Behind the Scenes - Week of October 3

Worm Race Results:

All the children did a wonderful job creating their race tracks and choosing variables to encourage their worms to travel as fast as possible to the finish line. We had some close races!


1st Place - Samantha
2nd Place - Alex
3rd Place - Serena
4th Place - Justin
5th Place - Fernanda
6th Place - Reese

We had an exciting race day! Congratulations to all students for their hard work, great sportsmanship, and creativity!

Weekly Spotlight:
*Spelling pretest on Monday.
*Cheer Clinic after school on Monday.
*Cheer Clinic after school on Wednesday.
*Chapter 8 math test on Thursday.
*Cheer Clinic after school on Thursday.
*Northeast Map test on Thursday.
*Spelling test on Friday.

Coming Attractions:
*No school on Monday, October 10 - Columbus Day.
*No school on Tuesday, October 11 - Teacher Institute.
*Unit 3 Verb test on Thursday, October 13.
*Movie Night on Friday, October 14, 6:30-8:45.
*Book Fair on Thursday, October 20, 6:30-8:00.
*Early Dismissal on Thursday, October 27, 11:00.
*Halloween Parade and Classroom Party on Friday, October 28.
*Bingo Night on Friday, October 28. (Mrs. Sulima will be there!)

Magazine Drive:
Our class won first place in the magazine drive by 1 magazine. Wow! Thank you all for making this magazine drive a success!

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - This week, we will focus on how animals are classified. The children will be filling out notes in class. They should review these notes each day. The children will take a chapter 1, lesson 3 review on Friday. They will be able to use their notes and textbook during the review.

Social Studies - The children will take the Northeast Map test on Thursday. They will need to know the correct location and spelling of all the states in the Northeast. Capitals can be labeled for 1/4 point bonus each. The children will also need to label the 2 Great Lakes and the Ocean on the Northeast Map.

Spelling - We will continue with our new procedure this week. Children that get 95% or higher will become challenge spellers. They will choose words to work with all week. On Friday, they will take a test on their words. If they get 100% on their Friday test, they will earn 2 points on their pretest score.

English - Our verb unit will continue. This week our lessons will focus on writing past tense with helping verbs, irregular verbs, the verb be, and contractions with not. The children will fill out a "how to study" sheet on Friday. Our test will be on Thursday, October 13. Enrichment projects will be due on the day of the test.

Reading - The reading strategy that we will focus on is text organization. Many non-fiction authors organize their selections in time order. They also use features such as headings, pictures, captions, and charts to help the reader better understand the information.
Our class will also continue reading 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

Mrs. Sulima's Math Spotlight:
Monday - "Check your Progress" quiz on lessons 4-8. HW: Daily Practice Sheet.
Tuesday - We will fill out our "how to study" sheet for our test on Thursday. Decimal problem solving. HW: Daily Practice Sheet & study for chapter 8 test.
Wednesday - Continue decimal problem solving & review for test. HW: Daily Practice Sheet & study for chapter 8 test tomorrow.
Thursday - Chapter 8 test. Bring your "how to study" sheet. HW: Daily Practice Sheet due tomorrow.
Friday - Begin chapter 2 - Multiplication. HW: Enjoy your long weekend!!!

Behind the Scenes - Week of September 26th

Weekly Spotlight:
*Spelling pretest on Monday.
*Magazine turn in on Tuesday. Our class is in 2nd place!!!
*Tracks and Worms are due on Tuesday.
*Math quiz on Tuesday over lessons 1-3.
*Magazine turn in on Thursday.
*Picture Day on Thursday.
*Spelling test on Friday.
*Early Dismissal on Friday, 11:00.
*PTO Dine-out at Cozzie Corner, Sept. 29-Oct. 2.

Coming Attractions:
*Monday, October 3 - 4th grade cheer clinic.
*Wednesday, October 5 - 4th grade cheer clinic.
*Friday, October 7 - 4th grade cheer clinic.
*Tuesday, October 11 - Teacher Institute. No school.
*Thursday, October 20 - Book Fair, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
*Thursday, October 27 - Early Dismissal.
*Friday, October 28 - Bingo Night, 7:00-8:30 (Mrs. Sulima will be there!!!)
*Friday, October 28 - Halloween parade and classroom party.

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - Your child needs to make a wormy race track for Tuesday. They will choose the surface of the track, width of the track, and 2 other variables (possibly variables that we tested during our worm investigations). Directions, variable planning sheet, and grading checklist are in your child's binder. Your child's track, variable planning sheet, grading checklist, and worm are due on Tuesday. We will be having a "Worm Race" in our classroom on Tuesday. May the best worm win!!!

Social Studies - We will begin our trip around the 5 regions of the United States by visiting the Northeast. This week, we will focus on the environment of the Northeast including major landforms. Children should begin studying for our first map test on the Northeast states. They will need to know the location and spelling of all the states in the Northeast. Spelling does count and a word bank will not be included. If they know the capitals, they can earn 1/4 point bonus per capital. Students should spell the capitals as best as they can. The test will be on Thursday, October 6.

