Week of 1/30/12 - 2/3/12

Argonne field trip permission slips will be coming home on Monday. They will be due back to me by Friday. The field trip for our class will be 2/16.

An important message from the office: Somehow, some parents have a copy of the unadopted calendar. Friday, February 17, was originally scheduled as a Teacher Institute-- that is not the case any longer. We will be in school that day. We do have a Teachers' Institute on Tuesday, March 20. Also, Friday, May 18, (not Thursday, May 17th) is another Early Dismissal/SIP Day. The correct calendar is on the website on the left under "calendars" -- "11/12 School Year"; this is the calendar that was adopted & revised on June 14, 2011

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 19 – Pretest Monday, practice sheet due Tuesday. Homework due Thursday and test on Friday.

English: We have started our “Me Front Page” activity which will use the 7 traits of writing. The lead story will be typed this week and is written in the third person, as if a reporter were writing about the student.

Reading: We will be identifying cause and effect relationships using a variety of instructional materials. This week, we will read Katie's Trunk in our literature books.

Social Studies: We will finish chapter 8 this week. Our puzzle pieces on Paul Revere, Lexington-Concord, and Bunker Hill are due Monday. The test is on Friday. On Wednesday, I will be introducing my “webquest” activity. The students will have an opportunity to search the web and choose a project from a long list pertaining to the American Revolution. Much of this will have to be done at home, but there will be time at school offered to the children, too. Hopefully, they will use their time wisely! They will have an entire week to finish this project. Students in the past have found this activity to be very enjoyable.

Science: Chapter 15, Forms of Energy, will be completed this week. We will read and take notes on lesson 4, have a quick study on Wednesday, and the test on Monday, 2/6.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: After a fun symmetry project on Monday, we will start chapter 4, Algebra. This week we will focus on writing and evaluating algebraic expressions and also the math properties. A quick quiz on lessons 1-3 will follow on Friday.

Important Dates:

February 1 – Great America Read to Succeed program ends
February 14 – Valentine's Day (party)
February 16 – Argonne Field Trip

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 1/23/12 - 1/27/12

As we anticipate another snowstorm, please check out all of our assignments and activities for the coming week. Don't forget... Early dismissal is on Wednesday.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 18 – Pretest Monday, practice sheet due Tuesday. Homework due Thursday and test on Friday.

English: There will be a pronouns test on Monday. Later in the week we will start our “Me Front Page” activity which will use the 7 traits of writing.

Reading: This week, we continue our focus on the skill Author's Viewpoint. This skill provides excellent practice in using the text to support answers to comprehension questions. Our story is And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? which ties in nicely with our social studies curriculum! We will also be reviewing the familiar skill of prediction as well. Lastly, we'll work on our extended responses.

Social Studies: We will continue chapter 8 this week. We will focus on Paul Revere and his famous ride and Lexington-Concord and Bunker Hill. Tentative test date for chapter 8 is Friday, 2/3.

Science: Lesson 3, the transfer of heat, is our next lesson. We'll take some notes and finish the week with a quick study.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: We will finish up chapter 18, geometry. We'll be specifically studying congruent and similar figures and symmetry. Our test is planned for Friday, 1/27.

Important Dates:

January 24 -- District Spelling Bee
January 25 -- School Improvement -- Early Dismissal
February 1 – Great America Read to Succeed program ends

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 1/16/12 - 1/20/12

What a crazy weather week we've had! I personally prefer the warmth, but I knew it was bound to change sooner or later. Congratulations to Anupama and John for winning our classroom spelling bee! On to the 5^th grade bee on Wednesday. We wish them luck!

Please make sure you read the parent traffic alert that went out earlier this week, especially now with all the snow and ice on the ground. We need to keep our children safe!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 17 – Pretest Tuesday, practice sheet due Wednesday. Homework due Thursday and test on Friday.

English: We will be finishing up our Pronouns unit this week. Our last lesson is using we and us with nouns. Our test on chapter 6 is Monday, 1/23.

Reading: This week, we begin our focus on the skill Author's Viewpoint. In this skill, students will identify how the author feels about the topic they are writing about, as well as indicate words, phrases, or sentences in the text that help to "reveal" this viewpoint. This skill provides excellent practice in using the text to support their answers. We will also be reviewing the familiar skill of prediction as well. Our story this week is And then What Happened, Paul Revere?

Social Studies: We will continue chapter 8 this week. Did your child tell you about The King's Gold game that we played? I hope they understand how it feels to be taxed unfairly and with no representation. We'll be reading about the Boston Massacre this week.

Science: Lesson 2, types of energy, is our next lesson. We'll take some more triangle notes and finish the week with a quick study.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: Our focus will be chapter 18, geometry. We'll be specifically studying points, lines, and angles before a quiz which is planned for Friday, 1/20.

Important Dates:

January 16 -- M.L. King Holiday -- No School
January 16 -- PTO DineOut Fundraiser -- TGIFriday's
January 18 – 5^th Grade Spelling Bee
January 25 -- School Improvement -- Early Dismissal (11:00)
February 1 – Great America Read to Succeed program ends

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 1/9/12 -1/13/12

Happy New Year everyone! It's great to be back at school after the long, restful break. I was in Disneyworld with my family, not sure how restful that was... We are ready to start 2012!

This past week was our first session of T.G.F.D. which stands for Too Good For Drugs. This is a substance abuse prevention curriculum. There will be a total of 10 lessons that focus on the dangerous substances that are used widely by young people. There will be homework going home that needs to be done with a family member. Ask your child about it! Deputy Seward will be facilitating this program for the 5th grade. Also, we will be taking our MAPs tests on Monday and Thursday. Children are reminded to get a good night's sleep, eat a good breakfast and lunch, concentrate, and relax.

Please be advised that it is Prairieview's turn to volunteer for Market Day and this Saturday is our first time. If you can help, please report to Lakeview at 8:00 a.m. Thanks so much.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 16 – Pretest Monday, practice sheet due Tuesday. Homework due Thursday and test on Friday.

English: We will continue our chapter on pronouns this week, specifically possessive pronouns, contractions with pronouns, and double subjects. Tentative date for test is Monday, 1/23.

Reading: This week we will continue focusing on identifying main ideas and details and using them to summarize a text. We have been reading The Golden Lion Tamarin Comes Home and practicing picking out the main idea and details in this non fiction story.

Social Studies: We will continue chapter 8 this week. The colonists are angry with King George III because he has been taxing them. They say “no taxation without representation!” We will be playing “The King's Gold” on Thursday so students can get a good idea of what the colonists were experiencing.

Science: This week we will begin chapter 15 on Energy. We will specifically focus on kinetic and potential energy. A quick study on the first lesson will be on Friday.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class: Students will be taking MAPs tests on Monday and Thursday of this week so we have to eliminate math. However, we have pretty much wrapped up chapter 24 and after reviewing on Tuesday, a test will be taken on Wednesday.

Important Dates:

January 7 – Market Day at LV; Prairieview hosts
January 9 & 12 – MAPs testing (Reading/Math, respectively)
January 16 -- M.L. King Holiday -- No School
January 16 -- PTO DineOut Fundraiser -- TGIFriday's
January 25 -- School Improvement -- Early Dismissal
February 1 – Great America Read to Succeed program ends

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza