Week of 4/6/15

Highlights for the Week of 4/6/15

 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling  
We will not have Spelling this week due to the 3 day week.



Reading -  Journeys Unit - The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane 

We will finish our novel study this week. The theme of the poem, Try, Try Again will be compared & contrasted to the theme of Edward Tulane. We will also focus on the author's message. Finally, students will write a response to the prompt, "Describe a time when you have had to persevere, and how you handled it".

English - Adverbs & Prepositions

A pretest on this unit is scheduled for 4/9. Students who demonstrate proficiency in specific lessons will earn the opportunity to do challenge work for the chapter. The first lesson in this chapter is titled, "What is an Adverb?".


Social Studies - The Southwest

Next stop on our journey across the U.S. is the Southwest region. Students will create a map of the region in preparation for the map QUIZ, tentatively scheduled for 4/13. We will begin this region with a look at the magnificent landscape of the Southwest - in particular the Grand Canyon.


Science -  "How Does Your Body Think & Move?" 

Dem bones, dem bones...the next body system that we will study is the skeletal system. Students will apply their close reading skills to go on a scavenger hunt through a Discovery Kids magazine looking for facts about this fascinating system.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Topic 12 - Adding & Subtracting Fractions and Mixed Numbers 


We will begin the week with a look at the problem solving strategy of "Write to Explain". Topic 12 starts with a look at addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators. We will be expanding on that topic to include addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators.

Don't Forget...
3/30 - 4/6 - Spring Break
4/7 - No School - Teacher's Institute
4/30 - PV Open House / Book Fair

We had a ball during the Wheels, Levers & Pulleys field trip. Here are some pictures of the young scientists working with simple machines...

We have had two sessions of Junior Achievement. During this lesson, students were collaborating to develop a business using the resources that were available to them in their assigned region. They were very creative with their ideas and advertisements!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 3/23/15

Highlights for the Week of 3/23/15

 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling - The VCV Pattern
This week's spelling list will focus on the VCV (vowel - consonant - vowel) pattern. The final test on this lesson will be given on Friday, 3/27. The workbook pages OR challenge work will also be collected that day.

Reading -  Journeys Unit - The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Our novel study will continue as we study how Edward changes along his journey. Students will have an opportunity to write about a time when they had to persevere, and how he or she handled the challenge We have been practicing how to respond to what they read in writing, and how to use text proof to support their answers. I am proud to say that I have seen tremendous growth in this area. Below are some pictures of students referring to text while responding to a prompt about the novel.

 

English - Adverbs & Prepositions
Adverbs and prepositions will be the next unit that we study in English. We will begin that unit after 
Spring Break.

Social Studies - The Midwest Look Book Project

Research for the Midwest project is due on Monday, 3/23. Students will work in school on the 23rd and 24th to create their "Look Book" presentation. Class presentations are scheduled for Friday, 3/27.


Science -  "How Does Your Body Think & Move?" / Invention Convention

The nervous system will be our next topic in Science. Ask your child how the brain acts as the engine of our bodies. 

We will also begin working on our "Invention Convention" project. The students will be asked to identify a problem in their lives and to create an invention that helps to solve this problem. Think simply...this does not need to be a complex invention. An informational letter, project time line/calendar, rubric and contract will be handed out in science class on Monday, March 23rd. All students will participate in this assignment. The contract, or plan, for the invention is due in class on Thursday, March 26th. I will then review each contract to make sure they are on the right track. Once I confirm that they are moving in the right direction, students will be free to begin constructing their inventions. Inventions aren't due until after spring break, and the construction of the invention will be done at home. We will not be giving time in school to work on the project.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Topic 11 - Fraction Equivalence & Ordering

We will begin Topic 11 this week. I expect to move quickly through this topic, since we covered most of the concepts when we did PARCC preparation. We will discuss factors, prime/composite numbers, multiples, equivalent fractions & comparing and ordering fractions. A QUIZ on lessons 1-7 of Topic 11 is scheduled for Friday, 3/27.




Don't Forget...

