Thursday, February 27, 2014

Reading Next week we will read aloud It Could Still be a Worm, by Allan Fowler. This book is a simple introduction to the earthworm, roundworm, flatworm, and other kinds of worms. We will also read aloud Plants that Eat Animals, by Allan Fowler. A variety of carnivorous plants, including Venus's-flytrap, sundew, pitcher plant, and bladderwort are described. The comprehension strategies and skills will focus on main idea and details, and wondering to make sense of a non fiction text. 

Language Arts Our grammar lesson will focus on proper nouns and compound words. We will also revisit dictionary skills. 

Reading Logs  Please continue to log minutes with your child in their February reading log.  Reading Logs are due Monday, March 3.

Ozzie's Reading Club  All students are official members of the Ozzie Reading Club. If they continue to read and log their minutes for the next 8 weeks they will receive a ticket to the Kane County Cougars minor league baseball game. Make sure to send in the log when it is complete.

Math Our chapter test on "Count Money" will be Tuesday. The next chapter is "Use Money". Students will compare amounts of money, problem solve using the strategy act it out, and add and subtract money.  

Flash Cards  Students should be practicing their addition facts with their flash cards and Rocket Math fact sheets. Weekly timed tests are given.

Here is a website where you can make fact timed tests:
  http://www.mathfactcafe.com/build/

Social Studies:  Students are learning about different devices that people use to communicate with one another. They will also explore how people travel over great distances.

Science  We will begin the unit Our Earth. Students will read and learn about changes to Earth's surface. 

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Star Student of the Week  Lauren was our star student of the week. When she is at school she enjoys reading and math. When she is at home she likes to play with her cats, roller blade and watch the movie Frozen. When she grows up she would like to be an actress. Lauren is a star because she is good at roller blading. Thanks for sharing Lauren!

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Important Dates & Announcements

Conferences will be scheduled on a as needed basis. Elizabeth Ide will be using an online sign up sheet. An email was sent out to invite you to sign up for conferences. If you do not receive an invitation, but would like to schedule a conference, please email me. 

February Dates to Remember

28 - County Institute Day - No School

March Dates to Remember

  6 - Field Trip to Rialto Square Theater - Send a sack lunch

12 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

13 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

17 - No School

18 - Teacher Institute/Election Day

31 - Spring Break

April Dates to Remember

  7 - Classes Resume

17 - Early Dismissal @12pm
18 - No School - Good Friday

February 21, 2014

Reading Next week we will read aloud The Name Jar, by Yangsook Choi. It is about a young girl from Korea who is anxious about making friends, and worried that no one will be able to pronounce her name. When introducing herself at school, she decides to pick a new name,but doesn't know which name to choose. The comprehension strategies and skills will focus on inferring, sequencing and predicting. 

Language Arts Our grammar lesson will focus on nouns that change the spelling in the plural and pronouns.

Reading Logs  Please continue to log minutes with your child in their February reading log.

Ozzie's Reading Club  All students are official members of the Ozzie Reading Club. If they continue to read and log their minutes for the next 8 weeks they will receive a ticket to the Kane County Cougars minor league baseball game. Make sure to send in the log when it is complete.

Six Flags Read to Succeed  Don't forget to log your minutes. To participate, you need to read for fun for a total of six hours or 360 minutes and turn in your completed log by February 24. When this is complete you will qualify for a free ticked to Six Flags theme park.

Math We will continue the chapter on Money. Students will count collections of coins and problem solve using the strategy make a list.

Flash Cards  Students should be practicing their addition facts with their flash cards and Rocket Math fact sheets. Weekly timed tests are given.

Here is a website where you can make fact timed tests:
  http://www.mathfactcafe.com/build/

Social Studies:  Students are learning about artifacts and how they provide useful information about the past and how people still use some of the things that were made by others long ago.

Science  We will continue learning about animal life cycles. A chapter test on animals will be given next week. Check your child's assignment notebook for the exact date and study guide. 

**************************************************************Star Student of the Week  Dennis was our star student of the week. When he is at school he enjoys math. When he is at home he likes to build with his legos. When he grows up she would like to be an airplane mechanic. Dennis is a star because he tries his best at school. Thanks for sharing Dennis!

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Important Dates & Announcements

Conferences will be scheduled on a as needed basis. Elizabeth Ide will be using an online sign up sheet. On February 27th an email will be sent out to invite you to sign up for conferences. If you do not receive an invitation, but would like to schedule a conference, please email me. 

February Dates to Remember

22 - Snowflake Ball
24 - Six Flags Read to Succeed Logs are due
27 - Field Trip Money is Due
27 - Jump Rope For Heart Envelopes are due

28 - County Institute Day - No School

March Dates to Remember

12 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
13 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
17 - No School-Conferences

18 - Teacher Institute/Election Day

31 - Spring Break

April Dates to Remember

  7 - Classes Resume

17 - Early Dismissal @12pm
18 - No School - Good Friday
24 - Spring Open House and Book Fair

  

Friday, February 14, 2014

Reading Next week we will be focusing on biographies. The students will read the biographies of Ellen Ochoa, Theodore Roosevelt and Wilma Rudolph. They will learn that a biography is s true story about someone's life. Then they will choose a famous person, read their biography, and write a time line of the most important events in this famous person's life.The comprehension strategies and skills will focus on understanding a biography and evaluate.

Language Arts We will discuss nouns and pronouns.

Reading Logs  Please continue to log minutes with your child in their February reading log.

Ozzie's Reading Club  All students are official members of the Ozzie Reading Club. If they continue to read and log their minutes for the next 8 weeks they will receive a ticket to the Kane County Cougars minor league baseball game. Make sure to send in the log when it is complete.

Six Flags Read to Succeed  Don't forget to log your minutes. To participate, you need to read for fun for a total of six hours or 360 minutes and turn in your completed log by February 24. When this is complete you will qualify for a free ticked to Six Flags theme park.

Math We will begin our next chapter Money on Tuesday. Students will determine the value of coins, including pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars. 

If you have not already, please send the following coins in a small container or ziploc bag clearly marked with your child's name for our next unit, Money:

20 pennies
10 nickels
10 dimes
7 quarters


Please send them in with your child onTuesday!


Flash Cards  Students should be practicing their addition facts with their flash cards and Rocket Math fact sheets. Weekly timed tests are given.

Here is a website where you can make fact timed tests:
  http://www.mathfactcafe.com/build/

Social Studies:  Students are learning about some of the important local and national landmarks that tell about our country's past.

Science  Next week we complete an activity on classifying animals. We will begin learning about animal life cycles.

**************************************************************Star Student of the Week  Brooke was our star student of the week. When she is at school she enjoys reading, Daily 5, recess and lunch. When she is at home she likes to read, play games and play with her dog. When she grows up she would like to be an owl seeker. Brooke is a star because she is helpful with everything. Thanks for sharing Brooke!

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Important Dates & Announcements

I would like to give a big thanks to  Mrs. Rivera for planning a wonderful Valentine's Day party. Thank you to all our party helpers: Mrs. Kerfin, our party helper and bringing in donuts, Mrs. Kenyeri for sending cookies, Mrs. Mendoza for sending fruit, Mrs. Stewart and Mrs. Murthy for sending juice and Mrs. Clair for sending plates and napkins. We appreciate all your support!

February Dates to Remember

17 - President's Day - No School

20 - Spring Picture Day

22 - Snowflake Ball
24 - Six Flags Read to Succeed Logs are due
27 - Jump Rope For Heart Envelopes are due

28 - County Institute Day - No School

March Dates to Remember

17 - Conference Day - No School

18 - Teacher Institute/Election Day

31 - Spring Break

April Dates to Remember

  7 - Classes Resume

17 - Early Dismissal @12pm
18 - No School - Good Friday
24 - Spring Open House and Book Fair

  

Friday, February 7, 2014

  

Reading Next week we will read Mrs. Brown Went to Town, by Wong Herbert Yee. Life on the farm changes when Mrs. Brown goes to the hospital and a cow, two pigs, three ducks, and a yak move into her house. The comprehension strategies and skills will focus on predicting outcomes, story structure and summarizing.

Language Arts We will discuss verbs, synonyms and homonyms.

Reading Logs  Please continue to log minutes with your child in their February reading log.

Ozzie's Reading Club  All students are official members of the Ozzie Reading Club. If they continue to read and log their minutes for the next 8 weeks they will receive a ticket to the Kane County Cougars minor league baseball game. Make sure to send in the log when it is complete.

Six Flags Read to Succeed  Don't forget to log your minutes. To participate, you need to read for fun for a total of six hours or 360 minutes and turn in your completed log by February 24. When this is complete you will qualify for a free ticked to Six Flags theme park.

Math Students will be interpreting data in picture graphs and use that information to solve problems, make picture graphs to represent data, use a line plot to display data, and follow directions to locate points on a grid.

Please send the following coins in a small container or ziploc bag clearly marked with your child's name for our next unit Money:

20 pennies
10 nickels
10 dimes
7 quarters


Please send them in by Monday, February 10^th


Flash Cards  Students should be practicing their addition facts with their flash cards and Rocket Math fact sheets. Weekly timed tests are given.

Here is a website where you can make fact timed tests:
  http://www.mathfactcafe.com/build/

Social Studies:  We began the unit People and Places in History. Students are learning about how holidays mark or remember important events from the past as well as certain customs people follow during holidays.

Science  We began the the chapter on Animals. In our first lesson, we compared body coverings of mammals and birds. Next week we will find out how to classify animals. We will read about reptiles, amphibians and fish.

**************************************************************Star Student of the Week  Sean was our star student of the week. When he is at school he enjoys recess. When he is at home he likes to play video games with his dad. When he grows up she would like to work for Disney. Sean is a star because he is helpful. Thanks for sharing Sean!

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Important Dates & Announcements

February Dates to Remember

 The First 100 Days of School!

We are asking that each student bring in 5 cans to help our classroom reach the goal of 100 cans by February 13th. Cans will be donated to the West Suburban Community pantry. Currently the pantry is in need of hearty soups, canned chicken, and canned tuna. Thanks in advance for your participation!

Thank you PTO for bringing Tim Hannig and Seeds for Character to Ide. It was an oustanding show and the children loved it!

14 - Classroom Valentine Parties

17 - President's Day - No School

20 - Spring Picture Day

22 - Snowflake Ball

28 - County Institute Day - No School

March Dates to Remember

17 - Conference Day - No School

18 - Teacher Institute/Election Day

31 - Spring Break

April Dates to Remember

  7 - Classes Resume

17 - Early Dismissal @12pm
18 - No School - Good Friday
24 - Spring Open House and Book Fair