Weeks of 11/22/10 - 12/3/10

Highlights for the WEEKS of 11/22/10 - 12/3/10 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom!

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom Class

English - Nouns

We will be finishing this unit the week of 11/22. We will be reviewing the material on 11/29, & the TEST for chapter 2 is scheduled for Tuesday, 11/30.

Social Studies - Chapter 6 - The Land of the Southeast

We will be moving on to a new region in Social Studies, the Southeast. Students will be creating their own map of the region at the beginning of the week of 11/29. Next, we will study the landforms from the coast to the mountains in the SE.

Science - Life Cycles of Plants and Animals
After finishing lesson 3 of chapter 2, we will have a QUIZ on the material on Monday, 11/22. The chapter TEST is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, 12/2.

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling

There will be no spelling lesson the week of 11/22. Our next lesson will be the week of 11/29. Due to the short week, the final test will be on Thursday, 12/2, and the cursive page, workbook pages, and contract work will also be due that day.

Reading

Over the next couple of weeks we will be reviewing the skills that we have gone over since the beginning of the year. The students will also work on summarizing and making generalizations. In writing summaries, the students will learn to pick out the main points or events of a story or passage and concisely put them in their own words. In making generalizations, the students will learn that generalizations are broad statements that are true most of the time, based on fact or good reasons, and may include words like always or most. We have already begun working on our summarizing skills with the Because of Winn-Dixie timeline project.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

Students will be taking a QUIZ on lessons 1-4 of chapter 5 on Monday, 11/22. The following week, we will cover the topics of predicting and testing, exploring inequalities & finding a rule. The test for chapter 5 is tentatively scheduled for the week of 12/6.

FYI...

Dates to Remember:

November 23 - Report Cards

November 24, 25, 26 - Thanksgiving Holiday - No school

November 29 - December 3 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

December 3 - Parent/Teacher Conferences - No school

Conferences are scheduled for the week of November 29th. I will be sending home confirmation slips.

From the students in Project Challenge...

The students of Project Challenge grades 3-5 are participating in a Lions' club Holiday Drive. we are looking for donations such as new toys, new games, toiletries, and food for the needy families in the Darien area. If you wish to participate you will need to bring the donations in by December 13th. Remember that some of these families live right her in Darien. So let's help these families have a happy holiday season. PLEASE DONATE.

Click on the link below to read a story from the local paper about the PBIS program at PV:

http://triblocal.com/downers-grove/communitystories/2010/11/prairieview-school-receives-pbis-award/

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 11/15/10 - 11/19/10

Highlights for the Week of 11/15/10-11/19/10 in Mrs. Bell's Class

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom Class

English - Nouns

Singular & plural possessive nouns will be covered this week.

Social Studies - The Narragansett People
Finishing lesson 1 of chapter 5 is our mission this week. Students will be creating drawings of a Narragansett village and will have a QUIZ on lesson 3 on Thursday. Next stop...the Southeast region!




Science - Life Cycles of Plants and Animals
We will be moving on from plants to animals in our study of life cycles. This week we will look at different types of growth and development, including metamorphasis. We will learn about the four stages of human development, and what the characteristics of each stage are. Look for a QUIZ on chapter 2, lesson 3 during the week of 11/22.



Mrs. Bell's Reading Class


Spelling
The final test this week will be on Friday, 11/19. The print/cursive page and workbook pages 137-139 OR contract work will also be collected that day.




Reading

We will work on making inferences and evaluating during reading this week. Good readers should always think about their reactions to what they are readning and why they are reacting that way. This strategy is called "evaluating". As you are reading the story, think about these things: How does the author make the story come alive and make you want to keep reading? What was entertaining, informative, or useful about what you read? How well did you understand what you were reading? Did you enjoy reading it?



Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Algebra: Use Multiplication & Division Facts
This week we will begin chapter 5 with a look at the properties of multiplication. Lessons to follow include multiplication & division expressions, order of operations and multiplication & division equations. I have tentatively scheduled a QUIZ on lessons 1-4 of chapter 5 for Monday, 11/22.


FYI...

Dates to Remember:

November 23 -- Report Cards

November 24, 25, 26 -- Thanksgiving Holiday -- No School

December 3 -- Parent/Teacher Conferences -- No School



Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 11/8/10 - 11/12/10

Highlights for the week of 11/8/10 - 11/12/10 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom!

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom Class

English - Nouns

Singular and plural nouns will be our focus this week. We will study the rules of spelling for plural nouns, including nouns that end in "s", "x", "ch", "sh" and "y". Plural nouns that do not follow any pattern will also be studied. Ask your child how to pluralize the words sheep & ox!

Social Studies - The Narragansett People

Lesson 1 of chapter 5 will include information about the Narragansett people, native americans who lived in the Northeast region. We will learn about their culture and then compare and contrast it with the culture of the Iroquois people.

Science

The QUIZ for chapter 2, lesson 2 will be on Monday, 11/8. We will be moving on to the next lesson, Life Cycle of Animals, later in the week.

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling - The "ou" & "aw" sound

The final test for this lesson is on Friday, 11/12. The print/cursive sheet, workbook pages and/or contract work will also be collected that day.

Reading

This week we will focus on two important reading strategies. The first reading strategy that we will discuss is to make predictions, or educated guesses, about what will happen next in the story. The second reading strategy that we will apply is the use of inferences, or the ability to figure something out, even though it isn't exactly stated in the story. Additionally, we will focus on sequencing events in literature. Our reading class will be studying the novel Because of Winn-Dixie while we work on these strategies.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

Early in the week, we will finish chapter 4 by taking a look at the problem solving skills of choosing an operation and finding missing factors. The TEST for chapter 4 will be on Friday, 11/12. Students will not be allowed to use their multiplication table for the test.

FYI....

Dates to Remember:

November 8-- Roller Skating Party
November 11 -- Veteran's Day -- No School

November 12 -- End of 1st Trimester

November 16 -- Report Cards issued

November 24, 25, 26 -- Thanksgiving Holiday -- No School

Students attending the roller skating party on Monday, November 8th, will need to report to school at 3:45 p.m. to check in and to have their hands stamped before boarding the buses. Students should bring their fast pass with them at check in, which will go home with them on Monday. Please remember not to park in the bus lanes when dropping your student off, and for pick up.

Mrs. Karen Bell