Miss Pellin's Post
November 3rd- November 7th

We had a boo-tiful time at our Halloween Party and Halloween Parade last week. Thank-you to all the volunteers who helped make it possible.

Tuesday, November 4th is a Teacher's Institute Day. There will be no school. Tuesday, November 11th is Veterans Day. There will also be no school. Please plan accordingly.

The Social Studies committee is looking for two parents who have an education or history background to be involved in the adoption of new Social Studies textbooks. You would have to meet with the committee and provide input choosing our textbook for the coming years. The Social Studies committee will be meeting once every other month for the next two years. Please email me at mpellin@ccsd66.org if you would be interested in joining the Social Studies committee. Thank you!

The Eleventh Week of 2008 at School:
Home Room
Science: There will be a health test on Wednesday, November 5th . The health study guide is due on Monday November 3rd. This test will complete our health unit.

Social Studies: There will be a Downers Grove test on Wednesday, November 12th. Students should use the study guide they receive on Wednesday, November 5th to prepare for the test.

Language Arts
Spelling: There will be a Spelling "List 9" test on Friday November 7th.

Reading: The class will be working on "extended responses" to passages we read in class. Students will learn to use proof in the text of each story and expand on the text with their own ideas to effectively answer extended response questions.

English: We continue to work on descriptive writing. Students will write a descriptive story detailing their experiences in a haunted house. The writing process will include both a rough and a final draft of the story.

Math: We continue the study of "T" charts. We will have a quiz on "T" Charts on Monday, November 10th. Students will be able to use one example to help them on their quiz.

Things to Remember:
Tuesday 11/4: This is a Teacher's Institute Day. There will be no school.
Wednesday 11/5: There will be a health test.
Friday 11/7: There will be a Spelling Test.

Monday 3/10: There will be a "T" Chart quiz.

Wednesday 11/12: There will be a health test.

Contact Information:
E-Mail address: mpellin@ccsd66.org
Voice mail: (630)783-5065

Miss Pellin's Post
October 27th- October 31st

On Friday October 31st, we will have a field trip (to Robert Crown), a Prairieview School costume parade (beginning at 1:15 pm), and a class party (beginning at 1:30 pm). What a full day the class will have!

We will begin with homeroom for the first hour. The fun will continue with a trip to Robert Crown (without costumes) from ~9:00-11:30. The trip will broaden our current health unit in science. If you haven't already, please send in your permission slips! We return after our normal lunch time, so we will have lunch in the room. Please send a sack lunch to school this day. After eating, we will change into our costumes for our school wide parade. The whole school parade will be from 1:15-1:30 outside (weather permitting). If your child would like to dress up at school, please send their costume with them in a large bag labeled with their first and last name. After the parade, we will return to the room for a party.

Here are some guidelines to follow when choosing a costume:
1. We only have 15 minutes for costume changes. Please make sure your child can change into his/her costume easily and by themselves. If the costume can be worn over their clothes, then both the time to change and the chances of losing any clothes is minimized.
2. If the costume involves make up, please do not send your child with it on that morning. Remember that your child has to be able to apply it themselves.
3. Please do not send any weapons (guns, swords, etc.) as part of the costume. Save those for trick-or-treating.
4. We will not have time to change back into our clothes for dimissal. Your child will wear their costume home.

Tuesday, November 4th is a Teacher's Institute Day. There will be no school. Please plan accordingly.

The Tenth Week of 2008 at School:
Home Room
Science: There will be a health test on Wednesday, November 5th . A study guide will be passed out on Tuesday, October 28th. The study guide will be due on Thursday, October 30th.

Social Studies: We will continue to study Downers Grove and local government in our textbook. Look for a test on Friday, November 7th.

Language Arts
Spelling: This week will review all the words and spelling rules that have been covered over the past seven weeks. There will not be a pretest. There will be a sample test on Wednesday, October 28th. Student should use Spelling Workbook page 43 to help them review the rules for the test on Thursday, October 30th.

