News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Jan. 4-Jan. 8

Math- In math this week the students will be introduced to decimals.  They will use the base pieces as a visual anchor to comparing decimal numbers and to investigate the relationship between tenths and hundredths.

Spelling- The students will be working with words that have the final /j/ and /s/ sounds.  They will be responsible for completing age 44-46 in their spelling books.  If they pass out of the pretest, they will have alternate words and activities to complete.

Reading - The students will read a biography on Lou Gehrig. They will answer text-dependent questions and work with the vocabulary of the reading. They will  distinguish between fact and opinion.

English-  We will begin our expository writing this week. The students will practice the steps in writing an essay.  They will begin by brainstorming ideas and organizing them.  From there  they will write their first expository essay step, by step.

Social Studies-  The students will identify ways in which resources of the Southeast are used. They will be able to identify a renewable and nonrenewable resource found in the Southeast.  They will explain why coal is an important resource in the Southeast.
There will be a test on Friday, Jan. 8 over Chapter 6 The Land of the Southeast.  The students should:

Study all vocabulary and main ideas from the text.  They should study any sheets that are in their Social Studies folder.

They should know:
The different landforms in the Southeast and traits about them
The difference between the inner and outer coastal plains
The climate of the Southeast
Understand the use of lighthouses in the past
Know the animals that live in the different areas of the Southeast
What is burned to run generators?
What products can come from a logging industry?
What is a hurricane and how can it be dangerous? Be able to explain 3 details about a hurricane and 3 ways in which it can be dangerous.
What are crops that grow well in the Southeast, but not very well in other regions of the U.S?
Where would you like to visit in the Southeast?  Be able to explain at least two good reasons why you would like to visit there.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Dec. 14-18

Important Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, Dec. 15- Early Dismissal 11:35
Wednesday, Dec. 16 - Bowling 8:45
Friday, Dec. 18- Movie 11:00 We will be eating lunch at 10:30 that day

Math-We will continue Unit 3, Fractions and Decimals.  This week we will learn how to add and subtract fractions with different denominators and mixed numbers. We will continue to use the egg carton model to explore fractions.

Spelling- This week the students will be working with words that have a long e sound for the final sound.  They will be responsible for workbook pages 29-31 unless they pass out of the pretest.  Then they will have an alternate list and activities for the week.

Reading-In reading  we will complete our  mythology unit. We will  create a Venn Diagram comparing Athena and Gloria Estefan. We will also read the myths of  Pandora's Box and Demeter and Persephone.

English-We will have fun with figurative language this week.  The students will work with idioms, metaphors and similes this week.

Social Studies- This week in social studies the students will  describe the climate of the Southeast and examine hurricanes.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Dec. 7- December 11

Math- This week in math, the students will have a a graded checkpoint review on Tuesday of this week.  They should understand equivalent fractions. When given an egg carton they need to determine the fraction represented by the number of rows filled up. They need to write  equivalent fractions to show this.  
Ex: XOOOOO     This egg carton shows:  2/12, 1/6,
       XOOOOO

Can they draw pictures to show 1/2 in different ways?

Spelling- This week the students will work with words that have the /k/, /ng/, /kw/ sounds.  They will be responsible for pages pages 9-11 in Volume 2.  If they pass out of the pretest, they will have an alternate list and activities to complete for the week.

English- This week the students will write using conjunctions in sentences. They  will be tested on this and their ability to use the homophones their, there, and they're, too, two, and two, know, no, and hour, our  as well as can, may, and must correctly in a sentence.  This will be given on Friday of this week.

Reading- The students will read the story of Arachne and Athena this week.  They will complete activities to go along with this myth and determine if Athena is a hero. We will discuss the use of mythology in our lives today, and they will be detectives as they search for mythological references in our everyday life. An assessment will be given on Tuesday of this week over the skills gone over in our courage unit.

Social Studies- We will begin our tour of the Southeast Region.  The students will have to complete a drawing with states from the Southeast following the rubric.  That is due on Wednesday of this week.  There will be a map quiz on Thursday. The students will have to label the southeast states and other features from the Southeast on the map correctly.  Spelling will count this week on the map quiz.  This will be given on Friday of this week.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Nov. 23-December 4

Important Dates:
Monday, 11/ 23 Roller Skating Party
Wednesday 11/25-11/27 No School Thanksgiving Break

Tuesday 12/15 Early Dismissal

Math -We will  finish our November Number Corner activities learning about fractions and measurement next week. The following week we will begin Unit 3, Fractions and Decimals.

Spelling:  There will not be any spelling Thanksgiving week. The week of November 30th all students spelling list will be of the Southeast states. They will be expected to learn the spelling for their test and when they take the Southeast map quiz.

English- We will continue work with prepositions.  They will work with the homophones to, too, and two and there and their.  

Reading- This week the students will work with prefixes non, bi, tri, quad, oct.  They will understand their origins and know their meanings.  We will begin our unit on mythology.  We will study Hercules. The students will define hero based on modern culture as a class and then work to identify traits both good and bad of Hercules. They will compare and contrast the traits of a hero to the traits of Heracles (Hercules. They will determine whether Heracles was a hero.  

Science:  This week they will learn the life cycles of some animals.  There will be a test on Friday, Dec. 4 over Chapter 2 lessons 2 & 3.  They should study the lessons in the textbook and know the important concepts.  They should know all vocabulary.  

They should also:
understand how ferns and mosses reproduce
tubers
how most animals begin the life cycle
understand the parts of the plant and what they do
understand the life cycles of the animals  in the text
understand the different kinds of life cycles and know what the different stages are:   incomplete metamorphosis, complete metamorphosis, direct development 
What are the stages of the human lifecycle? Be able to name and describe them  
know the stages of a butterfly

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Nov. 16 - Nov.20

Math - Strategies for solving division problems with remainders both in and out of context will be the focus this week.  They will solve problems and  interpret remainders.  There will be a unit 2 post test on Friday of this week.  Place value, multi-digit multiplication, and early division with remainders will be assessed.  They should review the worksheets and workbook pages from unit 2 that we have completed and are in their binders. There will be a review sheet that comes home as well for them to review.   

Spelling - This week the students will continue  working with words that have the "r" controlled vowels. They will be responsible for completing workbook pages 167-169 unless they pass the pretest with 95% or better.  Then they will be given an alternate list of words and activities to do.

English - This week in English the students will continue to work with using quotation marks correctly in their writing. They will work with words that have the latin and greek prefixes and suffixes.

Reading- The students will take a PARCC like assessment for Gloria Estefan on Tuesday of this week. We will enter the world of mythology this week.  The students will close  read the story of Hercules.  

Science- This week in science the students will understand the life cycle of a flowering plant (plants from seeds).  They will create a tomato - plant life cycle on their Chromebooks.  They will also compare and contrast the life cycle of a plant from seeds to those plants that come from spores.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Nov. 10-13

Monday, Nov. 9-No School Institute Day
Tuesday, Nov. 10 - Life Touch Photos will be taken.


