Week of 1/31/11 - 2/4/11

Highlights for the week of 1/31/11 - 2/4/11 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom

English - Prediction Paragraph / Verbs

We will begin our week by writing a paragraph that makes a prediction about what the groundhog will do on February 2nd. Students will write about what their prediction is, why they made that prediction, how they will feel if their prediction comes true, and why they will feel that way. Midweek we will switch gears and begin the verbs unit. Students will take a pretest to determine if they will do challenge work in this unit. On Friday, we will begin our new chapter with a look at, "What is a Verb?".

Social Studies - The Midwest

There will be a QUIZ on the map of the midwest on Thursday, 2/3. Students should use the map that they created in class to prepare for the quiz. We will also take a look at how the waterways in the midwest are used for shipping and transportation.

Science - The Human Body

We will finish our study of how the body thinks and moves. Students will take a QUIZ on chapter 4, lesson 2 on Tuesday, 2/1. They will be allowed to use their notes for the quiz. We will also be starting a "partners project" in which they will create a lifesize replica of the human body.

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling - Review Lesson

This week's lesson is a review of the Theme 4 words, so the list contains 30 words. The final test will consist of 20 words selected from the list. The final test will be on Friday, 2/4, and the cursive page and workbook pages will also be collected that day.

Reading - Summarizing

The reading strategy that we will be studying next week is summarizing. When reading passages, it is not necessary to recall every word. Instead, we will practice using main ideas and supporting evidence to summarize a passage. While reading, a good reader finds the main ideas, whether they are stated or implied. Then, the reader must find supporting evidence to support the main idea. This support may be in the form of details, examples, explanations or descriptions. In addition to practicing our summarization, students will be taking a QUIZ on chapters 3-4 of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing on Monday, 1/31.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

Our focus in chapter 8 is on interpreting and graphing data. This week we will study circle graphs, the coordinate grid and line graphs. Students will be taking a QUIZ on lessons 1-3 of the chapter on Tuesday, 2/1. The quiz will cover bar graphs and circle graphs.

Don't Forget...

February 14 - Valentine's Day Celebration

February 21 - President's Day - No School

February 25 - End of the Trimester

Our classroom celebration for Valentine's Day is scheduled for Monday, 2/14. Students may bring in cards to share with all of their classmates. We have 25 students in our class. I will be sending home a class list to help with names. Administration has asked that students do NOT bring in any edible treats to share. That includes any valentine card that has candy attached to it. Any student that brings in cards with candy will be asked to remove the candy before distributing the cards. Look for a letter from Mrs. Schultz to come home soon.

Last week, students attended an assembly that focused on the issue of bullying. Click on the link below for the story that ran in our local paper about the presentation.

http://triblocal.com/downers-grove/community/stories/2011/01/dan-kirk-%e2%80%93-juggler-comes-to-prairieview-elementary-for-pbis-assembly/

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 1/24/11 - 1/28/11

Highlights for the Week of 1/24/11 - 1/28/11 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom

English - Adjectives

We have finished this chapter and will have the adjectives TEST ON Tuesday, 1/25. We will review all of the adjectives concepts on Monday. Later in the week, we will do a project in which students list positive adjectives to describe their classmates, and create a character using those adjectives.

Social Studies - The Cherokee / The Midwest

Students will be taking an open book QUIZ on chapter 7, lesson 1 on Monday, 1/24. The quiz will cover the culture of the Cherokee Native Americans in the Southeast. We will then move on to our next region, The Midwest. Students will create a map of the midwest and learn about the waterways in this region.

Science - The Human Body

We will finish up focus on the circulatory system and blood on Monday. Students will take a QUIZ on chapter 4, lesson 1 on Tuesday, 1/25. Lesson 2 of this chapter will focus on the skeletal, muscular & nervous systems.

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Reading - Identifying Character, Plot & Setting

The reading skill that we will work on this week is the identification of character, setting and plot. Students will fill out story structure maps as they read fiction to help them organize their thoughts and identify the main characters, setting & plot. We will be using the novel Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to practice this skill. Please note that students will have a QUIZ chapters 1 & 2 of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing on Monday, 1/24. The quiz will cover vocabulary, the problems/solutions, and conclusions that were discussed in class and are in their packets.

Spelling - The VCCV Pattern

This week we will study words with the "VCCV" (Vowel-Consonant-Consonant-Vowel) pattern. The final test will be on Friday, 1/28, and the cursive & workbook pages will also be collected that day.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

They're back...everyone's favorite..."T-Charts"! Last year, students were introduced to writing "T-Charts", which is also know as the extended response in math on the ISAT tests. At the beginning of the week, we will review the requirements of T-Charts, and how to write one. We will practice this several times before ISAT testing at the end of February. We will also begin chapter 8 with a look at bar graphs and double bar graphs.

Don't forget...

