Odds and Ends
* ISAT Week: The ISAT's are upon us and the students (and teachers) are ready to go! We will be taking math and reading tests Mon. 3/10 - Thurs. 3/13. As always, be sure your child gets plenty of rest, eats a healthy, hearty breakfast, and as always, they will do their best and be great! A practice packet was sent home last week to let you get a glimpse as to what will be on the test. If you want to learn more about the importance of these tests or have your child practice, you can check out the ISAT website(http://www.isbe.net/assessment/htmls/sample_books.htm)
I strongly encourage you to check out the website and try some practice work in the packet and/or website.
*Testing Week Treats: The students work very hard during testing next week. As a nice treat and break, I am asking for any donations of drinks or healthy snacks for the students. Bananas are a great source of protein, so that would make a great snack! We have 24 students in our class. If you would like to participate, please send the snacks in with your child any day next week. Thank you in advance!
* Art to Remember: A magnet displaying your child's work was sent home this week. If you would like to keep the magnet or order any other item with your child's work on it, please return the envelope and money by Mon. 3/13. If you are not interested in ordering, please return the magnet and envelope by Mon. 3/13. Thanks!
*Reading Party: Our next reading party will be during lunch on Thurs. 3/13. If your child would like to join us, please have them turn in the reading folders NO LATER than Wed. 3/12 with 28 days of reading completed. Thanks!
*Parent-Teacher Conferences: I am looking forward to meeting with parents next week for Spring conferences. I am holding conferences Mon-Wed. Please return the confirmation sheet as soon as possible so I know if the time and date I gave you works out. Thanks!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
*Mon-Thurs: ISAT Tests
*Mon-Wed.: Parent-Teacher Conferences
*Tues. 3/19: Report Cards Sent Home
*Thurs. 3/13: Reading Party
Spelling: List 22 Test
*Fri. 3/14: No school! Enjoy the long weekend!
Spirit Day: Wear GREEN in honor of St. Patrick's Day =)
A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:
*Math: We are keeping busy as we review geometry, t-charts, and other math concepts. Please study over the practice tests that are in your child's math folder to help them understand some tricky concepts. We will be taking ISAT's in math class next week Tues.-Thurs. We will continue finishing geometry the following week.
*Reading: The students are doing a tremendous job on their extended responses. We will continue to apply our reading strategies to Stone Fox next week. I will be giving the students an optional assignment to practice extended response over the weekend if they would like to do it for extra credit on their point cards. This will be in their IL workbook.
*English: The students are continuing to work on adjectives and adverbs. The test is tentatively scheduled for the week of 3/17. We will try to finish the chapter before spring break.
*Science: Your child has chosen an animal to do a research on and make a non fiction book about. The students searched for information about their animal in the computer lab and now we are learning how to "research" information with color coding tips and note taking. I will be reviewing topic, support, and closing sentences within paragraphs as we work on writing this non-fiction report. We will complete most of the work in class, however, your child may have some writing and researching to do at home if they do not complete it in class. The animal they chose will be the subject of a habitat diorama...more information coming soon! We will begin ecosystems next.
*Social Studies: The creative juices are flowing during map making in our class! The students are coming up with very creative and fun towns and islands as we learn about map skills. Our next unit will be Downers Grove as we get ready for an upcoming field trip (more information soon!)
*Spelling: Next week we will work on list 22. Due to the shortened week, there will be no pretest. A final graded test will be given Thurs. 3/13.
Thank you for tuning into my blog this week. Have a wonderful weekend!
~Miss Carlstrom
