Week of 1/2/12 - 1/6/12

Thank you all, so very much, for the wonderful class gifts I received on Wednesday. What a wonderful surprise!! You were all so generous and I truly appreciate it.

I'd also like to thank the PTO for providing us with a fabulous appetizer spread on Wednesday for the cookie exchange and a wonderful lunch on Thursday. 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. Finally, I wish you all a wonderful holiday season – stay safe and warm and enjoy your families; I will be enjoying mine!

This week the fifth grade "Too Good For Drugs" program will begin. Deputy Seward from the DuPage County Sheriff's Department will be coming to our class on Fridays to discuss various topics on drug prevention. A letter explaining more about the program will be sent home on Friday.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 15 – Pretest Tuesday, practice sheets due Wednesday. Homework due Thursday and test on Friday.

English: We will continue our chapter on pronouns this week, specifically using I and me properly. We will also begin learning about the 6 traits of writing.

Reading: This week we will be focusing on identifying main ideas and details and using them to summarize a text. The Golden Lion Tamarin Comes Home will be our story as we practice these important skills.

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: Our quick study for lesson 3 will take place on Wednesday, after we go over our notes and review on Tuesday. Plan on a chapter 13 test on Friday.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We will begin chapter 24 this week which focuses on the 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:

December 19 -- Winter Break officially begins
January 3 – Back to school after break!
January 16 -- M.L. King Holiday -- No School
January 16 -- PTO DineOut Fundraiser -- TGIFriday's
January 25 -- School Improvement -- Early Dismissal

Have a wonderful holiday! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 12/12/11 - 12/16/11

Thank you to all the parents who sent in healthy snacks for our reading party. Everything was delicious! Next week is our last week of school before winter break. Hard to believe!!

On Friday, December 16th, the fifth grade is looking forward to turning our classrooms into cinemas to celebrate the start of our holiday vacation. As you know, students will be viewing a movie of their choice, and enjoying a snack of popcorn and water as well. To make our rooms a bit cozier, we are allowing students to bring in a pillow, cushion, or small blanket to sit upon while watching the movie. We ask that the items be no larger than a normal size beach blanket to ensure we have enough room for everyone to be comfortable. Thank you!

Parents, please don't forget about our big recycling bin in the LV parking lot. We earn money with our paper! A question arose from a parent regarding shredded paper and if it's ok to put it in there. Here is the response from the recycling company: "Absolutely you can put shredded paper in the bin. I would recommend that you put the shredded paper in a bag, so that it does not blow around when the driver services the bin. Paper or plastic bag is fine."

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 14 – Pretest Monday, practice sheets due Tuesday. Homework due Thursday and test on Friday.

English: We will continue our chapter on pronouns this week, specifically object pronouns.

Reading: We will begin the actual reading of our non-fiction story The Grizzly Bear Family Book. So far, we have been tackling our skills and leading up to the story. The skills explored have been identifying valid/invalid generalizations, facts vs. opinions, and inferencing. The students are experts at deciding if a generalization is valid or not!

Social Studies: Plan on finishing chapter 7 this week and having the test on Friday.

Science: Our quick study for lesson 2 will take place on Monday. We'll then read and take notes on lesson 3; however, I'm holding off on giving the test until after break. We will review, of course, beforehand.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: Monday will be our “pretest” day for perimeter/circumference. Our test will be Tuesday. We'll then do some plotting of coordinates on graphs.

Important Dates:
December 12 – Cadet Band & Choir at Lakeview 7:00
December 16 – Prairieview Cinemas

December 19 -- Winter Break officially begins
January 3 – Back to school after break

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 12/5/11 - 12/9/11

I enjoyed meeting with you all at our conferences. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email or telephone.

Your child will be bringing home a permission slip in order to watch the movie Marley & Me on Wednesday during our reading party. It will be a healthy treat party; many of the students volunteered to bring healthy food in...

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 13 – Pretest Monday, practice sheets due Tuesday. Homework due Thursday and test on Friday.

