Week of 2/2/09 - 2/6/09

We made it through the month of January, hooray!! It has been cold and snowy but I am hopeful that February will be better...

Wednesday we head to Naper Settlement for our field trip, “Tools for Schools.” We will be outside for most of the day, so please make sure your child is dressed appropriately. Also, we will be eating lunch in one of the buildings, so a sack lunch with a drink is required. It is an excellent facility and a wonderful field trip. It also ties in very nicely with Social Studies.

Coming up this week:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class:

Spelling: Lesson 19: VAC words. Test on Friday.

Reading: We will continue reading our novel, Toliver's Secret. The students have been writing summaries for each chapter. Furthermore, this week they'll be writing an advice column answer about bullying. Ellen is constantly being bullied throughout the novel, first by Dicey and then by some Redcoats, and she needs to learn to stand up for herself!

Language Arts: We will be revisiting the extended response this week. I talk about the I-E-I-E-I-E format. Ask your child about it! Also, I was very impressed with the first expositories I read. The writing is good in room 208!

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:

This week we will finish Chapter 12. Problem solving is covered in Lesson 6 and Lesson 7 teaches the relationship between fractions and decimals. After reviewing on Thursday, there will be a test on Friday.

Mrs. Klacza's Homeroom:

Social Studies: This week we will concentrate on completing our book project “I am the Patriot, I am the Loyalist”. We will visit the lab again this week to type, but I encourage the students to type at home, also. Our Chapter 8 test is planned for Tuesday, February 10. I realize I mentioned that it would take place the week of 2/2, but I've rethought that and pushed it back a bit :)

Science: Please remind your child to do his/her TGFD homework. I do not want them to take this lightly. Also, we will be learning about succession and a climax community this week.

Important Notes:
2/4 Naper Settlement field trip
2/5 School Assembly
2/14 Valentine's Day parties

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 1/26/09 - 1/30/09

Our four day week was jam packed and truly flew by. We will have a normal, five day week coming up and, hopefully, the weather will be kind to us. I hope the students enjoyed watching history take place on Tuesday for the inauguration of Barack Obama. Coming up this week:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class:

Spelling: Lesson 17: review words. Test on Friday.

Reading: We will begin a novel this week, Toliver's Secret, which takes place during the American revolution. This book ties in very nicely with our social studies unit about patriots and loyalists.

Language Arts: After writing our first expository, we will discuss different types of paragraphs and figurative language, specifically, homophones, metaphors, similes, and idioms.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:

We continue our study of fractions, specifically, equivalent fractions, simplest form, and mixed numbers. I am planning an open book quiz on Lessons 1-4 for Thursday.

Mrs. Klacza's Homeroom:

Social Studies: We continue work on the “I am the Patriot, I am the Loyalist” book project. We will visit the lab on Monday and Tuesday to type, but I encourage the students to type at home, also. Lesson 3 will be started this week, also, The Revolution Begins. Tentatively, our Chapter 8 test will take place the week of 2/2.

Science: I have been enjoying the story boards the children worked so hard on. We will be having an open book quiz on Lesson 1 on Tuesday. Also, ask your students about TGFD. There is a grade associated with it, and since this program applies to health, the grade will be part of science. If you have questions or your child doesn't seem to remember, send me an email.

Important Notes:
2/4 Naper Settlement field trip
2/14 Valentine's Day parties

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 1/19/09 - 1/23/09

I am thrilled that we were able to come to school every day this snowy, frigid week. We must remember to thank our wonderful bus drivers for bringing our children to school safely during this harsh winter.

Our week will be a short one. Monday we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Tuesday will be very exciting as we come to school dressed in red, white, and blue. A new phase begins with the inauguration of Barack Obama. I plan to stream the inauguration ceremonies into my classroom during reading.

Stay warm this weekend! And... coming up this week:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class:

Spelling: Lesson 16: silent h words. Test on Friday.

Language Arts: We are taking a text book break. We will begin learning about expository writing. Students will choose a prompt and plan their writing. Rough drafts will be written and the final copy will be handed in the following week.

Reading: We begin a new reading skill this week with “clarifying.” The story we will cover in our textbooks is called Volcanoes. Next week, we will begin reading a novel.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:

After a day of review (Tuesday,) we will have our quiz on Wednesday. The quiz will cover Chapter 11, Lessons 1-4 only. We have learned about least common multiples (LCM,) divisibility, greatest common factors, and prime/composite numbers.

Mrs. Klacza's Homeroom:

Social Studies: We continue work on the “I am the Patriot, I am the Loyalist” book project. We will visit the lab from time to time to type up our rough drafts. This week, Lesson 2 will be concluded as we read about the Intolerable Acts and the Continental Congress.

Science: After reading The Great Fuzz Frenzy the students were asked to create their own story boards which will resemble the book. These are due on Wednesday, 1/21. We will continue by studying symbiosis. Wolf Island will be read and discussed on Friday. Quiz on Lesson 1 will be on 1/27.

Important Notes:
* 1/19 MLK birthday; fundraiser at Home Run Inn

* 1/20 Spirit day - wear red, white, and blue for inauguration day
* 2/4 Naper Settlement field trip

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 1/12/09 - 1/16/09

I had a wonderful 2 week (and 1 extra day) break but I was happy to get back to school and to my students. Thank you for the generous gifts I received before and after the holiday; what a treat to come back to more presents!! Next week the students will be taking the Iowa tests. Here is the rest of the schedule:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class:

Spelling: Lesson 15: words ending with -ery. Test on Friday.

Language Arts: Our test on verbs will be Monday. We will not start Adjectives until the following week. We will supplement with the ISAT workbook and maybe a little writing.

Reading: We conclude our reading skill of self-questioning this week by revisiting Drylongso and going over the questions we've prepared regarding that book. We will be looking for “right there” “think & search” and “on your own” types of questions.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We have skipped ahead to Chapter 11 and will focus this week on divisibility, greatest common factor (GCF), and prime/composite numbers. Since Iowas will take up much of our time this week, I will not be testing on this chapter until the following Wednesday (1/21).

Mrs. Klacza's Homeroom:

Social Studies: We continue Chapter 8 this week, The Road to War. We have started the “I am the Patriot, I am the Loyalist” book project. We will also be reading about the Boston Massacre. Ask your child about No More Kings! We will be playing The King's Gold on Tuesday.

Science: We will read The Great Fuzz Frenzy and discuss adaptation. Students will create their own story boards which will resemble the book.

Important Notes:
1/12 – Iowa testing week
1/15 – TGFD begins
1/19 – Martin Luther King's birthday; day off

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza