Dear Parents and Students,
It seems that I did forget one of the moms who contributed to our Valentine's Day party on the 12th. Please accept both my apologies, and thanks, Mrs. Van Geertry. We would have been a parched bunch without your contribution to the festivities.
I also want to acknowledge our class's top speller! The District 66 Spelling Bee Champion, our own Karina, has once again made us proud, by coming in ninth in the County Spelling Bee, held at Lisle Junior High last week. What an accomplishment for a fifth grader! Something tells me she will be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years of the Bee. Congratulations, Karina!
Just a reminder that ISAT tests will be given the week of March 1st. We will be encouraging students to get a good night's sleep, and have a healthy breakfast to be ready for the challenge. It is a good idea for kids to bring a healthy snack each day, to help to keep them focused. If you could remind them of these things at home, too, it would be much appreciated.
And now, here is what we will be doing next week.
SPELLING: We will be tackling L-23 next week. The workbook will be due on Thursday, and the test over the list words, and the Word of the Week will be given on Friday.
ENGLISH: We will continue working on the expository essay next week, however, rather than using the ISAT format of writing your completed essay during a class period, we will be doing it the old fashioned way, using outlining, formulating a rough draft, peer editing, and, finally, preparing a final copy for evaluation for Friday.
READING: We will try to fit in another Time for Kids (TFK), in addition to some reading skill work in our ISAT Coach books.
SOCIAL STUDIES: It is time to begin Chapter 9, where we will be studying the Revolutionary War, and the beginnings of our new government. Students will learn about the trials and tribulations suffered by the Continental Army, and draft a letter home as if they were traveling the road to Valley Forge along with Washington and his men.
SCIENCE: Weather Station Daily Record sheets will be due on Tuesday. Hopefully, you have been seeing your child take some time each day to gather the data on local weather conditions. On Wednesday, we will have an open note/open book quiz over L-3 of Chapter 11. Our test over the entire chapter is scheduled for Friday.
MATH: We will be practicing lots of the math skills that will be tested on the ISAT, which is coming up the week of March 1st. Students will be asked to use a T-chart to formulate extended responses for word problems, just as they will be asked to do on this important test. We will also be finishing up Chapter 18, which dealt with geometry. The test over the material in this chapter will be given on Friday.
Deputy Dave Kotovsky will return once again on Thursday morning. His presentations are part of the T.G.F. D. (Too Good for Drugs) program.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Week of February 15th
Dear Parents and Students,
First of all, I would like to thank the moms who came in on Friday to host our Valentine's Day celebration. The kids had a great time playing games and enjoying the afternoon. Thank you for a well-organized, well-run party, Mrs. Balinski, Mrs. Swain, and Mrs. Kling - and thanks for the treats provided by Mrs. Johnson. If I have forgotten anyone, I apologize. It takes a village to run a fifth grade party. The class and I really appreciate all your hard work.
Now, here is what we will be doing next week.
SPELLING: Next week we will be on Lesson 22 in the Spelling book. The workbook will be due on Thursday, and a test over the Lesson 22 words, and a Word of the Week will be given on Friday.
ENGLISH: Last week the students were asked to write an expository essay in response to a prompt, similar to the ones they will be asked to write for the upcoming ISAT tests. I will be conferencing with each student and discussing his or her essay during the week, and we will be revising and improving our work.
READING: Students will be provided an informative article. They will then be asked to use the strategies we studied for answering multiple choice questions to correctly answer questions about that article, and to complete an extended response question. In addition, there will be a day or two to read Time For Kids, and to take a quiz over that material. Students really enjoy the contempory articles presented in this news magazine.
SOCIAL STUDIES: On Tuesday, we will be taking care of any final details for the Patriot/Loyalist booklet the kids have been working on for the past two weeks. The booklet, along with the rubric, will be due on Thursday morning. Also on Thursday, there will be a test over Chapter 8. In the days before the test, students will be given time to organize their notes on the chapter, as well as the information on the various worksheets we have completed for this chapter in order to have all the facts they will need to study for the exam.
SCIENCE: An open book/open notes quiz is scheduled for Tuesday, which covers L-2, of Weather and the Water Cycle. We will then begin L-3 in that chapter, which deals with measuring weather. Students will be asked to observe, gather and record weather conditions in our area for five days to draw some conclusions about predicting. Let's see if they can do a better job than our local weather men and women.