February 21 - President's Day - No School

February 25 - End of Trimester

THANK YOU to the parents who chaperoned our field trip to Argonne on 1/19. We had a fabulous time learning about the science of toys, light waves & states of matter.

GO BEARS!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Reading - Identifying Characters, Plot & Setting

Week of 1/17/2011 - 1/21/2011

Highlights for the Week of 1/17/11-1/21/11 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom

English - Adjectives

We will be finishing this chapter with a look at comparing with more & most, and comparing with good & bad. Students will have a graded review on lessons 4-6 on Friday. Look for the adjectives test to be scheduled for the week of 1/24.

Social Studies - The Cherokee

Chapter 7 begins with a look at the people of the Southeast. We will focus on the Cherokee people. There will be a quiz on lesson 1 of chapter 7 during the week of 1/24.

Science - The Human Body

Our new chapter covers the human body. We will start with a look at how cells, organs and systems are related. Then we will begin studying the individual body systems, beginning with the digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems.

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling - The Final /j/ & /s/ Sounds
The final test for this lesson will be on Friday, 1/21. Workbook pages and the cursive page will also be collected that day.

Reading - Drawing Conclusions

The comprehension skill that we will be focusing on this week is drawing conclusions. Good readers use details in a story to draw conclusions about characters in events. Students may use graphic organizers to gather details from a story to draw conclusions. Students will learn that it is possible to draw more than one conclusion from the same details. While studying this skill, we will be begin our new novel study with the book, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

We will finish chapter 7 next week with a look at how to choose a reasonable scale when creating a chart. The chapter 7 TEST is scheduled for Friday, 1/21.

Don't Forget...
1/17/2011 - Martin Luther King's Birthday - No School

1/17/2011 - PTO Dine Out Fundraiser at Papa Passero's

1/19/2011 - Argonne Field Trip (Mrs. Bell & Mr. Trinco's Classes)

2/21/2011 - President's Day - No School

Field Trip to Argonne
Our class will be taking a field trip to Argonne on January 19th. Students must bring a COMPLETELY DISPOSABLE SACK LUNCH on that day. Also, they must wear LONG PANTS and CLOSED TOE SHOES. We have high expectations for student behavior on that day, and remind students to remember our PV Pact: Be Respectful, Be Responsible & Be Safe!

Congratulations to Kurt & Stewart, our classroom spelling bee winners! They will represent our class in the fourth grade spelling bee on the afternoon of 1/18.

Happy Birthday Dr. King!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 1/10/11 - 1/14/11

Highlights for the Week of 1/10/11 - 1/14/11 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom

English - Adjectives

Students were pretested in this chapter last week, and many will be doing enrichment work during the unit. This week all students will have a graded review on lessons 1-3 of the chapter. This will include the lessons: identifying adjectives, adjectives after the verb "be", using "a", "an", and "the". We will also study how to make comparisons with adjectives.

Social Studies - The Southeast

Students will be taking the chapter 6 TEST on Monday, 1/10. The test will cover the geography, climate and resources of the southeast region. A study guide for the test was sent home on 1/6. At the end of the week students will work on filling in the Southeast Region of their large United States map.

Science - Adaptations

Students will take an open note QUIZ on lessons 2 & 3 of Chapter 3 on Tuesday, 1/11. We have finished the chapter, so review will take place on Wednesday, and the TEST for chapter 3 will be on Thursday, 1/13. A very busy week!

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling - The Final Long "e" Sound

The final test for this lesson will be on Friday, 1/14. Student will be completing a cursive page and workbook pages that will also be due on that day.

Reading - Problem & Solution

This week the children will work on identifying the problem and solution of a story as they are reading. Most stories involve a problem for the characters to solve. The solution to the problem may come after otheres have been tried. We will practice this skill with a read aloud story called, "The Bear", and continue to work on this skill as we begin the novel, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Ch. 7 - Collect & Organize Data

Due to field trips and the MAPS testing, our math schedule is limited this week. Students will be taking a QUIZ on chapter 7, lessons 1-3 on Wednesday, 1/12. This will cover collecting & organizing data, Venn diagrams & mean, median & mode. On Friday, we will study line plots.

Don't forget...

January 17 - No School - Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday

January 17 - PTO Dine Out Fundraiser at Papa Passero's

February 21 - No School - President's Day

Field Trip to Argonne

Our class will be taking a field trip to Argonne on January 19th. Students will be participating in two hands-on labs exploring the Scientific Method and Electricity. Permission slips were sent home, and are due back by 1/11. Students should bring a completely disposable SACK LUNCH on that day. They must also wear LONG PANTS and CLOSED TOE SHOES.

We will be having our classroom spelling bees on 1/12 & 1/13. The top two spellers in our class will earn a chance to compete against other fourth grade students in our grade level bee.

Thank You!

Mrs. Karen Bell