Math- There will be a quiz on Tuesday.  A review of skills is in their folder for them to practice.
This week the students will work on multiplication story problems.  They will work with problems that require them to estimate first and then they will develop a strategy to solve the problem.  They will also work with the strategy of doubling and halving.

Spelling-The students will be working with words that have r controlled sounds.  They will be responsible for completing workbook pages 152-154.  There will be a test on Friday.

English-This week the students will review the use of quotation marks and practice a dialog with them.  They will also use modal auxiliary's, can, may, and must correctly.  The students will write a newspaper article to go with the prompt, " Gloria Estefan is the "Star with the Heart"!

Reading- Time for Kids will go home on Tuesday of this week with a worksheet to complete.  The students are to read their magazine each night throughout the week.  Since they are current even articles, they make for great discussions in the car, at the dinner table or whenever there is a free moment.  This will help them understand the ideas and vocabulary in the passages.  The worksheet will be due on Friday of the week, and there will be a quiz on Friday as well. During the quiz, they may use their magazine to go back to find the answers.  It is very important for them to return their magazine to their binders each evening.  They must have it during class if we happen to do work in it.  5 questions on the quiz are over the main article in the magazine.  The other 5 questions are about the other articles.    It is important for them to practice reading the charts, graphs and tables as well.

Science- The students will share their invertebrate slide shows.  They have a rater that was sent home today so they can go over and check to be sure they have everything they need on them.  They should practice presenting their own slide.

Our essential question this week is: What are some life cycles of plants?  The students will observe how seeds germinate.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Class Nov. 2-Nov. 6

Monday-Thursday, Nov. 2,4-5 Parent Teacher conferences
Friday- No School

Math - The students will continue to build and discuss combinations that involve multiplying by 10. They will extend their thinking to multiplying by 100 and 1,000. The students will also create their own ratio tables to solve problems with multiples of ten. The Number Corners for November  will feature an analog clock that shows times that get later each day according to a predictable pattern.  They will solve problems involving elapsed time.  The Problem Strings this month will focus on adding multi-digit numbers.

Spelling-  This week the students will be working with words that have the sounds for oo.  They will be assigned workbook pages 137-139.  All students will take the test on Thursday  There is no alternate group this week because of a short week.

English -  This week the students will review the use of quotation marks and practice a dialog with them.  They will also use modal auxiliary's, can, may, and must correctly.  The students will write a newspaper article to go with the prompt, " Gloria Estefan is the "Star with the Heart"!

Reading- This week in reading the students will understand cause/effect relationships and be able to find these relationships in the story of Gloria Estefan.  They will also continue to work on their text dependent questions and independently write responses to them  using text evidence.

We will Close read Gloria Estefan for the third time looking at the craft and structure of this biography.

Science- The students have begun research on an invertebrate group.  Today they worked with both Mrs. Foellmer and myself to learn how to locate information and place it in their slide show.  They also learned how to attached a video to their slide show.  Ask them to show you what they have accomplished so far.  They need to remember to go to drive to open up their slide show but go to Classroom to get the research websites.  Only the captains of their team open up in Classroom.
We will have a quiz on Chapter 1 lesson 3 only on Thursday.
They should study the vocabulary and the main ideas in their books.  They should also study the sheets in their science folder.
They should know:
how scientists classify animals
 5 main classes of vertebrates, at least 2 characteristics of each, and be able to give 2 examples of animals from each class.
 5 main groups of invertebrates
largest group of invertebrates
largest group of arthropods
traits of an insect (3 body parts, 6 legs,head, thorax, abdomen)

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room October 26-October 30

Dates to Remember:
Fri., October 30-Halloween Party - The students should bring a costume that is very easy to put on.  They will be wearing it home on the bus.  The party will be from 1:10-2:10 the parade will be at 2:10.

 Nov. 2-Nov. 5 Parent/Teacher Conferences Please sign up if you have not.  I sent the e-mail at the beginning of the week.  If you need me to resend, it or if you need a phone conference instead, please let me know.

Friday, Nov. 6 - No School
Monay, Nov. 9 - No School - Institute Day

Math- This week in math the students will solve for the unknown in a multiplication and division equation.   They will demonstrate knowledge that in a multi-digit number, each digit represents ten times what it represents in the place to its right. They will multiply 2 digit whole numbers by a 1 or 2-digit whole number  using strategies based on place value.  They will use rectangular arrays to explain strategies for multiplying with multi-digit numbers. The students will practice reading and writing larger numbers.

Spelling- The students will work with words that have the sounds for ou.  They will do workbook pages 117-119.  There will be a test on Friday of this week.

English- This week in English, we will continue our work with pronouns.  They will work with relative pronouns, who and that, and pronouns that are also homophones, you're, your, it's, its, and their, they're, and there.

Reading- We will continue to work with text depending questions for the Story Gloria Estefan.  The students will work in their Google Classroom to complete the vocabulary information.  There will be a vocabulary quiz on Thursday of this week.  There will be a Quizlet sent home for the students to study.  They should know the meanings of the words and be able to write them in a good sentence.  The students will also work on Cause/Effect relationships.

Science- How are animals classified? This is our essential question. The students will study the characteristics of vertebrates and invertebrates.  They will begin working on an invertebrate slide show.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room October 19-October 24

Be on the look out for Homeroom Conference sign ups.  They will be sent by e-mail this week.

Math- The students will review definitions for volume and capacity and identify containers that approximate benchmark amounts.  The students will explore the relationships between liters, milliliters, and cubic centimeters and convert between liters and milliliters. The students will also examine the relationships among place values and make generalizations about what happens when a number is multiplied by 10, 100, or 1,000.

Students may go in their Math Google Classroom to play other games that I have set up for them on multiplication facts and measurement.

Spelling- This week the students will be working with other words that have long and short vowel sounds.  They will be responsible for workbook pages 99-101, unless they are in the pretest group.  If they are in the pretest group, they will use an alternate list of activities to complete with their alternate words.  There will be a test on Friday.

English- There will be a test on Tuesday of this week over chapter 5 - Punctuation and capitalization.  The students have an assignment this weekend to help them practice the skills from this chapter.  They can also use the other review pages in the back of their chapter to help them practice as well as on their Google Classroom- The proof reading lessons and the Time for Kids practice activities.

Reading- In reading this week, we will continue our courage theme by studying the life of Gloria Estefan.  They will be introduced to new vocabulary, and complete the vocabulary activity in their Google Classroom.  The skill they will practice is Making Judgments.  Making judgments involves deciding whether or not a character's actions are appropriate for a situation.  They will also work with answering and writing text dependent questions.

Social Studies- On Wednesday, there will be a quiz over The Narragansett People, Chapter 5 lesson 1only.  The students should know all vocabulary and be able to answer questions about their culture and know at least 3 ways their life changed after the Europeans moved in.  They should understand the Great Council's role in the Iroquois Confederacy.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room October 13-October 16.

