Week of 1/7/08 - 1/11/08

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF 1/7/08 – 1/11/08

SPELLING

We will have a special list of words that coincide with our study of the skeletal system in science. There will be no "Words to Know" or menu work this week.

ENGLISH / WRITING

We will be taking a break from the English textbook to begin a unit on persuasive writing. We will begin by taking a look at the issue of whether schools should have soda machines. Can you guess which side of the argument the students will take?

READING

"Voices of the Revolution", a study of historical fiction in our reading textbook is our next unit in reading. Selections will focus on the study of author's viewpoint, cause and effect and genre.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program

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

SOCIAL STUDIES
Our examination of "No Taxation without Representation" continues with a project called The Patriot/Loyalist book. Students will be writing and illustrating paragraphs that represent the points of view of patriots and loyalists as the events leading up to the American Revolution unfold. The majority of this project will be completed in school, and will continue throughout chapter 8.

SCIENCE - "You & Your Body"

"The Big Story on Bones" will be our focus this week. Students will be assembling their own skeleton and become familiar with the names of the bones in the body.

MATH - Mrs. Bell's Class

Perimeter, Area & Volume will be our new unit this week.

FYI

Dont' forget our field trip to Naper Settlement on Tuesday, 1/8. Students must have a SACK LUNCH, and should dress for the weather, as we will be outside during this activity!

The children and I have just finished reading one of my favorite holiday stories, Gideon's Gift. The book tells the story of how people can touch each other's lives through kindness and generosity, even when they don't know each other. Ask your child about the red gloves, and the message that we shared by reading this book. For more information about Gideon's Gift, and the author, see the following link...

http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/authorslounge/articles/2003/october/article17879.html

I Wish You & Your Family A Wonderful
Holiday Season And a
Happy, Healthy New Year!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 12/17/07 - 12/21/07

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF 12/17/07 – 12/21/07

SPELLING
We will have a special holiday word list. There will be no "Words to Know" or “menu” work this week.

ENGLISH - Unit 2 - Nouns
The TEST for Unit 2, Nouns, will be on Tuesday, 12/18.

READING
ISAT practice will continue with a look at fact & opinion, graphs & charts, and analyzing instructions. Students will have a "mastery" TEST on the topics that have been covered in this unit on Thursday, 12/20.


“Bite into a Good Book” Program
Students must ALWAYS have a silent reading book with them at school!



SOCIAL STUDIES
Chapter 8 begins with a look at the colonists' reaction to unfair taxation by the British. Students will be able to experience this feeling firsthand when we have our "King's Gold" activity on Thursday.




MATH - Mrs. Bell's Class
A look at tangrams will conclude our study of plane geometry on Monday. We will finish out the week by completing a holiday math packet.

FYI
Please be sure that your student is dressed appropriately for the weather when he/she comes to school. The children do go outside for recess throughout the winter and must be prepared for snow and cold!

On Monday, 12/17, the Cadet Band and choir will be performing on Friday at 1:15 in the gym. You are invited to attend!

Don't forget...

The BOWLING field trip will be the morning of 12/20.

The "all school" trip to the private showing of POLAR EXPRESS will be on Friday, 12/21. Students must bring a SACK LUNCH on that day!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 12/10/07 - 12/14/07

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF 12/10/07 – 12/14/07


SPELLING
Lesson 13 - Negative Prefixes. Words to know: other - probably. Menu work is due on 12/14.

READING
We will be finishing our Polar Express story element unit with a comprehension QUIZ on Monday, 12/10. The quiz will cover vocabulary, story sequencing, and will contain short essay questions targeting comprehension. We will be doing ISAT practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, covering the topics of order of events, causes of events and making inferences. On Thursday and Friday, we will be focusing on Time for Kids, with QUIZ on this issue scheduled for 12/14.





“Bite into a Good Book” Program
Students must ALWAYS have a silent reading book with them at school!





ENGLISH
The nouns unit will come to a close with a look at writing with nouns and using exact nouns. The unit TEST is scheduled for Tuesday, 12/18.


SOCIAL STUDIES
The Chapter 7 TEST will be Wednesday, December 12th. Students should have their Chapter 7 note sheets and worksheets in the social studies folder of their binder until after the test is given.







