Behind the Scenes - Week of February 27

Weekly Spotlight:
*Thirty-nine State Test on Tuesday.  
*Chapter 12 Math Test on Tuesday.
*Early Dismissal on Tuesday, 11:00.
*Chapter 15, lesson 2 Quiz on Thursday.
*Argonne Labs Field Trip on Thursday, 9:30-1:15.  Bring sack lunch and drink.
*Spelling test on Friday.
*Second Trimester Math Assessment on Friday.


Coming Attractions:
*No School on Monday, March 5 - Pulaski Day.
*ISAT testing weeks of March 5 and 12.
*Parent Teacher Conferences on Tuesday, March 6 and Wednesday, March 7 - Math Students.
*No School on Friday, March 9.


Homeroom Happenings:
Science - This week our focus will be magnetism.  We will explore magnetic fields, electromagnets, and motors.  The children will have an open book quiz on chapter 15, lesson 2 on Thursday.


Social Studies - We will continue working on our Desert Slide Shows.  You will be able to view your child's slide show during our spring open house in April.  Our 39-State Test will be on Tuesday.  The children will need to know correct location and spelling of all 39 states in the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, and Southwest.  Students can earn a bonus point for 10 correct capitals.


English - As ISAT testing quickly approaches, we will continue to work on our reading extended responses.


Spelling - This will be our last spelling test of second trimester.  It will also be our last test with vocabulary words.  We will begin spelling pretesting again in the third trimester.  All words on third trimester tests will be spelling words.


Reading -  This week, we will be using the predict/infer strategy, as well as cause and effect.  Thinking about story events and personal knowledge helps readers predict likely events. With cause and effect, students will focus on why story events happen and what happens as a result.


Mrs. Sulima's Math Spotlight:
Monday - Extended Response.  Chapter 12 Test tomorrow.
Tuesday - Chapter 12 Test.
Wednesday - Factors, Prime and Composite Numbers.
Thursday - No math today due to 3 classes going to Argonne.
Friday - Second Trimester Assessment.
**No Daily Practice Sheet this week**

Behind the Scenes - Week of February 20

Weekly Spotlight:
*No school on Monday - Presidents' Day.
*Chapter 15, lesson 2 open book quiz.
*Spring Pictures on Thursday.
*Spelling Test on Friday.


Coming Attractions:
*Chapter 12 Math Test on Tuesday, February 28  (Students may use measurement hint bookmark & metric hint sheet).
*Thirty-Nine State Test on Tuesday, February 28.
*Argonne Field Trip on March 1.
*End of Trimester on March 2.
*No school on Monday, March 5 - Casimir Pulaski Day.
*ISAT Testing begins on Wednesday, March 7.


Homeroom Happenings:
Science - On Wednesday, the children will take an open book quiz on chapter 15, lesson 1.  Then we will begin lesson 2 on Magnetism.  The children will explore magnetism and magnetic fields.


Social Studies - We will continue working on our Desert Slide Shows.  The children are researching 3 desert plants & 3 desert animals.


English - We will use our English time to work on reading extended responses.  The children are using an extended response recipe:  Turn around the question, text proof, interpretation, text proof, interpretation, and what I learned/life lesson.


Spelling - Our spelling test will be on Friday.  The children may begin practicing these vocabulary words:  oblivion, parched, gallant, marvel, prestigious, smirk, tribulation, and aspire.


Reading - Just like last 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, onomatopoeia, and idioms. The poetry project is due on Friday, February 24. The poetry project packet and subsequent rubric state exactly what is required of each student.


Mrs. Sulima's Math Spotlight:
Monday - No School.
Tuesday - Area of Trapezoids.  Last Trivia Challenge.
Wednesday - Volume.
Thursday - Solid Figures (3-D). Fill out "how to study" sheet for chapter 12 test on Tuesday, February 28.  The test will cover Metric measurements, Area of squares, rectangles, triangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids, Volume, and Solid Figures. 
Friday - Surface Area of rectangular prisms.