Date to Remember:
Thursday, Ocotober 15,- Fall Book Fair

Math - In math this week the students will investigate centimeter rulers.  They will discuss the markings at and between numbers and the span of length between the markings.  Students will find lengths of objects using "broken rulers" and measure lengths of classroom objects.  They will review the meanings of mass and weight. They will make benchmark units for one ounce, one pound, one gram, and one kilogram.  They will also review definitions for volume and capacity and identify containers that approximate benchmark amounts.  The students will explore relationships between liters, millimeters, and cubic centimeters and convert between liters and milliliters.  

Spelling- This week is a spelling review unit.  The students will all do workbook pages 87-89.  They will have a test on Friday of this week.

Reading - Students will view a video about Jackie Robinson and read a passage about Malala Yous. They will answer the question: Can courage be shown in more than one way?  They will answer this question as they compare the two different characters using evidence from the different text.

English- There will be a test over Chapter 5 in our English textbooks on Tuesday, October. 20.  The students will have homework assignments that will help them to review for the test.  They should also do the proofreading lessons in their Google English Classroom as well as use the end of their chapter reviews.  There are many things to practice there as well as the worksheets in their binders.  

Social Studies - The students will choose a project to do for the Narragansett, the Native Americans from the Northeast region.  they will work on this project following a rubric.  

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room - October 5-October 9

Things to Remember:
Tuesday, October 6 - Picture Day
Friday, October 10- Early Dismissal 11:35
Monday, October 12 - No School Columbus Day

We will have "A Taste of the Northeast" on Wednesday of this week. I am looking for volunteers to bring in the food items to help us celebrate.  Here are the items we need:  frozen waffles, syrup, jellied cranberries- taken out of the can and sliced, grapes- washed and easy to serve, I will bring the crabmeat. Let me know if you can bring something in.

Math The students will bring home their lesson checkup quiz on Monday.  We will be reviewing  these skills and concepts, but they should review the things they personally struggled with on this quiz.  These skills and concepts  will be on their  test for Module 1-3.  We will also take a closer look at multiplicative comparisons.  There will be a test over modules 1-3 on Wednesday of this week. They should use their books, check up quiz, and the papers in their binders to review.

The students should look at their math classroom.  I have added two games for them to play to practice finding factors and finding multiples.  These games should be played by Tuesday.

Spelling- The students will be working with words that are homophones this week.  Whey will be responsible for completing workbook pages 67-69 unless they scored a 95% or better on their pretest.  Then they will be responsible for an alternate list of words and activities.  They will have a test on Friday.

English- This week in English the students will write using commas in a series, after introductory words as in yes, no, well. The will also use commas to set off names of people being addressed.  The students will identify quotations in sentences and use quotations marks before and after a direct quotation.

Reading - There will be a test on theme, cause/effect and vocabulary on Wednesday of this week.   They can practice theme in their Reading Google Classroom and they can practice their vocabulary words in their Google Reading Classroom using the Quizlet and their slideshow of vocabulary words.  They should know the meaning of the words and be able to write the words in good sentences.  What is a good sentence?  A good sentence will show you understand the meaning of the word.  It is not a definition.  It will have a capital letter and an end mark.
Ex.  Bad sentences:  I liked the assembly.  An assembly is a large meeting.

Good sentences:  There was an assembly in the gym for all the band members.

During the assembly, we learned about the different instruments that we could play in the band.

Social Studies -   We will have a test on Tuesday, this week over chapter 4 Unit 2 The Northeast Land and Resources. The should review all the pages in their binder.  They also created questions for the test that I will use to test them with.

Pages 104-119.  The students should study all the sheets from their binder.  They should know:

• all vocabulary 
• how Niagara Falls was formed, where it is located, and why it is so important to the Northeast (2 ways)
• what is produced by hydro power plants
• the important mountain ranges that make up part of the Appalachian Mountains
• which states do not share a border with the Atlantic Ocean
• the Finger Lakes and understand why grapes grow well there
• difference between the coast of Maine and the coast of New Jersey
• two challenges that threaten the fish population of Chesapeake Bay
• how Green Mountains and the White Mountains alike and different
• which state would you like to live in the Northeast Region-why? 2 reasons

News From Mrs. Cavoto's Room Sept. 28- Oct. 2

Dates to Remember:

Tuesday, Sept. 29- Final Magazine turn in day


Math- This week the students will  continue to review the strategies for multiplication of their basic facts.    The students will focus on factors, multiples, and products.   They will understand the associative property as they work through their Problem Strings.  There is a checkpoint quiz on Friday of this week.  I will send home their pretest for them to review the skills. They should review their Home Connections  book pages 1-12 and  Student Book pages 1-23.  I will also send a review of skills page home for them to practice with on Thursday.

Spelling -  This week the students will work with words that have the sounds of u.  They will be responsible for workbook pages 52-54.  There will be a test on Friday.

English- We will continue to work with writing different kinds of sentences.  The students will review capitalization of names of people, animals, places and things.  They will capitalize and punctuate abbreviations for titles, addresses, months and days.  There will be a quiz over Abbreviations on Friday.  The students should know how to abbreviate the months and the days of the week correctly using capital letters and periods.  A practice sheet will go home to help them study.

Reading- The students will continue to Close Read the story Happy Birthday, Dr. King.  They will practice answering text-dependent questions and complete a vocabulary study for the story. The students will understand how the author uses  cause-effect relationships to help them understand the text.

Social Studies- This week the students will understand the importance of Chesapeake Bay to the Northeast and some of the challenges they are facing.  We will have a test next Tuesday, Oct. 6, over chapter 4 Unit 2 The Northeast Land and Resources.

Pages 104-119.  The students should study all the sheets from their binder.  They should know:

• all vocabulary 
• how Niagara Falls was formed, where it is located, and why it is so important to the Northeast (2 ways)
• what is produced by hydro power plants
• the important mountain ranges that make up part of the Appalachian Mountains
• which states do not share a border with the Atlantic Ocean
• the Finger Lakes and understand why grapes grow well there
• difference between the coast of Maine and the coast of New Jersey
• two challenges that threaten the fish population of Chesapeake Bay
• how Green Mountains and the White Mountains alike and different
• which state would you like to live in the Northeast Region-why? 2 reasons

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Sept. 21-25

Dates to Remember:

Tuesday, Sept. 22- Zoo Field Trip- Dress for the weather. Bring a disposable sack lunch with your name on it.  

Magazine turn in Day 1.

Thursday, Sept. 24- SIP Day - 11:35 dismissal. 

Spelling - This week in spelling the students will work with words that have the  Short i and short o sounds and words with long  i and long o sounds. They will be assigned packet pages 37-39. There will be a test on Friday.