MATH: We are continuing with Chapter 18 on geometry. There will be a quiz this week over the first four sections of the chapter. We then begin circles and congruent figures.
Deputy Dave Kotovsky of the TGFD program is back on Thursday morning to discuss tobacco with our students.
First of all, I would like to thank the moms who came in on Friday to host our Valentine's Day celebration. The kids had a great time playing games and enjoying the afternoon. Thank you for a well-organized, well-run party, Mrs. Balinski, Mrs. Swain, and Mrs. Kling - and thanks for the treats provided by Mrs. Johnson. If I have forgotten anyone, I apologize. It takes a village to run a fifth grade party. The class and I really appreciate all your hard work.
Now, here is what we will be doing next week.
SPELLING: Next week we will be on Lesson 22 in the Spelling book. The workbook will be due on Thursday, and a test over the Lesson 22 words, and a Word of the Week will be given on Friday.
ENGLISH: Last week the students were asked to write an expository essay in response to a prompt, similar to the ones they will be asked to write for the upcoming ISAT tests. I will be conferencing with each student and discussing his or her essay during the week, and we will be revising and improving our work.
READING: Students will be provided an informative article. They will then be asked to use the strategies we studied for answering multiple choice questions to correctly answer questions about that article, and to complete an extended response question. In addition, there will be a day or two to read Time For Kids, and to take a quiz over that material. Students really enjoy the contempory articles presented in this news magazine.
SOCIAL STUDIES: On Tuesday, we will be taking care of any final details for the Patriot/Loyalist booklet the kids have been working on for the past two weeks. The booklet, along with the rubric, will be due on Thursday morning. Also on Thursday, there will be a test over Chapter 8. In the days before the test, students will be given time to organize their notes on the chapter, as well as the information on the various worksheets we have completed for this chapter in order to have all the facts they will need to study for the exam.
SCIENCE: An open book/open notes quiz is scheduled for Tuesday, which covers L-2, of Weather and the Water Cycle. We will then begin L-3 in that chapter, which deals with measuring weather. Students will be asked to observe, gather and record weather conditions in our area for five days to draw some conclusions about predicting. Let's see if they can do a better job than our local weather men and women.
MATH: We are continuing with Chapter 18 on geometry. There will be a quiz this week over the first four sections of the chapter. We then begin circles and congruent figures.
Deputy Dave Kotovsky of the TGFD program is back on Thursday morning to discuss tobacco with our students.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Week of February 8th
Dear Parents and Students,
Our first week together went very well. The students have been very cooperative, and I am impressed with how hard they work and how well they listen. We've even managed to have a little fun along the way.
Once again, I hope you will not hesitate to contact me with any question or concern you have. I do have an email account, and with my blog now appearing on our website, I feel as though I am officially "up and running."
Here is what we will be doing next week.
SPELLING: Next week we will be doing Lesson 21 and a word of the week. The workbook for that lesson will be due on Thursday, and a test over the words will be given on Friday. Did you know that the District Spelling Bee champion was a student in this class? Ask your son or daughter to tell you about the nail-biting event we all got to watch last Thursday afternoon as Karina spelled her way to victory. How excited the kids were to have the champion come from Miss Trefonas's homeroom. And congratulations to our winner!
ENGLISH: We will begin an expository essay next week. We will start by discussing the elements that are present in a good essay, and look at some examples, identifying the key components. Then, students will begin to write their own versions of this informative essay.
READING: Continuing with the skills students will need to be better readers, as well as to do well on the upcoming ISAT testing, we will be completing various mini-lessons in our ISAT Coach books. We will also be applying these skills as we read sections of the science and social studies texts. In addition, students will read articles in Time for Kids (TFK), and answer comprehension questions on what they have read.
SOCIAL STUDIES: It will be a big week in social studies! Students should have already completed the rough drafts on the first three sections of the booklet they they will be preparing that contrasts the patriots with the loyalists in the colonies. We will complete the reading for the remaining sections, and students will be given time to write rough drafts for those sections on Monday. On Tuesday, we will watch a video about the beginnings of the Revolution.
Thursday we have time reserved in the computer lab for students to type up their rough drafts, and print a color cover for their booklet. The remaining illustrations, and the completed project will be due the following week (That date is yet to be determined.) Students have been given a rubric so they know exactly what they will need to include. Ask to see the rubric for the project to get a good idea of what is expected.
