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