November 21-25

Books into Movies

We are super excited about the November 23rd release of Hugo, which is based on Brian Selznick’s mega-hit book, THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET. Hugo is a young orphan boy who is secretly living inside the walls of a busy Paris train station in the 1930s. In his time there, he has mastered the inner workings of the station’s clocks and has become their secret caretaker. But when he meets an eccentric new friend and discovers a mysterious mechanical man, Hugo must risk everything in a desperate mission to uncover the truth.

Hugo
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Johnny Depp, Jude Law
Director: Martin Scorsese
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG
Release Date: November 23rd (wide)
Based On: THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick

An orphaned boy secretly lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station and looks after the clocks. He gets caught up in a mystery adventure when he attempts to repair a mechanical man.

http://www.hugomovie.com/

Kidsreads.com

September 5 - 9

Curriculum Night
Just a reminder: Curriculum Night is on Tuesday, September 6th at 6:30 p.m. This is the perfect opportunity to get familiar with the 4th grade curriculum. Also, parents will have a chance to visit all of their child's teachers at that time. I look forward to seeing you then!

Important Dates
Tues., Sept. 6th -- Curriculum Night @ 6:30 p.m.
Wed., Sept. 7th -- Beginning Band Parent Meeting
-- Reading MAPS testing
Thurs., Sept. 8th -- Reading MAPS testing
Mon., Sept. 12th -- Magazine drive kick-off
Tues., Sept. 13th -- Beginning band sign-up
Thurs., Sept. 29th -- Picture Day
Fri., Sept. 30th -- Early dismissal

Reading
This week in reading the students will learn to use skimming and scanning skills to locate answers. During science, social studies, and reading the students will be given tasks where they have to locate answers in the text. They will practice highlighting key words in questions or clues and then skim the headlines, subtitles, captions, and passages to help them find the answers to those questions.


Beginning our Third Week Together
I am really enjoying getting to know all of the children over the last two weeks! The last few weeks allowed our classes to get to know each other, understand the rules, and begin the curriculum.

August 24 - September 2

Welcome!

With hopes that everyone had a wonderful summer. We are happy to be coming back and are ready for a great year. Welcome back returning students and welcome to those who are new with us this year. Mrs. Krasnodebski will be working in 4th Grade Resource this year. Students will see her throughout the fourth grade area all day long! We welcome Mrs. Linde, who is new to assisting in 4th grade in the afternoon. She spends the other half of the day as a PE assistant. How lucky we are to have her as part of our team!

We are all looking forward to working with your child and helping him/her to achieve at his/her full potential. Mrs. Krasnodebski will be discussing your child's academic history with his/her classroom teachers in preparation for the upcoming year. The parent-teacher relationship is vital to your child's success in school. By working together, we can help your child have a very fulfilling learning experience.

We hope to see you at the Open House on Tuesday, September 6th . If you are able to visit, the resource room is located in the 4th Grade Wing on the second floor. Mrs. Krasnodebski may be reached during school hours at (630) 783-5068. You may leave a voice mail message. Your call will be returned as soon as possible. She may also be reached at the respective e-mail address: jkrasno@ccsd66.org . She can respond more quickly when sent an email. Throughout the year, she will communicate with the home through notes in the assignment notebook, blog, telephone calls, progress reports, school newsletters and report cards. She will also be available for parent-teacher conferences, as they are needed.

Mrs. Krasnodebski's teaching is based on the premise that all students can learn, despite any obstacles in their path. For that reason, our students receive instruction and support both in the general education classroom and in the resource room. Your child will receive an educational program that encompasses the goals and instructional strategies outlined in his/her Individualized Education Program (IEP). We will work very hard to help your child complete all of his/her goals and objectives. If you have any questions regarding your child's academic performance, please do not hesitate to make contact.

The resource room is a classroom like any other. In order to function, it must have rules and policies that ensure fair treatment for teachers and students alike. The specific rules and consequences of our classroom will be established as a class and signed within the first few weeks. If you have any questions regarding the rules, I will be happy to answer any of your questions.

Once again, welcome back! The 2011-2012 school year is going to be a great experience for your child! Thank you in advance for your support and commitment throughout the year.

May 30th - June 7th

Important Dates . . .
May 30 -- Memorial Day - No school
May 31 -- Prairieview Talent Show
June 1 -- 4th & 5th Grade Bowling
June 6 -- Prairieview Picnic
June 7 -- Last day of school - dismissal @ 9:30

Fun Upcoming Events:
* 4th & 5th Grade Bowling Wednesday - know your shoe size.
*"Take it Easy" Thursday - Bring a board game to school.
*"Film Festival" Friday - We will sit back and enjoy a film for our final reading party.
*"We Made It" Monday, June 6 - All-school picnic & Sky Dogz assembly.
*"That's All Folks" Tuesday, June 7 - Report cards and yearbooks issued.

End Of The Year Picnic:
The PTO will be serving Hot Dogs, Chips and for dessert Ice Cream. If any parent has any concerns regarding food allergies, please contact Mrs. Tshulos at terraschott@hotmail.com

Yearbooks
Any students who did not purchase a yearbook may do so on a first-come-first-serve basis on June 7th; they will go on sale after morning announcements. The cost will be $11.00 and children wishing to purchase should have exact amount. Please make checks payable to Prairieview.

Walk for Japan:
Thanks to those parents and student who made it out for the Walk for Japan. It was great to see you! It feel good to know that the victims of the earthquake in Japan will have a little more of their needs met from us through the American Red Cross.

American Red Cross for Japan:
The raffle for Japan has just begun. A letter was sent home on Wednesday, with the list of raffle items and raffle tickets. If you wish to participate, just fill in the tickets, put them in an envelope with the money, and return it to your classroom teacher. All tickets must be turned in by June 3rd. We will have the raffle at the all school assembly on June 6th. Thank you so much for your support.

