Behind the Scenes - May 27 through June 5

This will be my last Blog of the 2012-2013 school year.

Weekly Spotlight:
*No school on Monday - Memorial Day.
*Unit 7 Open Book English Test on Tuesday.
*Chapter 15 Open Book Science Test on Tuesday.
*School Talent Show on Wednesday at 9:00.
*Helping Hands Walk for Charity on Wednesday from 3:30-5:00. Don't forget to bring dollars to play the games.  All money will go to The Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, Chicago Zoological Society, and Midwest Shelter for Veterans.
*Last Jr. Achievement session on Thursday.
*Fourth Grade Talent Show on Friday at 1:25.
*PTO Field Games and Picnic on Monday, June 3.  Please do not wear sandals or flip flops.
*Bring a board game to school on Monday, June 3.
*Jump Rope Warrior Assembly on Monday, June 3.
*Last Classroom Celebration on Tuesday, June 4.  Looking for volunteers to bring in popcorn (or another treat) and clear drinks.
*Bowling field trip on Tuesday, June 4, from 12:15-2:00.
*Last Day of School on Wednesday, June 5. Bring a pen for a fourth grade autographing session.

End of Year School Picnic  

In the interest of ensuring that all students remain safe while having fun during the school picnic, gym shoes will be the only acceptable foot wear of the day.  Little toes and feet cannot play when bruised and abraded. If feet are not in proper attire, students will not be allowed to participate in outdoor activities.  Thank you.

 

Homeroom Happenings:

We will be wrapping up everything this week.

Science - The children will take an open-book test on Chapter 15 on Monday.  We played a review game Friday afternoon in class to prepare for this test.  We will spend the rest of our science time learning about minerals, rocks, and the rock cycle.

Social Studies - The children are working in small groups to research a Native American tribe.  They are creating postage stamps to represent the tribe's homes, traditional clothing, ceremonies, families, etc.  I have chosen a tribe from each of the 5 regions.  Ask your child which tribe they are studying.

Spelling - Last week was our final week of spelling!

English - We will take the Unit 7 open-book test on Tuesday.  We went through part of the review pages in class on Friday to prepare for this test.  English enrichment will also be due on Tuesday.  This will be our last unit.  

Reading - The children have finished reading Dear Mr. Henshaw.

Mrs. Sulima's Math Class:
Monday - No school
Tuesday - Last Timed Test.  Area of rectangles and irregular shapes. HW:  WB 138.
Wednesday - Area of parallelograms and triangles. HW:  WB 139.
Thursday - Introduction to integers. HW:  WB 161 and 162.
Friday - Last day of math.  Measurement Olympics.  I will be collecting workbooks and textbooks on this day.

Behind the Scenes - Week of May 20

Weekly Spotlight:
*Chapter 15, lesson 3 Science Quiz on Monday.
*Lakeview Choir Performance on Tuesday.
*Beginning Band Concert on Tuesday at 7:00.
*Lizzadro Museum Field Trip on Thursday.
*Fifty State Test on Thursday.
*Last Spelling Test of Fourth Grade on Friday.
*Classroom Celebration on Friday - Computer and Electronic Time.

Coming Attractions:
*No school on Monday, May 27 - Memorial Day.
*Adverb and Preposition Test on Tuesday, May 28.
*Chapter 15 Open-book Science Test on Tuesday, May 28.
*Project Challenge Helping Hands Walk for Charity on Wednesday, May 29 from 3:30-5:00. 
*PTO Field Day on Monday, June 3.  Lunch will be provided.  Bring a board game today!
*Fourth Grade Bowling trip on Tuesday, June 4, from 12:15-2:00.  We will have our last class celebration on this day - Stuffed animal & movie party.
*Last Day of School on Wednesday, June 5.  Dismissal at 9:30.  Bring a pen for a fourth grade autographing session.

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will finish our unit on Electricity this week.  The children will take an open-book test on Tuesday, May 28.  We will spend the last few days of school learning about rocks and minerals.

Social Studies - The 50 State Test in on Thursday.  Children will be given a word bank of capitals and state names.  The test will be worth 50 points.  Correctly identified capitals will be worth 1/10 of a point each.  We will end the school year with a study of Native Americans throughout the 5 regions.  

Spelling - We will not take a pretest on Monday.  The children will practice summer themed words this week.  Our LAST spelling test will be on Friday.

English - We will continue our unit on Adverbs and Prepositions.  This is a very short unit - only 5 lessons.  The children will take a test on this unit on Tuesday, May 28.  Enrichment will also be due the day of the test.

Reading - The students will continue reading Dear Mr. Henshaw. 

