Week of 1/3/11 - 1/7/11

I'd like to thank the PTO for providing us with a wonderful lunch on Tuesday and a fabulous appetizer spread on Thursday for the cookie exchange. Thank you to all the parents who baked cookies and provided those wonderful appetizers for the cookie exchange. My family was thrilled with all the delicious treats I brought home. Also, Too Good For Drugs (TGFD) begins this week with an officer from the Dupage County Sheriff's Department. This is a substance abuse prevention curriculum. There will be a total of 9 lessons that focus on the dangerous substances that are used widely by young people. A letter will be sent home explaining this program in more detail after our first session on Thursday. At the end of the program, we have a graduation ceremony!

Finally, I wish you all a wonderful holiday season – stay safe and warm and enjoy your families; I will be enjoying mine!

Coming up the week we return:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class:
When we come back from break, we will be learning more about the structure of a story through story mapping! Our class will read the story Elena, from our anthology.

Spelling: Lesson 14/Pretest on Monday, test on Thursday. Homework due on Thursday. (We are Maps testing with our homerooms on Friday...)

English: We continue our study of adjectives, specifically, comparing with good/bad and proper adjectives. English test on adjectives will take place on Wednesday, 1/12.

Social Studies: We will start chapter 8, probably the most exciting chapter of the entire year! Our first lesson is entitled “The Road to War.” The colonists are fed up with being under Britain's rule. They say, “No More Kings!” which just happens to be our first Schoolhouse Rock.

Science: Chapter 6 will be finished up this week with lesson 3, which discusses humans and the environment. After another “quick study” on lesson 3, a test on the entire chapter will occur on Friday. I can't stress enough how important it is for the students to keep all their chapter 6 information in their science pockets.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We will begin chapter 24 this week which focuses on area of squares, rectangles, triangles, and parallelograms. It's not a long chapter, so a test will probably happen the beginning of the following week.

Important Dates:
12/20 -- Winter Break Begins

1/3 -- Classes Resume after Winter Break
1/6-- TGFD begins

1/17 -- M. L. King Birthday -- No School

Have a wonderful holiday! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 12/13/10 - 12/17/10

We are entering our final school week of 2010. Hard to believe, but true... Don't forget about our Holiday Service Drive. We are looking for donations such as new toys, new games, toiletries, and food for the needy families in the Darien area. All donations are due on Monday, December 13. Thank you for opening up your hearts to help make the holidays a happy one for those who are less fortunate.

Coming up this week (and what a wonderful week it will be:)

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class: This week we will continue to practice summarizing and predicting with skill pages and fiction reading material. We will also be writing an extended response for A Boy Called Slow, using the IEIEIE method.

Spelling: Holiday words: Pretest on Tuesday. Homework due on Friday; Test Friday.

English: We continue our study of adjectives, specifically, articles and demonstratives. We will also be comparing with adjectives.

Social Studies: After reviewing chapter 7 on Monday and Tuesday, there will be a chapter test on Wednesday. We will start chapter 8 after our break.

Science: I moved up the open book/open note assessment for lesson 2 (succession) to Tuesday. The third lesson will be covered after break and the test will follow so it is imperative that all notes stay in the science pocket of the binder.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We will finish up our chapter on perimeter Monday with a lesson on circumference. There will be a homework check on Monday for PW150. Pretest and review on Tuesday, test on Wednesday.

Important Dates:
12/13 – All school concert @ 9:30
12/13 – 7:00 concert at LV
12/16 - 5th grade bowling
12/17 – Holiday outing at the Tivoli (How the Grinch Stole Christmas)
12/17 – Holiday break begins at 2:25!!

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 12/6/10 - 12/10/10

December is here and we've already seen some snow. Please make sure your child is dressed warmly every day for outdoor recess. Our reading incentive celebration will be Wednesday; I hope to see all the permission slips returned by then! Also, don't forget our holiday food and toy drive here at PV. With regard to our paper recycling program, a note from our office: "NO" cardboard boxes please -- there are many that we had to remove from the bin.