Reading
As we wrap up reading class for the 2010-2011 school year, we will review all the strategies we have covered. Friday will be our last day of reading. We will be reading about Red Cross this week in correlation to our school fundraiser.

The students really enjoyed reading Phantom of the Opera. It was amazing to see all of their hard work pay off at the end of the year. They worked on decoding, fluency, prediction, clarification, and summarizing. To further wrap up the unit students will be making a special project this week.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 20 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in every Friday for a checkpoint of dates and minutes. Keep reading!

Language Arts
As a review of concepts taught thus far students will be working on main idea, details, and composing a written paragraph in the end. They will be responsible for correct spelling, proper punctuation and capitalization, and grammar.

Spelling
This week we will have words that relate to our theme, Red Cross Birthday. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. They will also be making flashcards this week that you can use to study daily. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday.

Math
The students wrapped up the geometry unit, Chapter 13, last week. They will be reviewing various concepts taught throughout the year is last week in relation to the themed unit covered this week, Red Cross.

Science
Students are greatly enjoying the Human Body Unit. We will begin with a review and then a test on Tuesday over the unit. Students will be responsible for vocabulary and notes that can be located in their science folder. It is suggested to study the words nightly.

Daily Homework
Reading
- read 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- Independent Reading Folder monthly turn in due Tuesday
Spelling
- Last week of spelling
- Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test
Science
- study L. 1 -3 vocabulary and notes nightly
- test Tuesday

May 23rd - 27th

Important Dates . . .
May 24 -- Walk for Japan @ 3:30
May 25 -- 3rd Grade Bowling
May 30 -- Memorial Day - No school
May 31 -- Prairieview Talent Show
June 1 -- 4th & 5th Grade Bowling
June 6 -- Prairieview Picnic
June 7 -- Last day of school - dismissal @ 9:30

Walk for Japan:
Don’t forget to sign up for the 2 mile Walk Day on Tuesday, May 24th at Prairieview School. All proceeds from the event will go to the American Red Cross to help the victims of the earthquake in Japan. There will also be a raffle to help raise money for the cause, and any donations would be appreciated. (gift cards, sport items, games, services, small goodies). Anyone who would like to volunteer on May 24th, please e-mail Mrs. Cavoto ccavot@ccsd66.org or Mrs. Sulima Ssulima@ccsd66.org to let them know.

Life-Saving-Grams
Ask your child about this fundraiser sponsored by Project Challenge. It is for the American Red Cross to help victims in Japan. If a student would like to participate, the form(s) and donation need to be turned in before May 25th! Extra "grams" can be printed from our school website @ http://www.ccsd66.org/PDF/lifesavinggram.pdf !


Reading
The students really enjoyed reading Phantom of the Opera. It was amazing to see all of their hard work pay off at the end of the year. They worked on decoding, fluency, prediction, clarification, and summarizing. Now they will watch the movies of the Phantom of the Opera and compare and contrast from the novel. They will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 20 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in every Friday for a checkpoint of dates and minutes. Keep reading!

Language Arts
As a review of concepts taught thus far students will be working on main idea, details, and composing a written paragraph in the end. They will be responsible for correct spelling, proper punctuation and capitalization, and grammar.

Spelling
There will be two different spelling lists this week. One will be on various phonograms. The other list of spelling words will continut to cover phonograms or word families, "-ash", "-ing", & "-est". They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. They will also be making flashcards this week that you can use to study daily. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday.

Math
The students still love learning about geometry unit in Chapter 13. We will wrap up this unit quickly, as a test weill be midweek.

Science
Students are greatly enjoying the Human Body Unit. We are wrapping up lesson two this week and beginning lesson three. The students will be learing about more body systems.

Students will be responsible for vocabulary and will receive a vocabulary quiz over these words. Once the vocabulary sheet goes home it will be in their science folder and it is suggested to study the words nightly.


Daily Homework
Reading
- read 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- Independent Reading Folder due Friday
Spelling
- Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test
Science
- study L. 1 & 2 vocabulary nightly

May 16th - 20th

Important Dates . . .
May 16 -- 5th Graders Tour of Lakeview
-- 5th Grade Parents Lakeview Meeting (6:30 p.m.)
May 25 -- 3rd Grade Bowling
May 30 -- Memorial Day - No school
May 31 -- Prairieview Talent Show
June 1 -- 4th & 5th Grade Bowling
June 6 -- Prairieview Picnic
June 7 -- Last day of school - dismissal @ 9:30

Walk for Japan:
Don’t forget to sign up for the 2 mile Walk Day on Tuesday, May 24th at Prairieview School. All proceeds from the event will go to the American Red Cross to help the victims of the earthquake in Japan. There will also be a raffle to help raise money for the cause, and any donations would be appreciated. (gift cards, sport items, games, services, small goodies). Anyone who would like to volunteer on May 24th, please e-mail Mrs. Cavoto ccavot@ccsd66.org or Mrs. Sulima Ssulima@ccsd66.org to let them know.

Life-Saving-Grams
Ask your child about this fundraiser sponsored by Project Challenge. It is for the American Red Cross to help victims in Japan. If a student would like to participate, the form(s) and donation need to be turned in before May 25th! Extra "grams" can be printed from our school website @ http://www.ccsd66.org/PDF/lifesavinggram.pdf !


Reading
The students will be continued to be divided into reading stations. The students are really enjoying reading Phantom of the Opera. It is absolutely enjoyable to see all of them excited about what will happen in the next chapter. They will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 20 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in every Friday for a checkpoint of dates and minutes. Keep reading!

Language Arts
As a review of concepts taught thus far students will be journaling this week. They will be responsible for correct spelling, proper punctuation and capitalization, and grammar.

Spelling
The spelling words this week will continue to cover phonograms or word families, "-at", "-ate", & "-eat". They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. They will also be making flashcards this week that you can use to study daily. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday.

One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is:
Use empty film containers. Put lima beans with each spelling word letter on individual beans in the container. It is a "hands on" word scramble.