English: After going over all our review pages, we will have our Nouns test on Monday. We will start the chapter on pronouns later in the week.

Reading: We will revisit our reading textbook this week with the non-fiction story The Grizzly Bear Family Book. The skills explored will be identifying valid/invalid generalizations, facts vs. opinions, and inferencing.

Social Studies: Chapter 7 continues this week, specifically lesson 2 on the French and their explorations of the Mississippi River. We will get the chapter 7 test in before our holiday break, probably on 12/16.

Science: Our quick study for lesson 1 will take place on Monday. We'll then read and take notes on lesson 2 on physical properties and changes.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We are skipping way ahead to perimeter which is chapter 23! We will specifically review polygons before we get into some formulas for perimeter, circumference, and radius. Our test on this chapter will be either 12/12 or 12/13. I'll know for sure in a few days.

Important Dates:
December 2 -- No School
December 8 -- PTO DineOut Fundraiser -- Go Roma
December 12 – Cadet Band & Choir at Lakeview 7:00
December 19 -- Winter Break Begins
January 3 – Back to school after break!

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/28/11 - 12/2/11

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving, full of family, friends, and food (of course!) It's so hard to believe first trimester is over and we are beginning the holiday celebrations! Enjoy!! I look forward to sitting down with you all next week for conferences.



Coming up the week of 11/28:

Spelling: Lesson 12 (review week) Pretest Monday, practice sheets due Tuesday. Homework and test on Thursday.

English: We are leading up to our test on nouns. We will finish the chapter this week and review before our test date of 12/5.

Reading: We will be reviewing our reading skills this week, focusing particularly on author's purpose and prior knowledge.

Social Studies: Chapter 7 begins this week! The Spanish are moving north and we will read all about it!

Science: We will skip ahead to chapter 14 this week, States of Matter.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We will not start our perimeter chapter until the week of 12/5. Instead, we will focus on reviewing the entire first trimester (yes, including long division!) and doing some problem solving and extended responses.

Important Dates:
November 23, 24, 25 -- Thanksgiving Holiday -- No School
November 28-30 – Conferences in Room 208
December 2 -- No School
December 8 -- PTO DineOut Fundraiser -- Go Roma
December 19 -- Winter Break Begins

Have a great holiday weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/21/11 - 11/25/11

We will be visiting the Robert Crown Center on Tuesday morning for the Michael & Linda program. It was great seeing so many of you at the parents' night Monday. Please send a lunch from home on Tuesday for your child; we won't be getting back until 11:30 or so. We will also be having our marble party for good behavior that day. Congratulations students!!

Our “Dig into a Good Book” program will be starting for the second trimester this week. Completed contracts with new goals should be coming back to me on Monday. Please discuss this goal with your child. They know what they can do and should “up” their first trimester goal by at least one book. There will be new activities in lieu of the classic book report form this trimester.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Since we are only here for two days, there will be no spelling this week.

English: We will continue chapter 2, Nouns, specifically singular and possessive nouns.

Reading: Students will work on their individual book projects for Crash or Kid in the Red Jacket this week.

Social Studies: Since we just finished chapter 6, we will take a couple days off and start chapter 7 the week of 11/28.

Science: Please be prepared for the chapter 6 test on Monday.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: Since we only have one day of math this week, we'll do some problem solving and extended response problems. Perimeter starts the following week!

Important Dates:

November 21 -- Trimester 2 begins
November 22 – Robert Crown field trip (Bring a sack lunch!!)

November 23, 24, 25 -- Thanksgiving Holiday -- No School

November 28-30 -- Conferences

December 2 -- Parent/Teacher Conferences -- No School

December 8 -- PTO DineOut Fundraiser -- Go Roma

December 19 -- Winter Break Begins

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/14/11 - 11/18/11

Please don't forget the Michael & Linda overview here at PV on Monday at 6:30. This is a “parents only” meeting and will help with any questions your child has after our Robert Crown visit. It will also help start meaningful conversations because you will know exactly what will be covered on the field trip.

