Week of 10/3/11 - 10/7/11

Highlights for the Week of 10/3/11 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom!

Spelling - Short "u" /"yoo" / "oo"

The final test for this week's list will be on Friday, 10/7. Workbook pages, cursive pages and challenge work will also be collected that day.

Reading - Text Organization
This week in reading our story is "Finding the Titanic" by Robert D. Ballard. The reading strategy that we will focus on is text organization. many non-fiction authors organize their selections in time order. They also use features such as headings, pictures, captions and charts to help the reader better understand the information. Students will be studying these elements of text organization and will complete an independent assessment on this skill on Friday.

English - Capitalization and Punctuation
Our new unit in English is Capitalization and Punctuation (Chapter 5). On Monday, students will be taking a pretest that will assess their expertise in the topics that we will study. Students who demonstrate proficiency on the pretest will have the opportunity to do independent challenge work in place of the regular lessons. The first two topics in this unit will be writing correct sentences and capitalization of proper nouns. Be sure to ask your child what happens when punctuation takes a vacation!

Social Studies - The Beautiful Northeast
We have finished the last lesson in chapter 4, so students will be taking the TEST on Wednesday, 10/5. Students will be receiving a study guide for the test, and should focus on reviewing the textbook pages, workbook pages & notes to prepare for the test. At the end of the week, we will begin working on creating individual U.S. maps that will be a year long Social Studies project.

Science - What are Some Life Cycles of Plants?
Photosynthesis and life cycles of plants are the first two topics that we will study in our new science unit. We will also be conducting an investigate to find the answer to the question, "Does a Plant Need Water to Germinate?".


Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

There will be a QUIZ on lessons 1-3 of chapter 3 on Monday, 10/3. We will take a look at the problem solving skill of "Working Backwards" and how to find a rule, which will finish the chapter. We will also revisit everyone's favorite...the T-Chart! The TEST on chapter 3 is tentatively scheduled for Friday, 10/7.

Don't Forget...
October 10 - Columbus Day - NO SCHOOL
October 11 - Teacher's Institute - NO SCHOOL
October 27 - Early Dismissal


Field trip $ and movie slips are due back on or before 10/7.

Mrs. Karen Bell