It was great meeting with you all during our conferences. I hope I answered all your questions and put any fears to rest. You have terrific children and I am proud to be their teacher.

Coming up this week:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class: This week, all fifth graders will review the skill of drawing conclusions. They will also be introduced to the skill of Author's Purpose. Students will learn how to read a text and decide if it was written to persuade, inform, or entertain. They will use the acronym PIE to help them remember these three important terms.

Spelling: Lesson 13: Pretest on Monday. Homework due onThursday; Test Friday.

English: We won't be starting our next unit until Friday. On that day, we will be “unpacking our adjectives.” Get ready for another Schoolhouse Rock song!

Social Studies: Lesson 2 will be studied this week, “French Explore the Mississippi.” We will take notes and discuss before starting lesson 3, “The French and Indian War.” I am planning our Chapter 7 test for Wednesday, 12/15.

Science: We continue Chapter 6. We will learn about succession as we read and discuss Lesson 2. There will be an open book/open note quiz on this lesson on 12/15. I know it's the same day as the social studies test, but this one is short and open book, so lots less stress. I also want to finish up this lesson before break. The third lesson will be covered after break and the test will follow so it is imperative that all notes stay in the science pocket of the binder.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We have been studying mean, median, mode, and range. We will use some of Chapter 9 and also some creative mimios and worksheets to learn this valuable statistical skill. A quiz is planned for Tuesday. We will then begin our chapter on perimeter.

Important Dates:
12/3 – Day off (conferences)
12/6 – Buffalo Wild Wings fundraiser (see school website)
12/13 – All school concert @ 9:30
12/13 – 7:00 concert at LV
12/16 - 5th grade bowling
12/17 – Holiday break begins at 2:25!!

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/22-11/26 and Week of 11/29-12/3

Report cards will be going home on Tuesday; however, most of you should already know your child's grades, so no surprises!! I look forward to meeting with you all during conference week. Have a safe, happy, family-filled Thanksgiving holiday.

Some important Prairieview information: The students of Project Challenge grades 3-5 are participating in a Lion's Club Holiday Drive. We are looking for donations such as new toys, new games, toiletries, and food for the needy families in the Darien area. If you wish to participate you will need to bring the donations in by December 13. Remember that some of these families live right here in Darien. So let's help these families have a happy holiday season. PLEASE DONATE!

*Paper Recycling Fundraiser Comes to Prairieview: We are happy to announce we can now raise money for our district by recycling paper! You can help us out, too! Please collect any paper you are going to throw away or recycle (office and school paper, newspaper, magazines and catalogs, and construction paper---no cardboard!) and send it in with your child to school or drop it off at the green and yellow Paper Retriever bin in the Lakeview parking lot (near the fence by the Prairieview playground). The bin is available for drop offs 24/7. The more paper we recycle, the more money we can make! Do something good for our schools AND the environment! Thank you!

Coming up this week (Thanksgiving) and next week:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading/Spelling Class:
We will continue to review summarizing, drawing conclusions, inferencing, identifying author generalizations, visualizing, and word work with vocabulary words using our realistic fiction novels until December 2nd. Next week, we will review main ideas and details using our skills workbook. Our work with extended response will continue as well. A book project will be assigned on Monday for The Kid in the Red Jacket. Students will have time to work in class on Monday.

Spelling: No spelling assignments for Thanksgiving week.
Then... Lesson 12: Pretest on Monday. Homework due onThursday; Test Thursday.

English: On Tuesday, we will be taking the second part of the verbs test, which covers lessons 9 – 15. We will then take a bit of an English break :) Our work will resume on 12/6.

Social Studies: Chapter 7 begins this week, specifically Lesson 1, "The Spanish Move North."

Science: We continue Chapter 6. The students will learn a little more about population and competition with a project using the book The Great Fuzz Frenzy. This will not be introduced until 11/29. Much of this project will be done in class.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
After some extended response practice leads us to Thanksgiving, we will begin studying mean, median, mode, and range. We will use some of Chapter 9 and also some creative mimios and worksheets to learn this valuable statistical skill.