3/26 - "Wheels, Levers & Pulleys" in-school Field Trip
3/30 - 4/6 - Spring Break
4/7 - No School - Teacher's Institute

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 3/16/15

Highlights for the Week of 3/16/15

in Mrs. Bell 's Classroom

O'Spelling - Changing the Final "y" to "i"
The final test for this week's lesson will be on Friday, 3/20.  Cursive & workbook pages OR challenge work will also be collected that day.



O'Reading - Journeys Unit 
We will continue our study of the novel, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Students have written many responses to this novel, and I am pleased to see the improvement in their writing as we progress. We will also take a look at the poem The Falling Star, and discuss the similarity in theme between the two texts.

O'English - Verbs

The verb tense paragraph project is due on Tuesday, 3/17. Chapter 3 will end with a look at irregular verbs, the special verb "be", and contractions that use the word not. The verbs TEST is scheduled for Friday, 3/20. Students should prepare for the test by studying the verbs packet (in English folder), workbook pages and text pages 95-134. The extra practice on pages 125-134 are particularly helpful for test preparation.

O'Social Studies - The Midwest Project
Students will begin a technology project for the Midwest Region. They will research a state in the Midwest, and create a slide presentation to create a "Just Look" book. Look for the project description sheet to come home on 3/16.

Close reading is a skill that applies to all curriculum. Below are pictures of students close reading ("digging for gold") a text passage in Social Studies in order to answer text dependent questions.

O'Science - The Circulatory System
The topic this week in science will be the components of blood, and what the job of each part of the blood is. Students will take an open note / book QUIZ on lesson 1 of chapter 4 on Friday, 3/20.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 10


The final lesson in Topic 10 is Multiple-Step problems. The Topic 10 TEST is scheduled for Wednesday, 3/18. After a look at how Venn diagrams are used in math, we will move on to fractions the week of 3/23.


Students have enjoyed center work during our study of division. Below are some pictures of them collaborating with their peers to practice their skills.

 

 

 

 

Don't Forget...

3/19 - Early Dismissal - Students dismissed at 11:00
3/26 - "Wheels, Levers & Pulleys" in-school Field Trip
3/30 - 4/6 - Spring Break
4/7 - No School - Teacher's Institute

Mrs. Karen Bell 

Week of 3/9/15

Highlights for the Week of 3/9/15

 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling - Words with a Prefix or Suffix
This week's spelling lesson consists of words that have prefixes and suffixes. The cursive/workbook pages OR challenge work will be collected on Friday, 3/13. The final test for the lesson will also be that day.

Reading - Journeys Unit
Our study of the novel The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane continues this week with a look at chapters 3-5. We will read and discuss the poem Some People and compare and contrast its theme with the theme of the novel. The vocabulary QUIZ on chapters 1 & 2 is scheduled for Thursday, 3/12. Mrs. Krasnodebski has created a Quizlet to help students study for the quiz. It may be accessed at the following link:

http://quizlet.com/73975093/the-miraculous-journey-of-edward-tulane-ch1-2-flash-cards/

English- Verbs

This week we will be reviewing what we have learned about verb tenses by creating a project called, "Tomorrow, Today will be Yesterday". Students will write three paragraphs about the same topic using three different verb tenses. The final project is due on 3/16.

Social Studies - The Ojibwa

The Native Americans of the Midwest, The Ojibwa, will be our focus this week. Students will independently complete a graded lesson review on 3/12. 

Science - The Circulatory System
The purpose and process of the circulatory system is what we will study in science this week. Look for a QUIZ on lesson 1 of chapter 4 to be scheduled the week of 3/16.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Topic 10 - Developing Fluency: Dividing by 1-Digit Divisors
Our study of division continues with a look at how to decide where to start dividing, division with 4-digit dividends, and how to divide with 2-digit divisors. The Topic 10 / Lessons 1-4 QUIZ is scheduled for Monday, 3/9.


Don't Forget...


3/19 - Early Dismissal - Students dismissed at 11:00
3/26 - "Wheels, Levers & Pulleys" in-school Field Trip
3/30 - 4/6 - Spring Break
4/7 - No School - Teacher's Institute

PARCC tests are scheduled for Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Please make sure your child gets plenty of sleep and eats a healthy breakfast each day before coming to school!



Mrs. Karen Bell