Week of 10/28/13-11/1/13

Highlights for the Week of 10/28/13

 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom!

Spelling - More Short and Long Vowels
The final test for this week's lesson will be on Friday, 11/1. Cursive and workbook pages or challenge work will also be collected that day.

Reading - I Can Identify the Format of a Mystery
Mysteries will be the focus in reading next week. We will begin by learning vocabulary words that are typically associated with mysteries, such as “suspect”, “evidence” and “suspense”. All students will read and study “The Case of the Purloined Pachyderm”.  While reading this mystery, and other mystery stories, students will be studying the format of a mystery, and using the reading strategies of monitoring and clarifying. Students will take mystery vocabulary  QUIZ on Thursday, 10/31. We will also take a look at idioms - a type of figurative language. Students will create their own page for a classroom book about idioms.

English - Capitalization and Punctuation
Abbreviations, commas in a series & other uses for commas are the topics that we will cover in English this week.

Social Studies - The Narragansett
We will begin our study of the Native Americans of the Northeast.  Students will learn about the culture and traditions of the Narragansetts. They will also learn about the Iroqouis Americans, and will compare and contrast their culture with the Narragansetts. On Wednesday, students will receive guidelines for a project in which they will illustrate a Narragansett Village. The project will be collected on 11/4. There will be a QUIZ on Monday, 11/4, that will cover lesson 1 of chapter 5.

Science - What are the Life Cycles of Animals?
This week, we will finish the lesson about life cycles of animals with a look at metamorphosis. Students will take an open note/book QUIZ on lesson 3 of chapter 2 on Wednesday, 10/30.  

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class
Unit 4 begins with a look at Multiples of 10, 100, and 1,000.  We will then move on to rounding to estimate products, and modeling how to use place value to multiply.

Don't forget...
Week of 11/4 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (Homeroom Students)

The Halloween celebration will be on Thursday, 10/31. The traditional PV parade will begin at 1:15, and parties will start at 1:30. Students must be able to put on their Halloween costume in 5-10 minutes by themselves. Fourth grade will have designated classrooms for girls to change in and for boys. They will NOT be allowed to change in the bathroom. No props that resemble a weapon should be brought to school. THANK YOU to all the parents who are helping to make this a special afternoon for our classroom!

Have a "Spook-tacular" Halloween!
Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 10/21/13 - 10/25/13

Highlights for the Week of 10/21/13

 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom !

Spelling - Theme 1 Review

This week's spelling list will contain words from the first theme in our reading text. Included in this group are words with long and short "a","e", "i", "o", "u", and homophones. Students must score 100% on the pretest to do challenge work.  The final test will be on Friday, 10/25, and homework will also be collected that same day.

Reading - I Can Predict and Make Inferences

This week, we will be reading the story of The Parcel Post Kid, by Michael O. Tunnel. This piece is a nonfiction story set in 1914, which tells the tale of a young girl whose parents mail her to her grandmother because it is cheaper than paying her train fare. While reading the story, students will be reviewing the strategies and skills that we have studied so far this year, with particular emphasis on predicting and making inferences. Students will take a QUIZ on this story on Friday. The quiz will include vocabulary and comprehension questions. We will also be reading an issue of Time for Kids that highlights the use of chimpanzees for medical testing.  Students will take the TFK QUIZ independently on Thursday.

English - Capitalization & Punctuation

This week's topic in English will be how to write names of places and things. Students will be taking a graded review on Wednesday, which will review capitalization of people, pets, places, and things.

Social Studies - People of the Northeast
We will be studying the Native Americans of the Northeast Region, the Narragansetts. Students will learn about the culture and traditions of the Narragansetts. They will also learn about the Iroqouis Americans & will compare & contrast their culture with the Narragansetts

Science - Life Cycles of Plants and Animals

The Tomato Life Cycle drawing is due on Monday, 10/21. Students will make their last observation for our "Sprouting Seeds" investigate on Wednesday. The lab report for that activity will be collected on Thursday, 10/24. The open note/book QUIZ on lesson 2 of chapter 2 is scheduled for Thursday, 10/24.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class
We will finish our study of multiplication and division with a problem solving strategy called "Check for Reasonableness". On Tuesday, we will review for the Unit 3 TEST, which is scheduled for Wednesday, 10/23. At the end of the week we will revisit T-Charts using multiple step problem solving with multiplication and division.

Don't Forget...

10/24 - Early Dismissal - Students dismissed at 11:00
10/29 - PTO Coupon Book deadline - Please return the Coupon Book or payment

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 10/14/13 - 10/18/13

Highlights for the Week of 10/14/2013
in Mrs. Bell's Classroom! 

Spelling 
Due to the short week, there will be no spelling lesson. Students should continue to practice the skills that we have studied thus far. 