Spelling - NEW SPELLING PROCEDURE!!! Our spelling pretest will be on Monday. If your child gets 95% or higher, they will become a challenge speller. They will need to choose challenge words and do challenge activities in their spelling journal throughout the week. If your child misses 2 or more, they will continue to work with the weekly list of spelling words. Workbook pages will need to be done throughout the week. Challenge activities and workbooks pages will be due on Friday before we take the test. Challenge spellers will now take a test on their challenge words. If they get 100% on their challenge test, they will earn 2 points on their pretest score. If they do not get 100% on their challenge test, they will keep their pretest score.

English - We will continue our verb unit this week. Our focus will be on subject-verb agreement, spelling present tense verbs, spelling past tense verbs, and verbs with helping verbs. The children will also continue working on enrichment projects according to their learning contract.

Reading - Students will focus on the reading strategy to determine author's viewpoint. Author's viewpoint refers to the author's opinion, ideas of what is important or attitude. The author might give their opinion directly or you might have to infer the information by reading clues or other information that the author provides. Here is a great link to practice author’s viewpoint:
http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/o/authorsviewpointp.cfm.
**Last week we did mini-lessons on Protagonist & Antagonist. We also learned about first person, second person, and third person point of view. Ask your child to explain these concepts to you.**

Mrs. Sulima's Math:
Monday - Adding Decimals. HW: Daily Practice Sheet & WB pg. 93 (#1-15) & pg. 95 (#1-17 no rounding). Quiz tomorrow.
Tuesday - "Check your Progress" open book/notes quiz over chapter 8, lessons 1-3. Estimating Decimal Sums. HW: Daily Practice Sheet & WB pg. 94 (#1-8).
Wednesday - Subtracting Decimals. HW: Daily Practice Sheet & WB pg. 96 (#1-15) & pg. 98 (#11-20 no rounding).
Thursday - Estimating Decimal Differences. HW: Daily Practice Sheet & WB pg. 97 (#1-8) Quiz on Monday.
Friday - No math due to early dismissal. "Check your Progress" Quiz on Monday over lessons 4-6.

Behind the Scenes - Week of September 19

Weekly Spotlight:
*Bring in worms & habitat on Monday.
*Chapter 2, lesson 2 & 3 Social Studies Test on Tuesday.
*Chapter 1 Math Test on Wednesday.

Coming Attractions:
*Worm Race Tracks due on Tuesday, September 20.
*First magazine turn-in on Tuesday, September 20.
*Second magazine turn-in on Tuesday, September 27.
*Third magazine turn-in on Thursday, September 29.
*Early Dismissal on Friday, September 30, 11:00.

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - Our Worm Study will begin on Monday. Please have your child bring in their worm habitat on Monday. This unit will allow the children to learn more about and go through the steps of the Scientific Method. We will ask questions, make our hypothesis, form a plan, test our hypothesis, collect data, and draw conclusions based on our results. The children will also learn about variables and the need to control variables during this study.

Social Studies - We filled out our "how to study" sheet on Thursday. The children will need to write at least 2 ways they studied and get a parent's signature. If they attach this to the back of their test, they will earn 2 bonus points. The test will be on Tuesday. It will cover chapter 2, lessons 2 and 3 only.
Items to know for test:
*Explain what the Constitution is and why it is important.
*Identify three levels of Government.
*Describe the responsibilities of each of the three branches of Government (study your Patriotic Quest).
*Explain how the Constitution can be changed.
*Identify two ways that a person can become a citizen of the U.S.
*Identify three types of services that are paid for by taxes.
*Identify at least three responsibilities of U.S. citizens.
*Explain why voting is an important responsibility in the U.S.

Here are some links to help your child prepare for the test:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/usa_game/government/index.htm
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/games/interactive.html
http://www.kids.gov/
http://www.congressforkids.net/games/threebranches/2_threebranches.htm

Spelling - We are going to take this week off of spelling. Instead, we will focus on vocabulary from our science and social studies units.

English - The students took the Noun test on Friday. They will receive their Noun tests back on Monday. We will go over the answers at this time. Also on Monday, the children will take their next pretest. They will receive their pretests & contracts on Tuesday. On Thursday, we will begin our first lesson.

Reading - This week, we will continue to focus on story structure. The children will also explore character and setting in depth. When your child is reading at home, you can practice and review story structure by asking them to identify characters, setting, and plot (which includes the problem, sequenced events, and the solution).

Mrs. Sulima's Math Class:
Monday - We will fill out our "how to study" sheet for the chapter 1 test which will be on Wednesday. Our focus for the day will be on extended responses. HW: Focus for Chapter 1 Test on Wednesday.

Tuesday - We will continue reviewing extended response. The class will also review for the chapter 1 test. HW: Study for Chapter 1 Test.

Wednesday - Chapter 1 Test. There will be an extended response on the test. Bring you signed "how to study" sheet to class today!

Thursday - We will take a pretest on chapter 8 - Adding and Subtracting Decimals. The lesson for the day will be on Decimal Sense. HW: WB 93.

Friday - Decimals and Place Value. HW: Finish WB pg. 92, if not finished in class.

