Week of 2/28/11 - 3/4/11

Highlights for the Week of 2/28/11 - 3/4/11 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom

English - Verbs

This week we will take a look at past tense verbs with helping verbs and irregular verbs.

Social Studies - Midwest Region

Students will finish the Midwest Travel Poster project, which is due on Thursday, 3/3. They will also work on completing the midwest region portion of their large U.S. map in class. We will be reading a TFK that focuses on the changing government in Egypt.

Science - ISAT Preparation

The week will begin with a look at solubility, and comparing solubility in different substances. We will begin our electricity unit the week of 3/8.

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling

There will be no spelling lesson this week due to ISAT testing.

Reading

Students will begin the week by taking the final TEST for the novel, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. They will be taking the reading ISAT tests on Tuesday-Thursday.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

On Monday, we will review the characteristics of solid figures. Students will be taking the ISAT tests for math on Tuesday-Thursday. PLEASE ask your child if he/she has a working calculator at school. They will be allowed to use calculators for the tests.

Don't Forget...

3/1 - Report Cards

3/4 - No School - Parent/Teacher Conferences

3/7 - No School - Casimir Pulaski Day

ISAT testing will take place on March 1 - 3. Students have been working very hard all year to prepare for the tests. Please make sure that your child gets a good night's sleep and eats breakfast before coming to school. He/she should also have a water bottle & a working calculator at school.

I look forward to meeting with parents during conferences during the week of 2/28.

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 2/21/11-2/25/11

Highlights for the Week of 2/21/11-2/25/11 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom!

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom

English - Verbs

This week we will focus on rules for spelling present and past tense verbs.

Social Studies - The Midwest

The TEST for chapter 8 will be on Thursday, 2/24. Students should review their notes, workbook pages and the textbook to prepare for the test. On Friday, I will introduce a travel poster project for the Midwest region. Students will be creating a travel poster that highlights information about the Midwest. They will be given some time in school for this project, but will also be working on it at home.

Science - ISAT Preparation

In preparation for the ISAT tests, we will be reviewing scientific concepts that we have not yet covered this year. Focus will be on the topics of gravity, space, rocks & minerals and the water cycle.

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling - Words that end in "-ed" & "-ing"

The final test for this lesson will be on Friday, 2/25. The cursive page & workbook pages will also be collected on that day.

Reading

In reading this week our target genre continues to be poetry. The students will study the elements of peetry, and will work with figurative language such as similes, metaphors, personification and idioms. A poetry project will be assigned, and students will be working on that in class, and at home over the next few weeks. We will continue to work on writing on extended responses which will connect with their reading passages. Also, we will begin the final project for the book, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

Circles is the next topic that we will cover in math. Then we will take a short break from the textbook and review some topics in preparation for the ISAT tests. Concepts that we will review include measurement, money, and fractions. We will also revisit T-Charts and the answering the short answer question for the standardized tests. Please make sure that your child has a calculator at school. Students will be allowed to use calculators on the ISAT tests, and must have one at school.

Don't forget...

February 21 - No School - President's Day

February 25 - End of the Second Trimester

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 2/14/2011 - 2/18/2011

Highlights for the Week of 2/14/11-2/18/11 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom

English - Verbs

Verb tenses and subject/verb agreement will be the topics we will cover in English this week.

Social Studies - Bountiful Midwest Farms

We will complete our look at the geography of the Midwest, and move on to the resources of the region. Students will study the impact that the agriculture industry has on the Midwest.

Science - The Human Body / Electricity

The chapter 4 TEST is scheduled for Wednesday, 2/16. Students have received a study guide for the test and should use it to guide their preparation for the test. Our next unit will be electricity, which we will start on Friday.

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling - Compound Words

The final test for this lesson will be on Friday, 2/18. Cursive pages and workbook pages will also be collected that day.

Reading

In reading this week our target genre is poetry. The students will understand the elements of poetry, and will work with figurative language such as similes, metaphors, personification and idioms. A poetry project will be assigned, and students will be working on that in class and at home over the next couple of weeks. Along with poetry, the students will also be working on writing extended responses which will connect with their reading passages. We will also finish Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing while studying these skills.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

Measuring and classifying angles, line relationships, and polygons will be our focus this week. Students will take a QUIZ on lessons 1-4 of chapter 19 on Thursday, 2/17. Then, we will move on to classifying triangles.

Don't Forget...

February 21 - President's Day - No School

February 25 - End of Second Trimester

March 1 - Report Cards

The Valentine's Day celebration will be on 2/14 at 1:30. Students may bring "non-edible" holiday greetings to share with their classmates.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 2/7/11 - 2/11/11

Highlights for the Week of 2/7/11 - 2/11/11 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Mrs. Bell's Homeroom

English - Verbs

Main & helping verbs and verb tenses will be the topics this week in English.

Social Studies - The Midwest

Resources of the Midwest will be our focus this week.

Science - The Human Body

Students will be working in partners to create a life size human body mural. They will build the mural one organ at a time.

Mrs. Bell's Reading Class

Spelling - More VCCV Pattern Words

The final test for this lesson will be on Friday, 2/11. The cursive page and workbook

pages will also be colected that day.

Reading

This week we will begin our study of poetry. We will focus on some of the elements of poetry including rhyme, sensory words, figurative language and wordplay. The children will also begin a poetry projject. In this project they will be learning about and writing nine different kinds of poems. Time will be given in class, but students will also need to work on this project at home. we will be working on Poetry and Figurative Language for the next few weeks. We will also be working on how to write an extended response, in preparation for the ISAT tests at the end of the month.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class

We will finish chapter 8 with a look at how to make a line graph. The TEST for chapter 8 is scheduled for Wednesday, 2/9. Then, we will move on to chapter 19, which focuses on geometry. The chapter begins with the topics of lines, rays, angles, plane figures, and how to measure angles. Please check that your child has a protractor and a calculator at school. We will be needing both for this chapter, and for the ISAT tests at the end of the month.

FYI...

Dates to remember:

February 14 - Valentine's Day Celebrations
February 21 - President's Day - No School
February 25 - End of the Trimester
March 1 - Report Cards

Have a Relaxing Weekend!

Mrs. Karen Bell