SCIENCE - You & Your Body
We beginning a new unit in science titled, "You & Your Body", which is a study of the human body systems and related health issues. This week we will look at the relationships between various body systems.




MATH - Mrs. Bell's Class
The tessellation project will be due on 12/11. We will review Chapter 7, Geometry, on Tuesday, in preparation for the TEST which is scheduled for Wednesday, 12/12.






FYI
Please be sure that your student is dressed appropriately for the weather when he/she comes to school. The children do go outside for recess throughout the winter and must be prepared for snow and cold!






Thursday, December 13th is our field trip to see the ballet, The Nutcracker. Students have been studying this classic story and its music in our classroom and in music class. We are looking forward to an exciting performance!

THANK YOU to all of the families that participated in the PV Holiday Service project. Your donations will truly make a difference in the lives of families and children in need!


Enjoy your weekend!
Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 12/3/07 - 12/7/07

Highlights for the Week of 12/3/07 - 12/7/07

SPELLING

Lesson 12 - Words that end in "ous". Words to know will be: may...now. Menu work is due on Friday, 12/7.

ENGLISH
Singular and plural possessives will be our topics this week as we continue with our study of nouns.

READING

We will be studying story elements such as main and secondary characters, setting and conflict, while focusing on the book, The Polar Express. Ask you child about our trip to the North Pole via the Polar Express.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program
Students have filled out contracts for second trimester, and have begun working toward their goal. We hope to have 100% of the class reach their reading goal this trimester.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will begin lesson 3 of Chapter 7. The TEST for this unit is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, December 12th.

SCIENCE - Flight & Rocketry

Students were given project description sheets for the final assessment for this unit on Thursday, 11/29. They will be given two complete class periods (12/3 & 12/4) in which to work on this project, though I strongly encourage some work to

be completed at home. The final project is due on Wednesday, 12/5.

MATH - Mrs. Bell's class

We wil be "wrapping up" our study of geometry with a look at congruence, transformations and tessellations. Students will be completing a tessellation project that will be due on Tuesday, 12/11. The Chapter 7 TEST is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, December 12th.

FYI

It was a pleasure to meet parents last week during conferences. Please do not ever hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. My email address is: kbell@ccsd66.org.

The last day for turning in yearbook forms is Monday, 12/3.

Thank you to all of the families who have contributed to our holiday service project. If you wish to send a gift for our family in need, please send it on or before Wednesday, December 5th.

Have a Great Week!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 11/26/07 - 11/30/07

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF 11/26/07 - 11/30/07

SPELLING
Lesson 11 – The Suffix “-ly”. Words to Know: may through now. Final test will be on Thursday, 11/29.

READING
We will be taking a look at this week's TFK to brush up on our reading skills. There will be a comprehension QUIZ on Wednesday. Students must have their copy of the TFK for the quiz. On Thursday, we will begin our study of the holiday favorite, The Polar Express.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program

Students have filled in their contracts for the second trimester. They should have been signed and turned in on 11/20/07. We will have the reading celebration for students who made their first trimester goal during lunch and recess on Wednesday, 11/28. Students were given invitations to the celebration on Tuesday.

SOCIAL STUDIES
We are beginning Chapter 7 – “The Fight for a Continent”. This chapter focuses on the European settlements and exploration in North America and The French & Indian War. Lesson 1, "The Spanish Move North", and Lesson 2, "French Explore the Mississippi" will be our topics this week.

SCIENCE - Flight & Rocketry
Helicopters and rockets will complete this unit of study this week. Students will receive the project description sheet for the unit assessment on Thursday, 11/29. The project will be due on Wednesday, 12/5. I will be giving two science periods on 12/3 and 12/4 to work on the project in class.

MATH - Mrs. Bell's Class

We will be covering lessons 6-8 in Chapter 7 - Quadilaterals, Polygons & Geometric Patterns. We will have our second Midchapter QUIZ for this chapter on Thursday, 11/29. Please check the FYI section of this blog for information regarding "How to Study" sheets for 2nd and 3rd trimester.

FYI

Beginning with the second trimester, we will no longer be using the "How to Study" sheets in our classroom. The purpose of these sheets was to inform students of the proper way to prepare for tests in 5th grade. We have accomplished this goal!

CONGRATULATIONS to my students for winning the Box Top turn in for fifth grade! PTO is providing a pizza lunch for our classroom on Tuesday, 11/27!

REPORT CARDS will be sent home on Tuesday, 11/27.

Don't forget that parent/teacher CONFERENCES will be after school this week!

If you wish to participate in the PV holiday SERVICE PROJECT, the deadline for donations is December 5th.

I hope that you and your family have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 11/19/07 - 11/23/07

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF 11/19/07 - 11/23/07

Next week, due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we will have only two days of school. For this reason, our schedule will be modified as follows...

SPELLING
No lesson this week!

READING

Final copies of India project will be completed in school on Monday, 11/19. Students should be collecting clip art for decorating their project. This will count as the test grade for this unit.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program
We will be signing reading goal contracts for the second trimester, and planning our reading celebration for those that met their goals for first trimester.

SOCIAL STUDIES

The Chapter 6 TEST is scheduled for Monday, November 19th. We reviewed on Friday by playing Jeopardy.

SCIENCE
"Controlling a Plane" is the topic for the week.

MATH - Mrs. Bell's Class

We will be doing problem solving and writing "T-Charts" in preparation for ISAT tests in the Spring.

FYI

FROM THE OFFICE...YEARBOOK ORDERING: Now’s the time to place your orders. Yearbooks are $9.00 and the deadline for your orders is Monday, December 3, 2007. No orders will be accepted after that date. Please make checks payable to Lifetouch. Please make sure your student’s name, teacher’s name and grade level are marked on the order form. Yearbook order forms went home with your child on November 15th and there a few extra envelopes available; please try not to lose them. If your child loses it, you can send an envelope with the following information on it: student’s name, teacher’s name and grade level along with a check made payable to Lifetouch for $9.00. It is very important that you put the information on the envelope; Lifetouch does not know who your child’s teacher is.

Holiday service project

Information about the PV service project was sent home with your child. If you wish to participate, the deadline for donations is December 5th.


Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 11/12/07 - 11/16/07

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF 11/12/07 – 11/16/07

SPELLING
Holiday word list – No “Words to Know” or Contract work!

ENGLISH
This week we will be starting Unit 2 - Nouns. Students will be introduced to the concepts of "What is a Noun?" & "Common & Proper Nouns". And...of course we will have a new Schoolhouse Rock song to sing..."A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing".



READING
We will be typing our India paragraphs this week in the computer lab. The final project will be completed in class on Monday, 11/19.


“Bite into a Good Book” Program
November 16th is the deadline for book activities. In order to reach his/her goal, each student must have written a report for each book read, and have given one book summary talk. Students should remember that this program is part of their reading grade!

SOCIAL STUDIES
Finishing Chapter 6 is our goal this week. We will finish taking notes on lesson 4 and have fun interpreting the proverbs in Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. The chapter 6 TEST will be on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19th. We will review on Monday, 11/19. Don’t forget to sign and return the “How to Study” sheet for 2 bonus points!


SCIENCE
Flight and Rocketry
We will focus on planes this week with a look at propeller and jet planes. All junior aviators should have their paper airplanes at school for our Paper Airplane Contest on Tuesday, 11/13!



MATH - Mrs. Bell's Math Class
Geometry is our topic for the week. Quadrilaterals and classifing triangles are the highlights. We will also have the first midchapter QUIZ in this chapter on Wednesday, 11/14. Ask your child about the geometry cheer that we use to finish our class each day!




FYI


ATTENTION CHOIR MEMBERS: Be sure to wear you choir shirt to school on Monday, 11/12. Yearbook pictures will be taken that morning!!!

We have had a number of students who have been missing work that should have been safely kept in their binders. I have been stressing to the children that they are responsible for maintaining their binders and that no “work in progress” should ever be removed until we have finished the unit.

Enjoy your weekend!

Mrs. Bell

Week of 11/5/07 - 11/9/07

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF 11/5/07 - 11/9/07

SPELLING
Lesson 10 – Final “y” words & Suffixes

ENGLISH
We will be finishing our study of Unit 5, Capitalization and Punctuation. "How to Study" sheets were sent home on 11/2, and the TEST on this unit will be Friday, 11/9.