Mrs. Sulima's Math Class:
Monday - Customary Length & Metric Length.  HW:  WB pg. 126 #4-12.
Tuesday - Customary Capacity & Metric Capacity.  HW: WB pg. 127 #1-12.
Wednesday - Customary Weight & Metric Mass.  HW:  WB pg. 127 #13-23.
Thursday - Temperature (Celsius & Fahrenheit) HW:   WB 128.
Friday - Computation with Customary Units.  HW: WB 131.

Behind the Scenes - Week of May 13

Weekly Spotlight:
*Spelling pretest on Monday.
*Chapter 15, lesson 2 open-book science quiz on Monday.
*Unit 6-Pronoun Test on Monday.
*Chapter 12 Social Studies Test on Tuesday.
*Jr. Achievement on Wednesday.
*Spelling test on Friday.
*Time For Kids quiz on Friday.
*Early Dismissal on Friday, 11:00.

Coming Attractions:
*Lizzadro Field Trip on Thursday, May 23 (9:30-11:30).  The children will eat lunch in the classroom when we return.  They will need to bring a sack lunch this day.
*50 State Test on Thursday, May 23.

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - Our focus for the week will be ENERGY.  We will find out the differences between potential and kinetic energy.

Social Studies - The children will take the Chapter 12 test on Tuesday.  The children should then focus on studying for the 50 state test.  A word bank of state names and capitals will be provided for each student during the test.

Spelling - On Monday, the children will take a pretest on the weekly list.  On Friday, students will take either the challenge or regular spelling test.

English - The Unit 6 - Pronoun test will be on Monday.  Enrichment projects are also due on Monday.  The children will take the next unit pretest on Tuesday.  We will begin this new unit on Thursday.

Reading - We will begin reading a new novel this week - Dear Mr. Henshaw.  This is a Newbery Medal winner written by Beverly Cleary.  Students will also have a Time For Kids magazine to read this week.  A comprehension quiz will be given on Friday covering articles in this magazine.

Mrs. Sulima's Math Spotlight:
Monday - Circle Graphs/Pie Charts.  HW:  WB pg. 88.
Tuesday - Probability.  HW:  WB pg. 80.
Wednesday - Tree Diagrams.  HW:  WB pg. 81.
Thursday - Pictographs & Double Bar Graphs.  HW:  Finish graphs, if needed.
Friday - Coordinates.  HW:  WB pg. 168.

Behind the Scenes - Week of May 6

Weekly Spotlight:

*Spelling pretest on Monday.

*Jr. Achievement on Wednesday.
*Readers' Theater of Skylark on Thursday.

*Wheel of Wisdom Assembly on Thursday.

*Spelling test on Friday.

*TFK Quiz on Friday.

Coming Attractions:

*English Unit 6 Pronoun Test on Monday, May 13.

*Chapter 12 Social Studies Test on Tuesday, May 14.

*50 State Test on Thursday, May 23.

Homeroom Happenings:

Science - We will move onto lesson 2 this week.  This lesson will focus on magnets, magnetism, magnetic fields, electromagnets, and generators. 

Social Studies - This week we will fill out our "how to study" for the chapter 12 test.  Also, the children should begin studying for the 50 state test which will be on Thursday, May 23.  The students will be given a word bank of state names and capital names.  Capitals will be worth 1/10 of a point (just like the 39 state test).  I will pass out a large map and blank map to each child this week to help them review all the states.

English - We will finish our pronoun unit this week.  The children will fill out a "how to study" sheet on Thursday.  The test will be on Tuesday, May 14.  Enrichment will also be due on the day of the test.

Spelling - Our pretest will be on Monday.  The children will have activities to complete throughout the week.  Our regular and challenge tests will be on Friday.  The children may choose to write in print or cursive.

Reading - The last book that I read aloud to the children was a Newbery Medal winner - Sarah, Plain and Tall.  This week the children will each have parts to practice (not memorize) in a readers' theater of the sequel - Skylark.  The children will need to practice reading their lines for Thursday.  They will be graded on expression, rate, volume, accuracy, and fluency.  If they do not know how to pronounce a word, they should find out before Thursday.  Also this week, we will work with some shorter non-fiction pieces.

Mrs. Sulima's Math Spotlight:

Monday - Qualitative vs. Quantitative.  HW:  "Data as Information" sheet.

Tuesday - Collecting, Organizing, and Summarizing Data.  HW:  WB pg. 83.

Wednesday - Line Plots.  HW:  WB pg. 85.

Thursday - Graphing Data.  HW:  WB pg. 84.

Friday - Graphing Data and Reading Graphs.  HW:  None.