Classroom News May 12-16

Odds and Ends

*Last Field Trip of the Year: As an extension to our Chicago unit, we will be taking a field trip to downtown Chicago where we will be taking a boat ride on Lake Michigan, visiting Navy Pier, and hopefully have enough time to go to Millennium Park. This will take place on Tuesday, June 3rd. The cost is $7 for the boat ride. Your child should bring a sack lunch with them that day. I am in the process of finding chaperones for the event, but if you want to go and I have not yet contacted you, you can always meet us in the city and join us on the boat ride. A permission slip was sent home today with more details. Thanks!

*Stranger Danger: We have spent some time talking in class this week about stranger danger in response to some recent incidents. I encouraged the students to talk with their parents about this important issue. Thanks!

*Thank you to everyone for helping to make Teacher Appreciation week fantastic! I am so lucky to have such a great class with such generous and giving families. Thank you!

*School Supplies: As the end of the year approaches, our school supplies start to run low. Some students have run out of pencils...please ask if your child if they are in need of any supplies to get them through the end of the year. Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Fri. 5/16: Science: Moon Graded Review

Spelling: List 31 Test

Spirit Day: Dress as your favorite book character! Who will you be?

ABC Countdown Days:

Mon: Hat Day

Tues: Ice Cream day: Thank you, Madison Smith for bringing in our special treat!

Wed: Jump Rope Day: We will jump rope today!

Thurs: Kindness Day: show kindness through words and actions

Fri: Lucky Charms: We will enjoy Lucky Charms and share our lucky charms today. Thanks to those of you who donated cereal for this day.

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: We are focusing on decimals this week. We will talk about tenths and hundredths place. We will also do some problem solving and adding/subtracting with fractions and decimals. We will work on 9's division this week as well.

*Science: Off to the MOON! We will focus on studying the moon this week. We will learn about craters, phases of the moon, what the moon is made up of ( not cheese!), how the moon orbits the earth, and much more! There will be a graded review of the moon on Friday, May 16th. The students will receive a study guide next week.

*Reading: The students are busy reading and trying to solve their mysteries. We are enjoying have book club meetings and discussing clues and suspects. We will continue to read and do various activities as we practice our reading strategies.

*English: The students have completed their last unit in the English textbook! Way to Go! We will finish the year with a poetry unit and persuasive writing.

*Spelling: Next week is list 31: contractions. We will have a pretest on Monday and a graded test on Friday.

Thank you for checking our classroom blog this week! Have an excellent weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom~

Week of May 5-9, 2008

April Showers Bring May Flowers?

Or just more May Rain? =)

*Egypt Unwrapped: Our class will be enjoying an in-school field trip as a representative from the Field Museum will visit our classroom to share lots of interesting information about Egypt with us. This is a great review and extension to our earlier Egypt unit.

*Junior Achievement: Starting next week, we will have a community member joining our classroom 2 times a week for 3 weeks in a community outreach program called Jr. Achievement. Miss McGinnis will be teaching our class about communities, city planning, writing checks, and running your own business.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Wed. 5/7: Egypt Unwrapped

*Thurs. 5/8: Reading Party

*Fri. 5/9: Spelling: List 30 Test

English: Unit 6 Pronouns Test

Math: 8's Division Timed Test

ABC Countdown to Summer: Here is a preview of next week's days:

Mon: Crazy Hair day

Tues: Dog day: bring in a stuffed animal dog

Wed: Earth Day: bring in a no throw away lunch and snack

Thurs: Funny Feet day

Fri: Game Day

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: We are busy working with fractions. We are looking at fractional sets, comparing fractions, and mixed numbers. The students will also be working on 8's division this week.

*Science: The students love our space unit so far. We have talked about gravity, living in space, and space shuttles. They were given a study guide today for next Friday's quiz covering activities 2-6. We will continue to review and learn new concepts next week, as well as begin learning about our closest space neighbor, the Moon.

*Social Studies: We have completed all our of Social Studies units for the year. The students will have 5 Jr. achievement sessions. We will focus on space for the rest of the year. Time permitting, we may do another Chicago activity before the end of the year.

*Reading: Detective book clubs are in session! Your child has received a "top secret" file containing the information they are keeping track of as they solve their mystery. Your child will have required reading each night from their book club book. This is necessary to do in order to complete the next days activities. Please do not let them read ahead...we want to keep it a surprise and work as a team! Your child has the cards for a memory game using detective vocabulary words. Try this game at home!

*English: The students will be completing unit 6 on pronouns next week. We will have a review packet to complete and the final test will be on Friday, May 9th. We will also continue our poetry unit (we have some talented poets among us!) as well as write to our 2nd grade pen pals at Elizabeth Ide.

*Spelling: Next week we will work on List 30. The list contains words with the prefix "re".

Thank you for checking in this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue #30

Classroom News!

*Field Trip: We are going to the Field Museum on Monday, April 28th. This will be an all day field trip. Please send your child to school with comfortable walking shoes and either money for McDonald's lunch ($6) or a completely disposable sack lunch. This will be a great day of learning more about Egypt and Chicago! Thank you!

Upcoming Events:

*Mon. 4/28: Field Trip Museum

Spelling: List 29: Pretest

*Thurs. 5/1: Social Studies: Downers Grove/Chapter 12 Test

*Fri. 5/2: Spelling List 29 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: We will continue to work in Chapter 11:Fractions and Decimals. We will look at comparing fractions and equivalent fractions. We will also focus on 7's division with a timed test on Friday.

*Reading: We are starting book clubs this week with mystery books. Your child will be in a book group reading a mystery book, focusing on the reading strategies we have been working on the whole year. I will be sending a note home about the program, which involves reading the book at home for 20 min each night. Thanks!

*English: We are working on pronouns as well as poetry. A poem will be sent home each Monday for your child to practice reading to improve their fluency skills. We will also learn about different types of poetry and write some of our own! We will also begin writing our pen pal letters to the 2nd graders at Elizabeth Ide school. They will come to our classroom at the end of May to visit with us!

*Science: We are starting our new unit, Space.

*Social Studies: We are finishing up our study of Downers Grove and Chapter 12. A study guide was sent home last week for the upcoming test on Thursday, May 1st. Please look in your child's social studies binder for some worksheets to help with studying.

*Spelling: We will work on List 29 this week. There will be a pretest on Monday and the final test on Friday.

Thank you for checking in this week! Enjoy your weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue #29

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

REDUCE.....REUSE.....RECYCLE!

Odds and Ends

*Field Trip: We will be taking our Downers Grove field trip on Monday, April 21st. We will be making stops along the way where we will get off the bus to see some historic sites in town...please have your child dressed for the weather and walking! We will be having lunch at Giordano's, so please just send a healthy snack to school that day. Thanks!

*Earth Day: Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22nd. Here at Prairieview School we are going to celebrate this holiday by combining it with Character Counts and how we can do little things that have a BIG impact. A note was sent home today with information about what you can do each day next week.

*Open House: Thank you all so much for visiting our classroom at Open House. It was so great to see so many families and the students were so proud and excited to share their classroom and hard work! We all really appreciate your presence at this special event.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 4/21: Downers Grove Field Trip

*Tues. 4/22: Miss Carlstrom's Math Class: Chapter 7 Test

Happy Earth Day!

*Wed. 4/23: Science: Ecosystems Test

Reading: Day 1 of Biography Presentations

*Thurs. 4/24: Early Dismissal: 11:00am

Reading: Day 2 Biography Presentations

*Fri. 4/25: Math: 6's Division Timed Test

Spelling: List 28 test

SPIRIT DAY: Decade Day: dress in clothes from your favorite decade....50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's....have fun!

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: We will be finished up with Chapter 7 on graphing and probability next week. The students will take the final chapter test on Tuesday, 4/22. Our next chapter will be on fractions and decimals. We will also work with 6's division next week. Please remember to review these facts each night.

*Science: The students did a great job presenting their animal habitat dioramas. They were very impressive and well done. We will keep them on display in our school for the next few weeks. We are finishing up our ecosystem unit. The final chapter test is on Wednesday, 4/23. A study guide was sent home this week. Our next unit is on Space.

*Social Studies: We will take our Downers Grove field trip on Monday, 4/21 as an extension of our DG unit. We have learned about the history, location, and government of Downers Grove. We will continue to talk about the government and recreation of DG next week.

*Reading: The students are busy working on their biography scrapbooks on their famous person. We will finish these early next week. The students will then dress up as their famous person and present their scrapbooks. The first round of presentations will take place Wed. 4/23. The second round of presentations will be Thurs. 4/24. The students need to dress up and/or bring props that are appropriate to their famous person. The schedule is as follows:

Wed:

Nora

Madison

Rupa
Paige
Deep
Nick
Ryan
Vanessa

Nicholas

Cole
Brianna

Thurs:

Caden

Sam

Gina

Jesse

Renee

Kelly

Peter

Jonathan

Erik

Sanjna

Alexandria

*English: Our expository unit is coming to an end. We will work with pronouns and poetry next.

*Spelling: Next week is list 28. There will not be a pretest due to the field trip. The final test will be on Friday, 4/25. This week's list contains words spelled with silent letters.

Thank you for checking in this week. Enjoy the weekend!!!!

Miss Carlstrom ; )

Classroom Issue #28

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

Odds and Ends

* Upcoming Field Trips: We will be taking our first spring field trip on Monday, April 21st to Downers Grove and Giordano's pizza. If you have not yet turned in your child's permission slip, please do so by Wed. 4/16 so I can place the pizza order. The cost for pizza is $7.

A permission slip was sent home today about another upcoming trip to the Field Museum in Chicago on Monday, April 28th. The cost for the field trip is $2. If your child wants McDonald's lunch on that day, please send them with $6...otherwise send a completely disposable lunch with them to school that day. We will be taking 5 parent chaperones. There is a spot on the permission slip to fill out if you are interested in joining us. This is on a first come, first serve basis, so please turn your permission slips in early! I will contact the 5 first parents.

*Egypt Unwrapped: I am still collecting money for this in school program. The cost is $4.50. Please send your money if you have not already. This will take place on May 7th. Thanks!

*Open House: Prairieview welcomes you and your family to our Spring Open House on Thurs. 4/17 from 6:45-8:30pm. Come to see your child's classroom and visit the book fair. Hope to see you there!

*Prize Box: Thank you again to the Rovella family for donating to our prize box! Donations always welcome!

*Lunch Tickets: Just a quick reminder about buying lunch tickets. Please purchase a weeks (or more) worth of tickets at one time. Monday is the best day to do this. Please send a check or cash in an envelope with your child's name, my name, and how many tickets you need. If you child needs to purchase one ticket the day of, please send them with the exact amount ( $2.25). If your child needs to borrow a ticket, they must pay for it the next school day. Thank you for your cooperation.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Thurs. 4/17: Open House: 6:45-8:30...Come dressed in your favorite Chicago gear : )

Science: Animal Dioramas Due

*Fri. 4/18: My Math Class: 4's division timed test

Spelling: List 26 test (review week)

SPIRIT DAY: Fri. 4/18: Rock Band Day! Support your favorite musician!

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: The students have finished up their graphs that they worked on as a cooperative group. We enjoyed seeing each others graphs and answering the quizzes. Thank you for all of the hard work on your geometry projects. I am impressed!! They look awesome! We will continue to share these projects on Monday. We will continue with Chapter 7 next week. The final chapter test is scheduled for Tues. 4/22. We will also work on 4's division next week.

*Science: Most of the class is finished typing and illustrating their wonderful animal books. The animal diorama's are due Thurs. 4/17. We will be sharing them in class with a short (1-3 min) presentation. We will finish ecosystems this week. The final chapter test is scheduled for Wed. 4/23. More info. about the test will be sent home next week. Our next and final science unit will be SPACE!

*Social Studies: We Love Chicago! We are working on many fun and interesting activities about past and present Chicago. These projects will be on display for open house. The 3rd grade theme is CHICAGO, so your child and your family can come to open house in their favorite Chicago gear =) The teachers will be dressed for the part! Our next unit will be Downers Grove. We will focus on the history of Downers Grove so we have some background knowledge for our Monday, 4/21 field trip.

*Reading: We are continuing to work on biographies, as well as learn about each other as we work on some "autobiographical" activities. Your child should have chosen a famous person by now and almost be done with the book. The goal is to have the book completed by Monday so we can begin our in-class assignment. Your child will be receiving information about the next activity in class. The one part that they have to do at home is to come up with a costume and/or props for their famous person. During the week of April 21st, your child will need to dress up as their famous person and present the book we make in school to the class. What fun! More details coming next week...

*English: The students are still working on expository writing. They will be given a choice of prompts next week to write on for a grade.

*Spelling: Next week is a review week (list 26). Your child should be taking home their workbook each night to study the previous weeks rules. The lists and spelling rules they should focus on are 19-25. There will be no pretest, but a final review test will be on Friday.

Thank you for checking in this week. Have a great weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue #27

Odds and Ends

*Upcoming Field Trip: A permission slip was sent home today about an upcoming field trip to Downers Grove on Monday, April 21st. We will take a bus tour of the town, stopping at various historic locations that we learned about in class. We will also stop for lunch in downtown Downers Grove at Giordano's pizza. If any parents would like to meet us for lunch, you are more than welcome to join us there (it is on Main St.) between 11:00 and 11:15. The cost of lunch is $7 for your child. Please turn in the permission slip and money by Wed. April 16th. Thanks!

*Prize Box: Thank you to the Rovella family for donating prizes for the prize box. We can ALWAYS use any donations for the prize box. Thank you!

*Independent Reading Party: The reading party for the month of March will be on Thursday, April 10th. Your child can join us if they have read for 28 days for the month of March. Please turn in your folders by Wed. 4/9 to join our party.

Amazing Animals:

The students of Prairieview enjoyed a very exciting assembly this week. Amazing Animals came in our school. We got to see (and touch) an alligator, armadillo, boa constrictor, chinchilla, ferret, bearded dragon, and cat. How exciting! Thank you to the wonderful PTO for providing such an exciting assembly!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Tues: 4/8: Social Studies: History of Chicago Quiz

Character Counts Assembly

*Fri. 4/11: Math: Geometry Projects Due (Miss Carlstrom's Math Class)

3's division timed test

Spelling: List 25 test

SPIRIT DAY: Take me out to the ball game! Baseball day is next Friday, 4/11. Show your baseball spirit and support your favorite team!

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: We started chapter 7 in math class, working with graphs. The students will learn the different parts of various types of graphs including bar graphs and pictographs. While working in cooperative groups, the students will be making their own bar graphs. We will work on 3's division next week. Also, the geometry project is due Friday, 4/11.

*Reading: We finished Stone Fox this week. The students really enjoyed this touching story about a boy and his dog. We watched the movie and compared the similarities and differences between both stories. We will begin our biography unit on Monday.

*English: The students are working in expository writing. We will continue this writing unit next week. Your child will be asking to bring in a photo of a special person next week for our writing assignment.

*Science: The class is learning about ecosystems. They will be working in groups to make a poster about different ecosystems and then "teach" the class about their particular ecosystem. Animal dioramas are due Thursday, 4/17.

*Social Studies: Sweet home Chicago! The students have been learning so much about Chicago's history this week. We talked a lot about the Great Chicago Fire and how the city was able to rebuild itself into one of the world's greatest cities. If you have a chance and are looking for something fun to do with the family, take your child to the Chicago History Museum. Your child will be able to see many of the things we have been learning about in class up close. The Chicago History quiz is scheduled for Tuesday, 4/8. A study guide was sent home this week. They can also use their crossword puzzle, journal, and fire graphic organizer to help them prepare.

*Spelling: This week we will focus on List 25, words spelling with igh. There will be a pretest on Monday and the final test on Friday.

Have a wonderful SPRING weekend! Enjoy the warm weather!

~Miss Carlstrom

SPRING PHOTOS

SPRING PICTURES: Spring picture packets went home with your child on Monday, March 31, 2008. If you choose to purchase a portion or all of the packet, please return payment and any extra pictures as soon as possible; no later than Friday, April 4, 2007.

Classroom Issue 26

Odds and Ends

*Spring Break: Enjoy your spring break and time off next week, March 24th -March 28th. I look forward to seeing you all back at school on Monday, March 31st!

*Prize Box: We are in need of some new, fun prizes for both boys and girls. They are working hard and earning many prizes and we are running short. Donations greatly appreciated! Some popular items are notebooks, cool pens and pencils, art supplies, small stuffed animals, and other small toys! Thanks!

Upcoming Events

*Mon. 3/24-Fri. 3/28: Spring Break!

*Mon. 3/31: Welcome Back!

Spelling: List 24 Pretest

*Wed. 4/2: Amazing Animals Assembly

*Fri. 4/4: Math: 5 & 10 division timed tests

Spelling: List 24 Test

SPIRIT DAY! Show your Prairieview Spirit and wear your PV Gear and Green and Gold!

A LOOK AHEAD!

*Math: We will be starting a new chapter, chapter 7, Data and Graphing. We will work with many different types of graphs, as well as work in cooperative groups to make bar graphs. We will also work on the 5's and 10's division facts the week after break.

Students were given the rubric and explanation for our upcoming Geometry projects. They were shown samples of students past work and we discussed any questions or ideas they had. This project is due Friday, April 11th. If you have any additional questions, please email or write a note. Have fun and be creative!

*Science: We will continue to work on ecosystems. The students will work in groups to become the teachers as they teach the class about different ecosystems. Also, the students were given guidelines for making their animal diorama. They will be making animal habitat dioramas for the animals they have chosen in class and wrote their reports on. This project is due Thurs, April 17th. Please email if you have any questions about this fun, creative project!

*Social Studies: I made a slight change in our social studies plans. Rather than begin a unit on Downers Grove, we are going to postpone that unit and do our Chicago unit instead. We started learning about the history of our great city and will continue to learn about the Chicago Fire following break. I have a tentative quiz on the History of Chicago set for Tues. 4/8.

*Reading: The students are finishing up our Stone Fox unit. We are enjoying the story and characters in this popular book. We will finish the book the week following break. There will be a graded vocabulary review on ch 8-10 on Wed. 4/2. We will begin our biography unit next.

*English: Now that we have another grammar lesson under our belts, we are ready to begin a new writing unit. We will begin Expository Writing after break. The students will be writing on a variety of topics as they use support and details to explain their topic.

*Spelling: The students will be working on List 24. There will be a pretest on Monday and a final test on Friday.

Enjoy your well deserved breaks having fun, reading, and enjoying time with your family and friends! I look forward to see you in a week for more learning fun!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 25

Odds and Ends

*ISAT Celebration: Cheeseburger in Paradise! The students have worked very hard this year preparing for the tests and deserve a celebration! The party is scheduled for Thurs. 3/20. We will be ordering McDonald's for lunch and the PTO will be providing a treat for the students. We will watch Lilo and Stitch as part of the celebration. In honor of spring break and thinking of warm weather, your child can wear "tropical" clothes: bright colors, Hawaiian themed clothes, shorts over pants, and other tropical ideas you can think of. This will be a fun day for all!

*Monthly Book Project: Due to spring break and many other school projects during the months of March and April, we will be taking a break from a monthly book project for the month of March and April. I will assign the final book project at the end of April to be completed by the end of May. Your child should still be reading 20 min. each night.

*Thank you to the following families for providing healthy snacks during ISAT week:

Imgruet Family
Sarros Family

McNamara Family

Rovella Family

Seelander Family

*Thank you to all the parents who I spoke with during conference week. It was nice to discuss your child's successes and progress this year. If you have any questions or concerns in the future, please do not hesitate to email or call. Thank you!

Upcoming Events:

*Fri. 3/14: No School

*Mon. 3/17: Happy St. Patrick's Day! Wear Green =)

Reading: Stone Fox ch 1-4 vocab. quiz

*Tues. 3/18: English: Unit 4 Adjective Test

*Thurs. 3/20: Math: Geometry ch 10 Test

Spelling: List 23 test

Cheeseburger in Paradise Party

*Fri. 3/21: SPRING BREAK begins! See you back in school on Mon. 3/31

A Look at Next Week!

*Math: We will go back to reviewing Geometry (ch 10) next week. We will take our final checkpoint from the 2nd half of the chapter, play Geometry jeopardy, and take the final chapter 10 test on Thurs. 3/20. I will send home a study guide on Mon. I will also be explaining and assigning the Geometry Project. This project will be due the week of April 7th. I will also introduce division concepts. We will begin testing division in the same style as multiplication when we return from spring break. I will send a schedule home with your child next week. We will begin with 2's division.

*Science: Your child has been working hard on their animal reports. We are currently typing them up in the computer lab. We will work on our illustrations next week. Next week I will be sending home the instructions on how to make your animal diorama. They will be due the week of April 14th, so your child will be able to get a head start over the break if they would like. We started our unit on ecosystems as well.

*Social Studies: We are finishing up our maps. The students will share their creative maps next week. We will begin our Downers Grove unit next week.

*Reading: The students are working on Stone Fox. We will finish this book the week after spring break. There will be a short graded quiz on the vocabulary from ch 1-4 on Mon. 3/17. Your child should have a study sheet of these words in their binder.

*English: Our Unit 4 on Adjectives is coming to an end. Your child received a review over the entire unit today in class. We will go over the review on Monday and the final test will be on Tues. 3/18. Our next unit will be a writing unit on Expository writing.

*Spelling: Next week we will be on List 23. The list contains words with the ending er and est. We will not have a pretest due to the shortened week. The final test will be on Thurs. 3/20.

Thanks for reading this week's newsletter. Have a nice, relaxing LONG weekend!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom Issue 24

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