Week of 1/2/17

Highlights for the Weeks of 1/2/2017
in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling -  Unit 15 - Greek Roots

The focus for the lesson this week will be on Greek Roots. Students will learn the meaning of the roots "audi", "bio", "geo", "ology", "meter", and "thermo". Knowledge of these roots will help them to find meaning in unknown words when they are reading. The final TEST for this lesson will be on Friday, 1/6.

Reading - Unit 1 - "Courage" - Lou Gehrig

The final story that we will read in the Courage unit is a biographical piece about baseball player LouGehrig. While studying this text, we will continue to hone our close reading skills and focus on identifying statements that are facts and statements that are opinions. A statement of fact can be proven by looking it up in a reference source. A statement of opinion tells what a person thinks, believes or feels.




English - "Capitalization & Punctuation"
How do you use commas in a series? That is the question we will answer this week when we revisit use of commas when listing multiple items in a sentence. 

Social Studies - The Southeast "Wrap Up"
We will complete this portion of our study of the Southeast by adding the Southeast region to our individual U.S. Maps. Students will also enjoy a "Taste of the Southeast" when Chef Bell & Chef Krasnodebski serve up samples of some of the agricultural products of the region on Thursday.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 4 - Multiplying & Dividing Whole Numbers and Decimals
In Unit 4 students will study and practice a variety of strategies for multiplication and division. The week will begin with the Unit 4 Pre-Assessment which will I use as a tool for guiding instruction. We will then move on to learning the Half-Tens Facts and Doubling and Halving strategies.

FYI...
1/3 - Winter Break Ends - Back to School!

1/16 - No School - Martin Luther King Day

The Prairieview trip to Drury Lane was a huge success! We all enjoyed the play "A Christmas Carol".  Below are some pics from that wonderful morning...

Bus selfies!

Nice photo bomb Wyatt & Cam!

Waiting for the show to start.

So well behaved !!!

Mathematicians enjoying the show!

Serious & silly pictures from bowling...

Wishing you & yours a safe and happy winter break!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 12/12/16

Highlights for the Weeks of 12/12/2016
in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling -  Unit 14 - Soft "g"

This week's list will consist of words that contain the soft "g" sound like fragile and giant.  The final TEST for this lesson will be on Friday, 12/16.


ELA / Reading - Unit 1 - "Courage" - The Labors of Hercules

Students will be given time in class to work on their Hercules 12 Labors Slide presentation which is due on Wednesday, 12/14.

Social Studies - The Southeast
The chapter 6 TEST is scheduled for Tuesday, 12/13. A study guide was sent home with your child on 12/6.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 3 - Place Value & Decimals

The Unit 3 TEST will be given on Wednesday, 12/14. Students should review their spiral notes, workbook book pages, and checkpoints to prepare for the test.

I love watching students collaborate to problem solve. Below is a video of Shruthi and Ashley working together to convert Megabytes to Kilobytes and Bytes...

FYI...

12/13 - PV trip to Drury Lane to see A Christmas Carol
12/15 - 4th Grade Bowling Trip
12/19 - Winter Break begins

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 12/5/2016

Highlights for the Weeks of 12/5/2016
in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling -  Unit 13 - Homographs

This week's list will consist of homographs. Homographs are two or more words that are spelled the same but have different meaning and sometimes different pronunciations. For example, the word pitcher is a homograph. A pitcher is a player who delivers the ball to a batter or a large container with a handle used for holding and pouring liquids.  The final TEST for the homograph lesson will be on Friday, 12/9.

Below are photos of students presenting their slides with sentences containing pairs of homophones from Unit 12's spelling list...

Throne / throne

Pear / Pair

Knight / night

Weight / wait

Peek / peak

Hole / whole

No / know

Allowed / aloud

Not / knot

Close / clothes

Eight / ate

ELA / Reading - Unit 1 - "Courage"

Students will continue to work on their "Gloria Estefan: A Star with a Heart" newspaper article which is due on 12/8. We will begin our study of Greek Mythology with a look at the myth of Hercules. We will study the characteristics of myths and how Hercules shows courage. Students will begin a project on the 12 labors of Hercules on Friday, 12/9.
In English, we will focus on how to correctly write the names of places and things.




Social Studies - The Southeast - "Wildlife and Resources"

The final lesson on the Southeast will focus on the resources and the wildlife of the region. The chapter 6 TEST is tentatively scheduled for 12/13. Students should review their textbook, workbook pages, note pages and review pages to prepare for the test.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 3 - Place Value & Decimals

The second CHECKPOINT for Unit 3 is scheduled for Monday, 12/5. The rest of the week we will focus on Metric conversions, place value patterns and writing division story problems. Look for the Unit 3 TEST to be scheduled the week of 12/12.

FYI...

We have welcomed a new member to our classroom family! Our new student Mee Tong is from China. Her English is limited, but it has been heartwarming to watch how welcoming and kind the children have been to her. We are lucky to have a lot of technology to help us. In these photos, students are reciting a welcome message that each wrote on a poster for Mee Tong into an APP that translates their words into Chinese symbols for her to read. At the end is a video of Mrs. K. translating her response to her new friends.

12/7 - Early Dismissal - Students dismissed at 11:35
12/13 - PV trip to Drury Lane to see A Christmas Carol
12/15 - 4th Grade Bowling Trip
12/19 - Winter Break begins

Mrs. Karen Bell