WEEK OF JANUARY 7

Happy Holidays!
I hope you all enjoy your time with family and friends over Winter Break. It is difficult to believe that "just around the corner" is the start of 2013! I will see you in the new year!


Subject Update:

• Spelling - The Lesson 14 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words, and a final test will be given Friday. *Students may only print up to 5 words on the tests "just in case" they are unsure of their cursive! Please continue to review cursive at home!!
• English - The students will finish up their paragraph writing, focusing on ideas and sentence fluency. Then we will begin our next grammar unit on pronouns.
• Reading - We will begin a unit on figurative language using poetry. We will focus on similes, metaphors, and imagery during the first week of the unit. 2nd Quarter Reading Project - The next reading project will not be announced until this quarter officially ends in January.
• Science - We will begin Chapter 14: Properties of Matter.  We will identify some physical properties of matter, learn about atoms and molecules, and understand the differences between the three states of matter.
• Social Studies - The students will begin Chapter 7: The Fight for a Continent.  In Lesson 1, we will learn how New Spain expanded by establishing colonies in Florida and New Mexico.
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - We will start Chapter 5 on integers when we return. The students will learn about integers and their opposites, understand absolute value, and compare and order integers.

Mark Your Calendar:

Dec. 22 - Jan. 6 - WINTER BREAK

Jan. 8 - MAP Testing (Math)

Jan. 9 - Too Good For Drugs (Session 2)

Jan. 10 - MAP Testing (Reading)

WEEK OF DECEMBER 17

Too Good For Drugs Program Begins
Deputy Seward from the DuPage County Sheriff's Department visited our classroom on Wednesday for our first session of T.G.F.D. A letter explaining more about the program was sent home with students. Also, students received a homework assignment to create a goal with their families. This completed sheet with parent signature must be shown to Mrs. Strong on or before December 19!

5th Grade Bowling Reminders
Please remember that 5th grade students go bowling the morning of Wednesday, December 19th. Since many students choose to bring money for snacks (and often feel full by lunchtime), we ask that students bring sack lunches that day. Food can then be taken home and not wasted.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - No spelling lesson next week.
• English - The students will be doing some writing activities to work on the traits of ideas and sentence fluency.
• Reading - Students will finish the novel, Jacob’s Rescue. There is a Ch. 9-16 Vocabulary Quiz scheduled for Thursday, December 20th! 2nd Quarter Reading Project - I cannot wait to read through these projects. The covers alone were impressive! The next reading project will not be announced until this quarter officially ends in January.
• Science - We will finish and share our animal cartoons which applied our knowledge of animals, their habitats, and human interactions.
• Social Studies - The students are learning about slavery in the colonies. The Chapter 6 Test is scheduled for Wednesday, December 19!
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - The Chapter 4 Test is scheduled for Tuesday, December 18! We will review on Monday, test on Tuesday, and do some fun holiday activities on Thursday. We are not having math class on Wednesday and Friday.

Mark Your Calendar:

Dec. 19 - 5th Grade Bowling (a.m.)

Dec. 19 - Too Good For Drugs (Session 2)

Dec. 21 - Prairieview Holiday Movie at the Tivoli

Dec. 22 - Jan. 6 - WINTER BREAK

WEEK OF DECEMBER 10

Too Good For Drugs Program Begins
Our first session of the "Too Good For Drugs" program was postponed until December 12. Deputy Seward from the DuPage County Sheriff's Department will be coming to discuss various topics of drug prevention. A letter explaining more about the program will be sent home after our first session.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - The Lesson 13 pretest will be given on Monday. The students will be assigned homework during the week to practice their words, and a final test will be given Friday. *Starting the week of December 10, students will only be able to print up to 5 words on the tests "just in case" they are unsure of their cursive! Please continue to review cursive at home!!
• English - The students will be taking the Unit 2 Nouns Test on Tuesday, December 11!
• Reading - Students will continue to read the novel, Jacob’s Rescue. There is a Ch. 1-8 Vocabulary Quiz scheduled for Wednesday, December 12th! Reminder...2nd Quarter "Biography Shape Booklet" Project is due Thursday, December 13th - Your student should be finishing his/her biography shape booklet. Be sure to use the grader as a checklist to make sure all expectations are met!
• Science - We will do some extension activities related to ecosystems and interactions among living things.
• Social Studies - The students will be learning more about daily life in the colonies. We will make some simple games/toys that colonial children would have used and learn about some home remedies and apothecary treatments for certain ailments. The students will also map out the main ideas and details from Lesson 3 using Inspiration (a computer program).
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class -The students will apply their knowledge of solving algebraic equations to using formulas for distance, perimeter, and volume. We will also work with some special functions on scientific calculators (which I will supply) to evaluate expressions. We will end the week with some problem solving application. The Chapter 4 Test is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, December 18!

Mark Your Calendar:

Dec. 12 - Too Good For Drugs (Session 1)

Dec. 19 - 5th Grade Bowling (a.m.)

Dec. 19 - Too Good For Drugs (Session 2)

Dec. 21 - Prairieview Holiday Movie at the Tivoli

Dec. 22 - Jan. 6 - WINTER BREAK