READING / WRITING
We will continue our study of India by reading about India's government, economy and culture. Students will practice taking notes by outlining the information in these sections of the book. They will then write paragraphs using the information. We will also have a "taste" of Indian culture when we prepare Raita dip, an Indian dish, in class together on Thursday.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program
November 16th is the deadline for book activities.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will be looking at Chapter 6, lessons 2 & 3. Students will be taking notes using flap books and circle books for these lessons. We will conclude our week with a review of colonial jobs, by playing "Colonial Pictionary".

SCIENCE - Flight and Rocketry
After completing activity 7, "Airfoils", on Monday, students will prepare for a QUIZ on Activities 1-7 in this unit. The quiz will be given on Wednesday, 11/7.

MATH - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

We will be starting a new unit this week, Chapter 7 - Geometry. We will be studying the relevance of geometry in our every day lives and begin our look at principles of geometry, including points, lines, planes and angles.

SPECIAL THANKS TO…
The children and I would like to express our thanks to the volunteers who helped to make our Halloween celebration a success! Thank you the parents who coordinated the volunteers, provided the fun activities, and provided the paper goods, snacks and beverages. It was a memorable afternoon!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 10/29/07 - 11/2/07

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF 10/29/07 – 11/2/07

SPELLING
This week’s “Spell”-ing list will consist of spooky Halloween words!

ENGLISH
Abbreviations and Titles will be our topics this week. The chapter 5 TEST is tentatively set for Friday, November 9th. Look for "How to Study" sheets to come home this week. We will also be putting aside our English text books to do some creative writing with "bone - y" words!

READING

We will continue our study of India with a look at India's government, economy, and culture. Students will be taking notes by outlining, and then using the outlines to write descriptive paragraphs.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program
All but three students have given their book talks. The deadline for students to turn in book activities is November 16th.

SOCIAL STUDIES
This week we will be learning about colonial jobs and the students will be making a “Sign of the Times” (Due 11/1)! Our TRADE FAIR is scheduled for Friday, November 2nd!

SCIENCE - Flight and Rocketry
We will finish our study of airplane design and move on to Bernoulli's Principle! Look for information about our Paper Airplane Contest to come home this week.

MATH - Mrs. Bell's Class

We will be finishing chapter 3 on Tuesday. Wednesday will be a "Halloween Math" day. Review for Chapter 3 is Thursday, and the Chapter 3 TEST will be on Friday, 11/2. "How to Study" sheets went home on Friday, 10/26.

FYI

Picture retakes are scheduled for October 30th.

Another reminder about HALLOWEEN TREATS: If you send treats for the class, please send either non-edible goodies such as pencils, or a healthy treat, such as raisins or granola bars.

The HALLOWEEN PARTY is scheduled for Wednesday, 10/31 at 1:30. At 1:15, students will participate in the traditional PV school parade of costumes. Students will be changing into their costumes in the classrooms. Costumes might need to be simplified for school purposes, since students must be able to change in a short amount of time. Changing will take place in the classrooms. The fifth grade will have designated classrooms for girls to change in and for boys. Washrooms will be NOT available for changing. No weapons, even fake, are allowed at school.

MEET YOSHI...

This week our class welcomed a new member...a bearded dragon named "Yoshi". The students have enjoyed learning about our new "student", and taking turns caring for him. We are providing "foster" care for him until the end of the year, when he will return to his owner. Yoshi enjoys a diet of greens, crickets, and mealworms. If you would like more information about bearded dragons, please refer to the following website:

http://www.biology.lsa.umich.edu/research/labs/ktosney/file/BDcare.html

Enjoy your three day weekend…
Mrs. Bell

Week of 10/22/07 - 10/26/07

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF 10/22/07 – 10/26/07

SPELLING
This week’s “Spell”-ing list will consist of spooky Halloween words!

ENGLISH
Our study of capitalization and punctuation will continue with a look at quotations. We will be doing a "Comic Strip Quotations" activity on Thursday and Friday. Students must bring in a small comic strip by Thursday, 10/25.

READING
We will be starting our new unit, India. Outlining is one skill we will focus on during this unit. We will begin by studying the structure of outlines, learn how to write an outline, and how to take notes in outline form. Later, we will use the notes taken to write well structured paragraphs about the different aspects of the country of India.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program

Students must ALWAYS have a silent reading book at school!

SOCIAL STUDIES
This week we will begin Chapter 6, "Life in the English Colonies". Information about our in class trade fair will be sent home on Wednesday. The fair is scheduled for Friday, November 2nd !!!