Math
The students have truly enjoyed learning about geometry unit in Chapter 13. We will continue through this unit quickly, as a test could be as early as the beginning of next week.

Science
Students are greatly enjoying the Human Body Unit. We are wrapping up lesson two this week and beginning lesson three. The students will be learing about more body systems.

Students will be responsible for vocabulary and will receive a vocabulary quiz over these words. Once the vocabulary sheet goes home it will be in their science folder and it is suggested to study the words nightly.


Daily Homework
Reading
- read 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- Independent Reading Folder due Friday
Spelling
- Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test
Science
- study L. 1 & 2 vocabulary nightly

May 9 - 13

Important Dates . . .
May 12 -- 5th Graders Visit Lakeview for Musical
May 13 -- Early Dismissal @ 11:00
May 16 - 5th Graders Tour of Lakeview
May 16 -- 5th Grade Parents Lakeview Meeting (6:30 p.m.)
May 25 -- 3rd Grade Bowling
May 30 -- Memorial Day - No school
May 31 -- Prairieview Talent Show
June 1 -- 4th & 5th Grade Bowling
June 6 -- Prairieview Picnic
June 7 -- Last day of school - dismissal @ 9:30

Teacher Appreciation Week
Thank you to the students and parents who helped make Teacher Appreciation Week so special. I really enjoyed the breakfast and luncheon organized by PTO. The meals were both DELICIOUS!

Special Day for 5th Graders
Thursday is our 5th grade celebration. There will be games followed by a pizza lunch. After lunch, 5th graders will be heading over to Lakeview to catch a sneak preview/dress rehearsal of their musical, Fiddler on the Roof. It should be a great day!

Shoe Rescue
Prairieview School is helping to reduce what goes into landfills by recycling shoes. Old gym shoes will be given to SCARE's (School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education) annual Gym Shoe Rescue for Nike's Go Places Program. Regular shoes, in good condition, will be given to 2nd hand stores that benefit those in need. Collection dates are 5/2 - 5/11. When bringing shoes to donate, please tie them together, or place each pair in a plastic grocery bag so they do not become separated.

Life-Saving-Grams
Ask your child about this fundraiser sponsored by Project Challenge. It is for the American Red Cross to help victims in Japan. If a student would like to participate, the form(s) and donation need to be turned in before May 25th! Extra "grams" can be printed from our school website @ http://www.ccsd66.org/PDF/lifesavinggram.pdf !


Reading
The students will be continued to be divided into reading stations. The students will begin reading a new story, Phantom of the Opera. They will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 20 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in every Friday for a checkpoint of dates and minutes. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will continue to cover phonograms or word families, "-ight", "-ite", & "-ide". They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. They will also be making flashcards this week that you can use to study daily. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday.

One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is:
Use empty film containers. Put lima beans with each spelling word letter on individual beans in the container. It is a "hands on" word scramble.

Math
This week students will begin a geometry unit, Chapter 13.

Science
Students are greatly enjoying the Human Body Unit. We are moving on to lesson two this week. When lesson two was introduced last week we compared the body to a tent. The students compared the two and determine that like a tent needs poles to make it stand tall, so does the human body need a skeleton!

Students will be responsible for vocabulary and will receive a vocabulary quiz over these words. Once the vocabulary sheet goes home it will be in their science folder and it is suggested to study the words nightly.


Daily Homework
Reading
- read 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- Independent Reading Folder due Friday
Spelling
- Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test
Science
- study vocabulary nightly

May 2nd - 6th

Important Dates . . .
May 6th -- Failure notices issued.
May 12 -- 5th Graders Visit Lakeview for Musical
May 13 -- Early Dismissal @ 11:00
May 16 - 5th Graders Tour of Lakeview
May 16 -- 5th Grade Parents Lakeview Meeting (6:30 p.m.)
May 25 -- 3rd Grade Bowling
May 30 -- Memorial Day - No school
May 31 -- Prairieview Talent Show
June 1 -- 4th & 5th Grade Bowling
June 6 -- Prairieview Picnic
June 7 -- Last day of school - dismissal @ 9:30

Shoe Rescue
Prairieview School is helping to reduce what goes into landfills by recycling shoes. Old gym shoes will be given to SCARE's (School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education) annual Gym Shoe Rescue for Nike's Go Places Program. Regular shoes, in good condition, will be given to 2nd hand stores that benefit those in need. Collection dates are 5/2 - 5/11. When bringing shoes to donate, please tie them together, or place each pair in a plastic grocery bag so they do not become separated.

Life-Saving-Grams
Ask your child about this fundraiser sponsored by Project Challenge. It is for the American Red Cross to help victims in Japan. If a student would like to participate, the form(s) and donation need to be turned in before May 25th! Extra "grams" can be printed from our school website @ http://www.ccsd66.org/PDF/lifesavinggram.pdf !


Language Arts
After reading Therapy Horse, students will complete language arts and writing activities.

Reading
The students will be continued to be divided into reading stations. The students will finish reading and discussing the news article Therapy Horse. They will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 20 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in every Friday for a checkpoint of dates and minutes. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will continue to cover phonograms or word families, "-ug", "-ump", & "-unk". They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. They will also be making flashcards this week that you can use to study daily. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday.

One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is:
Make a crossword puzzle using your spelling words.
Be sure to include clues. You may use Dictionary.com or WordCentral.com to look up the definitions of the words.

Math
This week students will continue with Chapter 11, Comparing and Ordering Numbers. The test is scheduled to be this Friday.

Science
Students are greatly enjoying the Human Body Unit. What they have learned and understand from lesson one is that cells make tissues, tissues make organs, and organs make a body system.

Students will be responsible for vocabulary and will receive a vocabulary quiz over these words. Once the vocabulary sheet goes home it will be in their science folder and it is suggested to study the words nightly.


Daily Homework
Reading
- read 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- Independent Reading Folder due Friday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling
- Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

April 25th - 29th

Important Dates . . .
April 25 - May 6 -- MAP Testing

Plan Ahead:
*Early Dismissal on Friday, May 13.
*No school on Monday, May 30.

Language Arts
After watching the Easter Egg Roll at the White House, students will complete a few writing activities this week.

Reading
The students will be continued to be divided into reading stations. The students will finish reading and discussing the news article Easter Egg Roll. Then, they will read another few stories in the news like Earth Day. We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 20 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in every Friday for a checkpoint of dates and minutes. The monthly turn in is officially due this Thursday. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will continue to cover phonograms or word families, "-in" & "-ine". They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. They will also be making flashcards this week that you can use to study daily. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday. One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is:
Reverse Chaining by Syllable
This is harder, for longer words.
Say the word. Then write it, saying each letter (be enthusiastic and expressive)
S-E-P-A-R-A-T-E
Skip a line and say it and write it again — minus the last syllable. Say the last syllable and spell it out loud, but don't write it.
S-E-P-A-_________
Continue until you aren't writing anything — but still say the spelling out loud.
Go back to the top. Read the word, then spell it out loud.
Fold the page over so you can't see the whole word. Say the word, spell it, and add the last syllable.
Fold the page back again. Say the word, spell it, and add the last two syllables.
Continue until you spell the whole word.
GO BACK AND CHECK — make sure you didn't leave out any letters.
should
shoul__
shou__ __
sho __ __ __
sh__ __ __ __
s __ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __ __

Math
We will be reviewing basic math concepts, time, and money this week. In addition, this week students will continue with Chapter 11, Comparing and Ordering Numbers. The test is scheduled to be next week.

Science
Students are greatly enjoying the Human Body Unit. They did a great job identifying the organs and features of each of the six systems of the human body.

Students will be responsible for vocabulary and will receive a vocabulary quiz over these words. Once the vocabulary goes home it will be in their folder and it is suggested to study the words nightly.


Daily Homework
Reading
- read 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- Independent Reading Folder due Friday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling
- Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

April 18th -22nd

Important Dates . . .
April 21 -- School Improvement -- Early Dismissal
-- District Eat-Out at Panda Express
April 22 -- No School
April 25 - May 6 -- MAP Testing

Plan Ahead:

*Early Dismissal on Thursday, April 21, 11:00.

*District Eat-Out at Panda Express on Thursday, April 21. Click here for more information: http://www.ccsd66.org/PTO/FundRaisers/Panda.pdf

Language Arts
Students will be working on Easter Egg Roll story related language arts activities this week.

Reading
The students will be continued to be divided into reading stations. The students will be reading and discussing the news article Easter Egg Roll. This story will introduce the cross curricular theme for the week. We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 20 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in every Friday for a checkpoint of dates and minutes. Keep reading!

Spelling

The spelling words this week will continue to cover phonograms or word families, "-ank" & "-ink". They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. They will also be making flashcards this week that you can use to study daily. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday. One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is:

Reverse chaining by letter

• Say the word. Then write it, saying each letter (be enthusiastic and expressive)
  • W - O - R - D
• Skip a line and say it and write it again — minus the last letter. Say the last letter, but don't write it.
  • W - O - R - ____
• Skip a line and say it and write it again — minus the last two letters. Say them, but don't write them.
  • W - O - ___ ____
• Do that until you're only writing one letter.
• Go back to the top. Read the word, then spell it out loud.
• Fold the page over so you can't see the whole word. Say the word, spell it, and add that last letter.
• Fold the page back again. Say the word, spell it, and add the last two letters.
• Keep going until you spell the whole word.
• GO BACK AND CHECK — make sure you didn't leave out a letter.

Math
This week students will continue with Chapter 11, Comparing and Ordering Numbers. The test will be the following next week.

Science
Students are greatly enjoying the Human Body Unit. We will explore six systems of the human body. Students will be responsible for vocabulary and will receive a vocabulary quiz over these words. Once the vocabulary goes home it will be in their folder and it is suggested to study the words nightly.

Daily Homework
Reading
- read 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling
- Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

April 11th - 15th

Important Dates . . .
April 14 -- Spring Open House 6:30-8:00
-- 4th graders taking OLSAT Test
April 21 -- School Improvement -- Early Dismissal
-- District Eat-Out at Panda Express
April 22 -- No School
April 25 - May 6 -- MAP Testing

Plan Ahead:

Check your child's grades on Friday - Midpoint of trimester
*Early Dismissal on Thursday, April 21, 11:00.

*District Eat-Out at Panda Express on Thursday, April 21. Click here for more information: http://www.ccsd66.org/PTO/FundRaisers/Panda.pdf

OLSAT Testing:

Our 4th graders will take the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) this week. The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test is designed to measure abstract thinking and reasoning abilities that are relevant to school achievement.

Here are a few reminders that you can do to help your child do their best:

1. Make sure your child attends school on testing days unless they are sick.

2. Make sure your child get a good night’s sleep.

3. Provide breakfast for your child.

4. Remind your child to ask the teacher questions if he/she does not understand the test directions.

5. Let your child know that you have confidence in their abilities.

6. Advise your child not to worry about the test, but do their very best.

Language Arts
Students will be working on poems this week. We are applying the brainstorming techniques with the topic of themselves in these poems. While encouraged to independently complete this task they are learning to effectively use their Quick Word Guides during this process.

Reading
The students are divided into reading stations. The students will be reading and discussing either the book Fossils in the Soar to Success Series or the news article Cherry Blossom Festival. We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 20 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in every Friday for a checkpoint of dates and minutes. Keep reading!

Spelling

The spelling words this week will continue to cover phonograms or word families, "-oke" & "-ock". They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. They will also be making flashcards this week that you can use to study daily. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday. One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is:
Don't try to learn all the words at once
Even if you learn them all in one sitting, practice them a few at a time. Find out what works best for you — it may be one or two words or as many as three or four. Then, add another word to your list, or start on different ones. Each time you learn another word, go back and practice the ones you learned before it, because, after all, practice makes permanent. (http://www.ldonline.org/article/6192)

Math
This week students will continue with Chapter 11, Comparing and Ordering Numbers. They are working on greater than and less than.