Project Challenge Link:
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/persuasion-30034.html

Behind the Scenes - Week of February 13

Weekly Spotlight:

*Pronoun test on Monday.

*Short Chapter 11 Math test on Tuesday.

*Valentine's Day Party on Tuesday, 1:30.

*Spelling/Vocabulary test on Friday.

Coming Attractions:

*No school on Monday, February 20.

*Spring Pictures on Thursday, February 23.

*Early Dismissal on Wednesday, February 28, 11:00.

*P.T.O. Dine-out at Chili's on Wednesday, February 28.

*End of Trimester on Friday, March 2.

Homeroom Happenings:

Science - We have learned a "secret language" to help us draw circuit diagrams. The children explored series circuits. These are circuits with one path. We will continue our study of circuits this week by exploring parallel circuits. These are circuits with more than one path. We will have a circuit diagram quiz late in the week or early next week. Watch your child's assignment notebook for the exact date.

Social Studies - We will be working on a desert project for the next couple weeks. The children will learn how to make a slide show on the computer. Their projects will include desert plants and animals. Project directions and grading checklist will be in your child's social studies folder.

Spelling - Our spelling/vocabulary test will be on Friday. Start practicing the following words with your child:    smug, hideous, burrow, misconception, fester, perturb, gumption, eradicate.

English - Our pronoun test will be on Monday. All English enrichment projects will be due on the day of the test. We will use the rest of the week to continue practicing reading extended responses.

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 this 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.

Mrs. Sulima's Math Class:

Monday - ISAT short & extended responses. Review for short test on Tuesday.

Tuesday - Short Chapter 11 Test. Students will be allowed to use their pink measurement hint bookmark. Trivia Challenge.

Wednesday - Metric Measurement

Thursday - Area of Rectangles & Squares.

Friday - Area of Parallelograms and Triangles.

Behind the Scenes - Week of February 6

Weekly Spotlight:

*Chapter 10, lesson 1 Open Notes Social Studies quiz on Tuesday.

*Chapter 11, lessons 1-3 Open Book/Notes Math Quiz on Tuesday.

*Spelling test on Friday.

*Chapter 11, lessons 4-6 Open Book/Notes Math Quiz on Friday.

Coming Attractions:

*Unit 6 Pronoun Test on Monday, February 13.

*Valentine's Day Challenge due on Monday, February 13.

*Valentine's Day Party on Tuesday, February 14, 1:30.

*No School on Monday, February 20 - Presidents' Day.

*Spring Pictures on Thursday, February 23.

*39 State Test on Tuesday, February 28.

Homeroom Happenings:

Science - We are now studying electricity. This past week the children investigated four ways to light a bulb. This week, we will take that knowledge of simple circuits to begin exploring series and parallel circuits.

Social Studies - On Tuesday, the children will take an "open notes" quiz on Chapter 10, lesson 1. They will not be allowed to use their textbook. We will then continue with lesson 2 which focuses on the climates of the Southwest. At the end of the week, the children will be introduced to their next social studies project on deserts. This will be a technology project.

Spelling - Our vocabulary words for the week are: melancholy, insignificant, absorbed, dilapidated, manipulate, pompous, precocious, and scheme. Begin using these words with your child. Give sample sentences for each word. Try to use the words in every day conversations with your child. Our spelling test will be on Friday. There will be spelling words and vocabulary words.

English - We will finish our Pronoun study this week. Our last two lesson include contractions with pronouns and homophones. We will fill out a "how to study" sheet on Wednesday. Our Pronoun test will be on Monday, February 13.

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.

Mrs. Sulima's Math Class:

Monday - Customary Weight & Trivia Challenge.

Tuesday - Quiz on lessons 1-3 (open book/notes). Temperature.

Wednesday - Units of Time & Time Zones.

Thursday - Compute with Customary Units.

Friday - Quiz on lessons 4-6 (open book/notes).