Important Dates:
11/23 – Report cards & Picture retakes
11/24, 25, 26 – Thanksgiving holiday
11/29, 11/30, & 12/1 – Parent/Teacher Conferences
12/3 – Day off (conferences)

Have a wonderful holiday! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/15/10 - 11/19/10

Congratulations to the students of Room 208! They have won their first “great behavior” marble party. On Monday, we will celebrate!! Furthermore, today officially ends trimester 1. Some important information follows regarding our 5^th grade late work and extra credit policies.

Late homework - Trimester 2
1 day late - minus 15%
More than 1 day late until unit test is taken - minus 25%
After unit test is taken - a zero is entered in the grade book

Please remember that here at Prairieview, we suggest that students set a personal goal for the grades they would like to earn each trimester, and then work towards that goal the entire trimester. Therefore, students are NOT given opportunities for extra credit assignments. However, teachers may provide bonus points on various assignments throughout the year.

On Tuesday, November 23rd, Fullersburg Woods will be coming to talk with the 5th graders about ecosystems. They will focus on the concept of food chains and the energy pyramid and how everything in our world is connected. This fits in great with our science chapters 5 and 6.

Coming up this week:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading/Spelling Class:
We will continue writing extended responses this week, using questions from our realistic fiction novels. Furthermore, we will continue to review all the skills we have studied so far this school year, specifically, summarizing, drawing conclusions, inferencing, identifying author generalizations, and visualizing. We are also continuing our word work with vocabulary words. We will be finishing The Kid in the Red Jacket this week and the students will be assigned a culminating book project.

Spelling: Lesson 11: Pretest on Monday. Homework due onThursday; Test Friday.

English: We continue our study of verbs with part II of our chapter, specifically studying contractions with not, regular and irregular verbs, verb phrases with have, and correctly using the verbs teach/learn and let/leave. I plan to wrap the chapter up with a test on lessons 8-15 on Tuesday, 11/23.

Social Studies: Did your child tell you how successful our social studies testers were?? We had nothing lower than a B on chapter 6! We won't be starting chapter 7 until the end of the week.

Science: Chapter 6 begins this week with lesson 1 reading and note taking, followed by a Bill Nye video on population. An open note, open book assessment will occur on Tuesday.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
Our “quest” on chapter 6 will be on Monday. We'll then have a “target test” this week to make sure the students are able to master some of the important concepts regarding decimals. We will then be working on extended responses leading us into the holiday weekend.

Important Dates:

11/12 – End of Trimester 1
11/16 – Report cards
11/24, 25, 26 – Thanksgiving holiday
11/29, 11/30, & 12/1 – Parent/Teacher Conferences
12/3 – Day off (conferences)

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/8/10 - 11/12/10

Don't forget to “fall back” this weekend! It will be great to get the extra hour of sleep, but I really dislike the shorter days. Ah, well, winter is here... Don't forget the roller skating party on Monday! Watch out for the office email with important information.

An important reminder from the office: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 will be picture retake day. Any student that did not have their picture taken prior to this date may do so. They will be required to have a picture envelope with money to have a picture taken. Any student wishing to have a picture retaken will have to return the original picture packet for a retake.

Coming up this week:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading/Spelling Class: We will begin writing extended responses this week. This skill is taught using a short story called The River and a technique with the acronym IEIEIE which stands for Idea, Evidence, Interpretation, Evidence, Interpretation, Extension. Fifth graders should be familiar with this technique. Furthermore, we will continue to review all the skills we have studied so far this school year, specifically, summarizing, drawing conclusions, inferencing, identifying author generalizations, and visualizing while reading a realistic fiction novel. Please ask your child to summarize what we've read so far of The Kid in the Red Jacket! We are also doing a lot of word work with vocabulary words. There will be a vocabulary quiz on Ch. 1-6 on Wednesday.

Spelling: Lesson 10 - Pretest on Monday. Homework due on Friday; Test Friday. (normally, I collect homework on Thursday, but since it is a holiday, I will collect it on Friday.)

