Wheels, Levers, & Pulleys #1

Wheels, Levers, & Pulleys #1

Check out some pictures from the In-School Presentation called Wheels, Levers, and Pulleys.

Wheels, Levers, & Pulleys #2

Wheels, Levers, & Pulleys #2

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Wheels, Levers, & Pulleys #3

Wheels, Levers, & Pulleys #3

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Wheels, Levers, & Pulleys #4

Wheels, Levers, & Pulleys #4

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Wheels, Levers, & Pulleys #5

Wheels, Levers, & Pulleys #5

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Behind the Scenes - Week of February 4

Weekly Spotlight:
*Spelling pretest on Monday.
*Vocabulary Quiz on Tuesday.
*Midwest Test on Tuesday.
*District Spelling Bee on Tuesday.  We will all cheer on Amogh!!!
*Chapter 4 Human Body Science Test on Wednesday.
*Spelling test on Friday.
*PTO Trivia Night Social on Friday.

Coming Attractions:
*Unit 5 Capitalization and Punctuation Test on Monday, Feb. 11.
*No vocabulary quiz during the week of Feb. 11.
*Valentine's Party on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 1:30.
*No school on Monday, Feb. 18. - Presidents Day.
*Author Night on Tuesday, Feb. 19.
*Spring Picture Day on Thursday, Feb. 21.
*Early Dismissal on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 11:00.
*ISAT Testing on Monday, March 4 through Wednesday, March 13.

Homeroom Happenings:
Science:  We will finish our study of the human body.  The children will take the chapter 4 test on Wednesday.  Here are some items to review:

*how tissues and organs form systems

*how the respiratory and digestive systems work

*how the circulatory system carries oxygen and nutrients

*Key words in lesson 1: tissue, organ, esophagus, stomach, diaphragm, artery, capillary, and vein.

*how the nervous system acts as the body's control system

*the jobs of the bones

*how muscles work with bones to move the body

*Key words from lesson 2: spinal cord, bone, joint, and muscle.

Social Studies:  The children will take the Midwest Test on Tuesday.  They will need to correctly identify all 12 states, 4 Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River.  Spelling will count on states, lakes, and the river.  Students can earn 1/4 point bonus for correctly identified capital.  We will continue our study of the Midwest.  The children will also begin a research project on a state in the Midwest.  

Spelling:  The spelling pretest will be on Monday.  Challenge spellers and regular spellers will take their test in cursive on Friday.  Incorrect letter formations will count as incorrect spelling.  Please have your child practice correct letter formations throughout the week.

English:  We spent three days working on quotations.  Some students may need a little more review.  This week, we will finish our unit with a lesson on titles.  Our test on unit 5 will be on Monday, Feb. 11.  This should give your child plenty of time to review the lessons from unit 5.
Quotation Marks Games:
http://www.quia.com/rr/335442.html?AP_rand=391535191

http://www.softschools.com/quizzes/grammar/quotation_marks/quiz1632.html

http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/quiz/mquiz.asp?filename=tandersoquotes

http://languagearts.pppst.com/punctuation.html - Look at Power Point on Quotation Marks.


Reading:  We will finish Matilda this week.  The children will also begin a Poetry Project.  Check your child's binder on Wednesday for directions on this project.  Some time will be given each day to work on poetry.  On Thursday and Friday, we will watch Matilda.  While we watch the movie, we will compare and contrast the novel to the movie.  A PG permission slip will be sent home early in the week.  

Mrs. Sulima's Math Class:
Monday - Real-World Activity on Perimeter and Area.  HW:  Short Response Problem.
Tuesday - Circles - Using a compass.  HW:  WB 120 and practice using a compass.
Wednesday - Circumference.  HW:  WB 121.
Thursday - Trivia Challenge.  HW:  Review for Chapter 10, lesson 6-9 quiz tomorrow.
Friday - Chapter 10, lesson 1-6 quiz.  If your band lesson is during math, please reschedule your lesson.  HW:  ISAT Review.