Math-This week the students will use area models to illustrate the distributive property.  We will continue to review multiplication strategies to help them demonstrate an understanding of multiplication.    The students may need help in understanding these strategies and it may seem as though they are more difficult than just memorizing their facts, however, we believe that these strategies will help them gain a better sense for numbers, and as they work with more difficult equations, these strategies we hope this will help them figure them out quickly with more efficiency. Please continue to help your child know their basic multiplication and division facts by studying them each night. Don't forget they can practice them in the Math Classroom on their Chromebooks.

English- This week the students will work with different kinds of sentences. They will write  sentences  using correct end marks, capitalization, and recognize run on sentences. They will practice using a variety of statements, commands, questions, and exclamations to make their writing more interesting.

Reading- The Courage theme was launched this week.  We will continue our discussions about courage and  Martin Luther King, Jr. The students will discuss- Can one person make a difference?  They will work on their speaking and listening skills as they present information to the class about a time their partner was courageous.

Social Studies The students will continue their gallery walk as they find facts and match it to the places of interest in the Northeast.   We will also focus on the products and resources of the Northeast this week.  They will learn about the vineyards in New York and cranberry bogs of Massachusetts, as well as other resources such as sap that comes from all the sugar maple trees in Vermont and the mineral resources that come from the quarries in New Hampshire.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Sept. 14-18

Important Dates:

Monday, Sept. 14 - Magazine Kick Off

Math-The students will investigate factors and factor pairs for numbers between 1 and 100. They will multiply using the commutative property.They will determine whether a whole number between 1-100 is a prime or composite number.  The students will review the strategies they used to solve basic multiplication facts.  Please help your child review their multiplication facts.  This will make it easier for them as we progress through the skills and concepts they need to know.  They can refer to their Math Classroom for the speed game to practice their facts.

Spelling:  This week in spelling the students will be working with words that have the long and short sound of a and e.  They will be responsible for completing workbook pages 17-19 throughout the week.  There will be a test on Friday.  If the students pass the pretest on Monday with a 95% or better, they will be given an alternate set of words to study and an activity sheet which will have the new activities they will do instead of the workbook pages.  They will then be tested on their new words on Friday.

Language Arts:  This week the students will compare and contrast two texts: the song Mighty Jackie the Homerun Queen and the poem Casey at the Bat.  They will also understand text dependent questions and work with a partner to practice writing their own text dependent questions.

Writing: The students will write a paragraph focusing on the Main idea stated in a topic sentence and a closing which is stated in a different way at the end of the paragraph.  They will include details in the paragraph which talk about the main idea.  Indenting the paragraph, using capital letters, end marks and writing complete sentences will also be assessed.

Social Studies- The students will share their Niagara Falls research.  They will identify three mountain ranges in the Northeastern part of the Appalachian Mountains, and they will understand the different features of those ranges.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Sept. 7-11

It was so nice meeting many of you at Curriculum Night. Remember if you have any questions feel free to send me an 

e-mail. 

Dates to Remember:
Mon. Sept. 7- No school Veteran's Day
Wed. & Thurs. Sept. 8 & 9 MAP testing
Fri. Sept. 11 Zoo permission slips due

Here is the plan for the week:

Math:  This week the students will continue to investigate the relationship between multiplication and division using open number lines, ratio tables and the area model.  

Spelling: The list this week will be another review of commonly misspelled words.  There will be  a test on Friday.  Each night they will have an activity to do for that day.   This will be done in their spelling journal.  

Writing: We began paragraph writing last week. The students were picking topics and brainstorming ideas and details that go with the topics.  This week they will understand that they have to first choose the main topic of a paragraph and then those details become the body of their paragraph.   They will then practice writing paragraphs.  They will organize their details and use capital letters and end marks appropriately. 

Reading: We will continue our Close Read with Casey at the Bat.  The students will finish writing summaries of the poem and share them with the clase.  They will look closer at the vocabulary in the passage and discuss how to use context clues to help determine the meaning of some words. They will also understand perspective and point of view.  How does the story change meaning based on the person who is telling the story?

Social Studies- We will have a Northeast map quiz on Tuesday of this week.  The students will have to write the names of the states and bodies of water of the Northeast in the correct spot on the map. Spelling does not count, but I have to be able to figure out the name of the state they have written on the line or it will be wrong.  If they can place the capital next to the state it matches, they can earn an extra point on their quiz. They have to have at least 4 capitals to get any credit.   They do not need to know capitals though. It is for those students who want the challenge.  

This week the students will research information on Niagara Falls. What is it? What does it look like?  Where is it located? How and when was it formed?  How does it help the people who live around it?  What are some interesting facts?  The students will share their information with the class. 


    

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room - Aug . 31 -Sept. 4

Welcome to Fourth Grade!

We have had a very busy three-day week last week, and we are off to a great start.  We organized our materials, learned about classroom procedures and participated in activities to help us get to know each other and our classroom.

Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, Sept. 1 - Curriculum Night 6:30 - 8:00
Monday, September 7, No School, Labor Day

Math for Mrs. Cavoto's Class:  We had our first day of Math on Friday. Our first module is Models for Multiplication and Division. The students will  learn how to interpret products of whole numbers using number lines, ratio tables, and rectangular rays.  There will be a nightly homework assignment.

Reading - Reading:  In reading this week we will work on Close reading   Close reading is the careful, sustained interpretation of a piece of text, and one of the cornerstones of the Common Core State Standards.  We will read the poem, "Casey at the Bat". The students will read and reread this poem, dissecting it to gain understanding of the author's words. They will also compare it to other texts  and try to understand the author's perspective.

Spelling: Our first spelling unit will include frequently misspelled words.  A pretest will be given on Wednesday. The students will be given a sheet with  their weekly homework assignments on it and they should use the words in their spelling list.  They should complete those assignments in their spelling journal.    If they pass out of those words, they will be given an alternate list of words to complete the assignments with.  The test will be given on Friday.

Social Studies:  The students will become familiar with  our social studies text  by working with a partner and completing a  "textbook scavenger hunt".  This year we will be touring the regions of the United States.  The first region we will visit is the Northeast Region.  The students will explore Niagara Falls and understand how it was formed, and the importance of it to the people in the Northeast.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room June 8-9

June 8 - Field Day and Picnic 8:15-9:15  Gym shoes required
June 9 - Last Day of School 11:00 dismissal

Dear Parents,

What a wonderful year this has been!   I have enjoyed working with all of your children this year and I will truly miss them.  They are such a good group of kids possessing the qualities of great character that make us so proud as teachers and parents - being positive, respectful, determined, and empathetic towards others.

Thank you for all the support you have given me this year with sending in treats for our resource days, and or helping with parties,  projects and field trips.  I can not tell you how much I have appreciated this.  

I hope that you all have a wonderful and relaxing summer.

Sincerely,

Carol Cavoto

P.S. I hope they will share their Glogsters with you.  That is the last project that they have worked for Social Studies to help them learn about the National Parks in the West Region.  