SCIENCE: The projects the students completed entitled, This Place is a Zoo, have been graded. They did an awsome job, and I learned a lot just going through the posters. It was obvious that a lot of work went into each and every project. Students took the open book test on weather yesterday. Everyone did well. Next week we begin the water cycle.
MATH: The test on Chapter 12 was postponed until Tuesday. We spent our class time on Friday going over the concepts once again. Students have a review packet for the weekend. We will correct that packet on Monday, answer any other questions, and, hopefully, be ready for our test on Tuesday. On Wednesday we begin the chapter on geometry. We will be using protractors to measure lines and angles, and talking about geometric shapes.
Deputy Dave Kotovsky will be returning on Thursday morning as part of the T.G.F.D (Too Good For Drugs) program. Thursday's discussion will deal with Peer Pressure.
Our Valentine's Day party is scheduled for Friday afternoon. The office has asked that water serve as our beverage. It seems the stains from past parties have caught up with us. Students may bring Valentines for classmates, and we will be doing a Valentine art project or two throughout the week.
Our first week together went very well. The students have been very cooperative, and I am impressed with how hard they work and how well they listen. We've even managed to have a little fun along the way.
Once again, I hope you will not hesitate to contact me with any question or concern you have. I do have an email account, and with my blog now appearing on our website, I feel as though I am officially "up and running."
Here is what we will be doing next week.
SPELLING: Next week we will be doing Lesson 21 and a word of the week. The workbook for that lesson will be due on Thursday, and a test over the words will be given on Friday. Did you know that the District Spelling Bee champion was a student in this class? Ask your son or daughter to tell you about the nail-biting event we all got to watch last Thursday afternoon as Karina spelled her way to victory. How excited the kids were to have the champion come from Miss Trefonas's homeroom. And congratulations to our winner!
ENGLISH: We will begin an expository essay next week. We will start by discussing the elements that are present in a good essay, and look at some examples, identifying the key components. Then, students will begin to write their own versions of this informative essay.
READING: Continuing with the skills students will need to be better readers, as well as to do well on the upcoming ISAT testing, we will be completing various mini-lessons in our ISAT Coach books. We will also be applying these skills as we read sections of the science and social studies texts. In addition, students will read articles in Time for Kids (TFK), and answer comprehension questions on what they have read.
SOCIAL STUDIES: It will be a big week in social studies! Students should have already completed the rough drafts on the first three sections of the booklet they they will be preparing that contrasts the patriots with the loyalists in the colonies. We will complete the reading for the remaining sections, and students will be given time to write rough drafts for those sections on Monday. On Tuesday, we will watch a video about the beginnings of the Revolution.
Thursday we have time reserved in the computer lab for students to type up their rough drafts, and print a color cover for their booklet. The remaining illustrations, and the completed project will be due the following week (That date is yet to be determined.) Students have been given a rubric so they know exactly what they will need to include. Ask to see the rubric for the project to get a good idea of what is expected.
SCIENCE: The projects the students completed entitled, This Place is a Zoo, have been graded. They did an awsome job, and I learned a lot just going through the posters. It was obvious that a lot of work went into each and every project. Students took the open book test on weather yesterday. Everyone did well. Next week we begin the water cycle.
MATH: The test on Chapter 12 was postponed until Tuesday. We spent our class time on Friday going over the concepts once again. Students have a review packet for the weekend. We will correct that packet on Monday, answer any other questions, and, hopefully, be ready for our test on Tuesday. On Wednesday we begin the chapter on geometry. We will be using protractors to measure lines and angles, and talking about geometric shapes.
Deputy Dave Kotovsky will be returning on Thursday morning as part of the T.G.F.D (Too Good For Drugs) program. Thursday's discussion will deal with Peer Pressure.
Our Valentine's Day party is scheduled for Friday afternoon. The office has asked that water serve as our beverage. It seems the stains from past parties have caught up with us. Students may bring Valentines for classmates, and we will be doing a Valentine art project or two throughout the week.
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Week of February 1, 2010
Dear Parents and Students:
First of all, I would like to tell you how happy I am to be back in a fifth grade classroom again. I began my career in District 66 teaching fifth grade, and always found this age group to be delightful. Meeting the students in Miss Trefonas's class has been a real pleasure. I am looking forward to working with the students and parents at Prairieview, along with the outstanding team of professionals here, who have gone out of their way to make my transition a smooth one.