Reading - "I Can Note Details"

In reading this week, the students will focus on noting details in a story. They will learn that details may give information, explain ideas, and reveal characters' feelings.  We will be reading both fiction and nonfiction passages as we work on these skills. On Friday, students will complete a QUIZ using this skill.

English - Capitalization & Punctuation

Our new unit in English is Capitalization and Punctuation (Chapter 5). On Tuesday, students will take a pretest 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. The first two topics in this unit will be writing correct sentences and writing names of people and things. Be sure to ask your child what happens when punctuation takes a vacation!

Social Studies - The Beautiful Northeast

We will begin working on individual U.S. maps that will be a year long Social Studies project. The rough draft for the descriptive writing project is due on Tuesday, 10/15, and the final copy will be collected on Friday, 10/18. On Thursday we will have our "Northeast Feast", when students will get to sample some of the products of the region, including cranberries, grapes and maple syrup.  "Chef Bell" will be whipping up some pancakes to go with the syrup :-)

Science - What are Some Life Cycles of Plants?

The worm races were a HUGE success. I was very impressed with the creativity & effort that students showed with their racetracks. The actual races were a little chaotic, but we had a "blast" (please see the pictures from the race at the end of the blog). For me, the best part of the afternoon was when students told me that they didn't care if they won or lost, they just had fun racing! I'm so proud of their great sportsmanship. Photosynthesis and life cycles of plants are the first two topics that we will study in our new science unit. We will be conducting an investigate to find the answer to the question, "Does a Plant Need Light to Germinate?".  Students will record their daily observations, and then draw conclusions about the relationship between light and germination. They will also be creating their own drawing of the life cycle of a tomato plant.  Look for the description sheet for the tomato project to come home on 10/17.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

The QUIZ for lessons 1-4 of unit 3 is scheduled for Wednesday, 10/16. We will finish the week with a look at properties of multiplication, and factors and multiples.  On Tuesday, students will take their first Multiplication Minute, in which they will be given 40 multiplication fact problems to complete in 90 seconds. They will do this four times over a four week period, and their grade will be based on speed and accuracy. 

Don't Forget...

Please support our PTO by attending the Prairieview Book Fair on Thursday, 10/17 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Classrooms will not be open that evening.




October 24- Early Dismissal - 11:00

WORM RACES...

Enjoy the holiday weekend!
Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 10/7/13 - 10/11/13

Highlights for the Week of 10/7/13
in Mrs. Bell's Classroom!

Spelling - Homophones
This week's spelling list will consist of homophones, which are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently & have different meanings. The final test for the week will be on Friday, 10/11. Workbook & cursive pages or challenge work will also be collected that day.

Reading - Text Organization
We will continue focusing on the reading strategy of text organization. Many non-fiction authors organize their selections in time order. They also use features such as headings, pictures, captions, and charts to help the reader better understand the information. We will use a Time for Kids magazine for our work in Daily 5. We will also take a look at syllabication.

English - Sentences
The TEST for chapter 1 is scheduled for Tuesday, 10/8. Students should prepare for the test by reviewing the textbook, practice pages, and workbook pages for the unit. There is also a chapter review section in the textbook (p. 56-62) that covers all of the topics on the test. 

Social Studies - "The Beautiful Northeast"

We will finish the last lesson in chapter 4 this week.  The TEST is scheduled for Thursday, 10/10. Students received a study guide for the test, and should focus on reviewing the textbook pages, workbook pages & notes to prepare. We will also begin a descriptive writing project. They will be imagining what it would be like to take a "road trip" through the Northeast, and writing a descriptive paragraph about the experience. The assignment will also require two illustrations to go with the paragraph. Look for the assignment sheet for this activity to come home on Friday. The rough draft is due on Tuesday, 10/15. 

Science - How are Animals Classified?
The WORM RACES are scheduled for Monday, 10/7. Students should bring in their tracks and a worm in a habitat that day.  Our new unit in Science is the study of classification of animals. Students will be taking an open note/book QUIZ on this topic on Friday, 10/11. 

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class

We will begin Unit 3 with a look at the relationship between multiplication and division. Students will also learn that division is repeated subtraction, and how to use multiplication for comparison in writing equations and solving word problems. Look for a quiz on lessons 1-4 to be scheduled for the week of 10/14.Students should begin brushing up on their multiplication and division facts to prepare for our "Mad Minute Mondays", which will begin the week of 10/21.

Don't forget...

10/11 - PV Movie Night - Permission slips are due by 10/10

10/14 - No School - Columbus Day

10/17 - Mark your calendar for the PV Book Fair from 6:30-8:00.  Classrooms will not be open, but you can support your PTO by attending the fair!

Mrs. Karen Bell