SCIENCE - Flight and Rocketry
Airplane design and the Bernoulli principle will be our focus this week. We're still hoping for fair weather so that we may fly our kites!

MATH - Mrs. Bell's Class

We will continue our study of Chapter 3, Decimals. Lessons 7-9 will be our focus this week.

FYI

It was a pleasure to see so many of you at the Book Fair Thursday evening.
Thanks to all of you who purchased a book for the classroom. Your gift is greatly appreciated.

PICTURE RETAKES: are scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 30th . Students must have original picture packets in hand to have a retake. If your child was absent on the first picture day, they will have to have their original order envelope with them at the time of retakes.

Due to the heightened focus on children's health by the state of Illinois, our school's Wellness Committee has made recommendations about treats for our holiday parties. If you choose to send Halloween treats for the class, please refrain from sending candy. Some alternate suggestions are non-edible treats such as pencils or erasers, or healthy snacks like granola bars.


Enjoy your weekend...

Mrs. Bell

Week of 10/15/07 - 10/19/07

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF 10/15/07 – 10/19/07

SPELLING

Lesson 7 – Hard and soft “G”

ENGLISH
Punctuation is our focus this week, with a look at use of commas, and Interjections.

READING
The Kid in the Red Jacket
We are finishing our study of vocabulary and summarizing in this fun novel. Summary journals will be collected on 10/16. Students will begin creating a story pyramid as a final project for this novel. I will be giving 2 full class periods to work on the pyramid in school, but time at home will still be required. It will be due on Friday, 10/19. There will also be a vocabulary QUIZ on 10/19.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program
Students should ALWAYS have a silent reading book with them at school.

SOCIAL STUDIES

The brochure project is due on Monday 10/15. The Chapter 5 test will be on Thursday, October 18th. “How to Study” sheets were passed out on Thursday 10/11. We will be reviewing on Tuesday, by playing the game, “Hot Seat”.

SCIENCE - Flight and Rocketry
Kites will be our topic this week. Please keep your fingers crossed for warm, windy weather on Tuesday, when we attempt to fly our creations!

MATH - Mrs. Bell's Class

Our study of decimals continues this week. We will focus on decimals and metric measurement on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is the midchapter QUIZ for Chapter 3. On Thursday and Friday, we will look at scientific notation and multiplying decimals.

FYI
Our class has started Junior Achievement this week, which will continue for the next 5 weeks.

Wednesday, October 17th is an early dismissal day.

Enjoy your weekend…
Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 10/8/07 - 10/12/07

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF 10/8/07 - 10/12/07

SPELLING
Lesson 6 – Plurals with “es”

ENGLISH
Capitalization and punctuation is the topic for our new unit in English. This week we will focus on proper nouns & adjectives, commas in a series, and writing sentences with commas. Ask your child what happened when punctuation took a vacation!

READING
We will continue our study of the novel, The Kid in the Red Jacket. This unit focuses on the reading comprehension strategy of summarizing. We are also building our vocabulary by studying words in context.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program
I have met with students who wished to adjust their reading goal for the trimester. Many students have already given book talks, and we are all enjoying learning about new books.

SOCIAL STUDIES
We will begin a brochure project that focuses on the study of the 13 original colonies. Students will receive a project information packet on Tuesday, and will be given three full class periods to work on the assignment. It will be due on Monday, 10/15. The Chapter 5 test is tentatively scheduled for 10/17.

SCIENCE
The QUIZ on activities 1-3 will be on Wednesday, 10/10. Students were given a study guide that lists topics that will be covered on the quiz.

MATH - Mrs. Bell's Class

We will be starting Chapter 3, Decimals, this week. Lessons 1, 2, & 3 cover comparing & ordering decimals, estimating decimals and addition and subtraction of decimals. This should be review for most of the students.

FYI
● Many of our students have volunteered to be helpers in the Multi-Needs Classroom at PV. Students who are involved will interact with the children once a month during their recess time.
● Just a reminder…if your child forgets a textbook or workbook at school, copies are available at our local libraries.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!
Mrs. Bell

Week of 10/1/07 - 10/5/07

Dear Parents and friends,

We’ve had a very busy week studying properties of air, exploring Jamestown and singing “Mr. Morton”. As we say “goodbye” to September, we look are looking forward to sharing many new experiences together…

HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS FOR NEXT WEEK:

SPELLING

Lesson 5 – Prefixes & Roots

ENGLISH

We have completed Unit 1. We will wrap up this unit by creating "Pyramid Poems" that apply the concepts of subject and predicate to writing. Students should bring a photograph to school on Tuesday, 10/2 for this project. We will begin Unit 5, Capitalization & Punctuation, on Thursday.

