Week of 11/2/15

Highlights for the Week of 11/2/15

 in Mrs. Bell's Class!

Spelling - The /ōō/ & /ŏŏ/ Sounds
The final test for this week's lesson will be on Thursday, 11/5. Cursive and Google Classroom activities are also due that day.


Reading - Courage Unit - Gloria Estefan

We will finish the close read of the biographical text piece about Gloria Estefan. My goal for this text piece is to have students begin leading their small group discussions by developing their own text-dependent questions. We will also evaluate responses to continue to hone our skills in that area as well. On Tuesday, students will begin reading a Time for Kids magazine that focuses on the honeybee crisis. They will read the rest of the magazine at home to prepare to complete a comprehension quiz in small groups on Thursday.



English - Relative Adverbs / Commas & Quotation Marks
Relative adverbs and using commas and quotation marks correctly will be our focus in English this week.

Science - How are Animals Classified?

Students will take an open note/book QUIZ on lesson 3 of chapter 1 on Monday. On Wednesday, we will introduce the Invertebrates slide show project, an activity that will be completed in Google Classroom and presented to the class the week of 11/9. 

Close reading is a skill that is used in all areas of curriculum. Below are some pictures of students working with partners in Science to close read a passage about Reptiles and Amphibians.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 2 - Addition & Subtraction of Fractions

Using ratio tables to solve problems will be our topic for the beginning of the week. On Wednesday we will review the fraction models that we have learned: clocks, money and double number lines. A CHECKPOINT/QUIZ is scheduled for Thursday, 11/5. Students should prepare for the checkpoint by reviewing their spiral Problem Strings and the workbook pages for Unit 2 / Module 1 & 2.

Student-led learning frequently takes place in our math class. Below are some pictures of Zachary & Maya leading the class in a discussion about how to use a number line to solve a fraction addition problem.

Don't forget...

November 3-5 - Parent / Teacher Conferences 
November 6 & 9 - No School
November 25-27 - Thanksgiving Break

Have a "spook-tacular" & safe Halloween!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 10/26/15

Highlights for the Week of 10/26/15

 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom!

Spelling - The "ou" and "ô" sound 
The final test for this week's lesson will be on Friday, 10/30. Cursive and Google Classroom activities are also due that morning.



Reading - Courage - Gloria Estefan

We will begin the close read of the biographical text piece about Gloria Estefan. After a "cold read" of the text on Monday, students will work in small groups to close read the text, to respond to text dependent questions and to use context clues and other resources to define unknown words. They will also work to identify why Gloria is called the "Star with a Heart" and collect their text proof  in a writing web.

English - Relative Pronouns & Relative Adverbs
The focus in English this week will be relative pronouns and relative adverbs. A relative pronoun is a pronoun which introduces a relative clause. Examples are: who, whom, which and whose. 

In the following sentence, the relative pronoun is who: The woman who was sitting next to me is my aunt. A relative adverb is an adverb which introduces a relative clause. Examples of relative adverbs are: where, when, whenever and wherever. In the following sentence, the relative adverb is where: The house where I live in is very small.

Science -  How are Animals Classified?
We will continue our study of the classification of vertebrates by taking a close look at reptiles and amphibians. Students will partner up to close read a passage about these types of animals and to compare/contrast the two types. We will then move on to the fascinating world of invertebrates.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 2 - Addition & Subtraction of Fractions

This week's focus includes multiplication of whole numbers by fractions and how to double numerators and denominators to create equivalent fractions. Students will learn to use a double number line model to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. At the end of the week, we will revisit using clocks and money models to find equivalencies.




Don't forget...

Week of 11/2 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (Homeroom Students)

The Halloween celebration will be on Friday, 10/33. Students will change into their costumes at 1:10, and the parties will begin at 1:25. The traditional PV parade will begin at 2:10. 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 10/19/2015

Highlights for the Week of 10/19/15

 in Mrs. Bell's Classroom!

Spelling - More Short and Long Vowels
The final test for this week's lesson will be on Friday, 10/23. Google Classroom activities are also due first thing that morning



Reading - "What does it Mean to Show Courage?"
The close read of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech has come to an end. I know that I sound like a broken record, but I can't say enough how proud I am of the kids and of how hard they worked to decipher this difficult text. Below is a video of two students working together to determine the meaning of the words "I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice."

On Monday, 10/19, students will take a QUIZ on Happy Birthday Dr. King & the "I Have a Dream Speech".  The quiz will be assessing how well students can find text evidence, so it will be open book. They will also be asked to identify theme and cause and effect, which are two skills that we worked on in this unit.

Below are some pictures of students using the Google Question tool. I posted the question, "What do Dr. King's powerful words mean?", and gave them the following quote from the speech: “In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” By using this tool, they were able to respond to my question, and then make comments on their classmates' thoughts. We called it having a silent conversation.

English - The Sentence
We will finish the chapter with a look at run-on sentences. The chapter 1 TEST is scheduled for Thursday, 10/22.  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 we have studied.

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 Iroquois Americans, and will compare and contrast their culture with the Narragansetts. On Thursday, students will receive guidelines for a project in which they will illustrate a Narragansett Village. The project will be collected on 11/2.

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 2 - Addition & Subtraction of Fractions
If you haven't seen the letter sent home about the topics in Unit 2, please ask your child for it. We will continue to focus on how to relate the addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators to money and clocks. We will also take a look at multiplying whole numbers by fractions. 

Here are some pictures of students collaborating to use money pieces manipulatives to relate money to fractions...

Don't forget...

The Halloween celebration is scheduled for Friday, 10/30. Just a reminder that students may bring their costumes to wear that day, but the costume should be simplified for school. Students will be changing into their costumes at school, but will not be allowed to go to the bathrooms to change or to put on make-up. 






Week of 11/3 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (Homeroom students only) - Look for an email with sign ups next week.

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 10/12/2015

Highlights for the Week of 10/12/15

 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 qualify for challenge work.  The final test will be on Friday, 10/16, and homework is also due that day.

Reading - Courage
I am IMPRESSED and AMAZED by the students' perseverance at tackling the challenging text of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.  Not only are they gaining confidence in their ability to tackle difficult text, but they are learning that if they persevere there is nothing that they can't decode. 

Below are some pictures of some our junior archeologists digging deep into the text of this famous speech:

English - The Sentence

Mr. Morton is back in town!  Ask your child to sing my favorite Schoolhouse Rock song for you! Complete and simple subjects and predicates will be our topics for the 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 Iroquois Americans, and will compare and contrast their culture with the Narragansetts. On Friday, students will receive guidelines for a project in which they will illustrate a Narragansett Village. 

Grape juice, cranberries, maple syrup on pancakes...this was the menu for our Northeast feast. Students enjoyed sampling the resources of the region as they learned more about Niagara Falls:

Math - Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 1 - Multiplication & Volume

The Unit 1 TEST is scheduled for Wednesday, 10/14. Students were given a study guide for the test on 10/7. They should review their spiral notes and workbook pages to prepare for the test. I also suggest that they complete pages that were not used for homework for extra practice. The next unit that we will study is Adding & Subtracting Fractions. The unit begins with a look at using money to model fractions.

Work places has become part of our routine in math. Students work with partners to play games that focus on multiples, factors and computational fluency. I am very pleased with how students have stepped up to use this time to improve their math skills and the enthusiasm that they show for the activities.

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Mrs. Karen Bell