Sulima's Scoop - Week of November 9

Weekly Reminders:
*Lesson 11 spelling pretest on Monday.
*Chapter 5 Social Studies Test (lessons 1-3) on Tuesday.
*No school on Wednesday - Veteran's Day.
*PTO Dine-out Fundraiser on Thursday - Click for details:
http://www.ccsd66.org/PTO/FundRaiser/Goroma.pdf
*Chapter 1 Science Test on Friday.
*Lesson 11 spelling test on Friday.
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Pizza Party
On Friday, November 13, our class will be awarded with a pizza party for our Box Top Collection. We will be having cheese pizza and a water will be provided for each child. If your child has a big appetite, you may want to send them with chips or a snack. If your child does not eat pizza, they should bring a sack lunch or get hot lunch that day. We will be eating in the classroom. We were unable to finish Charlotte's Web during our classroom celebration, so we will finish it during our pizza party. The children will be going out for recess. Keep sending in the Box Tops!


Plan Ahead:
*Roller Skating party on Tuesday, November 17, 3:45-6:30.
*A Family Apart Test on Wednesday, November 18.
*Picture Retakes on Thursday, November 19 - Students must have original picture packet or original order envelope in hand.
*Parent Focus Group on Thursday, November 19 at Prairieview. All are welcome!
*End of first trimester on Friday, November 20.
*Southeast Map Test on Monday, November 23.

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We have finished reading the lessons in chapter 1. The students will brainstorm ways to study for the chapter 1 test on Monday. On Tuesday, we will play bingo with key words and phrases to review for the test. The chapter 1 test will be on Friday.
Topics to review for the test:
How are living things classified?
*Identify and describe structures that make up plant cells and animal cells.
*Describe the characteristics of one-celled organisms, bacteria, and protists.
*Define organism, microscopic, bacteria, and protist.
How are plants and fungi classified?
*Describe the structures of vascular and nonvascular plants.
*Describe the structure of fungi.
*Define vascular, nonvascular, and fungi.
How are animals classified?
*Describe characteristics of vertebrates.
*Describe characteristics of invertebrates.
*Define vertebrates and invertebrates.

Social Studies - The children will be taking the chapter 5 (lessons 1-3 only) test on Tuesday. This test is NOT open-book.
Topics to review for the test:
*Describe the key events that affected the Narragansett way of life once European settlers arrived.
*Define Sachem, cooperation, wigwam, reservation, powwow, and confederacy.
*Describe what goods the Europeans and Native Americans traded.
*Iroquois lived in longhouses and formed the Iroquois Confederacy.
*Identify events leading from colonization up to the founding of the United States.
*Be able to put these events in order: Colonists protest against England, Colonies are founded, The U.S. wins the American Revolution, The Declaration of Independence is signed, and The Constitution is written (these are not in the correct order).
*Identify reasons the Colonists wanted to be free from England.
*Identify the city in the Northeast where most European immigrants arrived in the 1800's.
*Explain why immigrants came to the United States.
*Define colony and revolution.
*Explain similarities and differences between the abolitionist movement and the women's rights movement.
*Define abolitionist, slave, and convention.
*Identify important women's rights reformers.
*Explain why reformers fought to win voting rights for women.

Spelling - We will be working with lesson 11 this week. The words practice adding "er" and "est" to words that end in "y". Please have your children practice their spelling words in cursive.

English - The children will take the next English pretest on Tuesday. They will receive their contracts on Thursday. I will meet with each child on Friday to approve their enrichment work.

W.O.W. Words - We will not have a set of W.O.W. words this week.

Reading - We will finish A Family Apart this week. The children will work on the GIST summarizing strategy. We will try to summarize a chapter in 20 words. We will also work on character traits. The children will take a test on A Family Apart. The test will be on Wednesday, November 18. The children will fill out a "how to study" sheet this Friday and will receive a helpful study sheet.

Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - The children will be working on coordinate graphing.
Tuesday - We will be taking a 5-minute multiplication test today. This will be graded. The children will also learn about stem-and-leaf plots.
Wednesday - No School.
Thursday - We will work on probability.
Friday - We will continue to work on probability.

Sulima's Scoop - Week of November 2

Weekly Reminders:

*Lesson 10 spelling pretest on Monday.

*Unit 1 English test on Thursday.

*Chapter 1, lesson 3 open-book science quiz on Thursday.

*Checkpoint in math class on Friday.

*Lesson 10 spelling test on Friday.

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Plan Ahead:

*Chapter 5, lessons 1-3 social studies test on Tuesday, November 10.

*Five-minute multiplication timed test in math on Tuesday, November 10.

*No school on Wednesday, November 11.

*Chapter 1 science test on Thursday, November 12.

*Roller Skating Party on Tuesday, November 17.

*End of 1st trimester on Friday, November 20.

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Thank You!

I would like to thank all the parent volunteers that helped make our Halloween Celebration a success. The children designed such creative pumpkins and looked so wonderful in their costumes.

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Homeroom Happenings:

Science - We will finish our study of vertebrates and then move onto invertebrates. The children should be reviewing their notes each day. We will be taking an open-book quiz on Thursday. This quiz will cover the information in chapter 1, lesson 3. This lesson concludes chapter 1. The children will fill out a "how to study" sheet on Friday. The test on chapter 1 will be on Thursday, November 12. We will play a review game on Tuesday, November 10 to help prepare for this test. Our next blog will have a list of key concepts to review for the test.

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Social Studies - Our trip to the Northeast region is coming to an end. This week we will focus on lesson 3 in chapter 5. This lesson is called Taking a Stand. We will learn about abolitionists, slavery, and the Womens' Rights Movement. The children will fill out a "how to study" sheet on Thursday for the chapter 5 test which will be on Tuesday, November 10. Our next blog will have a list of key concepts to review for the test.

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Spelling - We will work with lesson 10 this week. This lesson covers making nouns that end in "vowel y" and "consonant y" plural. Please review the rules with your child throughout the week. The test on Friday will need to be done in cursive.

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English - On Tuesday, we will fill out a "how to study" sheet for the Unit 1 English test. On Wednesday, we will review for the test. Our test on Unit 1 will be on Thursday. Enrichment projects will be due on the day of the test.

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Reading - We have finished the classic novel, Charlotte's Web. This week, we will begin our next novel study. We will be reading a wonderful piece of literature called A Family Apart. This (historically accurate) heroic tale follows the adventures of six children who are sent out west on the Orphan Train by their impoverished mother in hope that they will find a better life. Frances Mary, the eldest of the Kelly children, shepherds her siblings through the Orphan Train trip and struggles to find them good homes. Frances Mary and Petey are adopted by the Cummings' and find themsleves involved in the Underground Railroad movement. This book, as well as the accompanying activities, will challenge your child in various ways. Be sure to ask your child about this story. Find out more about the Orphan Train and other historical events that we will encounter while reading A Family Apart. Visit this website: http://www.bgcs.k12.oh.us/reinhart/apart/default.htm

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Accelerated Math Menu:

Monday - Summarizing Data (median, mode, range, and mean)

Tuesday - Graphing Data (line graphs, bar graphs, circle graphs, and pictographs)

Wednesday - More on Graphing Data (double bar graphs & circle graphs)

Thursday - Reading Graphs & continue working with circle graphs

Friday - Checkpoint #1 (qualitative vs. quantitative, line plots & frequency tables, summarizing data, graphs)

Sulima's Scoop - Week of October 26

Weekly Reminders:
*Halloween Parade on Thursday at 12:30.
*Pumpkin Decorating Contest on Thursday at 1:00. Bring the items to decorate your pumpkins in a plastic grocery bag. You can use this bag to carry your pumpkin home. (No push pins, please.)
*All-school Assembly on Thursday at 1:30.
*No school on Friday - Teacher Institute.
*Since we do not have school on Friday, our next 100 minute reading chart will be due on Monday, November 2.
*Unit 1 English test on Wednesday, November 4.
*Chapter 1, lesson 3 open-book science quiz on Wednesday, November 4 or Thursday, November 5.

Field Trip Reminder:
A permission slip went home regarding “all” field trips that will be taken this year. If you have not returned this to school, please sign the form (on each line) and return the form with one check (made out to Center Cass District 66) or cash by Tuesday, October 27th.

Classroom Celebration:
Two homeroom squares were pulled on the hundreds chart. We will have a classroom celebration on Wednesday afternoon. During the celebration, we will watch Charlotte's Web. If anyone would be willing to send in a healthy treat for the children to have during the celebration, it would be appreciated. We will also need drinks.

Halloween Hints:
*We only have 10-15 minutes for costume changes. Please make sure your child can change into his/her costume easily and by themselves. Children will not be changing in the washrooms. Girls will be changing in one classroom and boys will be changing in another classroom.
*If the costume can be worn over their clothes, then both the time to change and the chances of losing any clothes is minimized.
*If the costume involves make up, please do not apply it before sending your child to school. It becomes too much of a distraction as we try to do academic school work in the morning.
*If you send your child in with make-up then your child must to be able to apply it themselves.
*Please do not send any weapons (guns, swords, etc.) as part of the costume. Save those for trick-or-treating.
*We will not have time to change back into our clothes for dismissal. Your child will wear their costume home.

**In addition, if your child would like to bring in something to pass out to the class on that day, it is fine. We will be sending these goodies home.**

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will work on chapter 1, lesson 3. The essential question of this lesson is: How are Animals Classified? We will focus on vertebrates this week and invertebrates next week. The children will take an open-book science quiz on Wednesday, November 4 or Thursday, November 5.

Social Studies - Our study of the Northeast Region will continue. We will be reading chapter 5, lesson 2. This lesson does a quick overview of important historical events including the American Revolution, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and immigrants coming to the America.

Spelling - This week we will be working with "spooky spelling" words. The children will have an activity to do each evening. Each activity will be graded. There will not be a spelling test this week.

English - We will finish the lessons in unit 1 this week. The children will learn about simple predicates and correcting run-on sentences. On Monday, November 2, we will fill out a "how to study" sheet for the unit 1 test. Our test will be on Wednesday, November 4. All enrichment will be due the day of the test.

Reading - The children will not be taking a final test on Charlotte's Web. Instead they will be making a "flip book" to display their understanding of the novel. The "flip books" will be due on Thursday. The children will be given time in class to work on this project, but some work may need to be completed at home. Flap 1 & 2 should be done by Tuesday. Flap 3 & 4 should be done by Wednesday. Flap 5 & 6 must be done by Thursday.

Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - We will begin our chapter on using data and statistics. Our focus for the day will be on qualitative and quantitative data.
Tuesday - We will work on collecting data with surveys, line plots, and frequency tables.
Wednesday - The children have earned a math celebration.
Thursday - No math.
Friday - No school.