READING

Chapters 5 & 6 in Kid in the Red Jacket will be our focus this week!

“Bite into a Good Book” Program
Students should ALWAYS have a silent reading book with them at school! We are nearly halfway to our deadline of November 16th.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will continue our study of the pilgrims and puritans.

SCIENCE - Flight and Rocketry

Parachutes and Hot Air Balloons will be our focus this week.

MATH - Mrs. Bell's Class

We will be finishing chapter 2 with lesson 6, Solving Multiplication Equations, on Monday, and lesson 7, Solving Division Equations on Tuesday. We will have a chapter review on Wednesday, and the Chapter 2 TEST will be on Thursday, October 4th. "How to Study" sheets were sent home on Friday, September 28th.

FYI

Tuesday, 10/2 is our last day for magazine turn in.

Movie night is Friday, 10/5.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Bell

Week of 9/24/07 - 9/28/07

Dear Parents and friends,

This week has certainly flown by! We have worked hard this week on keeping our binders organized and being responsible for recording assignments without being prompted. The students are catching on!

HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS FOR NEXT WEEK ...

SPELLING
Lesson 4 - Prefixes and Base words

ENGLISH
We will be finishing our unit on sentences this week. The Unit 1 TEST is scheduled for Friday, September 28th. “How to Study” sheets were sent home on the 21st.

READING
Ask your child about our friends, Howard Jeeter & Molly Vera Thompson! We will continue our study of the novel, The Kid in the Red Jacket, by reading and summarizing chapters 3 and 4. Vocabulary work will also be included.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program
Students should ALWAYS have a silent reading book with them at school. Many students have signed up for their book presentations. We are enjoying hearing about the books that they have read.

SOCIAL STUDIES
The North American colonies of Jamestown and the French and Dutch settlements will be our topics this week. Students will be taking notes and creating their own creative study guides for Jamestown.

SCIENCE
Flight and Rocketry
We will starting our Flight & Rocketry unit with a look at the properties of air.

MATH - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

We will study lesson 2 of chapter 2, "Words and Math", on Monday. Tuesday is the midchapter QUIZ for chapter 2. Wednesday through Friday, we will cover lesson 3, "Equations & Solutions", lesson 4, "Solving Addition Equations", and lesson 5, "Solving Subtraction Equations".

FYI
Due to the online grading system, I will not be asking for a parent signature on papers that receive a trade of 69% or below. Grades are available to be viewed by parents online at any time. Also, unit tests will be not be sent home for Social Studies in all of the fifth grade classes.

Turn in days for the Magazine Drive are Tuesday, 9/25 and Thursday, 9/27.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 9/17/07 - 9/21/07

Dear Parents and friends,

We’ve had a marvelous week! We wrote "Snapshot" sentences, "Souper" paragraphs, and Aztec postcards. We also studied parts of sentences and met Mr. Morton. Finally, after learning about the life and habitat of the Barn Owl, we began our owl pellet dissection.

HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS FOR NEXT WEEK (9/17/07 - 9/21/07)

SPELLING

Lesson 3 – Words with the suffix "er" and singular possessives

ENGLISH

Our study of sentences will continue with a focus on simple predicates, subjects in imperatives, and conjunctions. And, of course, we will end each lesson with a rousing chorus of "Mr. Morton".

READING

We have finished our study of paragraph writing. This week we will begin a novel study of the book, Kid in the Red Jacket. This book tells the story of Howard Jeeter, a boy who moves to a new town, and has many adventures, least of which, meeting a new redheaded friend. This unit will focus on the reading strategy of summarizing and the study of vocabulary in context.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program

Students should ALWAYS have a silent reading book with them at school! Don't forget that a book presentation is necessary to reach your goal!

SOCIAL STUDIES

Our first Social Studies TEST is scheduled for Tuesday, September 18th. The test will cover Chapter 4. Students were given "How to Study" sheets on Thursday, 9/13.

