Thursday, December 16, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of January 3
*Classes resume on Monday, January 3.
*Spelling pretest on Monday.
*Argonne Permission Slips due on Thursday.
*Chapter 4, lesson 1 science quiz on Thursday.
*Spelling test on Friday.
Plan Ahead:
*Field trip to Argonne Labs on Tuesday, January 11.
*Straight A's recognized at Board meeting on Tuesday, January 11.
*No school on Monday, January 17 - Martin Luther King's Birthday.
Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will continue chapter 4, lesson 1 by learning about the respiratory system, circulatory system, and blood. The children will take an open-book/notes quiz on Thursday.
Social Studies - We will continue our study of the Southeast by exploring the life and customs of the Cherokee people. We will describe how the Cherokee lived before Europeans came to North America, evaluate how Cherokee culture changed after Europeans came to the Southeast, identify the Trail of Tears and describe it impact on the Cherokee, and explore the Cherokee culture today.
English - The children took a pretest on Unit 1, The Sentence before winter break. They will receive their contracts on Monday. I will meet with each child on Tuesday to discuss their enrichment choices. We will begin Unit 1 on Wednesday. This week we will cover: What is a sentence, Statements & Questions, and Commands and Exclamations.
Spelling - The children will take the spelling pretest on Monday. Please have them practice their words in cursive. The test on Friday will need to be done in cursive. The children have been doing a wonderful job with their cursive writing!
Reading - This week, we will be working on predicting outcomes. Readers can often guess ahead of time, or predict, what will happen in a story, based on information the author has given. Additionally, readers can change or adjust their predictions as they read.
Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - Qualitative vs. Quantitative. HW: Data as information.
Tuesday - Make Line Graphs. HW: WB pg. 87.
Wednesday - Stem and Leaf Plots. HW: Stem-and-Leaf Plot sheet.
Thursday - Fill out "how to study" sheet for test on Monday, January 10. Double Bar Graphs. HW: Study for test.
Friday - Review for test on Monday. HW: Study for test.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of December 13
*No spelling pretest or test this week.
*Matilda test on Monday (open-book/notes).
*Holiday concert on Monday at 9:30 a.m.
*Chapter 6 social studies test on Tuesday.
*PE Bowling test on Tuesday.
*Prairieview "Creature Feature" on Tuesday at 1:45-2:15.
*Spelling assignments due on Wednesday.
*Bowling field trip on Thursday afternoon.
*Tivoli field trip on Friday afternoon.
*Winter break - December 20 - December 31.
Plan Ahead:
*Classes resume on Monday, January 3.
Holiday Service Project:
Don't forget about our Holiday Service Drive. We are looking for donations such as new toys, new games, toiletries, and food for the needy families in the Darien area. All donations are due on Monday, December 13. Thank you for opening up your hearts to help make the holidays a happy one for those who are less fortunate.
Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will continue learning about the digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems. The children will take an open-book/notes quiz after we return from winter break. At that time, we will also learn about a few other systems in the human body.
Links for Human Body Survivor:
http://www.owen.k12.ky.us/trt/resources.htm
http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/body.php
http://www2.asd.wednet.edu/pioneer/barnard/sites/Science/bodsys/bodysys.htm
Social Studies - We will take our test on chapter 6 on Tuesday. After winter break, we will begin learning about the people of the southeast.
Items to study for the test:
*Key words: barrier islands, hurricane, wetlands, hurricane season, key, fall line, fossil fuel, Piedmont, Inner Coastal Plains, Outer Coastal Plains, endangered species, extinct, & pulp.
*Why are hurricanes dangerous?
*Name some crops from the Southeast. Why do these crops grow well in the Southeast.
*If you were going on a trip to the Southeast, where would you go and why? All theme parks (Disney World, Epcot Center, Universal Studios, etc.) are closed!!!!
Spelling - We will not be having a spelling pretest or spelling test this week. The children will be working with a review list of spelling words. I will be collecting one of the workbook pages on Wednesday.
English - The children have been working on a five-paragraph expository essay about their creature. These will be displayed during the Prairieview "Creature Feature." We will also take our next English pretest on Thursday. The children will get their pretests back after winter break. At that time, they will need to choose enrichment projects to work on.
Reading - The first strategy that we focus on this week in reading is making inferences. A writer doesn't always explain every fact or detail when writing a story. The writer expects that readers will fill in missing information from their own experience. Good readers do this by putting together what they already know and what they have read to make the best guess they can. When readers add information from their own experience to what is stated in a text, they are making an inference. We will also study the reading skill of comparing and contrasting. Students will practice comparing pieces of literature that are similar and different.
Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - Graphing Sense. HW: WB pg. 84.
Tuesday - Line Plots. HW: WB pg. 85.
Wednesday - Histograms. HW: WB pg. 86.
Thursday - Making Line Graphs. HW: WB pg. 87,
Friday - No Math Today.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of December 6
*Creatures due on Monday.
Paper Recycling Fundraiser Comes to Prairieview:
English - We will use our English time this week to work on an expository essay about our Prairieview Creatures.
Spelling - Our spelling pretest will be on Monday. The children should practice their words in cursive. We will not have reading class on Friday, so our spelling test will be on Thursday. If your children is working on our weekly list, their at-home assignments will be due Thursday. Challenge spellers will need to complete 2 activities using their words by Thursday.
Reading - Our reading strategies are questioning, categorizing, and classifying. Recognizing the questions a story may raise is a good way to make sure you understand it. Classifying involves grouping like items, and categorizing involves naming the group. Grouping the items makes it easier to remember them. Students will classify and categorize the many characters in Matilda.
Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - Probability. HW: WB pg. 80.
Tuesday - Tree Diagrams. HW: WB pg. 81.
Wednesday - Collecting and Organizing Data. HW: TBD.
Thursday - Range, Median, Mean, and Mode. HW: WB pg. 83.
Friday - Continue Range, Median, Mean, and Mode. HW: None.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Weeks of November 22 & 29.
*No spelling pretest or test the week of November 22.
* "Check Your Progress" math quiz (chapter 3, lessons 1-5) on Tuesday, November 23.
*Picture retakes on Tuesday, November 23. Must have picture packet or picture order form.
*Report Cards are issued on Tuesday, November 23.
*No school on Wednesday, November 24-Friday, November 26.
*Open-book/notes Chapter 3, lesson 3 science quiz on Monday, November 29.
*Parent Teacher conferences of Monday, November 29 - Wednesday, December 1.
*Spelling pretest on Monday, November 29.
*Capitalization and Punctuation Test on Tuesday, November 30.
* "Check Your Progress" math quiz (chapter 3, lessons 6-9) on Thursday, December 2.
*Spelling test on Thursday, December 2.
*No school on Friday, December 3.
Plan Ahead:
*Southeast Map test on Tuesday, December 7.
*Movie night on Friday, December 10.
*Project Challenge on Tuesday, December 14.
*Bowling field trip on Thursday, December 16 in afternoon.
*Winter Break, December 20-December 31.
Holiday Service Project: The students of Project Challenge grades 3-5 are participating in a Lion's Club Holiday Drive. We are looking for donations such as new toys, new games, toiletries, and food for the needy families in the Darien area. If you wish to participate you will need to bring the donations in by December 13. Remember that some of these families live right here in Darien. So let's help these families have a happy holiday season. PLEASE DONATE!
Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will compare living things of the past with living things today. The students will take an open-book/notes quiz on chapter 3, lesson 3 on Monday, November 29. We will not be taking a test on chapter 3. Instead, the children will be involved in a creative project called Prairieview Creature. The construction of this creature will need to be done at home. The children will plan out the creature at school. Please help your child find items, that you aleady have around the house, to help them construct their creature. Creatures will be due on Monday, December 6.
Social Studies - We will begin our tour of the Southeast. The children will fill out the capital cities and state names on a map. They will have their Southeast Map test on Tuesday, December 7. As before, the children will need to correctly locate and spell all the states in the Southeast. They can also earn bonus points for correctly identifying the capital cities. Capital cities will be worth 1/4 point bonus each. We will look at the Coastal Plains and Mountains of the Southeast. The children will be drawing a diagram to represent all the different elevations in the Southeast.
Spelling - We will not have spelling during the week of November 22. On November 29, we will take our spelling pretest. We do not have school on Friday, December 3, so our test will be on Thursday, December 2. The test will need to be done in cursive. We will practice writing the words in cursive during class.
English - We will fill out our "how to study" sheet on Monday, November 22. On Tuesday, November 30, the children will take the Unit 5, Capitalization and Punctuation, Test. English enrichments will also be due on test day.
Reading - Over the next couple of weeks we will be reviewing the skills that we have gone over since the beginning of the year. The students will also work on summarizing and making generalizations. In writing summaries the students will learn to pick out the main points or events of a story or passage and concisely put them in their own words. In making generalizations the students will learn that generalizations are broad statements that are true most of the time, they are based on fact or good reasons, and may include words like always or most.
Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday, November 22 - Zeros in the quotient. HW: WB pg. 30.
Tuesday, November 23 - "Check Your Progress" quiz on lessons 1-5.
Monday, November 29 - Short Division. HW: WB pg. 31.
Tuesday, November 30 - Divisibility and Mental Math. HW: WB pg. 32.
Wednesday, December 1 - Estimation using Compatible Numbers. HW: WB pg. 33 & "Check Your Progress" quiz tomorrow.
Thursday, December 2 - "Check Your Progress" quiz on lessons 6-9.
Paper Recycling Fundraiser Comes to Prairieview: We are happy to announce we can now raise money for our district by recycling paper! You can help us out, too! Please collect any paper you are going to throw away or recycle (office and school paper, newspaper, magazines and catalogs, and construction paper---no cardboard!) and send it in with your child to school or drop it off at the green and yellow Paper Retriever bin in the Lakeview parking lot (near the fence by the Prairieview playground). The bin is available for drop offs 24/7. The more paper we recycle, the more money we can make! Do something good for our schools AND the environment! Thank you!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of November 15
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of November 8
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of November 1
*More Short and Long Vowels spelling pretest on Monday.
*Teachers' Institute on Tuesday - No School.
*More Short and Long Vowels spelling test on Friday.
Plan Ahead:
*Rollerskaing Party on Monday, November 8.
*Chapter 4 Social Studies test on Wednesday, November 10.
*No School on Thursday, November 11 - Veteran's Day.
*End of First Trimester on Friday, November 12.
*First Trimester Report Cards come home on Tuesday, November 16.
*Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held the week of November 29.
Thank You: I would like to thank all the volunteers that made our Halloween party such a success. The children had a "spooktacular" time!
Homeroom Happenings:Science - We will begin chapter 3, lesson 1. This lesson explores the basic needs of animals and how they meet their basic needs. We will also look into animal adaptations. An open book/notes quiz on this lesson will be on Tuesday, November 9.
Social Studies - We will explore The Chesapeake Bay. The children will find out the importance of The Chesapeake Bay to the Northeast region and the challenges that face the Bay. Our Chapter 4 social studies test will be on Wednesday, November 10.
Spelling - The children will be working with more words with long and short vowels. There will be challenge spelling for those students who receive a 90% or higher on the pretest. Our test will be on Friday.
English - We will take our next English pretest on Monday. The children will receive their contracts on Wednesday. On Thursday, I will meet with each child to discuss their enrichment choice. We will begin our new unit on Friday.
Reading - Mysteries will continue to be the focus in reading for all fourth grade students next week. We will review vocabulary words that are typically associated with mysteries. While reading other mystery stories, students will review the format of a mystery and continue using the reading strategies of monitoring and clarifying and understanding story maps. A story map is a strategy that uses a graphic organizer to help students learn the elements of a book or story. By identifying story characters, plot, setting, problem and solution, students read carefully to learn the details.
Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - Multiplying by 2-digits.
Tuesday - No school: Teachers' Institute.
Wednesday - More on Multiplying by 2-digits.
Thursday - Multiplying by 3-digits.
Friday - More on Multiplying by 3-digits & Zeros in the Multiplier.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of October 25
Plan Ahead:
All students will read & study “The Case of the Purloined Pachyderm”. While reading this mystery and other mystery stories, students will be studying the format of a mystery and using the reading strategies of monitoring and clarifying.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of October 18
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of October 11
*No school on Monday - Columbus Day.
*Spelling pretest on Tuesday.
*Magazine Drive Pizza Party on Tuesday. Students will get a couple pieces of pizza, a drink, and a treat. If your child needs more or does not like pizza, please send a lunch or your child can order school lunch.
*MAP testing on Wednesday.
*Movie Night permission slips are due on Wednesday.
*Spelling test on Friday.
*Box Tops due Friday.
*Movie Night on Friday.
*
A BIG THANK YOU!!!