Group 1 Simple Machine Project
Group 2 Simple Machine Project
Group 3 Simple Machine Project
Group 4 Simple Machine Project

Behind the Scenes - Week of January 28

Weekly Spotlight:
*Spelling Pretest on Monday.
*Vocabulary Quiz on Tuesday.
*Grade Level Spelling Bee on Wednesday.  Best of luck to Amogh and Matthew!
*Early Dismissal (11:00) on Wednesday.
*Wheels, Levers, and Pulley in-school presentation on Thursday.
*Chapter 4, lesson 2 open-book science quiz on Thursday.
*Spelling Test (in cursive) on Friday.
*Time for Kids Quiz on Friday.
*Movie Night on Friday, 6:30-8:45.

Coming Attractions:
*PTO Trivia Night Adult Social on Friday, February 8.
*Valentine's Day Party on Thursday, February 14.
*No school on Monday, February 18 - Presidents' Day.
*Author Night on Tuesday, February 19.
*Spring Pictures on Thursday, February 21.
*Early Dismissal (11:00) on Tuesday, February 26.

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will continue our study of the Human Body.  The children will take an open-book quiz on chapter 4, lesson 2 on Thursday.  We will also spend time creating a life-size diagram of the different body systems we have covered.  Our test on chapter 4 will be on Wednesday, Feb. 6.  The children will fill out a "how to study" sheet on Friday.

Social Studies - What are the advantages and disadvantages of barges.  We will be discovering these this week.  The children will have a take-home quiz sent home on Tuesday and due on Thursday.  We will also visit the Badlands of South Dakota.

Spelling - Our pretest will be on Monday.  Students that miss 1 or none will become challenge spellers.  I will give the regular and challenge spelling test to students on Friday.  Both of these tests will be taken for a grade out of 20 points.

English - We will continue our unit on Capitalization and Punctuation.  Our lessons will be on more uses of commas and the use of quotation marks.  Correct use of quotation marks can be very tricky for some students.  Please review this concept at home with your child.  We will spend 3 days on quotation marks.

Reading - The children will continue working in their COACH book each evening.  On Monday, our focus will be on making generalizations.  This week we will also continue reading our novel - Matilda. I am hoping we will have time this week to work on an extended reading response.

Mrs. Sulima's Math Spotlight:
Monday - Classifying Triangles by sides and angles. HW:  WB 117.
Tuesday - Quadrilaterals.  HW:  WB 118 & Review for Chapter 10, lesson 1-6 quiz on Thursday.
Wednesday - No math due to Early Dismissal.
Thursday - Chapter 10, lesson 1-6 quiz & Short Response Practice.  HW:  "Buttons" due Monday, Feb. 4.
Friday - No math due to Wheels, Levers, and Pulleys in-school presentations.

Group 1 Simple Machine Project
Group 2 Simple Machine Project
Group 3 Simple Machine Project
Group 4 Simple Machine Project

Behind the Scenes - Week of January 21

Weekly Spotlight:
*No school on Monday - Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
*Spelling Pretest on Tuesday.
*Week 6 Vocabulary Quiz on Tuesday.
*Classroom Spelling Bee on Tuesday.
*On Thursday we will follow a Monday Schedule - the children will have music.
*Spelling Test on Friday.
*Bingo Night on Friday.

Coming Attractions:
*Early Dismissal on Wednesday, January 30.
*Wheels, Levers, and Pulleys In-School Presentation on Thursday, January 31.
*Movie Night on Friday, February 1.

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will continue our study of the human body.  The children will explore the nervous system, skeletal system, and muscular system.  They should review their notes each night.

Social Studies - Our Midwest Test will be on Tuesday, February 5.  The children will need to correctly locate and identify all the Midwest states, four of the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River.  Spelling will count.  Students can earn 1/4 point bonus for each correctly identified capital city.

Spelling - This week begins 3rd Quarter!!  Our spelling procedure is changing a bit.  The children will still have 20 words each week.  On Friday, the children will need to write their spelling tests in cursive.  Each week a cursive practice sheet will come home with their list.  To become a challenge speller, the children will only be allowed to miss one word on the pretest.  If your child becomes a challenge speller, they will receive a list of challenge words.  This weeks words are from our novel, Matilda.  They will also receive a list of activities for the week.  Activities will be due on Friday.  Regular and Challenge spellers will take their tests on Friday.  I will give both tests in the classroom.

English - We will continue our unit on Capitalization and Punctuation.  This week we will work with abbreviations and commas in a series.

Reading - The children will continue reading Matilda this week.  We will be doing character trait and generalizing activities.  Students will continue to work on COACH pages each evening.  

Mrs. Sulima's Math Spotlight:
Monday - No school
Tuesday - Geometric Ideas.  HW:  P 7-1 sheet.
Wednesday - Polygons.  HW:  E 7-4 sheet.
Thursday - Identifying Angles.  Congruent and Similar Figures.  HW:  WB pgs. 114-116.
Friday:  Trivia Challenge.  HW:  None.

Behind the Scenes - Week of January 14

Weekly Spotlight:
*Spelling pretest on Monday.
*Practice Classroom Spelling Bee on Thursday.
*Spelling test on Friday.
*TFK Quiz on Friday.
*End of 2nd Quarter on Friday.

Coming Attractions:
*No school on Monday, Jan. 21 - MLK Day.
*Classroom Spelling Bee on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
*Vocabulary Quiz on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
*Bingo Night on Friday, Jan. 25.
*Early Dismissal (11:00) on Wednesday, Jan. 30.
*Wheels, Levers, & Pulleys In-School Presentation on Thursday, Jan. 31.

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will continue our unit on the human body.  The children should review their notes each evening.  We have learned about the digestive system, respiratory system, and circulatory system.  

Social Studies - The children have finished their Southeast Farmer projects.  Next, we will continue our adventures through the United States by visiting the region we live in - The Midwest.  The children will have a Midwest Map assignment assigned on Tuesday and due on Friday.  We will look at the importance of the Great Lakes to the Midwest Region.  Students can use HOMES to remember the Great Lakes - Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.  

Spelling - This will be our last week using our 2nd Quarter spelling routine.  Since the quarter ends on Friday, the grades for this week's test will be in 3rd Quarter.

English - Our unit on capitalization and punctuation will begin this week.  Your child's contract should be in their English pocket.

Reading - We began reading another one of my all time favorite novels - Matilda by Roald Dahl.  Our vocabulary words for the next few weeks will come from Matilda.  We will learn about the four types of questions:  Right There, Think and Search, Author and You (inferences), and On Your Own.  The children will also be involved in many other reading activities and strategies throughout this book.  Post comments, questions, and new vocabulary on Wall Wisher:  http://wallwisher.com/wall/MatildaUnit 


Mrs. Sulima's Math Class Spotlight:
Monday - Zeros in Division.  HW:  WB 108 & Review for Chapter 9, lesson 5-8 quiz tomorrow.
Tuesday - Chapter 9, lesson 5-8 quiz.  HW:  Review multiplication facts.
Wednesday - Estimating Decimals and Money Quotients.  HW:  WB pgs. 109-110.
Due to days off from MAP testing and MLK Day, I have made a decision not to give a chapter 9 test.  I would like to move onto the next unit on Geometry.  We were supposed to study algebra next, but we will move that later in the year.
Thursday - Begin Unit on Geometry HW:  WB 113
Friday - Trivia Challenge.  We will have Trivia Challenge every Friday until ISAT Testing.  The children will work in teams to solve ISAT-like questions.  HW:  None

Creature Feature part 3

Creature Feature part 3

Creature Feature Part 1

Creature Feature Part 1

Creature Feature Part 2

Creature Feature Part 2