Book reports for our “Dig into a Good Book” program are due on 11/18. There is a grade involved and a reading party, if the students complete their individual goal!

*Paper Recycling: Did you know that you can help our district earn money by recycling paper here at school? You can bring in any paper (no cardboard please) to the green and yellow bin marked Paper Retriever located in Lakeview's parking lot to be recycled. The more paper we collect, the more money we can earn. The provider of the bin uses the paper to make newsprint, which is then sold to other companies. That is how we are paid to recycle paper.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 11: Pretest Monday/Practice homework due Tuesday. Workbook/Challenge work due Thursday. Test Friday.

English: We will start chapter 2, Nouns. A pretest will be given on Monday which will determine the students who “test out” of certain lessons in the chapter. Alternate assignments will be given at the appropriate times.

Reading: We continue applying the reading skills that we have learned this year to our novels. The students have really been enjoying both Crash and Kid in the Red Jacket. We will be finishing up the novels before the the Thanksgiving break.

Social Studies: We will finish chapter 6 this week and have our test on Friday.

Science: There will be a lesson review (also known as a quick study) on Monday. Students are welcome to use their books and notes. After we read, discuss, and take notes on lesson 3, another quick study will follow on Thursday. A chapter 6 test is planned for Monday, 11/21.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We will start mean, median, mode and range this week. There will also be some problem solving thrown in for good measure!

Important Dates:
November 11 – Veterans' Day – no school
November 14 – Michael & Linda overview for parents at 6:30
November 16 -- PTO DineOut Fundraiser -- Culver's
November 18 -- Peer Buddies starts!
November 22 – Robert Crown field trip (Bring a sack lunch!!)
November 23, 24, 25 -- Thanksgiving Holiday -- No School
December 2 -- Parent/Teacher Conferences -- No School
December 8 -- PTO DineOut Fundraiser -- Go Roma
December 19 -- Winter Break Begins

Have a great Veteran's Day weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 11/7/11 - 11/11/11

Prairieview students made cards for patients at Hines VA hospital this week as part of our PBIS program. Thanks to the fifth grade moms who came in to supervise this project. The students loved it and it's such a moving tribute to those who served in the armed forces!

Trade Fair is Monday! Every child needs to bring at least one item to trade, although most bring 10-20 items. They will also need their sign displaying their wares. This activity ties in very nicely with Junior Achievement since Mr. Blocker talks about supply and demand and other economic issues. His last visit will be this Tuesday.

Book reports for our “Dig into a Good Book” program are due on 11/18. There is a grade involved and a reading party, if the students complete their individual goal!

Lastly, conference notices will be coming home this week. If you weren't at Curriculum Night and were unable to sign up for a time slot, I will assign you one. Please confirm the time when you receive the confirmation as soon as possible.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 10: Pretest Monday/Practice homework due Tuesday. Workbook/Challenge work due Thursday. Test Thursday.

English: Our unit 5 test will be Thursday. We will review on Tuesday and Thursday. PLEASE make sure your child studies the entire unit. It's a tough one!

Reading: We will be applying the reading skills that we have learned so far this year to our novels. The students have really been enjoying both Crash and Kid in the Red Jacket. Please make sure you include some discussion at home about the novel your child is reading.

Social Studies: Trade fair is Monday. We will read and discuss both lessons 3 and 4 this week about everyday life in the colonies.

Science: The Great Fuzz Frenzy projects are due Tuesday. We'll also be reading lesson 2 on how ecosystems change over time.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We will continue chapter 6 on decimals, specifically estimating sums & differences. We will then do a little problem solving before reviewing the four lessons we covered in chapter 6. Our quest is set for Thursday, November 10.

Important Dates:

November 7 – Classroom trade fair
November 11 – Veterans' Day – no school
November 16 -- PTO DineOut Fundraiser -- Culver's
November 23, 24, 25 -- Thanksgiving Holiday -- No School
December 2 -- Parent/Teacher Conferences -- No School
December 8 -- PTO DineOut Fundraiser -- Go Roma
December 19 -- Winter Break Begins

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/31/11 - 11/4/11

A great, big THANK YOU to all the moms who helped in some way today to make our Halloween party a rip-roarin' success. From the food to the games, it was wonderful!! I hope you enjoy all the Halloween festivities this weekend and on Monday.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 9: Pretest Monday/Practice homework due Tuesday. Workbook/Challenge work due Thursday. Test Friday.

English: We will continue Unit 5 on Capitalization and Punctuation, specifically studying abbreviations and titles this week. Tentatively planning an english test on 11/10.

Reading: We will be applying the reading skills that we have learned this year to our novels. Please ask your child what they are reading and let them share the stories with you. They both deal with bullying and being the “new kid.” These are great topics for discussion here in the classroom and at home!

Social Studies: Chapter 6 “Life in the English Colonies” continues. We will specifically study how the early colonists lived in cities, towns, and on farms. Remember our classroom trade fair on November 7. Permission slips are due Monday!.

Science: We read and took notes on lesson 1 of chapter 6. This lesson deals with symbiosis and adaptation. There will be a project assigned Wednesday which goes along with one of my favorite books, The Great Fuzz Frenzy.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We are rolling through chapter 5 on decimals. Monday we will take a step back to do some Halloween fun sheets. Tuesday, back to decimals with a nice review and practice “quest.” The actual chapter 5 “quest” is on Wednesday.

Important Dates:
October 31 – Trade Fair permission slips due
November 3 – Picture retakes
November 7 – Classroom trade fair
November 11 – Veterans' Day – no school

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/24/11 - 10/28/11

We will have our Halloween party and parade on Friday, October 28th! Please make sure your child brings an "easy to put on" costume for this day. They will change into their costumes after lunch. There will be NO ACCESS to the bathroom for costume or make-up "put on." There will be "girls" and "boys" classrooms assigned for changing of costumes.Costume parade will begin at 1:00; party at 1:30.

Don't forget our early dismissal day on Thursday; PV will get out at 11:00

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 8: Pretest Monday/Practice homework due Tuesday. Workbook/Challenge work due Thursday. Test Friday.

English: We will continue Unit 5 on Capitalization and Punctuation, specifically studying quotations and abbreviations this week.

Reading: We will be applying the reading skills that we have learned this year to a novel. The students will be divided into two groups. Some students will be practicing reading skills using a book called, The Kid in the Red Jacket and some students will be using a novel called, Crash!

Social Studies: Chapter 6 “Life in the English Colonies” will start on Wednesday. We will specifically study how the early colonists worked and traded. There will be a classroom trade fair on November 7. Information about the fair will be coming home later this week.

Science: We will be dissecting our owl pellets early in the week. The students love this project; bones will be coming home!!

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We will start chapter 5 on decimals this week, specifically studying decimal place value, equivalent decimals, and comparing and ordering decimals. This is a short chapter, so look for a “quest” the following week.

Important Dates:

October 27 -- School Improvement Day/Early Dismissal

October 28 – Halloween parade and party

November 3 – Picture retakes

November 7 – Classroom trade fair

November 11 – Veterans' Day – no school

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/17/11 - 10/21/11

Welcome to two new students, Danny and Diego, who joined our classroom today! We had a very short week this week; back to normal next week!! We will have Junior Achievement session 2 on Thursday. Our picture packets should arrive on Tuesday, October 18th. Our retake day is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 3rd. Enjoy the beautiful weather that continues over our area!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 7: Pretest Monday/Practice homework due Tuesday. Workbook/Challenge work due Thursday. Test Friday.

English: We will continue Unit 5 on Capitalization and Punctuation, specifically studying commas this week.