Parents, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email me. I will get back to you as soon as I can. I hope that we can work together to make this a very positive experience for all of us.
This week we will be working on the following:
SPELLING: Lesson 20 and the word of the week - As usual, the workbook will be due on Thursday, and a test over the words will be given on Friday. On Thursday afternoon, all the classes will be attending the District Spelling Bee Championship round in the Prairieview gym. It should be an exciting event!
ENGLISH: We are continuing our study of adjectives. The class has been learning how to use adjectives to compare, and on Wednesday, we will discuss proper adjectives. Thursday will be a review of the chapter, and there will be a test over adjectives on Friday.
READING: In reading we are preparing for ISATs by reading fiction and nonfiction selections, and discussing key ideas, finding facts, relating cause and effect, summarizing, and making connections. In addition, we are formulating written responses to prompts about the selections read to demonstrate these skills.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Students have been discussing events leading up to the Revolutionary War, and looking at the differing opinions and views of the people who lived during this time of upheaval in our young country. They will be asked to put together a booklet, contrasting the views of those who were considered loyalists, and those who were considered patriots, citing the main areas of dispute in the thinking of each group. Students will be getting more specific instructions for the requirements for this project in the days ahead.
SCIENCE: Today we reviewed the notes the students had taken on Chapter 11 L-1, about our weather, and some study time was provided in class in preparation for an open book, open note quiz, which will be given on Thursday morning. On Friday, we will begin reading about the water cycle.
MATH: Students worked with changing improper fractions to mixed numbers, and mixed numbers to improper fractions today. Workbook page 12.4 was assigned for homework. Wednesday we will be comparing and ordering fractions, and 12.5 will be assigned. Thursday we will be relating fractions to decimals, and assigning page 12.7. Friday will be a day of review for a test over these concepts next week.
A note of interest: On Thursday, we will host Deputy Dave Kotovsky who will be leading a discussion on Decision Making, as part of the T.G.F.D. (Too Good for Drugs) program.
First of all, I would like to tell you how happy I am to be back in a fifth grade classroom again. I began my career in District 66 teaching fifth grade, and always found this age group to be delightful. Meeting the students in Miss Trefonas's class has been a real pleasure. I am looking forward to working with the students and parents at Prairieview, along with the outstanding team of professionals here, who have gone out of their way to make my transition a smooth one.
Parents, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email me. I will get back to you as soon as I can. I hope that we can work together to make this a very positive experience for all of us.
This week we will be working on the following:
SPELLING: Lesson 20 and the word of the week - As usual, the workbook will be due on Thursday, and a test over the words will be given on Friday. On Thursday afternoon, all the classes will be attending the District Spelling Bee Championship round in the Prairieview gym. It should be an exciting event!
ENGLISH: We are continuing our study of adjectives. The class has been learning how to use adjectives to compare, and on Wednesday, we will discuss proper adjectives. Thursday will be a review of the chapter, and there will be a test over adjectives on Friday.
READING: In reading we are preparing for ISATs by reading fiction and nonfiction selections, and discussing key ideas, finding facts, relating cause and effect, summarizing, and making connections. In addition, we are formulating written responses to prompts about the selections read to demonstrate these skills.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Students have been discussing events leading up to the Revolutionary War, and looking at the differing opinions and views of the people who lived during this time of upheaval in our young country. They will be asked to put together a booklet, contrasting the views of those who were considered loyalists, and those who were considered patriots, citing the main areas of dispute in the thinking of each group. Students will be getting more specific instructions for the requirements for this project in the days ahead.
SCIENCE: Today we reviewed the notes the students had taken on Chapter 11 L-1, about our weather, and some study time was provided in class in preparation for an open book, open note quiz, which will be given on Thursday morning. On Friday, we will begin reading about the water cycle.
MATH: Students worked with changing improper fractions to mixed numbers, and mixed numbers to improper fractions today. Workbook page 12.4 was assigned for homework. Wednesday we will be comparing and ordering fractions, and 12.5 will be assigned. Thursday we will be relating fractions to decimals, and assigning page 12.7. Friday will be a day of review for a test over these concepts next week.
A note of interest: On Thursday, we will host Deputy Dave Kotovsky who will be leading a discussion on Decision Making, as part of the T.G.F.D. (Too Good for Drugs) program.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)