Week of 2/2/15

Highlights for the Week of 2/2/15

in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling - Theme 4 Review

This week's spelling list will contain 30 words from the 4th theme in our reading text. Words will be chosen from lessons 15-17. Students must score 100% on the pretest to earn challenge work for the week. The final test will be on Friday, 2/6, and will cover 20 words from the list. Homework will also be collected on Friday.


Reading - Journeys Unit
This week we will begin our new unit themed Journeys.   The students will work collaboratively in small groups to brainstorm ideas to the questions: What does it mean to go on a journey? How can a person be changed by a journey they have experienced?  They will create a passport to keep records of the journeys they go on throughout the unit.  We will read a short nonfiction passage called, Grandfather's Journey, and respond to it in a written paragraph. Later in the week we will close read a passage from the song A Whole New World.  The students will annotate the passage as they dig deeper and deeper into understanding the text.

English- Adjectives

The Monster Paragraph project is due on Monday, 2/2. We will continue our study of adjectives with a look at the correct usage of the adjectives, "a, an & the", & how to make comparisons using adjectives. On Wednesday, students will independently complete a graded review of the first four lessons in the chapter. We will finish the week with a look at comparing with more & most, and good & bad.

Social Studies - The Midwest - The Badlands of South Dakota

We will finish our look at the waterways of the Midwest and move on to the Badlands. We will focus on how the geography of the Badlands has changed over millions of years.

Science - The Human Body - Tissues to Organs

An investigation about how physical activity relates to pulse rates will begin the new unit on the human body. We will also learn about how cells are the building blocks of the body.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Topic 9 - Number Sense: Dividing by 1-Digit Numbers

We will be moving from multiplication to division this week. Concepts that we will cover include using mental math to divide, estimating quotients, dividing with remainders and multiplication/division stories. Below are some pictures of math students collaborating while practicing their 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication.

 

 

Don't Forget...

Week of 2/9 - Parent / Teacher Conferences
2/11 - Early dismissal - Students dismissed at 11:00
2/12 - Valentine's Day celebrations - 1:30
2/13 & 2/16 - No School

Spring conferences are optional, and on an "as needed" basis. If I have not contacted you about about a conference, I have no specific concerns about your child's progress at this time. You are welcome to schedule a conference at the following link:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4aa4af22a5f85-spring3

Congratulations to Dom & Adel, our Fourth Grade Spelling Bee representatives. We're proud of you!

Mrs. Karen Bell