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room June

June 1 - Resource Day-Classroom party earned for good behavior. Hotdogs and food from the West Region will be served with a little Hawaiian flair.
June 2 - Pizza Party- Congratulations! Our class won the Box Top pizza party.  Pizza will be provided during lunch on that day.

June 5 - Bowling in P.M.

June 8 - Field Day and Picnic
June 9 - Last Day of School 11:00 dismissal

Math- There will be a math test on Wednesday of this week over chapter 14-Geometry.  The students should study the materials in their math folder. They may finish any unfinished pages from their workbook as extra practice as well.

Spelling- This week will be a review unit.  The students will be assigned pages 247-249- Volume 2. The test on Friday will be optional.  The students can let me know if they would like to take the test or not.

Language Arts- This week the students will read articles about immigration to the US today.  They will work in groups to gather information from the articles and then share what they learned with the class.  They will have a debate on whether or not  immigrants should be allowed to freely come to America.  We will begin a new cycle of  our Journeys - Journeys within America.  American history is full of exciting journeys of exploration.  Many settlers set out for new lands in the west towards a better life. Students will learn about the communication and collaboration and conflicts of those who journeyed across America.

There will be a test on Adverbs and Prepositions, unit 7 on Thursday of this week.  The students will have homework to help them review for this test.

Science- The students will compare the effects of a magnet and an electric current on a compass. They will compare the properties of magnets with those of electromagnets and recognize the usefulness of magnets, electromagnets, generators and motors.

Social Studies - The students will continue to study the West region this week.  They will share their National Park Glogster with the class.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room - May 26-May 29

May 25 - No School Memorial Day
Tuesday, May 26-All library books are due back to the IMC.  I have asked the students to check at home to see if they have any of our classroom library books at their house.  They should have my name or Mrs. Krezel's name on the inside cover. Thank you.
June 2 - Pizza Party- Congratulations! Our class won the Box Top pizza party.  Pizza will be provided during lunch on that day.

June 5 - Bowling in P.M.

June 8 - Field Day and Picnic
June 9 - Last Day of School 11:00 dismissal


Math - This week in math the students will solve problems with Angles.  There will be a quiz on Wednesday  over lessons 3-7.  The students will classify triangles based on angle measure and describe triangles using their attributes. They will also classify quadrilaterals.

Spelling- This week the students will work with words that have silent consonants.  They will be responsible for pages 228-230 unless they pass the pretest.  Then they will have an alternate list and activities.  Test Friday.

Language Arts- This week our focus will be on the journey to Ellis Island.  We will close read excerpts from the book Journey to Ellis Island: How My Father Came to America.  They will discuss and share their response to What is the American Dream? The students will study the vocabulary, text structure, and answer text-dependent questions.  They will compare this reading to the Book, If Your Name Was Changed on Ellis Island.

We will continue our work with adverbs.

The students should be finished with their poetry books.  I will be grading them starting on Tuesday, so they do have time to check them over to be sure they have followed the rules of each poem from their poetry packet and that they have used their Rubric as a quide.

Social Studies- We will continue our study of the West.  The students have chosen a National Park in the West.  They will do the research on their park, and they will create a Glogster to share their findings.

Science- This week the students will  continue their study electricity.  They will explain static and current electricity.  They will understand how electricity moves in circuits.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room May 18-22

Important Dates:

May 25 - No School Memorial Day
June 5 - Bowling in P.M.
June 8 - Field Day and Picnic
June 9 - Last Day of School 11:00 dismissal

Math-This week in math, the students will use the concept of angle measurement to classify angles as acute, obtuse, or right angles.  They will also use protractors to measure and draw angles to the nearest degree.

Spelling- The students will be working with words that have unusual spellings.  They will be responsible for pages 213-215 in their spelling volume 2 book.  If they passed their pretest, they will have an alternate list of words and activities.

Language Arts- The students will close read Love That Dog a second time.  They will add to the comparison chart of how Jack's feelings toward poetry has changed from the beginning of the story to the end.  They will compare the book Love That Dog to the poem Love That Boy by Walter Dean Myers.

They will work on their poetry books. The poems they will focus on are: Five Sense Poem, Concrete Poem, Cinquains,  Color Poem and Five W Poem.   They will be expected to complete the poems for homework if they do not finish  it during the time in class.

Science-We will begin a unit on Making and Using Electricity.  The students will learn and investigate the 4 ways to light a light bulb using a battery, wire and light bulb.

Social Studies-The students will identify the largest system of mountains in the U.S.  They will compare and contrast mountain ranges of the West and identify mountain range in the West and where they are located. They will compare geysers to volcanoes.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room

Important Dates:
May 15 - Early Dismissal 11:00

Math- There will be a math test over chapter 13, Area & Perimeter on Tuesday of this week.  The students have review work  to do this weekend to help them practice.  They also can complete any unfinished pages in their workbook for extra practice.  We will then begin a unit on geometry.  The students will draw and identify points, lines, line segments, and rays.

Spelling - This week in spelling the students will be working with three syllable words.  They will be responsible for completing pages 193-195 in their volume 2 workbook unless they pass the pretest.  If they pass the pretest, they will work on alternate activities for the week.

Language Arts - We will continue reading Love That Dog.  The students will continue to compare how Jacks feelings about poetry change from the beginning of the story to the end. They will read poetry and find the figurative language and elements of poetry  in the poems that they read.
They will then, apply that form of figurative language to their own poetry.

The first poem they will write is a Haiku poem.  The students will include personification in their Haiku poems.

The students will also understand that an adverb is a word that describes a verb and  tells how, when and where.

Social Studies- This week we will travel to the West.  The students will fill in a Map of the states in the west.  They will have a Map activity to complete at home that will be due on Thursday of this week.  There will be a Map quiz on the West on Thursday.  They will need to place the states correctly on the map.

Science- There will be a Science test on  Simple Machines on Wednesday of this week.  The students  They should study the main concepts in their book and all
They should know:
All vocabulary
understand scientists meaning for work.
Understand all simple machines  - what they are made up of and how they work
Recognize and identify simple machines
Which simple machine does not change the direction of the force? (wheel and axle)
Understand threads on a screw and what simple machine they are

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room May 4 - May 8th

Dates to Remember:
May 4 - PARCC Testing ELA
May 5- PARCC Testing  Math 1
May 6 - PARCC Testing Math 2
May 15 - Early Dismissal 11:00
May 25 - No School Memorial Day
June 5 - Bowling in P.M.
June 8 - Field Day and Picnic
June 9 - Last Day of School 11:00 dismissal

Math- We will begin a new chapter Perimeter and Area.  The students will understand that they can find the perimeter of a rectangle by adding the side lengths or by using the formula
 P= (2 x l) + (2 x w) where l is the length and w is the width.  They will also know that they can measure area by counting unit squares, and by using the formula A = l x w.  They will also understand that they may solve some problems by solving a simpler form of the original problem..

Spelling - The students will be working with words that have final sounds with r, l, al.  They will be responsible for pages 237-239 in volume 1.


Reading - We will begin a novel study of the book Love that  Dog, by Sharon Creech. Love that Dog is a free verse piece written diary format. It is written from the perspective of a young boy who resists poetry assignments from his teacher. Throughout his journey, he learns to appreciate, and to even enjoy the art of poetry. As we read this book, we will continue to examine the literary elements.

The students will write their own poems using the poetic forms and elements that they will be learning about and have learned.    

English - This week the students will combine pronouns and verbs to write contractions.  They will also distinguish between the homophones its and it's, they're, there, and their, and you're, and your.  There will be a test on Thursday of this week over unit 6 Pronouns.  There are many lessons at the back of the chapter for the students to use as practice.  

Science- There will be a test over Simple Machines chapter 17 on Tuesday, May 12.  The students should study the information in their binders and the main concepts and vocabulary in their book.  They should know:

all vocabulary
a scientists definition of work
understand wheel and axles in relation to simple machines
understand what the  6 simple machines are, how they work and what they are made of
what simple machines change the direction of the force

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room April 27-May 1

 Just a reminder:  Open House is this Thursday

Thurs., 4/30 - Open House and Spring Book Fair/Ice Cream Social

Fri., 5/15 - Early Dismissal

Tues. 5/19 - Beginning Band concert

Mon., 5/25 - No school; Memorial Day

The online book fair opens 4/25. Visit this link for more information:

http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/homepage.do?method=homepage&url=

prairieviewelementaryschool15/

The students will be taking the MAP tests this week. We will  be taking the Reading test on Tuesday and Math test on Thursday.

Math- This week there will be a test over chapter 10 Fractions and Decimals on Wednesday of this week.   The students should study the pages in their binder to help them review for this test. They will also get a review sheet that will help them review the skills as well.  There are problems in their book that we did not do that they can go back and complete for extra practice as well.  

Spelling- This week the students will have homophones for their words.  It is important for them to understand the meanings of the words.  They will be responsible for  pages 199-201 in volume 1. There will be a test on Friday.

Reading-   We will continue our unit on Poetry. We will use the book Love That Dog by Sharon Creech to continue our discussions of poetry and poetic elements like rhyme scheme, alliteration, simile, and metaphor. 

English-We will continue with Chapter 6 Pronouns. 

Science-  The  inventions  are due on Tuesday. The students will prepare a written description of their invention as well as give an oral presentation.   A rubric will go home for the students to use as a guide as they prepare for their presentation.  which will be on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.  

Social Studies- We will review the land and resources and the culture of the Navajo people of the Southwest.  There will be a test on Friday of this week over chapter 10 and lesson 1 of chapter 11.  The students should study the main ideas from their textbook and use the sheets in their binder as a review.

They should also know:
all vocabulary
The formation of the Grand Canyon
Describe the Grand Canyon today: What is it? What does it look like? Why do people go there?  What can you do there?
The varied climate of the region
deserts
 The Saguaro and know how it has adapted to life in the desert and how it helps the animals of the desert
nonrenewable resources
The technology industries in the Southeast
What state has laboratories that develop military resources and study nuclear energy?
Give two details to explain how oil has been important to the development of the Southwest: Use your worksheets to help you answer this.
Understand the early culture of the Navajo and what happened as the Spanish settlers moved in and the government took over.
The Long Walk
Understand the Navajo Tribal Council

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room April 20-24

On-Line Auction: Don't forget to check out the online auction items. You can bid for your child a recess time playing mini-tennis with Mrs. Cavoto.  They can do it by themselves or invite a friend.

Math -  This week in math the students will review the relationships between decimals and fractions using grids and number lines.  They will identify and read and write tenths and hundredths as decimals and fractions.  They will use place value and equivalent fractions to add two fractions with respective denominators 10 and 100.  They will also compare and order decimals to 100's.

Spelling - The unit in spelling this week is a review unit.  The students will be responsible for workbook pages 163-165.  There will be a test on Friday of this week.

Language Arts-  We will begin our poetry unit this week.  The students will  understand the elements of poetry: variety of verses, rhyme schemes, and meters, stanzas along with understanding the figurative language used by the authors to make their poems unique.  They will read poems written by Shel Silverstein and other famous poets to help them understand and determine author's viewpoint.

Social Studies - This week in social studies the students will understand the culture of the Native Americans, The Navajo People, who have lived in the Southwest for  hundreds of years.  They will understand how the Navajo culture was influenced by the Pueblo and they will learn how the Navajo life changed after the  Europeans moved in.

Science -We will continue our work with simple machines. Can your child explain the answer to this question?  Is a rod and reel one simple machine?  No; The rod is a lever, and the reel is a wheel- and -axle.

Mrs. Cavoto's Blog for April 13-17

Math- There will be a test on Tuesday of this week over Fractions chapter 9.  The students should study the worksheets and workbook pages from their binders.  They can finish any unfinished pages in the chapter for extra practice.

Spelling - This week the students will be working with more VCV words.  They will be responsible for workbook pages 144-146.

Reading- This week we will read The Velveteen Rabbit and compare his journey to Edward Tulane.  The students will partner up and write a dialogue between the two characters sharing the experiences of how their journey was impacted by the people and events they encountered along the way.

English- We will begin a unit on pronouns this week.  The students will understand that a pronoun takes the place of one or more nouns.  They will understand singular and plural pronouns along with subject and object pronouns.  

Social Studies - We will continue our journey through the Southwest.  The students will begin a project. They will choose a state in the southwest to create a travel brochure..  This week, they will be doing the research on the state that they choose.

Science - We will continue our work with simple machines.  The students will learn how a pulley and a wheel and axle help people do work.  

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room March 23-March 27

Tuesday, March 24- OLSAT testing- -8:15-9:15.
Thursday, March 26- Invention Convention Contracts are due
Friday, March 27 - In school field trip with Dupage Children's Museum-Wheels, Levers, and Pulleys.
Monday, March 30 Spring Break
Wednesday, April 8 - Classes resume
Spirit Week Agenda:

MonSpring Training Day - Cubs vs. Sox - support your favorite team and wear something Cubs or Sox.

Tue Shades Day - wear your sunglasses to school.

WedThink Spring Day - wear spring colors (yellow, pink, light blue, green, etc.)

ThurHat Day - wear your favorite hat.

FridaComfy Clothes Day - wear your most comfortable clothes to school - including pajama pants if you wish.
Invention Convention:  Information about our Invention Convention will be going home on Monday of  this week.   There is a calendar of when things are to be turned in on the back of the letter.  The students will work on their contracts on Tuesday and Wednesday and have it signed by a parent to be sure this is an invention that can be done. It will be due on Thursday.  I will go over their contracts with them and give them an approval so they may begin working on their invention right away.

Math - This week the students will add, subtract, fractions and mixed fractions.  They will multiply fractions and they will also learn to simplify all their answers.

Spelling- The students will be working with Vowel Consonant Vowel (VCV)  spelling patterns this week.  They will be responsible for pages 175-177 in their workbook.  If they pass out of the pretest, they will work on alternate activities with an alternate list.

English- The students will be working with figurative language and adjectives this week.  They will study idioms, hyperbole, metaphors, similes, irony, and personification. They will use the figurative language to describe their favorite "Hot Spot".  Where is their favorite place to go in the summer?  But don't let them tell anyone because we want to keep it a secret so others will have to guess where it is based on their description.

Reading - The students will continue to read The Miraculous Adventures of Edward Tulane. They will understand the meaning of the word persevere as it relates to the story and a poem entitled Try, Try Again.  They will describe a time when they have had to persevere and how they handled it.
Science - The students will be working on their human body slide show this week.  They should be ready to share it by Wednesday of this week.

Invention Convention:  Information about our Invention Convention will be going home on Monday of  this week.   There is a calendar of when things are to be turned in on the back of the letter.  The students will work on their contracts on Tuesday and Wednesday and have it signed by a parent to be sure this is an invention that can be done. It will be due on Thursday.  I will go over their contracts with them and give them an approval so they may begin working on their invention right away.

Social Studies - This week the students will travel to the Southwest.  Their colored map is due on Monday of this week and their will be a map quiz on Tuesday. This week the students will learn about the Grand Canyon- the role of erosion in forming the Grand Canyon, the people of the canyon, and visiting the Grand Canyon.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room March 16-20

Wednesday, March 18 - Picture and or Money for pictures are due
Thursday, March 19 - Early Dismissal 11:00 SIP Day


Spelling -This week the students will work with words that have prefixes and suffixes.  They will be responsible for workbook pages 109-111. If they pass out of their pretest, they will have an alternate list of words and activities.

Math -  The students will write mixed numbers and improper fractions.  We will review the skills that they have been working on throughout this chapter.  There are many new skills in this fraction unit, so any extra help you can give our child in reviewing these skills will help them a lot.   This week in math a test is planned for Wednesday, March 18 over Fractions chapter 8.  

English - There will be an English test over adjectives, unit 4 on Tuesday of this week.  The students will have homework to help them review.  They can use the lessons at the end of the chapter to help them practice, and they can do the proofreading activity in Google Classroom.

Reading- The students will continue to read The Miraculous Adventures of Edward Tulane.  They will understand how Edward is beginning to change on the inside as we discuss the reactions and emotions he experiences.  They will understand what it means to persevere and write about a time they have had to persevere and how they handled it.  We will also read a poem Try, Try, Again and discuss how the word persevere relates to the poem.

Science-The students will work on a Human body project.  They will work with one or two other people to research a body system.  They will follow a rubric to create a slide show with their research.

A test is planned for Friday,  March 20, over the Body Systems.  The students should study the main vocabulary and concepts from the book, and use all the notes in their binder.

They should know:
the different kinds of joints and muscles
understand how muscles  work to move bones
understand the steps in digestion
understand the different systems and main parts in them
understand and be able to explain what happens if you fall and scrape your knee
know the different jobs of the bones
understand and be able to explain  how messages are carried from the brain throughout your body.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room March 9-13

March 9,11,13 - PARCC Testing
March 16 - Early Dismissal


Math- The students will review reducing fractions to its simplest form.  They will compare and order fractions creating equivalent fractions, and they will use benchmark fractions to compare and order fractions.

English - In English this week, the students will use more to compare two things and most to compare more than two things. They will use comparative and superlative forms of the words good and bad.  There is an adjective test unit 4 planned for Tuesday, March 17.

Reading - This week in reading,  The students will continue to read  and discuss the story of Edward Tulane.  They will use their journals to respond  how Edward is changing and realizing what the important things in life are.    The students will have a vocabulary test on Thursday of this week.  They should know the meanings of the words as used in the story and be able to use the context of a sentence to figure out the meaning of  the words.

Science-  How does your body think and move?  This week in science, the students will describe the jobs of the nervous system and muscular system, and the skeletal system.  The will describe how the muscular and skeletal systems work together to move the body.

Social Studies-The students will finish their Just Look books and prepare to share them with the class.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room March 2-6

March 2 -  PARCC math testing 8:10-9:50
March 4 -  PARCC math testing 8:10-9:50
March 9 -  PARCC ELA testing  8:10-9:50
March 11 - PARCC ELA testing 8:10-9:50
March 13 - PARCC ELA testing 8:10-9:50

To help your child prepare for these tests they should be sure to eat a healthy breakfast and get a good night's sleep.  Words of encouragement  before they leave the door are always helpful.  The district website has  math and ELA practice tests that the students can go to for practice.  We have done this in class so they should know what to do.

If anyone would like to send in a healthy snack for our testing days, I know the kids would love it.

Math -  Our new unit is  on Fractions and the students will begin working in their Volume 2 books.   We have been working on factors and multiples, prime and composite numbers.  I will give a lesson review graded assignment on Thursday of this week. The students will begin exploring equivalent fractions.

Spelling - The students will work with words that have an ed or ing ending.  They will be responsible for page 252-254.  There will not be a pretest this week because of PARCC testing.

English - We will continue our work with adjectives.  The students will practice using special articles a, an, and the.

Reading - The students will read the poem "Some People" and use the ideas from the poem to compare and contrast the character of  Pelegrina to the boys on the ship.  They will read about the first major event in Edward's life and  discuss how the author writes to show how this affected Edward.

Science -  We will review functions of the digestive, circulatory, and respiratory, systems.  The students will understand the job of the red and white blood cells.  They will also be able to understand and explain what happens to your body when you get a cut.

Social Studies - The students will continue to work on their Midwest "Just Look Books".

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room February 23-27

Math- There will be a test on Wednesday of this week over chapter 7 patterns and sequences in math.  The students should study the papers in their binders and they may bring their books home to use any of the unfinished pages as practice.

Spelling- This week the students will work with compound words.  They will be responsible for workbook pages 217-219 unless they pass out of the pretest and then they will have an alternate list and activities to complete.

English - We will begin a unit on adjectives this week.  The students will identify adjectives that tell what kind or how many and they will identify the nouns they describe.

Reading-  The students will read poetry to understand figurative language such as personification which will help them to gain a better understanding of an author's message.  They  will continue reading the Marvelous Adventures of Edward Tulane.  The students will use poetry to compare the author's feelings in a poem to the characters in the story.  They will continue to work with vocabulary and write responses to their reading in their writing journals.

Science-The students will understand the job of the respiratory system.  They will understand what causes movement of the chest when a person breathes and how the diaphragm works.  What component of air is needed by all of the body's cells?  oxygen.

Social Studies - We will begin a project on the Midwest.  The students will be making a "Just Look Book of a state in the Midwest."

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Feb. 16-Feb. 20

Monday, Feb. 16- No School President's Day
Tuesday, Feb. 17-In school Field Trip "Magnet" 8:30-9:30



Spelling - This week the students will work with more VCCV words (vowel,consonant, consonant, vowel).  They will be responsible for workbook pages 91-93.  There will be a test on Friday of this week.

Math- This week in math the students will use order of operations to solve problems.  They will also use a table to recognize and write equations with two or more operations.  A test is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 24 over Chapter 7.

English - There will be a test in English over unit 3 Verbs on Friday of this week.   The students will bring homework home that will help them to review for the test.  There are lots of review pages at the end of the chapter for your child to practice and review as well. They can go into Google classroom English and do the proofreading sections.  Some have done this, but may need a parent to go over to be sure they did it correctly.  This is a great way to practice for the proofreading section of the test.

Reading - This week the students will read the poem Words as Free as Confetti by Pat Mora - They will review the lines, stanza and rhyme scheme in poems.  They will understand that authors use similes as a way to create vivid pictures in the reader's mind. They will find comparisons in poetry and practice reading poems aloud with expression.


Science - In science this week, The students will learn about the skin, the body's largest organ.  They will also understand that digestion begins in the mouth. The body's main source of nutrients is food.  The digestive system is responsible for breaking down the food into nutrients the body can use.

Social Studies - We will have our "Taste of the Midwest" Resource Day on Friday of this week. I will ask the students what they would like to bring in.  If you approve, please just send me a little note or e-mail letting me know that this is okay with you.  We will need 2 people for popcorn each person would send one large bag of popcorn. We will also need, crackers, butter, little ice cream cups, gogurts, blueberries, strawberries, cheese, ham,

New from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Feb. 9-13

Mon., Feb. 9-11 Parent Teacher Conferences
Wed., Feb. 11 Early Dismissal 11:00
Thurs., Feb. 12 Valentine's Day Party 1:30 Students may bring in Valentines to pass out.
Fri., Feb. 13 No School
Mon., Feb. 16 No School President's Day


Spelling- No spelling this week.

Math In math this week, there will be a lesson review quiz over lessons 1-4 chapter 7 on Tuesday. The students will solve problems by looking for patterns.  They will find and use rules to write addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division equations.

Reading- In reading this week we will continue our  journey with Edward Tulane. The vocabulary in the text is very rich and interesting.  The author is really challenging the students to become better readers.   We will continue to close read a passage from the book discussing the author's feelings about Edward and using text evidence to show how he feels.  The students will use their reading journal to responds to text dependent questions about the story.

English- We continue to work with verbs this week.

Science-The students will learn about the digestive system this week.

Social Studies-  We will begin a new unit on the Native Americans of the Midwest, The Ojibwa.

Mrs. Cavoto's Blog Feb. 2- Feb. 6

Friday, February 6- Bingo Night - (I hope you can come. I will be working it:)
Wednesday, Feb. 11- Early Dismissal 11:00-Spirit Day-Wear Valentine's Colors.
Thursday, Feb. 12-Valentine's Day Party - 1:30

Spelling - This week is a review week.  The students will be responsible for workbook pages 79-81.  There will be a test on Friday of this week.

Math - We will begin a new unit this week.  The students will identify, describe, and extend non numeric and numeric patterns.  There will be a lesson review quiz on Friday of this week over lessons 1-4 in chapter 7. Division fact test mixed review on Friday.

Reading- In reading this week, we will continue our close read of  the song"A Whole New World".  We will begin our journey with the story of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.  The students will close read to appreciate the complexity of  this piece of literature as we study the rich vocabulary and author's craft in making the text interesting and so challenging us to become better readers.

English- This week in English we continue our study with verbs.

Science-We will begin a new unit on the human body this week.  The students will understand that cells are the building blocks of the body.

Social Studies- The test over chapter 8 will be on Thursday of this week.  The students should study the main ideas of each lesson in the text and all the sheets in their folders.

They should know:
all vocabulary
understand how glaciers formed the Great Lakes
what connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean
understand the flow of the Chicago River and why it was changed
advantages and disadvantages of shipping by barge
describe the Badlands of long ago and how they have changed
why did the Badlands become cooler and less humid
describe erosion
describe a prairie
why is the Midwest an important agricultural region
describe the Central Plains
crops that grow in the Midwest
understand irrigation
products of Wisconsin

News in Mrs. Cavoto's Room January 26-30

Friday, Jan. 23 - Mid -term
Wednesday, Jan. 28 - Spelling B for 4th grade at 1:00-Congratulations to Sameer Singh,our classroom winner, and Catherine Hewawissa, runner-up.  They will be representing our classroom in the spelling B.
Friday, February 6- Bingo Night - I hope you can come. I will be working it:)
Wednesday, Feb. 11- Early Dismissal 11:00-Spirit Day-Wear Valentine's Colors.
Thursday, Feb. 12-Valentine's Day Party - 1:30


Math-This week in math the students will solve division problems with greater numbers and problems that result in quotients that have zeros.  They will solve word problems with multiple steps.
There will be a test on Friday of this week over Chapter 6.  The students should study the skills from the lessons that are in their binder.  There maybe some extra pages in their textbook that we were not able to finish that they can use for extra practice as well.

Spelling - The students will work with words that have the vowel consonant consonant vowel (VCCV) pattern this week.  They will be responsible for workbook pages 59-61, unless they are in the pretest group.  Then they will be responsible for completing the alternate list of activities.

English - We will continue our study of verbs this week.  The students will understand and be able to write the present, past and future tense of verbs.  They will work on their writing in keeping the same tense of verbs throughout their piece.

Reading- This week we will begin our new unit themed, Journeys.   The students will work collaboratively in small groups to brainstorm ideas to the questions: What does it mean to go on a journey? How can a person be changed by a journey they have experienced?  They will create a passport to keep records of the journeys they go on throughout the unit.  Later in the week we will Close read a passage from the song A Whole New World.  The students will annotate the passage as they dig deeper and deeper into understanding the text.

Science - This week the students will compare living things of the past with those of today.  They will describe how plants and animals have changed over time.  They will describe the causes of extinction.  A test is planned for Thursday of this week on Chapter 4.  The students should study the key concepts from the lessons, all vocabulary, and all papers in their science folder.

They should know:
The basic needs of all living things and what basic need plants meet by themselves.
The difference between learned behaviors and instincts-also be able to give examples.
Which organism has fossils that show it has changed little over time
What happens during hibernation and migration? 
Understand extinction and be able to give examples of plants and animals that are extinct
Understand adaptations and be able to give examples of adaptations and what they are used for.
Understand the life cycle of a tree and be able to label the different stages and explain what happens in each stage. 
What information can you get from fossils?
Understand living fossils.

Social Studies- This week the students will finish their Badlands project.  They will explain why the Midwest is an important agricultural region and understand why some farmers  irrigate their crops.  They will understand and identify crops that are grown in the Central Plains and the Great Plains and how rain affects the growth of the crops.  The test has been changed to the following week for Wednesday, Feb. 4th over chapter 8 The Midwest.