Week of 4.29.19

Highlights for the Weeks of 4/29/19
in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling - Contractions

This week's spelling list consists of contractions, which are words resulting from shortening an original form. The vocabulary focus will be on types of figurative language. The final TEST is scheduled for Friday, 5/3

Reading- Unit 2 - "Journeys" - A Poetic Journey

We will begin our poetry unit with a look at author's viewpoint through the eyes of poet Shel Silverstein. We will also revisit first and third person point of view. This will be followed by a look at the characteristics of poems. We will discuss and review poetic elements such as rhythm, rhyme, and repetition. Types of poetry (for example lyric poem, haiku or ode), will also be discussed. 

Social Studies - The Southwest
The chapter 10 TEST is scheduled for Friday, 5/3.  Please see the study guide that was sent home for topics that your child should focus on when preparing for the test.

Science - Energy Conversions
Students will focus on preparing their arguments for a "town hall meeting" in which they will debate the best solution for Ergstown's blackout problem.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 6 - Graphing, Geometry & Volume
The week of April 29th will contain two assessments. On Monday, 4/29 students will take a CHECKPOINT that focuses on multiplying mixed numbers and fractions. The unit 6 TEST will be on Thursday, 5/2. Students should review their math spiral notes, workbook pages, and previous assessments to prepare for the week.

FYI...

5/1 - Oak Trace field trip
5/7 & 8 - Spring MAP testing
5/14 - Edward Tulane Field Trip

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 4.22.19

Highlights for the Weeks of 4/22/2019
in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling -  Lesson 27 - Latin Roots: port, form, trans & flex
This week's test will contain words with the Latin roots listed above. We will learn the definitions of the roots and study words that contain them. The final TEST is scheduled for Friday, 4/26.

Reading- Unit 2 - "Journeys" - The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

We will finish reading the novel this week and spend some time reflecting on the various themes of the text. Students will complete one last set of text-dependent questions and write their final response. We will also read the classic story The Velveteen Rabbit and compare and contrast themes between this story and Edward Tulane. 

Social Studies - The Southwest

Resources of the Southwest is the topic for this week in Social Studies. Students will learn how oil impacts the economy and how the technology industry is present in many locations in the region. 

The brochure is due on 4/22 which means it should be SUBMITTED to Google Classroom by 7:00 that morning. 

Science - Energy Conversions
System improvement is the topic in Science this week. Students will be introduced to criteria that will be considered for improving the electrical grid and will work to find evidence of efficiency for a variety of systems. 

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 6 - Graphing, Geometry & Volume 

We will continue to explore the volume of prisms. Look for the Unit 6 TEST to be scheduled the week of 4/29.

FYI...

Bring the Change Spirit Week- April 22rd- April 26th!
Prairieview is raising money for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Foundation while raising school spirit! Bring change for a great cause and wear something fun!  

Monday- PJ Penny Day (wear your pajamas and 3ring in pennies)
Tuesday- Neon Nickels Day (wear bright colors and bring in nickels)
Wednesday- Dazzling Dimes Day (wear something shiny or unique and bring dimes)
Thursday- Crazy Quarters Day (wear crazy socks or a hat and bring quarters)
Friday- Team up for Leukemia (wear team jerseys or colors and bring all coins)

4/24- PV Open House / Book Fair - 6:30 - 8:00

We look forward to seeing you at the Prairieview Open House on Wednesday, 4/24 from 6:30 to 8:00. The students have been working hard to create a "Southwestern Fiesta" in the Fourth-grade wing. Be sure to ask your child to show you his/her Midwest Look Book, and all of the other work displayed in and around our room. Don't forget to stop at the book fair in the gym!

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 4.15.19

Highlights for the Week of 4/15/19
in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling -  Unit 26 - Words that end in "-el", "-al" and "-le"

Words that end in "-el", "-al" and "-le" are on the list this week. We will also study synonyms for the words. The final TEST is scheduled for Thursday, 4/18.

