Sulima's Scoop - Week of February 28

Weekly Reminders:

*Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday - Parent Teacher Conferences.

*Chapter 15, lesson 2 science quiz on Monday.

*No spelling unit this week.

*Report Cards issued on Tuesday.

*ISAT testing on Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday. (Reading Parts 1, 2, & 3 and Math Parts 1, 2, & 3)

*No school on Friday.

Plan Ahead:

*No school on Monday, March 7 - Pulaski Day.

*Chapter 15, lesson 3 Science quiz on Tuesday, March 8.

*ISAT testing on Wednesday, March 9 (Science Parts 1 & 2)

*Chapter 8 Social Studies test on Thursday, March 10.

ISAT Testing - We will be taking ISAT tests on March 1, 2, 3, and 9. Testing will be during math (10:00-) and reading times (12:30-). We will test in our math and reading classes. Children should have a calculator for all math sessions. Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest and begins each day with a healthy breakfast.

Homeroom Happenings:

Science - We will take an open-book/notes quiz on chapter 15, lesson 2 on Monday. During the rest of the week, we will focus on lesson 3. This lesson will review different sources of electricity. A quiz on lesson 3 will be on Tuesday, March 8.

Social Studies - We will fill out our "how to study" for the chapter 8 test on Wednesday. The test will be on Thursday, March 10.

Spelling - Due to ISAT testing, we will not have a spelling unit this week.

Reading - Due to ISAT testing, we will only have reading class on Monday. Please remember that the Poetry Book project is due on Thursday. Students will not have time during reading to work on their poetry books. Finishing touches will need to be done at home.

Accelerated Math Menu:

Monday - Review of fractions. HW: Review pgs. 1-21 in textbook.

Tuesday - ISAT testing Part 1. HW: Review pgs. 1-21 in textbook.

Wednesday - ISAT testing Part 2. HW: Review pgs. 1-21 in textbook.

Thursday - ISAT Testing Part 3. HW: None.

Friday - No school.

Sulima's Scoop - Week of February 21

Weekly Reminders:

*No school on Monday - Presidents' Day.

*PTO Dine-Out on Monday - Noodles & Company. Click here for more information: http://www.ccsd66.org/PTO/FundRaisers/noodles.pdf

*Spelling Pretest on Tuesday.

*Midterm Math Evaluation on Thursday.

*Spring Pictures on Thursday.

*Basketball test on Friday.

*Chapter 8, lesson 3 Social Studies quiz on Friday.

*Spelling Test on Friday.

*End of Trimester on Friday.

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Plan Ahead:

*Chapter 15, lesson 2 Science quiz on Monday, February 28.

*ISAT Testing on Tuesday, March 1, Wednesday, March 2, Thursday, March 3, & Wednesday, March 9.

*Parent Teacher Conferences during the week of February 28.

*Report Cards issued on Tuesday, March 1.

*No School on Friday, March 4.

*No school on Monday, March 7 - Pulaski Day.

*Chapter 8 Social Studies test on Tuesday, March 8.

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Homeroom Happenings:

Science - We will continue to work with chapter 15, lesson 2. This lesson will relate magnetism and electricity. We will focus on magnetic poles, attracting & repelling, electromagnets, motors, and other uses of magnetism. An open book/notes quiz on this lesson will be on Monday, February 28.

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Social Studies - Our study of the Midwest will continue. We will work on Chapter 8, lesson 3. This lesson will focus on the importance of agriculture in the Midwest. An open book/notes quiz will be on Friday.

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Spelling - Our spelling pretest will be on Tuesday. The final test, which will need to be done in cursive, will be on Friday. A note will be sent home on Tuesday explaining our spelling procedures for 3rd Trimester. We will be following the same procedures they will follow in 5th grade.

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Reading -In reading this week our continued target genre is poetry. The students will understand the elements of poetry, and they will work with figurative language such as simile, metaphor, personification, and idioms. A poetry project will be assigned and the students will be working on that in class and at home over the next couple of weeks. Along with poetry, the students will also be working on writing extended responses which will connect with their reading passages. I have extended the due date on the Poetry project to Thursday, March 3. This will allow enough time for children to complete all poems, bind their books, have at least 4 people read and comment on their poetry (not done in school), and to self-reflect on their project.

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Accelerated Math Menu:

Monday - No School.

Tuesday - Customary and Metric Measurement Review (length, weight/mass, and capacity). HW: Measurement practice.

Wednesday - 3-D shapes review. HW: Extended Response.

Thursday - Midterm Evaluation. HW: Extended Response.

Friday - Trivia Challenge. HW: Extended Response.

Sulima's Scoop - Week of February 14

Weekly Reminders:
*Spelling pretest on Monday.
*Valentine's Day Party on Monday, 1:30.
*Chapter 15, lesson 1 science quiz on Tuesday.
*Unit 4 Adjective test on Wednesday.
*Midwest Region test on Thursday.
*Chapter 8, lesson 2 Social Studies quiz on Friday.
*Spelling test on Friday.