We would like to thank Robert and Izabella for bringing in popcorn and toppings for our homeroom party on Thursday.
Plan Ahead:
*MAP testing on Monday, October 18 and Friday, October 22.
*Early Dismissal on Wednesday, October 20.
*Book Fair on Thursday, October 21.
*National School Bus Driver Day on Friday, October 22.
*Halloween Parties on Friday, October 29.
*
Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will continue learning about the life cycles of plants. The open-book/notes quiz will probably be on Friday, October 15. Watch your child's assignment notebook for more information.
*
Social Studies - The children will finish their state reports this week. We will take time the following week to share their projects. Our study of the Northeast has been put on hold due to our state projects.
Spelling - Our spelling words this week will be homophones. These are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings.
English - We will finish our verb unit this week. The children will learn about Irregular Verbs, The Special Verb be, and Contractions with not. We will fill out our "how to study" sheet at the end of this week. Due to Monday off and MAPs testing, the Unit 3 test will need to be moved back a bit. It will be on Tuesday, October 19.
Reading - In reading this week the students will focus on noting details in a story. They will learn that details may give information, explain ideas, and reveal characters' feelings. They will also work on the Question comprehension strategy. Good readers ask themselves questions about important ideas as they read. The students will practice asking questions about the text that can be answered as they read the text and finish the story.
*
Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - No School ~ Columbus Day.
Tuesday - Subtract more decimals & fill out "how to study." HW: WB pg. 98 and study for test on Friday.
Wednesday - No math due to MAPs testing.
Thursday - No math due to MAPs testing.
Friday - Chapter 8 test. HW: Study for Chapter .
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of October 4
Spelling - We will be working with a spelling list that parallels our weekly story. The words contain short u, /yoo/, or /oo/.
Thursday - "Check Your Progress" Quiz. HW: None.
Friday - Estimating Decimals Differences using Rounding. HW: Workbook pg. 97 (if not finished in class).
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of September 27
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of September 20
*Review spelling pretest on Monday.
*Magazine turn-in on Tuesday.
*Race Tracks & worms due on Tuesday.
*Soccer test on Wednesday.
*Chapter 1 Accelerated Math test on Wednesday.
*Chapter 2, lessons 2 & 3 only Social Studies test on Thursday.
*Review spelling test on Thursday.
*No School on Friday - Teacher Institute.
WORMY 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!
Our winners were:
1st Place : Kyle W.
2nd Place: Sarah
3rd Place: Erin
We had an exciting race day! Congratulations to all students for their hard work, great sportsmanship, and creativity!
Plan Ahead:
*Last Magazine turn-in on Tuesday, September 28.
*Picture Day on Thursday, September 30.
*Check your child's grades on Friday, October 1.
Gym: The PE study guide for the soccer test went home Friday. Have you seen it yet? If not, please ask your child about it. The PE soccer test will be Wednesday. Please help your child review for this test.
A Note from the PTO: Ultra Foods is inviting you to take part in Ultra's Smart Shopper Program, an Educational Rebate Program that generates cash back to us for educational needs. It's easy! Shop your local Ultra Foods store from September 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010, save your register receipts, and have your child drop them in the specially marked depository boxes located in our school office. At the end of the program, Prairieview will submit a grand total of all receipts collected, and Ultra will remit a check for 5% of that total back to Prairieview.
Homeroom Happenings:
Science - The children will use what they have learned from our wormy investigtions to design a race track for Tuesday. We will race our worms in the morning. Please make sure your child brings their track and worm on Tuesday. They should also bring their "Worm Race Rules" packet to school on Tuesday. May the best worm win! Our next science unit will be on how animals are classified.
Social Studies - We will fill out our "how to study" sheet on Tuesday. 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 Thursday. 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
English - The students will receive their Noun tests back on Monday. We will go over the answers at this time. On Tuesday, the children will take their next pretest. They will receive their pretests & contracts on Wednesday. On Thursday, I will meet with each student to review their contract choices.
Spelling - Due to the short week, we will be doing a review spelling list. The list will include words from "words often misspelled #1", "words often misspelled #2", and Akiak words. If your child gets 100% or 20 out of 20, they will get the week off from spelling. If they miss one or more, they will do 2 activities to practice the 20 words and retake the test on Thursday. Challenge words will not be chosen this week.
Reading - This week, we will finish reading Akiak by Robert Blake. 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).
Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - Fill out "how to study" sheet. Mini-lesson on Roman Numerals. HW: Study for Chapter 1 test on Wednesday.
Tuesday - Review for test. HW: Study for Chapter 1 test tomorrow.
Wednesday - Chapter 1 test. HW: None.
Items to know for test:
*Read and write whole numbers through billions in words, standard form, and short word form.
*Write numbers in expanded form.
*Read and write decimals through thousandths.
*Read decimals with values greater than one.
*Compare and order whole numbers and decimals.
*Round whole numbers, decimals, and money to the greatest place value.
*Apply addition properties and rules of subtraction.
*Estimate sums and differences using rounding.
*Add three or more addends.
*Subtract whole numbers and money amounts with zeros in the minuend.
*Add and subtract larger numbers and money.
Here are some links to help your child study for the test:
http://www.gamequarium.com/placevalue.html
http://www.mrnussbaum.com/placevaluepirates1.htm
http://themathgames.com/our-games/decimal-games/place-value/decimal-place-value-math-game
Thursday - Chapter 8 pretest & problem solving activity. HW: None.
Friday - No School : Teacher Institute.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of September 13
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of September 6
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Sulima's Scoop - Week of August 30
I would like to thank everyone for attending the open house. I enjoyed meeting you. I still have a few openings for classroom helpers. I will be putting these volunteer sheets out again during curriculum night on Tuesday, September 7. Parents of my homeroom students will also have an opportunity to sign up for conferences during curriculum night. I would also like to thank all the families who have donated (or will be donating) items to the classroom. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Intramurals:
All 4th and 5th grade students have the opportunity to sign up for Intramural Games. This is a "free" after school program that allows your child to stay active. Permission slips will be sent out next week. Please return these to Mrs. Cushing by Friday, September 3rd.
Weekly Reminders:
*"Words often Misspelled" spelling pretest on Monday.
*"Check your Progress" math quiz on Friday.
*"Words often Misspelled" spelling test on Friday.
Plan Ahead:
*No school on Monday, September 6 - Labor Day.
*Fourth Grade Curriculum Night on Tuesday, September 7, 6:30-7:30.
*Beginning Band Parent Meeting on Monday, September 13, 7:00.
Homeroom Happenings:
Science - Our focus this week will be on Science safety and tools.
Social Studies - We will begin the year by studying government. The children will be completing a Patriotic Quest. We will also explore the three branches of government.
English - The children took their first English pretest on Thursday. I have graded the pretests and returned them to each student with an enrichment contract. Your child's contract is located in their English pocket. You may take a look at it, but please put it back in your child's English pocket to return to school. If your child has passed out of any of the lessons, they will be doing enrichment work. Students will need to choose what enrichment project they would like to complete during this unit. This project will be done in school. I have explained this procedure to the children. On Monday, I will meet with each child to discuss their enrichment contract choice. We will begin our study of nouns on Tuesday. Our lessons will include: What is a noun?, common and proper nouns, singular and plural nouns, and nouns ending in y.
Spelling - The children will take thier first spelling pretest on Monday. If they receive 90% or higher, they will become a "challenge speller". As a "challenge speller", they will choose 10 challenge words to practice throughout the week. Any words they missed on the pretest will be included in those 10 words. During the week, they will be doing activities using their new challenge words. They will not be tested on these challenge spelling words, but this gives the children the opportunity to learn and use 8-10 new words. On Friday, they have the choice of keeping their pretest score or retaking the spelling test for a higher grade.
Reading - This week in reading the students will review and practice their reading strategies as they read the story The Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Diane Arnold. The reading strategies that we will focus on are: preview/infer, phonics/decoding, question, monitor/clarify, summarize, and evaluate.
Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - Place Value to the Billions. HW: Workbook pg. 1. Practice X1, X2, X3, X4, & X5 by Wed.
Tuesday - Expanded Form. HW: Workbook pg. 2. Practice X1, X2, X3, X4& X5 by Wed.
Wednesday - Thousandths. HW: Workbook pg. 3. Practice X6, X7, X8, & X9 by 9/7.
Thursday - Decimals Greater than One. HW: Workbook pg. 4. Practice X6, X7, X8, & X9 by 9/7.
Friday - "Check your Progress" Quiz (open book). HW: Practice X6, X7, X8, & X9 by 9/7.