Reading: We will work with leveled reading books this week and apply the skills we learned while reading Elena. Students will be getting vocabulary words with their books on Monday and I am planning a vocabulary quiz on Wednesday.

Social Studies: We are just about finished studying chapter 5. All notes will be checked on Tuesday and Wednesday. We will review playing “numbered heads together” on Thursday and have our test on Friday.

Science: Please check your child's binder for their chapter 5 test! We will be focusing on owl pellets this week. It's a very exciting unit and I like to study them after our ecosystems unit. Remember to ask your child about it next week!

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: Chapter 3 is finished! We will focus on practicing division (specifically long division) with a tentative test date of Wednesday. Please make sure your child practices at home in the next few days.

Important Dates:
October 27 -- School Improvement Day/Early Dismissal
October 28 – Halloween parade and party

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/11/11 - 10/14/11

We will have a very short week coming up... Columbus Day is Monday and Tuesday is a Teachers' Institute. Enjoy the beautiful weather we are expecting! We will also be starting Book Buddies on Thursday, pairing up with the students of Mrs. Olsen's 3rd grade class.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Due to the short week, there will be no spelling lesson this week

English: We will continue Unit 5 on Capitalization and Punctuation, specifically studying proper nouns and adjectives this week.

Reading: This week, we will continue to focus on story structure and mapping using the historical fiction tale of Elena and other stories. We will also work with analogies and start the summarizing process (Get the gist?)

Social Studies: The 13 English Colonies will be explored this week.

Science: We have completed the reading of chapter 5. On Wednesday, we will review for the test, which will follow on Thursday.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We continue our division unit this week as we learn how to divide with 2-digit divisors. We will then focus on practicing division with a tentative test date of Wednesday, 10/19. I will reevaluate this date as we move forward. Long division is a very difficult concept and I hope to make it as clear as I can before the test date.

Important Dates:
October 10 -- Columbus Day -- No School
October 11 -- Teacher Institute -- No School

October 27 -- School Improvement Day/Early Dismissal

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 10/3/11 - 10/7/11

Thank you for all the magazine orders! Wow!! We are the second place classroom at PV; we missed first by only 1 order, so that is terrific. This fund raiser is a great one for our school.

We start Junior Achievement next week. There will be 5 sessions spread out over the next 6 weeks and we have an awesome volunteer instructor. Can't wait! We also have our in-school science field trip on Thursday morning. Sarah's & Jack's moms are my helpers. Thank you both in advance!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 6 pretest will be on Monday. Homework from the workbook will be assigned on Monday and due on Thursday. Practice sheets will be due on Tuesday, however. Final test is on Friday.

English: We'll skip to unit 5 this week, Capitalization and Punctuation. Specifically, we will learn about correctly forming sentences.

Reading: This week, we will focus on story structure and mapping using the historical fiction tale of Elena. There will be a vocabulary quiz on Thursday. Vocabulary words will be defined on Monday. We will also work with analogies.

Social Studies: We will read and discuss lesson 2, “New European Colonies”, and lesson 3, “The First Colonies.” The Pilgrims and the Puritans are our main characters!

Science: There will be a lesson 2 “quick study” on Tuesday. This is considered a quiz, although the students may use their text book and notes while taking it. We will then focus on the pyramid of energy.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We continue our division unit this week as we learn how to interpret remainders, put appropriate zeroes in our quotients, and work with patterns in division. There will be a quiz on lessons 1-4 on Wednesday.

Important Dates:

October 6 – In-school field trip
October 6 – Junior Achievement begins
October 10 -- Columbus Day -- No School
October 27 -- School Improvement Day/Early Dismissal

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 9/26/11 - 9/30/11

Today is the first day of Autumn and the leaves are starting their slow change. Keep an eye out for a special leaf project we will be doing this week. Students are expected to find and preserve leaves. They will especially be on the lookout for interesting colors and shapes! More to come!!