Behind the Scenes - Week of September 12

Weekly Spotlight:
*Wear Red, White, & Blue on Monday.
*Spelling pretest on Monday.
*Magazine Kick-off on Monday.
*Beginner Band Sign-up on Tuesday and Wednesday, 3:00-8:00 in Band Room
*Recruitment Band Concert on Thursday, 12:45.
*Magazine Reach-out Postcards due on Friday.
*Spelling test on Friday.
*Unit 2 Nouns Test on Friday.

Coming Attractions:
Monday, September 19, 2011 - Bring worm in habitat today
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - Magazine Turn-In Day
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - Social Studies test on Chapter 2, lessons 2 & 3
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - Magazine Turn-In Day
Thursday, September 29, 2011 - MagazineTurn-In Day & Picture Day
Friday, September 30, 2011 - Early Dismissal - 11:00 a.m.

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will learn about the scientific method. These are the steps we will follow as scientists.

Social Studies - This week, we will finish our governmental study. On Thursday, the children will fill out a "how to study" sheet for the test which will be on Tuesday, September 21.

Spelling - Our spelling list will practice words with short and long a and e words. If your child misses 2 or less, they will be a "challenge speller". They will choose words from a pre-made list and will complete 3 challenge activities in their spelling spiral. If they miss 3 or more, they will study the regular spelling list and complete 3 pages from the reading/spelling workbook.

English - We will finish our noun unit this week. The children will fill out a "how to study" sheet on Wednesday. The test will be on Friday.

Reading - This week, our focus will be on story structure. We will use a story map to look at how a problem and its solution affect the story’s plot and characters. When your child is reading at home, you can practice and review story structure by asking them to identify characters, setting, and plot (which includes the problem, sequenced events, and the solution).


Mrs. Sulima's Math Spotlight:
Monday - Rounding Numbers & Decimals. HW: Daily Practice Sheet & WB pg. 6
Tuesday - Addition Properties/Subtraction Rules and Addition with 3 or more addends. HW: Daily Practice Sheet & WB pgs. 7 & 9.
Wednesday - Subtraction with Zeros & Larger Sums and Differences. HW: Daily Practice Sheet & WB pgs. 10 & 11.
Thursday - Estimating Sums and Differences. HW: Daily Practice sheet due tomorrow. WB pg. 8. Quiz tomorrow on lessons 6-12.
Friday - "Check your progress" quiz. Mini lesson on Roman Numerals. HW: None.

Behind the Scenes - Week of September 5

Weekly Spotlight:
*No school on Monday - Labor Day.
*Spelling pretest on Tuesday.
*Curriculum Night on Tuesday, 6:30-7:30. Parents only, please.
*Reading MAP test on Wednesday, 1:00-2:00.
*Beginning Band Parent Meeting on Wednesday, 7:00.
*Spelling test on Friday.
*Math "Check Your Progress" quiz on Friday - Chapter 1, lessons 2-5.

Coming Attractions:
*Monday, September 12, 2011 - Magazine Kick-Off - 1:15 p.m. gym
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - Beginning Band Sign-Up - 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. - Band Room
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - Beginning Band Sign-Up - 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. - Band Room
Thursday, September 15, 2011 - Recruitment Band Concert -12:45 to 1:30 p.m - Gym
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - Magazine Turn-In Day
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - Magazine Turn-In Day
Thursday, September 29, 2011 - Magazine Turn-In Day & Picture Day
Friday, September 30, 2011 - Early Dismissal - 11:00 a.m.

Homeroom Happenings:
English - We will continue our unit on Nouns. The lessons we will focus on include: singular & plural nouns, and singular possessive nouns.

Reading - Next week in reading your child will learn to use skimming and scanning skills to locate answers. During science,social studies, and reading, the class will be given tasks where they will have to locate answers in the text. They will practice highlighting key words in the questions or clues, and then skim the headlines, subtitles,captions, and passages to help them find the answers to those questions.

Spelling - The children will be working with a second list of commonly misspelled words. The pretest will be on Tuesday. If your child receives a 90% or higher on the pretest, they will become a challenge speller. They will choose challenge words to use throughout the week. Any word they missed on the pretest should be on their challenge list. The challenge list should be found in your child's spelling pocket. On Friday, challenge spellers will have the choice of keeping their pretest score or retaking the regular spelling test for a higher grade.

Science - Our focus for the week will be on scientific tools and inquiry skills.

Social Studies - We will continue our study of Government. At this point, we will be focusing on the National Government. The children will explore the three branches of government and their roles. Students should be reviewing their vocabulary and notes each night. There will be a test on chapter 2, lesson 2 & 3.

Mrs. Sulima's Math Class:
Monday - No School.
Tuesday - Decimals to the thousandths & Decimals greater than one. HW: Daily Practice sheet due Friday. Master X10, X11, & X12 by Friday. WB pgs. 3 & 4 due Friday.
Wednesday - No math due to MAP testing.
Thursday - No math due to MAP testing.
Friday - "Check your Progress" quiz on lessons 2-5. Comparing and ordering numbers and decimals. HW: WB pg. 5.