English: Part 1 of the verbs test will be on Tuesday. This will cover Lessons 1-8. We will then continue with Lesson 9 Friday (agreement with be/have.)

Social Studies: Our Chapter 6 test will occur on Wednesday after some reviewing on Monday and Tuesday. We won't start Chapter 7 until the week of 11/15.

Science: We will take a break from the science textbook this week and focus on Junior Achievement, Time for Kids, and a Thanksgiving project.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We will study Chapter 6 this week which covers adding and subtracting decimals. We will only cover Lessons 2, 3, and 5 with a quest on 11/15. (We've already covered Lesson 1 on Friday!)

Important Dates:

11/8 – Roller skating party

11/11 – Veteran's Day – no school

11/12 – End of Trimester 1

11/16 – Report cards

11/23 - Picture retakes

11/24, 25, 26 – Thanksgiving holiday

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/1/10 - 11/5/10

Thank you to the moms who came into our classroom and provided games, activities, snacks, and beverages to our children for the Halloween party. A particular shout out goes to Mrs. Cione and Mrs. Kubik for running the whole party! You are all so appreciated by your children and me! Junior Achievement started this week and I learned lots of new things about the business world from Mr. Blocker. He will be back the week of November 8. Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Coming up this week:

Mrs. Klacza's Reading/Spelling Class:

This week, we will review all the skills we have studied so far this school year, specifically, summarizing, drawing conclusions, inferencing, identifying author generalizations, and visualizing while reading a realistic fiction novel. The novel we will be reading in room 208 will be The Kid in the Red Jacket. The students will love reading about Howard's problems as he moves to a new house in a new state. He is the “new kid” and his only friend seems to be Molly, a little girl who lives next door and is a royal pain!!

Spelling: Lesson 9: Pretest on Monday. Homework due on Thursday; Test Friday.

English: We continue our study of Verbs this week. We will specifically learn about past and future tense and subject/verb agreement. A test on the first 8 lessons will be on Tuesday, November 9.

Social Studies: I hope our children enjoyed the trade fair as much as I did! This week we will make “circle books” to go along with Lesson 3. We will discuss Ben Franklin and his Poor Richard's Almanack. Lesson 4 will follow, entitled “Slavery in the Colonies.” I have a Chapter 6 test planned for Wednesday, 11/10.

Science: We'll be making a 3-D pyramid of energy on Monday, reviewing chapter 5 on Wednesday, and taking our test on Thursday. Look out for a “How to Study” sheet!

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:

We have covered Chapter 5, lessons 1-3 on decimals, and will have a “quest” on Wednesday. Review will be on Monday.

Important Dates:
11/2 – Election day/teacher institute – no school
11/11 – Veteran's Day – no school
11/12 – End of Trimester 1
11/16 – Report cards
11/24, 25, 26 – Thanksgiving holiday

Have a wonderful Halloween weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/25/10 - 10/29/10

We will be celebrating Halloween on Friday with our 1:00 parade and 1:30 party. Thank you in advance to all the moms who have volunteered to organize and run it, and send in treats and drinks. Students need to bring their costume to school on Friday. The costume might need to be simplified for school purposes since students need to be able to change in a short amount of time. Changing will take place in the classrooms. The fifth grade will have designated classrooms for girls to change in and for boys. Washrooms will not be available for costume changing. No weapons, even fake, are allowed at school.

Junior Achievement will start this week (Wednesday) in Room 208. We have a wonderful instructor, Mr. Blocker, who will visit us once per week for 5 weeks and teach us about business!

Coming up this week:

English: We continue our study of Verbs this week. We will specifically learn about main and helping verbs, linking verbs, and present tense verbs.

Social Studies: This week we will learn about life in the cities, towns, and farms of the 13 colonies. Trading and bartering was very important to the colonists and in order to learn a little more about trading and supply and demand, we will be having our annual trade fair on Thursday, 10/28. Every student needs to bring at least one of something homemade to trade. We've discussed it extensively in class and there is a parent permission slip due back to me on Monday. Ask your child about it!

Science: The “leafy critters” were fabulous! We had such a ball exploring all the different types of leaves and using them for various animal parts. We will have our “lesson review” on lesson 2 Monday. Students may use their notes and textbook.

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class:
Our CORE reading skill this week continues to be analogies. All fifth grade students will learn how to analyze and complete various types of analogies. In addition, all students will continue to focus on the important skills of drawing conclusions and making inferences. We will specifically be using short written pieces this week. I find that short mysteries work well with inferencing and drawing conclusions!

Spelling: Lesson 8: Pretest on Monday. Homework due on Thursday; Test Friday.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We will work on Chapter 5 this week, focusing on place value with decimals, equivalent decimals, and comparing with decimals.

Important Dates:

10/11-12/3 – Read to Succeed program (Chicago Wolves)

10/22 – Buona Beef fundraiser

10/29 – Halloween parade and parties

11/2 – Election day/teacher institute – no school

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/18/10 - 10/22/10

The children did a wonderful job during MAP testing! We will have one more day of testing for this session; math will be tested on Thursday. Don't forget, Wednesday is an early dismissal day.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: (My reading class) Lesson 7: Pretest on Monday. Homework due on Thursday; Test Friday.

English: We will start Unit 3 this week on Verbs. We will focus on action verbs and direct objects.

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class: Our CORE reading skill this week is analogies. All fifth grade students will learn how to analyze and complete various types of analogies. In addition, all students will begin focusing on the important skills of drawing conclusions and making inferences while reading a fictional text.

Social Studies: This week we will begin Chapter 6, "Life in the English Colonies." We will specifically be learning how the early colonists worked and traded. The trade fair will be coming up in about a week and a half. Look out for the permission slip!

Science: Students should be on a leaf hunt this weekend. They each have a packet of directions on how to press their leaves properly. We will be making leafy critters next week. Lesson 2 will also be read which covers the passing of energy through ecosystems.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
This week, I will be giving the students a "target" review to see how well they know the most important concepts in the first 3 chapters of our textbook. This will give me a good idea of concepts I may want to focus on a little more before moving on too quickly. We will begin Chapter 5 this week (putting off Chapter 4 until a later date.) Decimals will be introduced.

Important Dates:

10/11-12/3 – Read to Succeed program (Chicago Wolves)

10/15 - Movie Night

10/21 – Book Fair 6:30-8:00

10/29 - 1:00 Costume parade 1:30 parties

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/11/10 - 10/15/10

The weather is warming up a bit and the trees are beginning their glorious transformation! I hope you all have a wonderful 3-day Columbus Day weekend. Please be advised that we will be MAP testing next week on Tuesday and Friday. Here is a little information on the topic:

There is a new testing system being employed by the district this year. MAP testing stands for Measures of Academic Progress. These tests will be taken beginning next week, in the areas of Reading, Language, and Math. Students will take a series of multiple choice tests in each area on the computer. The program computes a score, which is then placed along a continuum to show each student's individual progress. It will even be able to show what particular areas each student excels at, and what areas they may need some additional support with. We are hopeful that this new system will help make our instruction for our students even better!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Since we will be MAP testing, there will be no spelling lesson this week.

English: We will finish chapter 2 (Nouns) this week. After reviewing extensively, our test will be on Thursday. Watch out for a “How to Study” sheet.

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class: We will continue to work on finding the main idea and supporting details in various types of text. Homonyms/Homographs and multiple meaning words will also be our focus.

Social Studies: We will continue to study the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies. Our chapter 5 test will be on Friday.

