Week of 9/27/10-10/1/10

Highlights for the Week of 9/27/10-10/1/10 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom!

Spelling - Short & Long "i" and "o"

The final test for this lesson will be on Friday, 10/1. Workbook pages, print/cursive pages, and contract work will also be due that day.

English - The Sentence / Capitalization & Punctuation
The TEST for chapter 1 is scheduled for Tuesday, 9/28. Students should prepare by reviewing the textbook, practice pages and workbook pages. There is also a chapter review section in the textbook that covers all of the topics on the test. The next unit that we will study is Capitalization and Punctuation. On Thursday, students will be taking a pretest for that unit that will assess their expertise in the topics that we will study. Students who demonstrate proficiency on the pretest will have the opportunity to do independent challenge work in place of the regular lessons.

Social Studies - The Northeast Region

The fourth grade curriculum for social studies focuses on the regions of the United States. The first region that we will study is the Northeast. Students will create their own regional map and take a look at the geography of the Northeast this week.

Science - The Scientific Method

Ready, set, go...We're off to the races in room 213! The final activity for our worm unit, the "Worm Race" is scheduled for Wednesday. Students have received the project sheets for their worm tracks, and should have them at school that day, along with a fresh worm. A QUIZ on the scientific method has been tentatively scheduled for 9/30.

Reading - Mrs. Bell's Reading Class
The fourth graders will be reading Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say and Elena in America by Robin Bloksberg. They will focus on the reading strategy to determine author's viewpoint. Author's viewpoint refers to the author's opinion, ideas of what is important or attitude. The author might give their opinion directly or you might have to infer the information by reading clues or other information that the author provides. Here is a great link to practice author’s viewpoint: http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/o/authorsviewpointp.cfm. The vocabulary for the week is: bewildered, surrounded, reminded, longed, homeland, marveled. Your child can practice these words at: http://www.eduplace.com/kids/tnc/ewordgame/index.html?grade=4&theme=1&selection=2. We will also work on the skill of putting words in alphabetical order.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

We will be finishing chapter two with a look at choosing a method for calculating. The chapter 2 TEST will be on 9/30. Students should prepare for the test by reviewing quizzes and workbook pages. We will also spend our math time on 9/29 reviewing together.

Don't forget...

The last turn in day for the MAGAZINE DRIVE is Tuesday, 9/28.

PICTURE DAY is Thursday, 9/30.

Fourth grade will be watching the movie "How to Eat Fried Worms" to celebrate the end of the worms unit. Permission slips are due on or before 9/29.

Mrs. Karen Bell