Science
Students are greatly enjoying the Human Body Unit. We will explore six systems of the human body.

Daily Homework
Reading
- read 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling
- Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

April 4th - 8th

Important Dates . . .
April 4 -- Classes Resume
April 5 -- Teacher Institute -- No School
April 21 -- School Improvement -- Early Dismissal

Language Arts
Students will continue brainstorming details to a given topic. While encouraged to independently complete this task they are learning to effectively use their Quick Word Guides during this process. They are getting more comfortable at this process and should be able to show you how they would look up a word at home when needed.

Reading
This week we will continue with reading stations. In the Soar to Success station the students will begin reading and discussing either the book The Outside Dog or the news article Cherry Blossom Festival. We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 20 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in every Friday for a checkpoint of dates and minutes. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will continue to cover phonograms or word families, "-aw" & "-ay". They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily. One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is: Words without Vowels – Write your words replacing all vowels with a line.

Math
This week students will begin Chapter 11, Comparing and Ordering Numbers. By the end of the week they will be able to distinguish a difference between greater than and less than.

Science
Students will begin a new study on the Human Body this week. Experiment on Wednesday: How are the systems of the human body like the cars on a train?

Daily Homework
Reading
- read 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling
- Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

March 21 - 25

Important Dates . . .
March 28 -- Spring Break Begins
April 4 -- Classes Resume
April 5 -- Teacher Institute -- No School
April 21 -- School Improvement -- Early Dismissal

Language Arts
Students will continue brainstorming details to a given topic; however, this week picture prompting will cease. While encouraged to independently complete this task they are learning to effectively use their Quick Word Guides during this process. They are getting more comfortable at this process and should be able to show you how they would look up a word at home when needed.

Reading
This week we will continue with reading stations. In the Soar to Success station the students will begin reading and discussing either the book Let's Go Rock Collecting or the news article Cherry Blossom Festival. We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 16 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in Wednesday, March 23rd for a grade, so we can have a reading party Friday before break. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will cover all of the word families learned up to this point, Lessons 1-7 Review. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily. One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is: Guess the word: One partner "writes" a spelling word with his/her finger on his/her partner' back.

Math
Continuing with place value. This week builds to knowing the difference between the 1's, 10's, and 100's place. Each child had done a great job last week showing their knowledge of place value using physical representation for each place value on the mimio whiteboard. The test will be midweek.

Daily Homework
Reading
- read 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- monthly turn in on Wednesday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling
- Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

March 14th - 18th

Important Dates . . .
March 13 -- Daylight Savings Time Begins - Spring Ahead
March 28 -- Spring Break Begins
April 4 -- Classes Resume
April 5 -- Teacher Institute -- No School
April 21 -- School Improvement -- Early Dismissal
April 22 -- No School

NOTE: Social Studies Unit 5 Test this Friday :)

Language Arts
We will continue building on the writing process this week. Students will be given topics and we will be working on brainstorming details.

Reading
This week we will continue with reading stations. In the Soar to Success station we will begin reading and discussing the book Allie's Basketball Dream. We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 16 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in every Friday. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will cover two different yet similar sounding word families: - ip & -op. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily. One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is: Sandpaper rubbings: Cut each letter out of sandpaper and glue it to an index card or purchase sandpaper letters. Your child should spell out his word with sandpaper letters, put a piece of paper over it, and do a crayon rubbing.

Social Studies
We will wrap up Unit 5, Our Country Long Ago this Friday with a Unit Test. All of the vocabulary terms we have discussed have been in their SS folder in their binder. You should have been reviewing along the way, so if not I would suggest reviewing nightly. Also, their books will be sent home to reread and talk through the review of Unit 5 on pages 238-239.

Math
Continuing with place value. This week builds to knowing the difference between the 1's, 10's, and hundreds place. It looks as though a test will be at the beginning of next week.

Daily Homework
Reading
- read 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- weekly turn in on Friday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling
- Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

March 7th - 11th

Important Dates . . .
March 7 -- Casimir Pulaski Day -- No School
March 13 -- Daylight Savings Time Begins - Spring Ahead
March 28 -- Spring Break Begins
April 4 -- Classes Resume
April 5 -- Teacher Institute -- No School
April 21 -- School Improvement -- Early Dismissal
April 22 -- No School

NOTE:
IAA (Illinois Alternate Assessment) Testing wrapped up last Friday! Each and every child completed each test they were required to per grade level expectancy. They all did a very nice job - I am proud of their effort!

Language Arts
We will continue building on the writing process this week. Students will be given topics and we will be working on brainstorming details.

Reading
This week we will continue with reading stations. In the Soar to Success station we will begin reading and discussing the book Where Does the Garbage Go? We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 16 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in every Friday. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will cover two different yet similar sounding word families: - it & -ot. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily. One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is: Sandpaper rubbings: Cut each letter out of sandpaper and glue it to an index card or purchase sandpaper letters. Your child should spell out his word with sandpaper letters, put a piece of paper over it, and do a crayon rubbing.

Social Studies
We will continue Unit 5, Our Country Long Ago. Some concepts and vocabulary terms we will discuss are: early America, expansion westward and equality. It looks like the unit test could appear next week!

Math
Continuing with place value specifically looking at the 1's and 10's place.

Daily Homework
Reading - 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- weekly turn in on Friday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling - Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

February 28th - March 4th

Important Dates . . .
March 1 -- Report Cards
March 2 -- Parent Teacher Conferences
March 4 -- Parent Teacher Conferences -- No School
March 7 -- Casimir Pulaski Day -- No School
March 28 -- Spring Break Begins
April 4 -- Classes Resume
April 5 -- Teacher Institute -- No School
April 21 -- School Improvement -- Early Dismissal
April 22 -- No School


IMPORTANT NOTE:
IAA (Illinois Alternate Assessment) Testing continues this week and possibly into next week in Mrs. Krasnodebski's room. Due to the fact that this is an individual assessment we need more time than ISAT testing takes. Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest and has a healthy breakfast each morning. We will be testing in the morning during our reading class. Students will be continuing with reading strategies in stations as others will be indivually tested. Your child may want to bring an extra snack and/or drink to help keep them focused for the test each day.

Language Arts
We will continue building on the writing process this week. Students will be given topics and we will be working on brainstorming details.

Reading
We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 20 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in for a grade this Monday, February 28th. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will cover two different yet similar sounding word families: - an & -ain. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily. One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is: Picture words – Draw a picture and write your words in the picture.

Social Studies
We will continue Unit 5, Our Country Long Ago. Some concepts and vocabulary terms we will discuss are: early America and expansion westward.

Math
This week we will be moving on to Place Value.

Daily Homework
Reading - 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- monthly turn in Monday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling - Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

February 21 -25

Important Dates . . .
February 21 -- President's Day -- No School
February 21 -- PTO Dine-Out Fundraiser -- Noodles & Company (click for details)
February 22 -- IAA testing begins in Mrs. K's room
February 24 -- Spring Pictures
February 25 -- End of Trimester
March 1 -- Report Cards
March 2 -- Parent Teacher Conferences

IMPORTANT NOTE:
IAA (Illinois Alternate Assessment) Testing begins this week and will continue for a few weeks in Mrs. Krasnodebski's room. Due to the fact that this is an individual assessment we need more time than ISAT testing takes; therefore, it is beginning this week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest and has a healthy breakfast each morning. We will be testing in the morning during our reading class. Students will be continuing with reading strategies in stations as others will be indivually tested. Your child may want to bring an extra snack and/or drink to help keep them focused for the test each day.

Language Arts
We will be building on the writing process this week. Students will be given topics and we will be working on brainstorming details.

Reading
We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month students should be reading daily or a minimum of 20 minutes for 20 days. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. This red folder should be turned in every Friday to make sure they are staying on track. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in for a grade this Monday. Keep reading!

This past month reading incentives were doubled! Not only could your child read 20 minutes to go to the reading party, but they could read to earn a ticket to go to Six Flags Great America! All you need to do is fill out the yellow form sent home with the information from their red reading folder, then sign. Please turn in the Six Flags Great America Sheets this Tuesday. I will be filling out the official teacher forms Tuesday after school.

Spelling
The spelling words this week will cover two different yet similar sounding word families: - an & -ain. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily. One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is: Picture words – Draw a picture and write your words in the picture.

Social Studies
We will continue Unit 5, Our Country Long Ago. Some concepts and vocabulary terms we will discuss are: 13 colonies, colonists, early America, etc. Students received another news event report on Friday and this will be due Tuesday.

Math
This Wednesday we should be wrapping up Chapter 5, Addition Strategies up to 12. This chapter will be focusing on specific strategies behind adding numbers and incorporting more mental math than in the past few chapters.

Daily Homework
Reading - 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- weekly turn in on Friday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling - Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

February 14 - 18

Important Dates . . .
Febrary 14 -- Valentine's Day Parties @ 1:30
February 21 -- President's Day -- No School
February 21 -- PTO Dine-Out Fundraiser -- Noodles & Company (click for details)
February 22 -- IAA testing can begin in Mrs. K's room
February 24 -- Spring Pictures
February 25 -- End of Trimester
March 1 -- Report Cards

Plan Ahead:
*Valentine's Day parties will be on Monday, February 14th. On Friday, February 4th, I sent a letter home with each student's name on it. Your child does not have to bring in Valentine's Day cards if he or she does not want to. However, if he or she does, he or she must bring in one for everyone in our class. Please do not send in Valentine's Day cards that have food or candy attached to them. Any candy brought in will be sent home with the student who brought them in. This is a new building policy.
*Parent Teacher Conferences during the week of February 28, 2011 - notes were sent home last Friday.

Language Arts
We will be wrapping up the unit of "Verbs" this week. We will review by working on a project, a verb poster. Your child should be able to give a you the definition of a verb (words that show action or helping words) and provide an example.

Reading
This week we will continue with reading stations. In the Soar to Success station we will read and discuss the book The Bald Eagle. We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month I will be requiring 20 days at 20 minutes. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. This red folder should be turned in every Friday to make sure they are staying on track. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in for a grade this Monday. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will cover two different yet similar sounding word families: - ack & -ake. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily.

One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is: Antonyms: Write down your spelling words and write an antonym next to each word. An antonym is a word that means the opposite. Use a dictionary or thesaurus for help, if needed. Example: hot cold
How many of your words had an antonym?

Social Studies
We will continue Unit 5, Our Country Long Ago. Some concepts and vocabulary terms we will discuss are relating to types of transportation, shelter, traditions, etc. at the time of early America. Also, we will be working on sequencing events. Students should be getting another news event report later this week.

Math
We should be wrapping up Chapter 5, Addition Strategies up to 12. This chapter will be focusing on specific strategies behind adding numbers and incorporting more mental math than in the past few chapters.

Daily Homework
Reading - 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- weekly turn in on Friday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling - Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

February 7th - 11th

Important Dates . . .
Febrary 14 -- Valentine's Day Parties @ 1:30
February 21 -- President's Day -- No School
February 21 -- PTO Dine-Out Fundraiser -- Noodles & Company (click for details)
February 22 -- IAA testing can begin in Mrs. K's room
February 24 -- Spring Pictures
February 25 -- End of Trimester
March 1 -- Report Cards

Plan Ahead:
*Valentine's Day parties will be on Monday, February 14th. On Friday, February 4th, I sent a letter home with each student's name on it. Your child does not have to bring in Valentine's Day cards if he or she does not want to. However, if he or she does, he or she must bring in one for everyone in our class. Please do not send in Valentine's Day cards that have food or candy attached to them. Any candy brought in will be sent home with the student who brought them in. This is a new building policy.
*Parent Teacher Conferences during the week of February 28, 2011.

Language Arts
We will be continuing the unit of "Verbs" this week. This week we will be working on a verb poster. You may want to begin some parent-child time cutting out pictures of verbs for their project. While doing this they should be able to give a you the definition (words that show action or helping words) and provide an example.

Reading
This week we will continue with reading stations. In the Soar to Success station we will read and discuss the book A Bicycle for Roasaura. We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month I will be requiring 20 days at 20 minutes. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. This red folder should be turned in every Friday to make sure they are staying on track. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in for a grade this Monday. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will cover two different yet similar sounding word families: - ill & -ull. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over this week's lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily.

One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is: Antonyms: Write down your spelling words and write an antonym next to each word. An antonym is a word that means the opposite. Use a dictionary or thesaurus for help, if needed. Example: hot cold
How many of your words had an antonym?

Social Studies
We will continue Unit 5, Our Country Long Ago. Some concepts and vocabulary terms we will discuss are relating to types of transportation, shelter, traditions, etc. at the time of early America. Also, we will be working on sequencing events. Due to the snow days, students will report on their news event this week.

Math
We will continue with Chapter 5, Addition Strategies up to 12. This chapter will be focusing on specific strategies behind adding numbers and incorporting more mental math than in the past few chapters.

Daily Homework
Reading - 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- weekly turn in on Friday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling - Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

January 31st - February 4th

Important Dates . . .
February 21 -- President's Day -- No School
February 25 -- End of Trimester
March 1 -- Report Cards

Language Arts
We will be continuing the unit of "Verbs" this week. Students will get to listen to various stories that explain what verbs are with great visual examples. As always with language arts, they will be using the interactive white board to practice their knowledge of verbs with the class. Next week we will be working on a verb poster. If you feel you have extra time this week, you may want to begin some parent-child time cutting out pictures of verbs for their project.

Reading
This week we will continue with Soar to Success. We will continue reading and discussing the book Baby Whales Drink Milk. Also, they will further focus on literal comprehension using a Groundhog Day themed short story.

We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month I will be requiring 20 days at 20 minutes. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. This red folder should be turned in every Friday to make sure they are staying on track. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in for a grade this Monday. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will review various vowel sounds. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over this week's lesson and last week's lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily.

One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is: Rainbow Words: Children are to write each spelling word with their pencil. They then go back and trace each word with a crayon. They do this two more times with two different crayons.

Social Studies
This week we will begin Unit 5, Our Country Long Ago. Some concepts and vocabulary terms we will discuss are relating to types of transportation, shelter, traditions, etc. at the time of early America. We will also be working on sequencing events.

Students are to research a news event. The 5Ws are found in most news stories. Often, the five Ws are introduced in a story's opening paragraph. First of all find a news story that interests your child. They should either find it on the internet and print it out or cut out from a newspaper to bring into school at the beginning of the week. They will be asked to discuss this news event with fellow students towards the end of the week. In order to do this it would be good to ask your child to talk about the who, where, when, what, and why of the story. Circle, underline, or highlight the areas of the story that tell each of the five Ws. At school each student will be asked to report to the class the who, where, when, what, and why of the story. (Online resource suggestions: Time For Kids, Science News for Kids, Weekly Reader Feature Zone, & National Geographic Kids).

Math
We will be continuing Chapter 5, Addition Strategies up to 12. This chapter will be focusing on specific strategies behind adding numbers and incorporting more mental math than in the past few chapters.

Daily Homework
Reading - 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- monthly due as late as this Monday & weekly turn in on Friday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling - Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

January 24th - 28th

Important Dates . . .
January 25 -- District Spelling Bee
January 27 -- Chapter 6 Science Test
January 28 -- Bingo Night
February 21 -- President's Day -- No School
February 25 -- End of Trimester
March 1 -- Report Cards


Language Arts
We will be introducing the unit of "Verbs" this week. Students will get to listen to various stories that explain what verbs are with great visual examples. As always with language arts, they will be using the interactive white board to practice their knowledge of verbs with the class.

Reading
This week we will continue with Soar to Success. We will read a new story each week and focus on phonics and comprehension skills in small groups. This week we will read and discuss the book Baby Whales Drink Milk. Also, they will further focus on literal comprehension using a winter themed short story.

We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month I will be requiring 20 days at 20 minutes. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. This red folder should be turned in every Friday to make sure they are staying on track. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in for a grade at this Thursday. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will reflect the Language Arts unit of Pronouns - more specifically object pronouns. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over this week's lesson and last week's lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily.

One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is play a spelling game as follows: Spelling Game 1: Use Board Games, such as Monopoly

Play any game that is normally played with dice with your child -- Monopoly, for example. You can continue to move his token forward in the normal way by throwing the dice, but your child must orally spell a word to move forward.

To select words that can be used, you should first select the two spelling lists of pronouns (last week and this week), science vocabulary words, and use words from your child's schoolwork that he often misspells. Your child should make word cards of these words. It is best to use not fewer than 20 words and not more than 30. When playing a board game, the same 20-30 words can be used, or if your child already knows how to spell them, other words can be selected. You must thoroughly shuffle the word cards, and then put them in a pile upside down on the table between the two (or more) players.

When it is your child's turn to play, you must take a word from the top of the pile and then say the word aloud. Your child must spell the word. If they spell the word correctly, he may move his token the same number of spaces as there are letters in the word. For example, for a word of seven letters he may move his token forward seven spaces. The word card is then put aside. If, however, he misspells the word, you must show the word to your child, and they must spell the word aloud three times while looking at the word, and then three times without looking at it. Then the word is put at the bottom of the pile, so that it will come up again later. If your child misspells a word, he may also not move his token for that turn.

Science
We will continue with lesson three of Chapter 6, Natural Resources. The "Big Idea" of this chapter is Earth has many natural resources that people use. It is important to protect them to make them last. To maintain a consistent understanding of the science vocabulary words, we will be building this throughout the chapter in the form of flashcards and applying them in spelling also. It is important to begin reviewing vocabulary more often as a test is coming up this week, Thursday. Students will be bringing home their science text more often this week to reread in preparation for the test.

Math
We will be starting Chapter 5, Addition Strategies up to 12. This chapter will be focusing on specific strategies behind adding numbers and incorporting more mental math than in the past few chapters,

Daily Homework
Reading - 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- weekly turn in on Friday & monthly due as late as Monday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling - Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

January 17th - 21st

Important Dates . . .
January 17 -- M. L. King Birthday -- No School
January 17 -- PTO Dine Out Fundraiser -- Papa Passero's
January 28 -- Bingo Night
February 21 -- President's Day -- No School
February 25 -- End of Trimester
March 1 -- Report Cards


Language Arts
We will hopefully be wrapping up the unit of "Pronouns" this week. Students will get to work with pronouns not only in Language Arts, but in spelling this week and the following week.

Reading
This week we will continue with Soar to Success. We will read a new story each week and focus on phonics and comprehension skills in small groups. This week we will finish The Paper Crane and work on comprehension using winter themed short stories.

We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month I will be requiring 20 days at 20 minutes. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. This red folder should be turned in every Friday to make sure they are staying on track. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in for a grade at this Thursday. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will once again reflect the Language Arts unit of Pronouns - more specifically subject pronouns. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over the lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily. One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is: Spell words with magnetic letters on cookie sheets.

Practice pages will be assigned for the upcoming week's list on Friday to give additional study time. Over the weekend would be a good time to discuss the meaning of the words. Although we work on meaning typically on Fridays and Mondays, help from home is greatly encouraged! They will be receiving them daily as an assignment. A test over the lesson will be given this Friday.

Science
We will continue with lesson three of Chapter 6, Natural Resources. The "Big Idea" of this chapter is Earth has many natural resources that people use. It is important to protect them to make them last. To maintain a consistent understanding of the science vocabulary words, we will be building this throughout the chapter in the form of flashcards and applying them in spelling also. It is important to begin reviewing vocabulary more often as a test is coming up next week. Students will be bringing home their science text this Friday to reread in preparation for the test.

* Note: This Wednesday we will be making something with reused items. In order to make this science investigation possible on Wednesday, please send your child with one or more items that would normally be recycled - empty kleenex boxes, cans, newspapers, cereal boxes, etc.

Math
We will be wrapping up Chapter 4 this week. This chapter was a review of basic addition and subtraction. In this chapter we focused on problem solving and choosing the correct operation. As a review of the chapter last week they problem solved with snowflakes as the subject of their number sentences. Just a reminder of the strategy the children are learning: PAL.
P = problem ( 2 + 2 = )
A = answer ( 4 )
L = label ( toys )

Daily Homework
Reading - 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- weekly turn in on Friday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling - Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test

January 10th - 14th

Important Dates . . .
January 10-14 -- Reading and Math MAPs testing daily this week in our room
January 12 -- Dan Kirk, Juggler Assembly on Wednesday at 12:30.
January 17 -- M. L. King Birthday -- No School
January 17 -- PTO Dine Out Fundraiser -- Papa Passero's
January 28 -- Bingo Night
February 21 -- President's Day -- No School
February 25 -- End of Trimester
March 1 -- Report Cards

MAPs testing: Once again, we will be taking MAP tests from Friday, January 7th - Thursday, January 13th. Please make sure your child gets a good dinner and a good night's rest before these tests. Also, make sure they have a healthy breakfast and a healthy snack on the morning of these tests.

Language Arts
We will be working on a unit of "Pronouns" this week. Students will get to listen to various stories that explain what pronouns are with great visual examples.

Reading
This week we will continue with Soar to Success. We will read a new story each week and focus on phonics and comprehension skills in small groups.

We will continue working on phonics, decoding, encoding, and comprehension throughout the week through direct instruction, Lexia, and hands on materials.

Please keep reading 20 minutes a night for the Independent Reading Program! This month I will be requiring 20 days at 20 minutes. Please sign on the date the reading was accomplished. This red folder should be turned in every Friday to make sure they are staying on track. The Independent Reading Folder should be turned in for a grade at this Thursday. Keep reading!

Spelling
The spelling words this week will once again reflect the sixth chapter science terms. They will be receiving a spelling practice page daily as an assignment. A test over the lesson will be given Friday. Please try to help your child study daily. One strategy you can use to help with spelling words this week is playing a game: Play word games such as hangman or write a spelling word with letters missing and ask your child to write in the missing letter.

Practice pages will be assigned for the upcoming week's list on Friday to give additional study time. Over the weekend would be a good time to discuss the meaning of the words. Although we work on meaning typically on Fridays and Mondays, help from home is greatly encouraged! They will be receiving them daily as an assignment. A test over the lesson will be given this Friday.

Science
We will continue with Chapter 6, Natural Resources. The "Big Idea" of this chapter is Earth has many natural resources that people use. It is important to protect them to make them last. To maintain a consistent understanding of the science vocabulary words, we will be building this throughout the chapter in the form of flashcards and applying them in spelling also.

Math
We will be continuing with Chapter 4. This chapter is a review of basic addition and subtraction . Also in this chapter we will continue to reinforce problem solving. Just a reminder of the strategy the children are learning: PAL.
P = problem ( 2 + 2 = )
A = answer ( 4 )
L = label ( toys )

Daily Homework
Reading - 20 minutes and fill in Independent Reading Folder Log
- weekly turn in on Friday
- practice reading poems given to work on fluency
Spelling - Practice Page nightly to be turned in & study words for test