After an activity on map reading, we will begin Chapter 5, which focuses on the early colonies, including Jamestown. We will begin by trying to solve the mystery of the lost colony, Roanoke Island.

SCIENCE

We will be finishing owl pellets this week. There will be an open note QUIZ at the end of the week, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, September 20th. The quiz will include information from their video notes, the lab sheet, and the bone sorting sheet. Watch your child's assignment notebook for a final quiz date.

MATH

In this section, I will be writing about math for my math group. To read about what your child is doing for math, you will have to visit your child's math teacher's blog. You can do this by going to our District website: http://www.ccsd66.org/ , click on Prairieview, click on 5th Grade, then click on your child's math teacher's name. Their blog will come up. Find the teacher's math section to read about what your child will be doing in math class.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class:

The Chapter 1 TEST is scheduled for Wednesday, September 19th. Review for the test will be on Monday, and on Tuesday, there will be no math due to early dismissal. On Friday, we will begin Chapter 2 - "Introduction to Algebra".

SPECIAL EVENTS

The Magazine Drive, one of our district’s largest fundraisers, will be “kicked off” on Monday. Look for information to come home with your child.

Also, don’t forget about early dismissal on Tuesday, 9/18. Students will be dismissed at 11:00.

Finally, picture day is Friday, 9/20.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 9/10/07 - 9/14/07

Dear Parents and friends,

It was a pleasure to see so many of you at Curriculum Night. I hope that you found our discussion to be helpful. If you were unable to attend, I am sending the packet and other sheets home with your child. There are two sheets I need parents to complete and return to me: the 5th Grade Policy sheet and the Student Information Sheet. Please send both of those to school as soon as possible.

HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS FOR NEXT WEEK...

SPELLING

Lesson 2 – Words with the suffix “-able”

ENGLISH

We will be continuing our study of sentences with a focus on the four types of sentences and subjects and predicates. Students will be completing a project titled "Snapshot Sentences" that focuses on identifying and writing sentences in each of the 4 categories.

READING

We will be finishing our study of main ideas and details and how to write a good paragraph. Students will be writing about what they will do to have a "Souper Year", and designing their own soup can to go with the paragraph. We will also focus on practicing what we have learned about main ideas and details in the ISAT practice book.

“Bite into a Good Book” Program
Students should ALWAYS have a silent reading book with them at school!
They should be close to finishing their first book and activity.

SOCIAL STUDIES
We will be finishing Chapter 4, Lesson 3, “Life in New Spain”. The Chapter 4 test is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, 9/19. Students will receive their “How to Study” sheets on Thursday. We will have a group review on Monday, 9/17, but students are encouraged to study independently as well!

SCIENCE

We will be dissecting owl pellets this week. Ask your student about how a pellet is formed, and what he/she finds inside of it!

SPECIAL EVENTS

My students will be taking the OLSAT test on Thursday, 9/13. Please be sure that your child gets a good night sleep the night before!

I am looking for another parent to help with making copies for our classroom. This would involve coming to school on Thursday morning every other week for about 1-2 hours. I already have one volunteer, but it would lighten the load if we could split the work between two people. If you're interested, please email me at kbell@ccsd66.org.

Please check that your child is bringing home his/her assignment notebook and binder everyday. As I mentioned at Curriculum night, one of our fifth grade goals is that your child be responsible and independent with homework.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Karen Bell

Welcome Back to School!

Dear Parents and friends,

We have just completed our first full week of school and the students and I are settling into our routine. I have enjoyed getting to know their individual personalities and talents and am anticipating a tremendous year together!

Just a reminder…Curriculum Night for Fifth grade is Thursday, September 6th at 7:00 at Prairieview. The evening will begin with an introduction by Mrs. Schultz, followed by a brief meeting with your child’s math teacher. We will conclude with a meeting in our classroom, during which we will review topics such as curriculum, expectations and daily schedules. You will also have the opportunity to sign up for parent conferences. I look forward to seeing all of you!

The office has requested that any items that come to school in an envelope be marked with the child's name, teacher's name, grade, and purpose (lunch tickets, band money, nurse's office, etc.). This is helpful in avoiding confusion regarding these items!

Please enjoy a safe and relaxing holiday weekend, and I hope to see you at Curriculum Night!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Karen Bell