Don't forget that Tuesday and Thursday are magazine drive turn-in days. Also, please remember to save all your General Mills box tops and send them in for our classroom. There are some stores that offer box top bonuses. If you happen to know of these bonuses, please let me know!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 5 (review) pretest will be on Monday. Homework from the workbook will be assigned on Monday and due on Thursday. Practice sheets will be due on Tuesday, however. Final test is on Friday.

English: We will review chapter 1 on Monday; test on Tuesday. We will then skip to chapter 5 which focuses on capitalization and punctuation.

Reading: This week we will be focusing on drawing conclusions, homonyms and multi-meaning words, and an extended response which lines up with our anthology story A Boy Called Slow.

Social Studies: We have begun chapter 5. Ask your child about the mystery at Roanoke Island! Jamestown will be studied this week.

Science: We will be reading, discussing, and taking notes on lesson 2 this week which focuses on food webs and the energy pyramid.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We will have more review on multiplication on Monday and our chapter 2 test on Tuesday. Division and chapter 3 is next! I am thrilled to see how well the children are doing on their timed multiplication fact “minutes.” This will help them greatly with the test Tuesday and with the division chapter.

Important Dates:
District Magazine Drive -- Magazine Order Turn-in days: 9/27, 9/29

September 30 -- Early Dismissal

October 10 -- Columbus Day -- No School

October 11 -- Teachers' Institute -- No School

October 27 -- School Improvement Day/Early Dismissal

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 9/19/11 - 9/23/11

There is certainly a chill in the air! Pretty soon the leaves will be changing colors and autumn will be here. This time of year brings with it our district-wide magazine drive. Tuesday is our first turn in day. This is an excellent fundraiser for our school so please consider taking part in it.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 4 pretest will be on Monday. Homework from the workbook will be assigned on Monday and due on Thursday. Practice sheets will be due on Tuesday, however. Final test is on Friday.

English: We will learn about conjunctions this week, helping us will be the Schoolhouse Rock video “Conjunction Junction.” Run-on sentences will also be covered. After a chapter check-up on Friday and more review on Monday, a test on chapter 1 will be given on Tuesday, 9/27.

Reading: This week we will be focusing on drawing conclusions, doing vocabulary activities, and an extended response as we read a selection in our reading anthology – A Boy Called Slow.

Social Studies: After a review game on Monday called Numbered Heads Together, our chapter 4 test will occur on Tuesday. Watch out for the How to Study sheet!!

Science: Chapter 5 will be started this week on ecosystems. We'll start with plants and photosynthesis.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: Please remind your child to practice his/her multiplication facts!! We are on chapter 2, multiplication, and it will help them to be successful. After learning lesson 3 on Monday, there will be a quiz on lessons 1-3 on Tuesday. We'll then continue with lessons 4-6, ending the week with another short quiz on those 3 lessons on Friday! It will be a busy week! Looks like a chapter 2 test is in our future – Tuesday, 9/27.

Important Dates:
Magazine Order Turn-in days: 9/20, 9/27, 9/29

September 30 -- Early Dismissal

October 10 -- Columbus Day/no school

October 27 -- School Improvement Day/Early Dismissal

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 9/12/11 - 9/16/11

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.

We talked about the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 today and how we all need to do something to help people in some way to commemorate this day in history.

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

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 3 pretest will be on Monday. Homework from the workbook will be assigned on Monday and due on Thursday. Practice sheets will be due on Tuesday. Final test is on Friday.

English: We continue chapter 1 this week, focusing on simple subjects & predicates and subjects in the imperative.

Reading: We continue with Tall Tales. The skills specifically targeted will be identifying story structure and distinguishing between exaggerated and realistic story elements. As a review, we will use our visualization skills, define unknown words using context clues, and define and use roots, affixes, prefixes, and suffixes. We will also discuss and practice using similes and metaphors. This week we will be writing our own tall tales with plenty of similes and metaphors!

Social Studies: On Monday we will start our Aztec masks. Later in the week we will read, discuss, and take notes on lesson 3, “Life in New Spain.” Look out for a How to Study sheet because I foresee our first social studies test on 9/20.

Science: We read and discussed lesson 3 from our book and took notes on the scientific method. There will be an open note/book quiz on Tuesday on lesson 3. The week will end with an interesting experiment where we will use the scientific method.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
Our chapter 1 test will be on Tuesday. Please make sure your child has finished the pretest given to them as homework today. We will continue to review the chapter on Monday. Chapter 2 on multiplication is next!

Important Dates:

District Magazine Drive -- Magazine Order Turn-in days: 9/20, 9/27, 9/29
September 30 -- Early Dismissal
October 10 -- Columbus Day -- No School
October 27 -- School Improvement Day/Early Dismissal

Enjoy your weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 9/5/11-9/9/11

We have completed our first full week of curriculum work. I have already added some grades, so please make sure to check your child's grades frequently. Curriculum night is Tuesday, September 6th from 6:30-7:30. The presentation will begin in the gym with Mrs. Schultz. You will then be visiting your child's math teacher before you come to me in homeroom. You will have an opportunity to sign up for first trimester conferences in our classroom. I hope to see you all on Tuesday!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 2 pretest will be on Tuesday. Homework from the workbook will be assigned on Tuesday and due on Thursday. Practice sheets will be due on Wednesday. Final test is on Friday.

English: We continue chapter 1 this week, focusing on subjects, simple subjects, and predicates. Get ready to meet Mr. Morton! He is a Schoolhouse Rock character and the students love this video!

Reading: We continue this week with Tall Tales. The skills specifically targeted will be identifying story structure and distinguishing between exaggerated and realistic story elements. As a review, we will use our visualization skills and define unknown words using context clues. We will also discuss and practice using similes and metaphors, which can be used to write a tall tale of their own!

Social Studies: We continue plowing through chapter 4 and will specifically focus on lesson 2 this week, “Different Worlds Collide.” We took our lesson 1 notes as a class, but after reading lesson2 I will expect the students to pair up and write their own on a graphic organizer. Don't worry, we go over them explicitly.

Science: Plan on a quiz on the tools scientists use on Wednesday. The students have notes on all the tools to study from. We will discuss the scientific method this week.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We continue chapter 1 this week, focusing on lessons 4, 5, and 6. Students will be rounding whole numbers, estimating sums and differences, and adding and subtracting whole numbers. After some review, I foresee a chapter 1 test on 9/13.

Important Dates:
9/5 – Labor Day (no school)
9/6 – Curriculum Night for 4th and 5th grades (6:30-7:30)

Have a wonderful 3-day weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 8/29/11 - 9/2/11

It's hard to believe that summer is almost over and we are in full swing at Prairieview School. We completed our first week and I am happy to report that we have had a wonderful time getting to know each other. I hope your child shared some of the information they learned about me! I will be blogging every week on Friday and will attach it to a weekly email. Feel free to reply if you have any questions or concerns. Let the games begin!!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 1 pretest will be on Monday. Homework will be assigned on Monday and due on Thursday. Final test is on Friday.

English:We will learn about sentences this week, focusing on the four types of sentences: declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory. We will also be working on our own autobiographical poems.

Reading: We begin our year with Tall Tales. The skills we will specifically target will be identifying story structure and distinguishing between exaggerated and realistic story elements. As a review, we will also use our visualization skills and define unknown words using context clues. This week we will be reading about Bess Call and Paul Bunyon.

Social Studies: After textbooks are assigned, we will have a scavenger hunt! We will then start the book in chapter 4, lesson 1, “The Voyages of Columbus.”

Science: We will learn about various tools scientists use; each student will then draw their own scientist and describe him/her.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
After a textbook scavenger hunt, we will begin Chapter 1 which focuses on place value, addition, and subtraction. We will only have math on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday due to MAPs testing.

Important Dates:
9/6 – Labor Day (no school)
9/7 – Curriculum Night for 4th and 5th grades (6:30-7:30)

Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza