Friday, August 26, 2011

The Week of August 29, 2011

THIS WEEK IN MISS TREFONAS'S CLASS

Dear Parents and Students,
It's hard to believe that summer is almost over and we are in full swing at Prairieview School. We completed two days of 5th grade. We have put away supplies and organized our desks for a successful year of learning! I will be blogging every week on Friday and will attach it to a weekly email. Feel free to reply if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks to all the parents who have donated snacks and goodies to the classroom. At anytime, please feel free to donate individually wrapped healthy snacks, Capri Sun, prizes, stickers, or bottled water!

Book orders are being sent home this week. I am sending home the Arrow order that goes up to a 6th grade level in their book selections. I also send home the Tab order which is 7th grade and above. Please know that some of the selections in the Tab order are intended for more mature readers. I always ask that parents approve the book selections of your children. If you would like to order please make checks payable to Scholastic. You may also send in cash, but please make sure it is exact change. If ordering from both Arrow and Tab the totals can be combined!

All 4th and 5th grade students have the opportunity to sign up for Intramural Games. This is a "free" after school program that allows your child to stay active. Permission slips will be sent out next week.

Important Dates:
9/6 – Labor Day (no school)
9/7 – Curriculum Night for 4th and 5th grades (6:30-7:30)


Reading: We begin our year with Tall Tales. The skills we will specifically target will be identifying story structure and distinguishing between exaggerated and realistic story elements. We will also be learning about hyperboles! As a review, we will also use our visualization skills and define unknown words using context clues. This week we will be reading about Bess Call and Paul Bunyon.

English: In English we will begin with the unit "The Sentence." Students are reviewing the four types of sentences along with how to find the subject and predicate of a sentence. They will also be introduced to simple subjects and simple predicates. We are in need of old magazines for a project later in the week. If you have any please send them in.


Spelling: A pretest will be given every Monday. The spelling work will be assigned on Monday. Students will be given a word list to keep in their binder. Students who miss one word or less on the pretest will receive a challenge list and an alternative list of spelling activities to choose from. The spelling assignment for the regular list (workbook pages) and the challenge list will be due every Thursday. The first spelling test will be this Friday. ** Challenge lists do not start until the following week. All 5th grade students will be on the regular list this week.


Science: In science the students will become familiar with the tools scientists use. We will also be what a scientist is......

Social Studies: In social studies we are beginning chapter 4 "Spain Builds an Empire." The students will learn how Columbus's voyages led to a European settlement of the Americas and an exchange of people , animals, goods, and ways of life between East and West.

Math: After a textbook scavenger hunt, we will begin Chapter 1 which focuses on place value, addition, and subtraction.
We will only have math on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday due to MAPs testing.


Please feel free to contact me at any time!
Miss Trefonas