Week of 12/16

Odds and Ends: 

*Bowling: We will be bowling with PE on Thurs. 12/19. It is optional for you to send money with your child for concessions. If you do, please do not plan on signing up for hot lunch that day since we arrive back to school right before lunch and often the students are not very hungry for their lunch that day.

* Tivoli Field Trip: We will be going to view The Tale of Despereaux on Fri. 12/20.

*Donations Needed: As a fun, culminating states of matter activity, I would like to make ice cream with the students. I am in need of the following ingredients. Please email me if you are able to send these items in on or before Thurs. 12/19. THANK YOU!

1 gallon of whole milk 

1 bag of sugar

20 plastic spoons

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 12/16: Science: Insulators Due 

*Tues. 12/17: Early Dismissal

* Wed. 12/18: Science: Ch. 11 Matter Test

*Thurs. 12/19: English: Ch. 3 Verbs Test
Bowling Field Trip AM

*Fri. 12/20: Reading: December Reading Calendar Due
Science: Matter Matters Money due $7.50
Math: 10s Division/Multiplication Test
Spelling: Prefix/Suffix Review
Holiday Movie at Tivoli

*Tues. 1/7: MAPs Reading Test

* Wed. 1/8: MAPs Math Test
Matter Matters in class field trip

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will wrap up our novel book buddies as we compare novels and discuss authors point of view and purpose. We will also work on our non fiction close reading, note taking, and research as we work on our weather project.  Reminder: December reading calendar due (only 18 days need to be completed).

*English: We will be wrapping up our unit on verbs. A study guide was sent home. We will be reviewing all of the concepts next week before the test on Thurs.

*Spelling: We will spend the week focusing on prefix/suffix. There will be a test on Fri. 12/20.  Your child can use their packet in their spelling folder to help practice locating prefix/base word/suffix and know the meanings of the prefixes and suffixes.

*Science:  We will work on some hands on activities for ch. 11 matter. A study guide was sent home. A test will be on Wed. 12/18.  Also, we will be finishing up matter after break with a hands on, in school field trip by High Tech, High Touch. Please send in $7.50 to cover the cost of this field trip by Fri. 12/20. Thank you!

* Social Studies: We will begin our unit on immigration and culture when we return from break.

* Math: We will focus on ch. 6 patterns in division and multiplication in 2, 5, and 10's. Our focus for the fluency test will be 10's this week. Please review the 10's facts nightly. The graded test will be on Fri. 12/20.  We will finish ch. 6 before the break but there will not be an end of the unit test for this chapter. We will begin ch. 7 when we return. Please encourage your child to study their multiplication and division facts over break. We will continue our weekly fact focus when we return and the facts get more difficult. Any practice and review will help!

Enjoy your weekend and have fun in the snow!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 12/9

Odds and Ends: 

*Scholastic Book Order: If you would like to place an online order through Scholastic this weekend in time for the holidays, please email me when you are done ordering. I will submit the order early next week so we can have delivery before winter break. If you'd like to pick up the items rather than be sent home with your child, please let me know and we can make arrangements! 

*Winter Wear Drive: Please continue to send in your gently used or new coats and winter accessories to help those in need! We have been filling up the donation box and would love to see more items come in! Thank you for your generosity!

* Prize Box: We are in need of donations to our prize box! Please send in any small, gently used or new items that the students can "shop" for using goodie tickets. Some popular items are pencils, eraser, stickers, key chains, folders, little notepads, socks, gloves, mini stuffed animals, trading cards, etc. Thank you!!!

Also, we are out of snacks and juice boxes for our extra bin. If you can send in any non perishable, healthy snack items, it would be much appreciated! Thanks! 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Tues. 12/10: PV Holiday Concert 9:00 am
Math: Chapter 5 Test

*Fri. 12/13: Spirit Day: Comfy Pants Day
Math: 5's multiplication/ division test

*Tues. 12/17: Early Dismissal

*Wed. 12/18: Science: Matter Test

* Thurs. 12/19: Bowling 9-11 am

*Fri. 12/20: Math: 10's division and multiplication test
Movie at the Tivoli
Begin Winter Break!

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We are focusing on close reading non fiction text. We are also working on finishing up our book buddies with a culminating project on character inferences.

*English: We are working on ch. 3 verbs: We will complete this chapter before break. The test is tentatively scheduled for the last week of break. More information coming soon!

*Spelling: We will take a break from our traditional spelling lists for the week as we focus on prefix and suffix. Your child will receive a packet of activity pages we will work on both in school and at home. The test will be the week before break.

*Science: We are busy working on ch. 11 Matter. We will finish this unit before break as well, and the test is scheduled for Wed. 12/18. We will do some fun experiments as we learn about the states of matter and physical and chemical changes.

*Math: We will wrap up ch. 5 with a test Tues. 12/10. This will cover the concepts of division. A study guide, vocabulary flashcards, and practice questions were sent home today. Hopefully your child remembered their math workbook this weekend to study! We will begin ch. 6 which will focus on the 2's, 5's and 10's multiplication and division patterns. We will focus on the 5's next week with a timed test on Friday.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs.Olsen

Week of 12/9

Odds and Ends: 

*Winter Wear Drive: Please continue to send in your gently used or new coats and winter accessories to help those in need! We have been filling up the donation box and would love to see more items come in! Thank you for your generosity!

* Prize Box: We are in need of donations to our prize box! Please send in any small, gently used or new items that the students can "shop" for using goodie tickets. Some popular items are pencils, eraser, stickers, key chains, folders, little notepads, socks, gloves, mini stuffed animals, trading cards, etc. Thank you!!!

Also, we are out of snacks and juice boxes for our extra bin. If you can send in any non perishable, healthy snack items, it would be much appreciated! Thanks! 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Tues. 12/10: PV Holiday Concert 9:00 am
Math: Chapter 5 Test

*Fri. 12/13: Spirit Day: Comfy Pants Day
Math: 5's multiplication/ division test

*Tues. 12/17: Early Dismissal

*Wed. 12/18: Science: Matter Test

* Thurs. 12/19: Bowling 9-11 am

*Fri. 12/20: Math: 10's division and multiplication test
Movie at the Tivoli
Begin Winter Break!

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We are focusing on close reading non fiction text. We are also working on finishing up our book buddies with a culminating project on character inferences.

*English: We are working on ch. 3 verbs: We will complete this chapter before break. The test is tentatively scheduled for the last week of break. More information coming soon!

*Spelling: We will take a break from our traditional spelling lists for the week as we focus on prefix and suffix. Your child will receive a packet of activity pages we will work on both in school and at home. The test will be the week before break.

*Science: We are busy working on ch. 11 Matter. We will finish this unit before break as well, and the test is scheduled for Wed. 12/18. We will do some fun experiments as we learn about the states of matter and physical and chemical changes.

*Math: We will wrap up ch. 5 with a test Tues. 12/10. This will cover the concepts of division. A study guide, vocabulary flashcards, and practice questions were sent home today. Hopefully your child remembered their math workbook this weekend to study! We will begin ch. 6 which will focus on the 2's, 5's and 10's multiplication and division patterns. We will focus on the 5's next week with a timed test on Friday.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs.Olsen

Week of 12/4

Odds and Ends: 

*Happy Thanksgiving All! I want to wish each of you a Thanksgiving holiday full of delicious food, loving family and friends, and relaxation! I am thankful for each one of you!

Prairieview School-Community Service Project

proudly collected

$550

to sponsor an Edward Hospital Animal Assisted Therapy Program!!!

Thanks to everyone who donated!!!

Thank you to Mr. Arnold for visiting our room and teaching us all about his many roles and responsibilities as our superintendent! The students loved talking with him and asking him so many questions!

Winter Wear Drive:  Remember we are still collecting coats, gloves, scarves, mittens, and snow pants for our Winter Wear drive. The items will be given to students in need. Give the gift of warmth this holiday season!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Wed-Fri: No School: Happy Thanksgiving!

*Mon. 12/2: Reading: November Reading Calendars Due

* Wed. 12/4: Social Studies: Ch. 12 and Downers Grove Test

* Fri. 12/6: Spelling: List 13 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue to work with our book buddies. We are going to do work on  character trait inferences and comparisons between characters in our different books. We will also look at author's purpose and point of view.

* English: We will begin to work on Verbs: ch. 3.

*Spelling: We will work on list 13.

*Social Studies: We will be wrapping up our unit on Downers Grove and local governments. A study guide was sent home this week. The test will be Wed. 12/4. Our next unit is immigration and culture.

*Science: We will begin our next unit: matter.

*Math: The students are busy learning about division concepts. We are learning about equal groups, dividend, divisor, quotients, and repeated subtraction. We will also begin to learn the 2's facts in both multiplication and division.

 Enjoy your time off together! Happy Turkey Day!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 11/25

Odds and Ends:

* Thanksgiving Break: We will have school Mon. -Tues. next week and then have Wed. - Fri. off as we celebrate Thanksgiving.



*Donations Needed: We are in need of prizes for our prize box as well as extra snacks (pretzels, juice boxes, gold fish crackers, etc) for snack. Thank you for considering donating some items to our classroom!

*Winter Coat Drive: We are collecting gently used coats and new winter accessories to be given to students in need. Please look through your closets for coats that you no longer wear or have outgrown and help another child or adult stay warm this winter season!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 11/25: Roller Skating Party after school

*Tues. 11/26: English : Ch 2 Nouns test

*No School Wed-Fri.

* Mon. 12/2: Reading: November Reading Calendars due

*Wed. 12/4: Social Studies: Ch. 12 and Downers Grove test

*Fri. 12/6: Spelling: List 13 test

A LOOK AHEAD:

*Reading: The students are working hard as they work on a variety of reading strategies using their good fit book buddy books. We also began Time for Kids.

*English: We are wrapping up our unit on Nouns. A study packet was given to the students. Please use this to study for the test on Tues. 11/26. Students have been working hard on writing their raindrop stories. We used google docs to write our stories. Please have your child log on this weekend at home and help them correct their stories. They have off to a fabulous start and just need an extra set of eyes to adjust their sentences and stories a bit. Enjoy reading all about the adventures their raindrops go on! Thanks!

*Spelling: We will not have spelling next week. We will resume with list 13 following break.

*Social Studies: We invited Mr. Arnold to visit our room on Mon. to discuss his role as a community leader as we learn about local government and community leaders. We will finish up our ch. 12 and modern day Downers Grove unit. Look for a study guide coming home soon. The test is scheduled for Wed. 12/4.

*Science: We will begin our next unit on matter soon!

*Math: Students are exploring concepts in division as we learn about partitions, dividends, divisors, and quotients. We are learning how multiplication and division are related and how to make equal groups.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 11/18

Odds and Ends:

*Thank you to Mrs. Singh, Mrs. Townsend, Mrs. Hiatt, Mrs. Cimbalista, and Mrs. Allington for chaperoning our Downers Grove Field Trip. We lucked out with a sunny day and had a great trip. The students learned so much and loved seeing the history lessons come alive.

Prairieview School-Community Service Project

Animal Assisted Therapy Program-Edward Hospital

Prairieview School, in Downers Grove, (3^rd, 4^th and 5^th Graders) is proud to have an opportunity to sponsor an Edward Hospital therapy dog.  The students are looking forward to sponsoring, Kodi.

Prairieview School will take donations until November 19^th!

If you want to learn more about this Animal Assisted Therapy Program go the the following link:  httpwww.edward.org/animalassistedtherapy

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 11/18: Turkey in Disguise Due

*Tues. 11/19: Assisted Animal Therapy Money Due
Math: Ch. 4 Test

*Wed. 11/20: Early Dismissal
Science: Chapter 9 Test

*Fri. 11/22: Spelling: List 12 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue our guided reading groups. We will work on cause and effect and inferences. Also, students have 4 new dinner plate words. We will take a short graded review over the words on Tues. They are boost, barrier, recommend, and gratitude. They have a challenge to use the words as much as they can over the weekend!

*English: We will continue to study nouns.  Students are also working on writing a story about weather and the water cycle from the point of view of a raindrop.

* Spelling: We are on list 12 this week.

*Science: We will be wrapping up our study of the water cycle and weather. Our test will be on Wed. 11/20. We will continue to research weather using non fiction books and websites.  We will write expository papers on our chosen weather related topic.

*Social Studies: We will continue to study local government and modern day Downers Grove. A test  will be announced soon.

*Math: The students are wrapping up their studies on the concepts of multiplication. A study check list was sent home. The test is scheduled for Tues. 11/19. We will begin to learn about the concepts of division in ch. 5.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Activities to work on Multiplication!

Here are some great websites to practice repeated addition, arrays, and equal grouping for multiplication!

1. Work with arrays and the commutative property of multiplication (where order of the factors doesn't matter or change the product!)

http://www.snappymaths.com/multiplication/earlymult/interactive/arrays/arraysframe.htm

2.  Work on equal groups in multiplication:

http://www.softschools.com/counting/games/multiplication.jsp

3.  Want a challenge? Try these multiplication word problems!

http://www.softschools.com/quizzes/math/multiplication_word_problems/quiz1059.html

4. A Thanksgiving Themed Multiplication Quiz:

http://www.softschools.com/quizzes/math/multiplication_word_problems/quiz1059.html

5. Making Arrays...note...this is "backwards" from what we practice in class, but a great way to see the commutative property in action!

http://www.haelmedia.com/OnlineActivities_txh/mc_txh3_002.html

Have fun practicing!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 11/12

Odds and Ends: 

*Conferences: It was great to meet with all of the parents during conferences this week. It is always wonderful to touch base about your child's progress. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to call or email at any time!

*Scholastic Book Order: A November book order has been sent home this week. All orders are due by Fri. 11/15. Please consider placing your order online to help us (and you!) earn free books! Thanks!

* Field Trip: Our Downers Grove field trip is set for Thurs. 11/14. I will be contacting chaperons soon. Please watch the weather forecast for Thurs. because we get off and on the bus and walk around outside, so students need to dress for the weather! I am looking forward to fun and educational day together!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Fri. 11/8: No School

*Mon. 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day

*Wed. 11/13: Reading: Cliffhanger Vocab Quiz

*Thurs. 11/14: Downers Grove Field trip
No math

*Fri. 11/15: Spelling: List 11 Test
English: DOL #5 quiz: quotations
Scholastic Book Order Due
Word of the Day week 3 graded review (dinner plate words)

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue to practice cause and effect and character inference as we discuss Cliffhanger. The students will have a vocab. quiz on the 6 vocabulary words in their binder for Cliffhanger on Wed. 11/13. We will also be working on non fiction text and novel studies in guided reading.

*English: We are working on nouns in a subject and plural nouns. We will begin our study of possessive nouns.  We will also practice quotations all week as we prepare for our DOL #5 quiz on Fri. 11/15 covering how to use quotations correctly.

*Spelling: We will work on list 11 this week. There will be only 2 homework assignments due to the shortened week due Thurs. The test will be Fri.

*Science: We will continue to learn about weather and clouds in ch. 9. Your child is writing a story from the point of view of a water droplet as it travels through the water cycle, types of water, clouds, and weather. What fun! A study guide was sent home this week. The ch. 9 test is scheduled for 11/20.

*Social Studies:  We are working on local government as we learn about modern day Downers Grove. We will be using ch. 12 from our textbooks as we learn about the roles and responsibilities of a local government.

*Math: The students are doing a great job learning the foundation of multiplication concepts! We have been busy learning about multiplication as equal groups, arrays, and repeated addition. We will continue to practice these skills and apply them to problem solving this week.

Enjoy your LONG weekends together!
Mrs.Olsen

Week of 11/4

Odds and Ends: 

*Thank you to the wonderful room parents who helped organize and celebrate a great Halloween party with the students. Thank you for Mrs. Lafin, Mrs. Bende, Mrs. Townsend, Mrs. Singh, Mrs. Orozco, Mrs. Stanley,  Mrs. Jaikovski, and all of the other parents who helped plan the party and send in items. It was a great success!

* Please take a look at the earlier posts on our blog: I posted lots of pictures of what we have been doing in class. I plan on posting some videos and more pictures soon!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 11/4: PM Parent Teacher Conferences
Bears Spirit Day!

*Tues. 11/5: PM Parent Teacher Conferences

*Wed. 11/6: PM Parent Teacher Conferences

*Thurs. 11/7: Friday specials schedule
Spelling: List 10 Test
Reading: Word A Day Week 2 review

*Fri. 11/8: No School

*Mon. 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will focus on cause and effect and non fiction text. We will also work in book groups as we continue to practice making inferences.

We have also been working to build our academic vocabulary with "Weekly Wise Words". Your child has been taking home a "place mat" with our dinner plate words on them. Each day of the week, your child will be introduced to a new word. We discuss the meaning, how to use it in a sentence, its part of speech, and do some activities with the word. The students' daily goal is to use the word in school and at home as much as they can...calling them dinner plate words remind them to discuss the words around the dinner table! We did a practice test this week. Next week they will take a short graded review over the words on Thurs.

*English: We will focus on nouns and DOL #5: quotations. Look for your child's pretest in their English folder.

*Spelling: This week we will work on list 10. There will only be 2 homework assignments for the short week. The test will be on Thurs.

*Social Studies: We will begin our modern day portion of our Downers Grove unit. We will also learn about local governments in ch.12. A permission slip will be sent home on Mon. for our upcoming field trip to visit some of the historic places in Downers Grove. We will go on Thurs. 11/14. Please send back the permission slip and money by Thurs. 11/7.

*Science: We will continue to talk about the water cycle as well as weather. We will be doing close readings of weather text and learning about non fiction text features using a variety of leveled weather related books.

*Math: We are busy answering the question, "What is Multiplication?" We have been learning about making equal groups of objects, arrays, repeated addition, and the commutative property of multiplication. We will continue to practice the concept of multiplication next week. Look for your child's ch. 3 subtraction test coming home next week...I had to delay sending it home until all tests were completed. Thank you for your patience!

Have a great weekend!!!!

Mrs. Olsen