This week's highlights from Mrs. Bell and Miss Cronin's classroom!
Reading/Language Arts/Spelling This week is ISAT's, which will take up a majority of our reading block time. Students are encouraged to bring a healthy snack to eat at the end of the testing time. Also, please be sure your child has a book to read silently should he/she finish the tests early.
Math Math ISAT's will be taken Monday through Thursday. On Friday, we will begin with our next lesson, Chapter 5. This chapter take our work with fractions to the next level of difficulty! Homeroom
Social Studies Students will be assigned the remaining Patriot/Loyalist paragraphs. On Friday, students will begin to assemble their booklets, which will be due the following week. Neatness counts!
Science Chapter 13 test is scheduled for Friday, March 6. Review time is scheduled, but students are encouraged to use their notes and textbooks to prepare for the test. Good Luck! FYIPlease make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast and gets plenty of rest during the week of ISAT's. NO SCHOOL on Monday, March 2.
Highlights for the week of February 23, 2009 in Mrs. Bell and Miss Cronin's Classroom!
Reading Class: ISAT Preparation
We will continue to strengthen our skills for the ISAT's with multiple choice and extended response practice. We will then simulate the testing experience with timed practices. ISAT's are just around the corner!
Language Arts: Expository Writing A lot of focus will be put on strengthening expository writing skills. Fifth grades students are expected to craft an expository essay on the ISAT's, so we will be sure to get plenty of practice in class. Nightly homework will be focused on constructing an essay.
Spelling: Lesson 22
The rule for this week's words are the prefixes com- and con-. Students will have workbook pages and a master worksheet to complete for Thursday, February26.
"Bite into a Good Book” Reading Program
Students must reach their reading goal and give one book talk by 2/27!
Math Class: ISAT practice Math students will have lots of ISAT prep this week. We will be revisiting how to answer extended responses using T-Charts, how to answer short answer questions, and strategies for multiple choice questions. Content will come from previous chapters and from the ISAT practice books.
Homeroom ClassEnglish Language Arts - State Goal 1: Read with understanding and fluency Social Studies: Marching Ever Closer
The tensions are piquing between the British and Colonists. The Second Continental Congress is meeting as the Battles at Lexington and Concord loom on the horizon.
Science: The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars Our Chapter 13, Lesson 2 open book assessment will be on Monday, February 23rd. After that, an eye-opening Investigate will introduce Lesson 3 and prepare students for learning about the sun, stars, and planets!
FYI...
THANK YOU to our wonderful moms who put on a spectacular Valentine's Party. We are so grateful (and lucky!) to have such involved families. It was a huge success and a great way to end our week!
ISAT's are coming up! The first day of testing is Tuesday, March 3. Please make sure your students have a nutritious breakfast and get plenty of rest. We have high expectations and great confidence in our students!
The second trimester ends Friday, March 6th. Parent conferences will be held the following week.
Student Writing: Fun with Homonyms and Homophones "But the moose was eating chocolate mousse. The moose lifted its foot about a foot high and pushed the ram into the sea." -- Christopher and Cormac
"We ate eight pieces of pie and then we got banned from band." -- Sokito and Cameron
"Then Rob asked him if he read his red book yet and Henry said yes. Rob gave him a present because he was present." -- Anthony and Tina
"A bear ate with he was counting to eight. He read red books that night, too." -- Jason and Angelica
"The maid made eight pieces of cake and ate them." -- Viridiana and Hope
"Once upon a time there was a girl who ate eight pairs of pears." -- Stephanie, Olivia and Aryel
"Once upon a time, whenever the male bear delivered the mail, nobody knew if he could bear it." -- Morgan and Luke
"On Halloween he didn't know which costume to pick but then he found a witch suite." -- Bryan and Tina
"So he went back in to the Hamburger Inn." -- Ryan and Diana
Highlights for the week of February 16, 2009 in Mrs. Bell and Miss Cronin's Classroom!
