Cycle

The chapter 11 TEST is scheduled for Monday, 3/8. I have been very pleased with the number of students who have chosen to give up their recess to join our science study groups. I hope that we will see the results of their labor on the test! The next unit we will study in science is Earth's Oceans.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

More fractions! Our new unit in math will fraction operations. This week we will study multiplication of fractions, multiplying mixed numbers, division of fractions & mixed numbers, and fraction equations. Look for the first QUIZ on this chapter to be scheduled for the week of 3/15.

FYI...

NO SCHOOL on Friday, 3/12!

Mrs. Karen Bell