Reading: We will be study cause and effect. The students will begin learning about the concept while reading the story Give a Mouse a Cookie. We will also make a student book in class.

English: We continue to work on descriptive writing. Students will learn about sensory words, and will begin writing a paragraph about the haunted houses they made in class

Math: We will begin the study of "T" charts. We will begin with Make-a-Table problem solving. Tables are one strategy for solving math story problems. We will be learning the strategy by solving problems together in class. This type of strategy is one area of emphasis on the coming ISAT tests. Look for a packet and a letter of explanation in your students "bring right back to school" folder.

Things to Remember:
Thursday 10/30: There will be a Spelling test. The Health study guide is due.
Friday 10/31: Students will go to the Robert Crown Center. Have a "Boo"tiful Halloween.

Contact Information:
E-Mail address: mpellin@ccsd66.org
Voice mail: (630)783-5065

Miss Pellin's Post
October 20th- October 24th

My Homeroom class worked on learning about the history of Downers Grove this week. We learned about the underground railroad in our city that helped runaway slaves reach Canada. The picture at the right contains many of the secret signs used to help slaves find the safehouses on the railroad. My Language Arts class read the story Seal Surfer and finished our study of nouns. In math we worked on subtraction and problem solving. Also, every student passed the Subtraction Mad Minutes.

Wednesday, October 22nd is an early dismissal day. Please plan accordingly.

The Ninth Week of 2008 at School:

Home Room

Science: We will study germs. We will also study good drugs versus bad drugs. Part of this lesson will include drug vocabulary words.

Social Studies: On Tuesday, October 21st students will be assessed on their knowledge of Downers Grove history. Students have received a study guide to help them to prepare for the quiz. After the quiz we will begin to study the government of Downers Grove. While we are studying Downers Grove, we will also be studying local governments in Chapter 12 of our Social Studies textbook.

Language Arts
Spelling: Students will receive Spelling List #7 on Monday, October 20th. There will be a test on these words on Friday, October 24th.

Reading: We will continue to study the concept of "compare and contrast." Also students will be working on problems in their Illinois Reading Workbook in order to reinforce the concepts of "facts and opinions" and "compare and contrast."

English: We will begin our study of descriptive writing. We will begin by studying similes, sensory words, and the concept of "show don't tell." There will be a DOL quiz on Friday, October 24th. Students will receive a study guide on Tuesday, October 21st.

Math: We will practice subtracting across zeroes. There will be a Chapter 4 test on Friday, October 24th. Students can study pages 98 and 101 to prepare for the test.

Things to Remember:

Tuesday 10/21: There will be a Downers Grove history quiz.

Friday 10/24: There will be a Spelling test. There will be a DOL quiz. There will be a Chapter 4 Math test.

Contact Information:
E-Mail address: mpellin@ccsd66.org

Voice mail: (630)783-5065

Miss Pellin's Post

October 13th- October 17th

My Home Room class finished their life sized bodies! Everyone did a great job on their test on the human body systems. My Language Arts class was thrilled to learn facts about pufflings this week. Everyone learned the difference between facts and opinions while reading The Night of the Pufflings. In math everyone subtracted large numbers.

Monday, October 13th is Columbus Day! Enjoy the long week-end!

Bring your whole family to Prairieview Elementary School's Fall Book Fair on Thursday, October 16, 2008 from 6:30 until 8:00 PM. The Book Fair has books for all ages and interests. There will also be taffy apples and Prairieview spiritwear available for purchase. Show your support for the school and its PTO!

The Eighth Week of 2008 at School:

Home Room
Science: We have begun studying the new (and old) food pyramid. One task will be to draw pictures of different foods in each food group. At the end of the week we will begin to study germs and their effects. Hopefully your student will wash there hands willingly after this chapter. We will be testing foods (chips, butter, carrots and potatoes) for fat content.

Social Studies: We will continue our study of the history of Downers Grove. On October 22nd students will be assessed on their knowledge of Downers Grove history. Students will receive a study guide on Wednesday, October 15th.

Language Arts

Spelling: There will be no spelling for this shortened week.

Reading: We will study the concept of "compare and contrast" while reading the story Seal Surfer. At home you might practice comparing and contrasting different things such as dinner meals, pets, or television shows. There will be a vocabulary quiz on words from Seal Surfer on Thursday, October 16th. Students will receive a vocabulary study guide on Tuesday, October 14th.

English: We continue our study of nouns. Students will be expected to recognize singular possessive nouns. Then we will review all the noun types we have studied thus far. We will complete a noun review sheet together in class on Wednesday, October 15th. There will be a noun quiz on Thursday, October 16th. Students can use their English book and the noun review to help prepare for the quiz.

Math: Subtraction work this week will focus on four digit numbers. We will be rounding and then subtracting. We will also be subtracting across zeros. We took one "mad minute" subtraction quiz on Friday, October 10th. If your child had no more than one incorrect answer during the 2.5 minute quiz, then they received a grade of 10 out of 10 already. If not, your child can still earn full credit. We will retake the subtraction "mad minute" quiz on Wednesday, October 15th. If your student has no more than one incorrect answer on that quiz, then they will still receive a grade of 10 out of 10. If not, your student can retake the quiz on Thursday, October 16th. This time if your student has no more than one correct answer they will receive a score of 9 out of 10. If not, then the test will be repeated Friday, October 17th, for a grade of 8 out of 10. This pattern will continue down to a grade of 5 out of 10. You can practice subtraction with your child using flash cards. It is also useful to examine the quizzes and work to correct consistent errors.

Things to Remember:
Monday 10/13: No school on Columbus Day.

Wednesday 10/15: There will be a second "Mad Minute" subtraction quiz.

Thursday 10/16: There will be a vocabulary quiz. There will be a noun quiz. The Fall Book Fair will be from 6:30 until 8:00 PM.

Wednesday 10/22: There will be a Downers Grove history quiz.

Contact Information:

E-Mail address: mpellin@ccsd66.org
Voice mail: (630)783-5065

Miss Pellin's Post
October 6th- October 10th

I learned a lot about my reading class this week! Each of them made an excellent presentation of their "Me" bag. My home room is hard a work preparing for their Science exam. My math students have been solving problems with large numbers. Perhaps you should increase their allowance.

The Seventh Week of 2008 at School:

Home Room

Science: There will be a Human Body Chapter 1 test on Tuesday, October 7th. Next we will begin study the new food pyramid.

Social Studies: We will continue our study of Downers Grove. We will learn about the history of our city up until present day. The picture on this blog is of our city founder's home!

Language Arts
Spelling: There will be a Spelling “list 6” will be handed out on Monday, October 6th. Thank you to all the students who study their words at home. It shows on their test scores. There will be a test on “list 6” on Friday, October 10th.

Reading: We will read the story The Night of the Puffling. Students will have a vocabulary quiz on the story on Thursday, October 9th. Students will receive a study guide on Monday, October 6th. A puffling is a baby bird. The picture on right is a puffin, an adult bird. We will be studying fact versus opinion in written material.

English: We will be studying nouns. Students will be expected to recognize singular/plural and common/proper nouns. Students will also be working on Daily Oral Language.

Math: Subtraction will be the focus of our math work this week. Students will learn how to subtract both with and without base 10 block. Students will also learn the concept Bottom, Bigger, Borrow.

Things to Remember:
Tuesday 10/7: There will be a human body test.

Thursday 10/9: There will be a The Night of the Pufflings vocabulary quiz.
Friday 10/10: There will be a Spelling "list 6" quiz.

Contact Information:
E-Mail address: mpellin@ccsd66.org

Voice mail: (630)783-5065