Reading Class: ISAT Preparation This week we will be spending our time reviewing important concepts in preparation for our upcoming ISAT's. Students will also have a quiz on Tuesday, February 17 on Making Connections.
Spelling: Lesson 21 This week's words all have the letter combination -ei in them. Homework assigned on Tuesday will be due on Thursday, February 19. Final Spelling test will be on Friday, February 20. Beeeeee prepared!
Language Arts: Expository Writing We are continuing our study of expository writing this week. Students will learn how to craft two detailed body paragraphs. Pen pal letters will be due back on Tuesday, February 17! The other 5th grade class was so excited to receive our students' letters!
"Bite into a Good Book” Reading Program
Students must reach their reading goal and give one book talk by 2/27!
Math Class: Mean, Median, Mode, Range Our Chapter 4 test is on Tuesday, February 17. Students have review sheets to study off of and have had class time to review. Good Luck! After our test, we will spend the rest of the week focusing on Mean, Median, Mode, and Range using real life weather data from around the globe!
Homeroom Class
Social Studies: Thank the British for Good Tea We will continue our discussion on the Boston Tea Party and then simulating the experience with a tea party of our own. Students will be assuming the role of a Patriot and writing a Letter to Home.
TFK This week we will read Remembering Lincoln in our TFK magazine. Students will have a worksheet to complete and turn in on Thursday, February 19. Science: A Total Eclipse of the... Moon We will be wrapping up Lesson 2 with eclipses.An open book assessment will be the following week.
FYI... Students have now had five weeks of TGFD (Too Good For Drugs). Please remember that their weekly TGFD assignments are counted towards their Science grades. Any letters coming home from Deputy K. needs to be signed with a parent/guardian signature.
NO SCHOOL on Monday, February 16th.
Parent- Teacher Conference letters were sent home with students last week. Spring conferences are with math and homeroom teachers upon request. Letters are due back by Friday, February 20th.
Highlights for the Week of 2.9.09 to 2.12.09 in Mrs. Bell & Miss Cronin's classroom
Reading Class -- Connecting This week we will be connecting the dots... the reading dots, that is! Students will be learning how to make connections between texts, self, and the world to enhance their comprehension. We will be using Night of the Twisters as a source of comparisons.
Language Arts-- Expository Writing
We will continue constructing a four paragraph expository essay this week. Students will build their essays step by step by using graphic organizers and outlines.
Spelling -- Chapter 20
Chapter 20 pretest will be on Monday, February 9. All homework is due on Thursday, February 12 and our final spelling test will be on Friday, February 13. Study those words!
"Bite into a Good Book” Reading Program
Students must reach their reading goal and give one book talk by 2/27!
Math Class
This week we will finish our fraction work with adding and subtracting with like denominators, evaluating expressions with fractions, and mulitplying fractions with whole numbers. Mid chapter quiz #2 is on Monday, February 9th. Our final Chapter 4 test will be Tuesday, February 17.
Homeroom Class
Social Studies -- American Revolution
We will continue examining the viewpoints of the Loyalists and Patriots during the events leading up to the American Revolution. Colonists, soldiers... it's about to get messy!
Science -- The Moon
As we continue our travels to the great beyond, we'll take a visit to the moon. What are it's phases? What are all those holes about? How does the moon compare to Earth? It will be a gravity-defying lesson!
FYI...
Thank you to all the wonderful parents who joined us on our field trip to Naper Settlement. We were so grateful to have had you there!
Our District 66 Spelling Bee is at Prairieview on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 1:00pm. Good Luck to all the stellar spellers!
Happy Valentine's Day! Our Valentine's Day celebration is scheduled for the afternoon of 2/13. Students will be given a class list of homeroom students for the Valentine card exchange. Due to time constraints, we are asking that students only bring cards for the homeroom class.
This week's highlights from Mrs. Bell and Miss Cronin's classroom!