Plan Ahead:
*No school on Monday, February 21 - Presidents' Day.
*P.T.O. Dine-out at Noodles & Company on Monday, February 21. Click here: http://www.ccsd66.org/PTO/FundRaisers/noodles.pdf
*Spring Pictures on Thursday, February 24.
*End of Second Trimester on Friday, February 25.
*ISAT Testing begins the week of February 28.
*Report Cards issued on Tuesday, March 1.
*Parent Teacher Conference Week - February 28.
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Valentine's Day Party:
The children may bring in Valentine's cards and non-edible treats on Monday. We have 24 student in our classroom.
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Homeroom Happenings:
Science - The students are having a wonderful time working with electricity. Most of this unit is hands-on exploration. The children will take an open book quiz on chapter 15, lesson 1 on Tuesday. This week we will also work on answering the question - How are electricity and magnetism related?

Social Studies - We will continue our study of the Midwest. We will have an open book/notes quiz covering chapter 8, lesson 2 on Friday. Also, the children will take their Midwest map test on Thursday. They need to know the location and correct spelling of each state. Also, they can earn 1/4 point bonus for each capital city.

English - We have now completed the lessons in our unit on Adjectives. On Monday, we will fill out our "how to study" sheet for our test which will be on Wednesday. Enrichment projects will also be due on the day of the test.

Spelling - We will take our spelling pretest on Monday. The children should practice their words in cursive throughout the week. Our test will be on Friday. This will be our last spelling test of second trimester. New procedures will be in place for third trimester. Please watch this Blog and your child's binder for third trimester procedures.

Reading - In reading this week our target genre is poetry. The students will understand the elements of poetry, and they will work with figurative language such as simile, metaphor, personification, and idioms. A poetry project will be assigned and the students will be working on that in class and at home over the next couple of weeks. Along with poetry, the students will also be working on writing extended responses which will connect with their reading passages.
Word Masters Practice:
http://www.quia.com/cb/731270.html
http://quizlet.com/3922593/wordmasters-blue-division-2010-2011-list-2-4th-flash-cards/

Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - Square Measures and Area of Squares and Rectangles. HW: WB pgs. 137 & 138 (skip 1, 7, 10, 13, & 16 on pg. 138) & Review pages.
Tuesday - Trivia Challenge and mini-lesson on solid figures. HW: WB pg. 140 & Review pages.
Wednesday - Cubic Measures and Volume. HW: WB pg. 142 (#1-9) & 143 (skip #7 & 10) & Review pages.
Thursday - Trivia Challenge & mini-lesson on Temperatures. HW: WB pg. 128 & Review pages.
Friday - Units of Time. HW: WB pg. 129 & Review pages.

Sulima's Scoop - Week of February 7

Weekly Reminders:
*Spelling pretest on Monday.
*Chapter 10 math test on Tuesday.
*Spelling test on Friday.
*Chapter 8, lesson 1 Social Studies quiz on Friday.
*Valentine's Day Challenge due on Friday.

Plan Ahead:
*Valentine's Day Party on Monday, February 14 at 1:30. Please no edible treats.
*Chapter 15, lesson 1 science quiz on Tuesday, February 15.
*Unit 4 Adjective test on Wednesday, February 16.
*Midwest test will now be on Thursday, February 17 due to snow days.
*No school on Monday, February 21 - Presidents' Day.
*P.T.O. Dine-Out at Noodles & Company on Monday, February 21.
*Spring Pictures on Thursday, February 24.
*ISAT testing begins on Monday, February 28.
*Parent Teacher Conferences during the week of February 28.

Homeroom Happenings:
Due to our SNOW DAYS, we will need to complete some of the activities that were planned from last week.

Science - We will explore and construct series and parallel circuits. The children will also use circuit diagrams to represent their circuits.

Social Studies - Some students still need to finish their "Just Look" books. Our Midwest test will be on Thursday, February 17. The children will need to correctly locate and spell all the states in the Midwest region. Capitals, as before, will be worth 1/4 point bonus each. We will begin our study of the Midwest region this week.

English - Our study of adjectives will continue. We will compare with -er & -est, compare with more and most, and compare with good and bad. Our test on this unit will be on Wednesday, February 16.

Spelling - Our spelling pretest will be on Monday. The final test will be on Friday. Students will need to write in cursive on the spelling test. Please practice at home.

Reading - This week we will begin our study of Poetry. We will focus on some of the elements of poetry including rhyme, sensory words, figurative language, and wordplay. The children will also begin a poetry project. In this project, the children will be learning about and writing nine different kinds of poems. Time will be given in class, but students will also need to work on this project at home. We will be working on Poetry and Figurative Language for the next few weeks.

Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday: Review "Check Your Progress" quiz taken on Friday. Trivia Challenge. HW: Study for Chapter 10 test tomorrow.
Tuesday: Chapter 10 test. HW: None.
Wednesday: Extended Response Practice. HW: Review extended response problems completed in class.
Thursday: Trivia Challenge. HW: TBD.
Friday: Extended Response Practice. HW: Review extended response problems completed in class.