The "Buzz" from Mrs. Bell's Class: Week of 12/3/12

Highlights for the Week of 12/3/12

in Mrs. Bell's Class!

Spe

lling - The ôr/ ür / yŏŏr sounds
The words this week will have sounds like the words, "more", "hurt" & "pure". The final test for this week's lesson will be on Friday, 12/7. Cursive and workbook pages OR challenge work will also be collected that day.

Reading - I Can Summarize & Make Generalizations

We have finished reading Because of Winn-Dixie, and are ready to begin the final project for the novel. The project will focus on using the skill of summarizing, as students create a timeline. During the week, we will work on how to summarize and make 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, and are based on fact or good reasons, and may include words like always or most. Students will be given time in school to work on the project, which will be collected on Monday, 12/10. We will also have our "Winn-Dixie Friendship Celebration" in the classroom on Friday, 12/7. The celebration is modeled after the party thrown by the main character in the book. Student chefs will recreate the book's menu of egg salad sandwiches, dill pickles & "dump punch". We will finish our celebration by watching the movie while comparing and contrasting the novel with the movie. Please watch for movie permission slips & a request for menu item donations to come home today.

English - Nouns
We will continue our study of how to spell plural nouns, and take a look at singular possessive nouns.

Social Studies - The Southeast
Our focus this week will be on the wildlife and resources of the Southeast. Students will learn about the crops that flourish in the Southeast's long growing season, and how the alligator was saved from becoming an endangered species. The chapter 6 TEST is scheduled for Friday, 12/7. The topic in this week's Time for Kids magazine is a recap of the election. Students will read about election results & use a chart to interpret information. The comprehension QUIZ on the TFK magazine will be on Thursday, 12/6. Please be sure that your child has his/her magazine at school that day.

Science - "How do Living Things of the Past Compare with Those of Today?"

Looking at how scientists use fossils is the topic for the week. Students will be taking an open note/textbook QUIZ on lessons 2 and 3 of chapter 3 on Wednesday, 12/5.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class
Students will be taking a quiz on lessons 1-4 of chapter 5 on Tuesday, 12/4. The QUIZ will include properties of multiplication, multiplication and division expressions, and order of operations. Ask your child what PMDAS stands for! We will also take a look at the problem solving skill of "predict and test", inequalities and finding patterns and rules. Look for the chapter 5 test to be scheduled for the week of 12/10.The following pictures are of a collaborative activity that we did while practicing order of operations...