Week of 11/5

Odds and Ends:

Thank you! It was so wonderful to meet with so many of the families for parent teacher conference. It is always nice to have an opportunity to sit and discuss your child's progress together. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email or call! Thanks you for your continued support! 


Thank you to all of the parents who helped at this year's Halloween Party! What a fun time the kids had! We all really appreciate the generous donations of food, drinks, and party utensils and the fun games prepared for the class! I hope you all had a great, fun, and safe Halloween!


* A field trip form for our Downers Grove field trip on 11/11 was sent home today. Please sign and return no later than Wed. 11/6. Thank you! 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Fri. 11/1: No School 

*Mon. 11/4: No School: Teacher Institute

*Tues. 11/5: October reading calendars due today

* Wed. 11/6: Downers Grove Test
Downers Grove permission slip and money due 

*Fri. 11/8: Spelling: 3 activities and test 
Math: Unit 3 Test today 

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We are working on making inferences and character traits. We are reading leveled non fiction texts as we apply these skills to different texts. We will continue to work on our reading strategies of cause and effect and sequencing and begin our study of myths. 

*English: The students finished writing their persuasive and descriptive haunted house papers. They turned out spooktacular. We applied what we know about adjectives, similes, sensory words, color words, and descriptive language to our writing. 


*Spelling: We are in week 2 of our spelling list. Check on your child's progress with their spelling activities. 3 activities from the spelling menu are due on Fri. 11/8. That is also the day of the test. 

*Social Studies:  We learned about Prince Pond, Dicke Tool Company, and Tivoli Theatre. We will play review games on Tuesday and take the graded test on Downers Grove on Wed. 11/6. A study guide was sent home this week for the DG test. 

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We are nearing the end of Unit 3. A practice test/study guide was sent home and is due Thurs. The Unit 3 test will be on Friday. 11/8. 

Have a great LONG weekend!
Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 10/28

Odds and Ends

I am looking forward to meeting with you next week during parent teacher conferences. If you have not signed up for a time yet, please email me! Thanks!

Halloween Party and Parade: If your child would like to dress up for Halloween, please send the costume with to school on Thurs. 10/31. They will be given time to change into their costume before the party begins at 1:00. They will not be going to the bathroom to change, but we will have a girls classroom and boys classroom where they can get ready. If possible, its best to wear the costume over clothes. No weapons allowed.

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Thurs. 10/31: Happy Halloween!

*Fri. 11/1: No School 
*Mon. 11/4: No School: Teacher Institute

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We are working on cause and effect and sequencing. We are reading leveled non fiction texts as we apply these skills to different texts. 

*English: The students are busy writing their persuasive and descriptive haunted house papers. We are working on finishing our rough drafts and will begin our final copies. We are applying what we know about adjectives, similes, sensory words, color words, and descriptive language to our writing. 

*Spelling: A new word list will be sent home on Monday. The 3 activities and test will be on Fri. Nov. 8th.

*Social Studies: We spent a lot of time learning about the Underground Railroad and how it is connected to our study of Downers Grove. The students loved learning about Harriet Tubman and Henry "Box" Brown.  We will continue our study of Downers Grove as we learn about Prince Pond, Dicke Tool Company, and Tivoli Theatre.  A field trip form will be sent home next week. Our field trip will be on Nov. 11th. Please contact me with any questions.

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We are working hard on learning the different addition and subtraction strategies....using number lines, decomposing (breaking apart) numbers, and constant difference...oh my! The students are getting a hang of it with more and more practice. Please continue to practice rounding and subtracting greater numbers where borrowing is needed. Thanks for your help at home! We will work on finding estimated answers, mental math practice, and expanded notation. 

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 10/21

Odds and Ends

I am looking forward to meeting with you during parent teacher conferences. If you have not signed up for a time yet, please email me and I can resend the Sign up Genius link! Also, please remember to fill out the pre-conference form that was sent home with your child and return it by Tues. 10/22.  Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Fri. 10/25: List 3 Spelling test 

*Thurs. 10/31: Happy Halloween! Classroom parties

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will work with informational text as we focus on sequencing and cause and effect.

*English: We are working with adjectives as we apply them to our descriptive writing unit. We will be using color words, sensory words, similes, and adjectives as we write about our haunted houses.

We are also working on month abbreviations and commas in a series. 

*Spelling: We are in week 2 of working with our third spelling list. Please check in with your child to see how their progress in spelling activities are doing. They need to complete 3 activities by Fri. 10/25. Thanks! 

*Social Studies: We will be busy learning about Downers Grove history and how it is connected to the underground railroad.  We are learning about the Potawotomi Indians and more about the first settlers to call this area home. 

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We are learning so many different strategies to add and subtract. These can by tricky at first, but once the kids get the hang of it, they are really amazed at all the ways they can work with numbers.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 10/14

Odds and Ends

Sign up for our Fall conferences have been sent out. Thank you for all of those families who have signed up for parent teacher conferences.  I look forward to meeting with each of you to discuss your child's progress so far this year!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 10/14: No School

*Fri. 10/18: DOL #2 graded review (capitalizing proper nouns)

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Spelling: Your child received new word sorts this week. They are due on Fri. 10/25.  Please help them practice the words for the test. Also, check in with them to see how they are doing on their menu activities as the days go on. 3 activities are also due on 10/25. 

*Reading/English: We are working on folktales as we find text evidence to back up our answers. We are also focusing on sequencing, cause and effect, character traits, and theme. We are applying these skills to our social studies lessons as well.  

We are also working on descriptive writing and adjectives.  This time of year is a great time to practice our descriptive writing skills as we describe spooky Halloween objects! 

* Social Studies: We have started our unit on the history of Downers Grove. Ask your child about Pierce Downer and what kind of person he was. We are learning all about the town's history to prepare us for a field trip coming soon! 

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We will continue to work on Unit 3, focusing on rounding to the nearest 10 or 100 to get estimated answers, and then working on strategies to add and subtract 3 digit numbers and solve word problems.  There will be a checkpoint on Wednesday covering rounding and addition multi digit numbers. 

Have a great weekend and stay warm!
Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 10/7

Odds and Ends:

New October reading calendars have been sent home. Please keep them is a safe spot...they are due on Thurs. 10/31 or earlier as they are completed! 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 10/7: Hemisphere Quiz 

*Fri.10/11: Spelling: List 2 test and 3 activities due

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue our unit of study on Folktales. We are working on finding text evidence as we annotate our text and leave marks of our thinking as we read. We will focus on the fable, The Tortoise and the Hare as we talk about growth mindset vs. fixed mindset, story elements, and character traits. We are also working on main idea, details, and theme. 

* English: We will continue our mini unit on  grammar. We will focus on DOL #2 with lessons about capitalizing proper nouns. A test will be given on Fri. 10/18. A study guide will be sent home later this week.  

*Spelling: We are working on list 2 of the year. We will work in class on the 3 activities, but please help your child monitor their work and time management. They need to have 3 activities completed by Friday, 10/11.  The test will also take place that day, so please study the word list at home.
Thanks!



*Social Studies: We will begin our unit on Downers Grove next week. We will begin by learning about the founder, Pierce Downer. This leads into a really fun field trip later in November. 

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We will begin to work on Unit 3. . We will focus on rounding numbers to the nearest 10 and 100. We are learning new mental math strategies for addition and subtraction as well.





Hope you had a great Fall weekend!
Mrs. Olsen