Science: Back to the textbook! Chapter 5 will begin this week which covers ecosystems. Photosynthesis will be the first topic studied and the children will be responsible for gathering some fall leaves and flattening them at home. A packet of information regarding this project will be going home later this week.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
The chapter 3 test is now scheduled for Wednesday (part 1) and Thursday (part 2.) I am breaking it up so the students will have enough time to work hard and finish! We have truly reviewed and I hope my students are practicing math facts and studying division at home. We will begin reviewing for a “target” test which will cover important concepts in chapters 1-3.
http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/multiplication.html
http://www.thegreatmartinicompany.com/multiplication.html

Important Dates:
10/11-12/3 – Read to Succeed program (Chicago Wolves)
10/11 – Columbus Day (no school)
10/15 – Box tops turn-in day (pizza party at stake!!)
10/15 - Movie Night

10/29 - Halloween parade & parties

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/4/10 - 10/8/10

Happy October and Happy Autumn everyone! I'd like to remind you all to check "parent connect" to see how your child is doing in each subject. We are officially halfway finished with the first trimester. If your child is receiving a grade below a C, a progress report has been mailed to you. I ask that you sign and return the bottom portion as soon as possible. If you have concerns at any time regarding your child's progress, please contact me.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 6; pretest will be on Monday. Homework will be assigned on Monday and due on Thursday. Final test on Friday.

English: We continue our study of nouns with more plural nouns (and their interesting spellings,) and singular and plural possessive nouns. An example of this would be: the pencil belonging to the boy = the boy's pencil. Or, the books belonging to the teachers = the teachers' books.

Core Reading: Homonyms/Homographs and multiple meaning words will be our focus.

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class:
We will be reading non-fiction text and concentrating on finding the main idea and supporting details in the selection entitled The Golden Lion Tamarin Comes Home.

Social Studies: Lessons 2 and 3 will be our focus this week as we specifically learn about some new European colonies started by the French and Dutch. Later in the week, we will concentrate on the original 13 colonies.

Science: The owl pellets were a success! The students learned a little about the barn owl through their eating habits. On Tuesday, the students will be taking a culminating quiz on the owl pellet experience. They will be able to use their notes.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
There will be a quiz on Lessons 1-4 (Chapter 3) on Monday. We will then continue the chapter, focusing on patterns in division and estimating and dividing using 2 digit divisors. I have planned a test (tentatively) on this chapter for Friday. We will certainly review on Thursday and I will assess the situation and see if the students are ready for a test. However, it will not be put off any more than 1 day.

http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/multiplication.html
http://www.thegreatmartinicompany.com/multiplication.html

Important Dates:
10/1 - Bingo Night
10/11 – Columbus Day (no school)
10/15 - Movie Night

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 9/27/10 - 10/1/10

Where did the week go? In the blink of an eye, Friday is here (in this case, Thursday) and I am writing my blog. Next week also starts the fabulous month of October. Amazing... Please remember that Tuesday is the last day to turn in magazine orders. They are a great value and help the school tremendously. It is entirely a win-win situation!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 5 (review words;) pretest will be on Monday. Homework will be assigned on Monday and due on Thursday. Final test on Friday.

English: Chapter 2 and nouns were introduced on Thursday. This week we will continue our study, specifically common and proper nouns and singular and plural nouns.

Core Reading: We will be understanding generalizations in text and recognizing the difference between fact and opinion.

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class:
This week we will focus on the skills of generalizing and fact vs. opinion. We'll visit Alaska with our read aloud called Wild Alaska and enjoy another story from our textbook entitled Grizzly Bear Family Book. Author generalizations will be identified by the students as they read the various selections this week.

Social Studies: This week, we'll learn about the first successful British colony, Jamestown. The students will make a Jamestown study guide. This is the section of the textbook where we meet Pocahontas, John Rolfe, and John Smith.

Science: Has your child told you about the owl pellets yet? Well, this is the week for the actual and virtual dissection. Get ready!!

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
This week we will start Chapter 3 which focuses on division, specifically estimating and dividing using one digit divisors, interpreting remainders, and zeros in division. Today's homework for the weekend is PRACTICE MATH FACTS!! I've included a couple sites.
http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/multiplication.html
http://www.thegreatmartinicompany.com/multiplication.html

Important Dates:
9/24 – Teacher Institute (no school)
9/28 – Last magazine turn-in day
9/30 – Picture day

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 9/20/10-9/24/10

I'm happy to report we had a very busy and productive week. The students took their first social studies and science tests (and lived to tell about it!) Please make sure to check your child's grades from time to time and email me if you ever have a question or concern.