Reading- Unit 2 - "Journeys" - The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
We are nearing the end of our novel study. This week, students will read chapters 19-24 and complete text-dependent questions and a reader response for those chapters.

We will also take some time to work on our class book by writing the final copies of our Biopoems in class. Students will also be offered the opportunity to create the artwork for the cover page or the title page. This is an optional activity. The class will vote for the art that will be used for the book.

Social Studies - The Southwest
Research for the brochure project will continue. The projects are due and must be submitted on or before 4/22.




Science - Energy Conversions
This week's lessons will focus on improving an electrical grid.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 6 - Graphing, Geometry & Volume
IAR testing will take up most of our math time this week (please see the "FYI" section below for the schedule). On Wednesday we will continue our study of volume with an activity named, "Matt's Marbles".

FYI...

4/18 - Early Dismissal / Students dismissed at 11:00
4/19 - No School

IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness) testing will continue the week of 4/15. The schedule is as follows: 

4/15 - Math #2

4/16 - Math #3

4/17 & 18 - Make-ups.  

All testing will be in the morning. Please make sure that your child comes to school each day with a fully charged Chromebook and headphones. 

Your child will be able to do his/her best when he/she is well rested and has had a healthy breakfast before coming to school. There will be no time for a snack before the tests, as we are taking them first thing in the morning. And just a reminder that our classroom motto is..."Don't stress - just do your BEST!"

Mrs. Karen Bell

Week of 4.8.19

Highlights for the Weeks of 4/8/2019
in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

Spelling -  Unit 25 - Prefixes im-, in-, and un-

The prefixes "im-", "in-", and "un-" are the focus of this week's spelling lesson. In addition to the list of words to spell, students will study the meaning of these prefixes and how they change the meaning of the root words that they are attached to. The final TEST is scheduled for Friday, 4/12.

Reading- Unit 2 - "Journeys" - The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

We will read chapters 15-18 of our novel and work on text-dependent questions and reader responses related to those chapters. 

Students will also begin writing a "Biopoem" based on their hero essays. The poems will be part of a class book that I will submit for publishing to Scholastic. Look for information about our class book to come home soon!

Social Studies - "Land and Resources of the Southwest"

The Southwest map QUIZ is scheduled for Wednesday, 4/10. 

The Southwest Brochure Project will be at the forefront this week. Each student will be assigned a state in the region, conduct research on it and create a travel brochure. The project will be introduced on 4/10. The "hook" and 3 attractions will be due on 4/12.  Students will be given some time to work on this at school, but should expect to also work on it at home. 

Science - Energy Conversions
We will continue to synthesize ideas about electrical systems failures and be introduced to the electrical grid. Below are pictures of students working together to create electrical systems that will fail. They then joined with another group whose goal it was to decide why the system would fail and how to fix it.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 6 - Graphing, Geometry & Volume

Classifying quadrilaterals and the hierarchy of how they are classified will be our focus this week. A CHECKPOINT on shape classification is scheduled for Thursday, 4/11. We will also revisit the topic of volume. 

Here are some pictures of students collaborating with geoboards to create triangles to meet certain classification criteria...

FYI...

IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness) testing begins the week of 4/8. The schedule is as follows: 
4/10 - Reading #1
4/11 - Reading #2
4/12 - Math #1
4/15 - Math #2
4/16 - Math #3
4/17-18 - Make-ups.  

All testing will be in the morning. Please make sure that your child comes to school each day with a fully charged Chromebook and headphones. 

Your child will be able to do his/her best when he/she is well rested and has had a healthy breakfast before coming to school. There will be limited time for a snack before the tests, as we are taking them first thing in the morning. And just a reminder that our classroom motto is..."Don't stress - just do your BEST!"

Our SEL theme for the month of April is Empathy. Students created this graffiti board with words that are related to being empathetic...

Mrs. Karen Bell