Week of 11/4/13-11/8/13

Highlights for the Week of 11/4/13

in Mrs. Bell's Class

Spelling - The "ou" and “ô” sound 
The final test for this week's lesson will be on THURSDAY, 11/7. Cursive and workbook pages or challenge work will also be collected that day.


Reading - Sequence of Events
This week, we will focus on the reading comprehension skill known as sequence of events. Recognizing the order of events in a story makes it easier to understand. Clue words such as first, later, then, and finally signal sequence. We will be working on this skill as we begin our study of one of my favorite novels, Because of Winn-Dixie.

English - Capitalization & Punctuation
Students will independently complete a graded review for lessons 1-6 of chapter 5 on Monday, 11/4. The rest of the week, we will focus on use of quotations.

Social Studies - People of the Northeast / The Southeast
The open note/text QUIZ on lesson 1 of chapter 5 is scheduled for Monday, 11/4.  The Narragansett Village project will also be collected that day. The next region that we will study is the Southeast. Students will create their SE maps, and we will take a look at the geography of the Southeast from the coastal plains to the mountains.

Science - Life Cycles of Plants and Animals
The TEST on chapter 2, lessons 2 & 3 is scheduled for Monday 11/4.  Ask your child to see the study guide that was given out to help prepare for the test.  Tests in science are not open book or open note. The next unit of study in science will focus on how animals adapt to their surroundings to survive.  We will begin this unit by completing a lab that takes a look at why birds' beaks are different shapes.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class
On Monday, we will continue our in-depth study of how multiplication works with a look at how to use area models to multiply. Students will have their fourth, and final, "Mad Minute Monday" for multiplication on Monday as well.  We will take a break from the timed tests the following week, but will resume with division during the week of 11/18. On Tuesday, students will take a QUIZ on lessons 1-4 or Unit 4. Then, we will move on to the process of multiplying 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers, and model multiplication with regrouping.  This past week, one of the topics that we studied was rounding numbers to estimate products.  I shared a fun game in class to practice the skill that we learned.  The game is based on "Pac Man".  I promised students that I would share the link for the game in my blog, so if your child would like to practice, here it is:

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/round/mathman_round_multiplication.htm

FYI...

November 8 - No School
November 11  -- Veteran's Day -- No School
November 25 - Fourth Grade Special Program - John Lynn Appalachian Trail Presentation
November 27-29 - Thanksgiving Break

THANK YOU to all the parents who contributed to our Halloween Party to make the afternoon so special for our class. Below are some pictures from our awesome celebration...

Mrs. Karen Bell