An important note from Mrs. Cushing: The PE study guide for the soccer test went home Friday. Have you seen it yet? If not, please ask your child about it. The PE soccer test will be Wednesday. Please help your child review for this test.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 4 pretest will be on Monday. Homework will be assigned on Monday and due on Thursday. Final test on Thursday since Friday is a day off for the students.

English: The test on Chapter 1 will be on Tuesday. We will review for the test using the homework the students were given on Friday. The study of nouns will begin on Thursday.

Core Reading: This week our core reading group will continue word work with prefixes, suffixes, and roots.

Mrs. Klacza's Reading Class:
After studying tall tales using Paul Bunyon, John Henry, and Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, the students will start to write their own tall tales using similes, metaphors, and their imaginations! Ask your child about the characters we met this week!

Social Studies: The tests for chapter 4 have been graded and entered in grade book. We are ready to start Chapter 5 which begins with the lost colony of Roanoke. What a mystery that is!! We'll also read about another battle, the Battle of the Spanish Armada.

Science: After a very successful science test this week on our first chapter, we are going to take a break from the text book and study owl pellets. This is a great introduction to our next unit, Ecosystems. This week we will learn exactly what an owl pellet is and why we study them. We'll dissect them the week of 9/27.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
The students have been multiplying like crazy this week. We'll be finishing up the chapter on Monday with a short review quiz on lessons 4-6 on Tuesday. Another review day will follow on Wednesday with the Chapter 2 test on Thursday. Please practice those important multiplication facts with your child! I've included a couple links that might help.
http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/multiplication.html
http://www.thegreatmartinicompany.com/multiplication.html

Important Dates:
9/24 – Teacher Institute (no school)
9/30 – Picture day

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 9/13/10 - 9/17/10

I always feel like the four day weeks are jam packed and very busy. Next week will be a nice, normal five-day week. I hope your child is feeling comfortable here in fifth grade. If you have any concerns, please let me know. It was great speaking to so many of you at Curriculum Night. If you were unable to attend and sign up for a conference, please email me and I will put you on the schedule.

Make sure you check your child's backpack this coming week for the packet regarding our magazine drive. This is a huge fundraiser for our district and we all appreciate your support.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 3 pretest will be on Monday. Homework will be assigned on Monday and due on Thursday. Final test on Friday.

English: We will finish our chapter by learning about conjunctions and run-on sentences. We took a trip to “Conjunction Junction” today. We will review the chapter toward the end of the week and early the following week with a test on Tuesday, 9/21.

Reading: This week, our core reading group will focus on the skill of affixes and roots. An affix is a small word part that can be added to the beginning, middle, or end of a root word. Students will learn the meaning of various affixes and how to put them together with a root word. They will then apply this skill to find the definition of both familiar and unfamiliar words in context.

Our skill - based reading groups will begin on Monday. Students will find out Monday morning who their skill - based reading teacher is. During skill based reading we will be using Tall Tales to practice visualization and to look at story structure.

Social Studies: A test on Chapter 4 will be on Friday, 9/17. We will complete a “How to Study” sheet prior to the test to help the students study properly. A “postcard from Tenochtitlan” will also be created this week.

Science: There will be a test on Chapter 1 on Thursday, 9/16. Watch out for a list of study topics and also a “How to Study” sheet.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We have already completed an entire chapter on place value and will be starting Chapter 2 on Monday. This chapter is all about multiplication, starting with patterns in multiples and estimating products. After getting through the first 3 lessons, the students should be prepared for a short quiz on Thursday. Students should also be practicing their multiplication facts because we will start taking timed mixes starting on Monday. My suggestion to you would be to use flash cards with your child or find a good computer game using fast facts. Proficiency in multiplication facts is essential for math success!

Important Dates:
9/13 – Magazine drive kick off

9/16 - Lakeview Band performs at PV (recruitment concert)
9/24 – Teacher Institute (no school)

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza