News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room May 30-June 2

Dear Parents,

Chromebooks will be collected on Tuesday. May 30th.  Please remind your child to bring in their Chromebook along with their charger.  

Important Dates
Monday, May 29-Memorial Day, No School
Tuesday, May 30- Bowling
Thursday, June 1 - Field Day

Friday, June 2- Last Day of School Early Dismissal, 11:35

On Tuesday morning we will be going bowling. Just a reminder students may bring a snack to the bowling alley.

Every summer after coming home from the pool or another physical activity, I would always tell my own children, " You have just exercised your body,  now it is time for you to exercise your mind. At that time I would tell them it is time to "play school" and they would read, write, work in a workbook that I got from the teacher's store or play a computer game. So I just want to encourage you to keep your children exercising their brains over the summer break.


It's hard to believe that this is the last week of school.  I have enjoyed working with all of the students this year.  They are "My final 20" as this is my last year of teaching after 36 years.  It has been a pleasure to work with all of you and your children this year.   Thank you for all of the support you have given me.  I hope that you have a wonderful summer.

Sincerely,

Carol Cavoto

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room May 15-May 19

Important Dates:
Monday, May 29-Memorial Day, No School
Tuesday, May 30- Bowling
Thursday, June 1 - Field Day
Friday, June 2- Last Day of School Early Dismissal, 11:35

Math-There will be a checkpoint review on sequence and patterns on Wednesday of this week. The students should study module 1 lessons 1-7. Then students will continue to solve and write multi-step equations with and without grouping symbols.  Students will work with variables and expressions this week.  They should also continue to practice their math facts.  There will be a fact quiz on Friday.

Spelling-This week we will work with words that have the sounds of ought and ound .  The students will use context to determine meanings of words.


Reading/English-We will begin a novel study of the book Love that  Dog, by Sharon Creech. Love that Dog is a free verse poem written in a 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 of poetry, and students will create their own poetry book


Social Studies-We will travel to the West Region this week.  The student's will make their maps which are due on Monday,  and there will be a map test on Tuesday of this week over The West Region.  They will have to label the states and bodies of water correctly on a blank map of the West Region.

Science- A test is planned for Wednesday, May 17 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 Class - May 8-May 12

Important Dates:
Tuesday, May 9-MAP testing
Wednesday, May 10-MAP testing
Friday, May 12- Early Dismissal 11:35  SIP
Monday, May 29-Memorial Day, No School
Tuesday, May 30- Bowling
Thursday, June 1 - Field Day
Friday, June 2- Last Day of School Early Dismissal, 11:35

Math-Going into 5th grade the students should know their math facts. I will be testing students on their multiplication facts 0-9 each Friday until the end of school.  They should be studying them throughout the week. Their focus should be on the facts that they don't know.  We will continue to work on multiplication strategies to help them with this.
We will begin a new unit this week.  In this first module, the students will study patterns. They will be able to look at patterns and make generalizations about them as well as continue the patterns.

Spelling-This week in spelling the students will be working with words that come from Greek mythology.

Reading-The students act out different adages, or proverbs with the class.  We will continue to study the elements of poetry as we begin reading Love That Dog.

Science-  This week in science the students will understand the job of the nervous system. They will be able to describe how messages from the body reach the brain. They will also understand the three types of muscles and their jobs.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room May 1-May 5

Important Dates:
Friday, May 12- Early Dismissal 11:35  SIP
Monday, May 29-Memorial Day, No School
Tuesday, May 30- Bowling
Thursday, June 1 - Field Day
Friday, June 2- Last Day of School Early Dismissal, 11:35

Math- This week we will be reviewing division strategies to solve division problems.  There will be a test over unit 6 on Thursday of this week.

Spelling- This week the students will work with contractions.  They will also review idioms.  There will be a test on Friday of this week.

Reading/ELA-This week the students will listen to the story The Velveteen Rabbit and compare the Rabbit in that story to Edward Tulane.

The students will understand proverbs and adages, and apply them to their reading.

We will review how to use quotation marks correctly in their writing and they will write a dialog between the characters in the story applying what they learned.

Science- This week in science the students will understand the job of the nervous system. They will be able to describe how messages from the body reach the brain. They will also understand the three types of muscles and their jobs.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room April 24-April 28th

Dates to Remember:
April 24- Inventions are due
April 27- Open House

Math -We will continue Unit 6, Multiplication, Division, Data and Fractions. This week we will shift from multiplication and division to collecting and representing data measured in fractions of a unit on a line plot. The students will solve problems that involve addition and subtraction of fractions using the line plot data.

Reading:  We will complete the story of Edward Tulane. The students will complete a journal on Edward's final journey. We will then read The Velveteen Rabbit and compare and contrast the two stories.

Spelling:  Unit 27 - Latin Roots: port, form, trans & flex
This week's test will contain words with the Latin roots listed above. We will learn the definitions of the roots and words that contain them. The final test is scheduled for Friday, 4/28.

Social Studies:   The students will describe the "Long Walk" and be able to explain how the Navajo Council governs the Navajo Nation.

Science: Inventions are due on 4/24. Students will present their inventions on 4/26 and 4/27. We reviewed in class today how they can use their notecard to guide them in their presentation.    A Rubric went home as well so to help them with expectations. All inventions will be on display for Open House on 4/27.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room April 17-21

Important Dates:
April 17-No School Teacher Institute Day
April 24- Inventions are due
April 27- Open House

Math-The students will continue to investigate area and perimeter.  The students will also continue to use ratio tables and array sketches to solve division and multiplication problems, and they will be using array sketches and ratio tables to solve problems with missing dimensions.  There will be a check pt. review quiz on Friday of this week covering this.

Spelling-The students will work with words that have the suffixes el, al, and le.  For the test on Friday, they will be asked to spell the words this week as well as know synonyms for the words.

Reading-There will be a test over chapters 18-24 in The Miraculous Adventures of Edward Tulane on Thursday of this week.   The students will finish reading the story and we will discuss theme as it relates to the story.

English-This week the students will review the different kinds of figurative language: idioms, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, alliteration personification, metaphors, and similes.    They will have a test on Friday over this.

Social Studies-The students will understand the early culture of the Navajo and compare it to their life today. They will describe the "Long Walk" and be able to explain how the Navajo Council governs the Navajo Nation.

Science- This week the students will learn about the job of the respiratory system.  They will understand the importance of the diaphragm and how it works.

The students should be working on their inventions at home.

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

Important Dates:

April 11-13 PARCC Testing Math
April 14- No School
April 17-No School Teacher Institute Day
April 24- Inventions are due
April 27- Open House

Math-The students will work on solving problems with area and perimeter.  The students should be working on their multiplication facts.  PARCC testing for most of the week.

Spelling-This week in spelling the students will work with the prefixes im, in and un.  There will be a spelling test on Thursday of this week instead of Friday.

Reading- The students will continue to read and respond to The Miraculous Adventures of Edward Tulane.  What are the emotions and the reactions Edward "feels"?   Why does it matter to Edward that he has been loved?They will work on Word Work slides for chapters 15-18.

English-We will be reviewing the different types of figurative language: idioms, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, metaphors and similes.  There will be a test on Wednesday of next week, April 19 over figurative language.

Science-The students will study the digestive system this week.  They will understand how nutrients from the food we eat get to our body's cells.

Social Studies-The students are working on travel brochures for a state in the Southwest Region.  The students will identify nonrenewable natural resources along with understanding the technology of the Southwest that has impacted the US.  There will be a test on Chapter 10 Land and Resources of the Southwest on Thursday of this week.


The students should study the main concepts in their textbook along with all vocabulary.  They should also know the information from the sheets in their binders.

They should know:
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.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room April 3-April 7th

Dates to Remember:

Tuesday, April 4-April 6 - PARCC testing- ELA
Tuesday, April 7 & 11-13 PARCC testing Math

The students should be sure to have their Chromebooks charged and their earbuds or headphones with them every day for the next two weeks.

Math - We will continue Unit 6, Multiplication, Division, Data and Fractions. The students will also take the Math PARCC test on Friday.

Spelling- No Spelling this week due to PARCC testing.

Reading: The students will continue to read The Miraculous Adventures of Edward Tulane. They will finish reading chapters 11-14 and the word work slides.  They will have a test over chapters 11-14 on Friday of this week.

Social Studies:  We will begin our journey through the Southwest.  The students will color in and label the states of the Southwest region.  That will be due on Wednesday.  There will be a map quiz on Thursday of this week.

Science:  We will begin chapter 4,  The Human Body.  We will learn how the digestive and respiratory systems work. I am asking that each student bring in an empty plastic water bottle for an investigation we will be doing later in the week.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's room March 20-March 24

Invention Convention- The students will be bringing home the letter and information about our invention convention on Monday, March 20th.  A calendar will also be handed out so the students will know what to turn in when.  On Monday, we will review and go over what is to be expected.  A parent signature will be required on their contracts and will need to be returned on Thursday, March 23.  After that, they may begin working on their inventions.  Inventions will be due on Monday, April 24th. 
Math- The students will solve multiplication and division problems using ratio tables and area models.  They will review the halving and doubling strategy.  They should practice their multiplication facts. It will make solving higher level problems so much easier if they know them. 

Spelling-This week in spelling the students will work with words that are Greek and Latin roots:  homo, phobia, auto, tract

Reading-The students will continue reading and responding to the story The Miraculous Adventures of Edward Tulane. They will also continue their word study of the rich vocabulary throughout the chapters.

English-The students will continue their work with figurative language.  This week, they will study Hyperboles. (hy-per-bol-ee) is an exaggerated phrase used in writing that is not meant to be taken literally.

Science- There will be a science test over Chapter 3 Adaptations on Thursday of this week.  The students should know all vocabulary along with the key concepts in the chapters.  They should study the papers in their folders as well.  They should know:

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.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room March 13-March 17

Math- There will be a unit 5 test on Tuesday, March 14th.  The students have a pretest in their folder which they should use as study guide. They should study the different types of triangles and quadrilaterals-also in their math folders, know how to use a protractor to construct and measure angles, understand and recognize polygons-triangles and quadrilaterals, understand the formula's for area and perimeter and be able to solve problems involving area and perimeter.

Spelling- The students will work with words that are spelled with oi and oy.  They will understand that a proverb is a phrase known by many people that usually contains words or wisdom or advice.  It can offer advice on how to live or how to deal with a situation.

Reading-The students will continue reading The Miraculous Adventures of Edward Tulane.  The students will work with the vocabulary from chapters 1 & 2. They will have a quiz over the vocabulary on Thursday of this week.

English- Adjectives describe nouns.  Usually, an adjective comes immediately before the noun it describes. Sometimes an adjective comes after the noun.  The students will understand, identify, and use adjectives in their writing.

Science-How do the behaviors of animals help them meet their needs?  The students will describe how instinctive and learned behaviors help animals survive and meet their needs.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room March 3-March 10

Math- This week in math the students will review the concepts related to area and perimeter. They will apply formulas as they solve problems involving areas and perimeters of complex figures.

Spelling-In spelling this week, the students will work with adjectives-words that describe nouns.

Reading-This week we will begin reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.  The students will study the characters using the rich vocabulary throughout the context of the story.

English-The students will continue to study figurative language-similes, metaphors, and personification, idioms, and hyperbole.  They will understand that adjectives describe nouns and that there is a specific order when using more than one adjective in a sentence.

Science-We will begin a new science unit this week called Adaptations.  They will understand how the bodies and behaviors of animals help them meet their needs.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Feb. 27-March 3rd

Math- The students will work with reflective and line symmetry this week.  They will be "Polygon Detectives" as they understand polygons and work to identify triangles and quadrilaterals based on their qualities.

Spelling-This week in spelling the students will work with relative adverbs - where, when, why, and relative pronouns - whose, who, whom, which, that,  and reading content words.

Reading-The students will share their independent reading projects this week.  They will close read a poem called "The River" and analyze the figurative language used in it.

The students will use their ideas about the narrator and Grandfather in the story to write a comparison essay.

English-We will review similes and metaphors.

Social Studies- The students will learn about the Native Americans who lived in the northern Midwest, the Ojibwa. They will study their early culture and describe ways their culture has changed since the mid-1600's.

The students will begin a project with the Midwest. They will be making a  "Just Look" Book.

News from Mrs. Cavoto's Room - February 20 - Feb. 24

Math- In math this week the students will continue their work with circles.  We will move from measuring angles with pattern blocks to using a protractor to measure angles.  There will be a checkpoint review on Thursday of this week.  The students should know the names and definitions of the different angles. They should know the angles that make the different shapes from our pattern blocks.  They should be able to use a protractor to measure angles and sketch angles.  

Spelling:   This week's list includes homographs, which are sets of words that are spelled the same but have multiple meanings. The final test is scheduled for Friday, 2/24.

Reading-The students' independent reading projects are due on Thursday of this week.  They should practice presenting them. "Journeys" is the next theme in our reading program.  We will begin with personal journeys.  The students will think about what it means to go on a journey.  We will read the story "Grandfather's Journey".

English-The students will share their Profiles in Courage book this week.They will finish writing their hero essays.

Social Studies-The Midwest is one of the world's leading farming regions.  The students will understand why the Midwest is known as an important agricultural region and the effect irrigation has had on the Great Plains.  The test date has been changed to Friday of this week. The Water and Land of the Midwest Chapter 8.

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 from Mrs. Cavoto's Room Jan. - Feb. 3

Important Dates:
Wed. Feb 1st- Six Flags Reading logs due
Thur.s Feb 2nd - Early Dismissal 11:35am
Mon. Feb 13th & Wed Feb 15th - Parent/Teacher Conferences

Tuesday, Feb. 14- Valentine's Day Classroom Party-1:30-The students may bring in Valentine's to hand out to each of their classmates.

Friday, Feb 17th - P/T Conferences - NO SCHOOL
Mon, Feb 20th - Presidents Day - NO SCHOOL

Congratulations to Izzy Chlopek from our class who was runner-up in the 4th grade spelling B.  She and Aaqil Riaz will be the representatives for the 4th grade at the District Spelling B on February 9th at 9:00 a.m.

Mrs. Cavoto's Math-This week we will continue our work with measurement. We will review using a number line to help students find elapsed time.  We will work on liquid measurements.-liters, milliliters and mass amounts-grams, kilograms, ounces, and pounds   They will use ratio tables to help them convert measurements.  We will also continue to review subtraction and addition with regrouping.  A test is planned for Tuesday, February 7th over Unit 4.

Spelling- This week the spelling words will be all the states in the Midwest Region.  Each day they will have an activity to do with them for homework.

Reading:  We will finish the story, Lou Gehrig and answer text dependent questions.  We will take a close read of his farewell speech.  The students will take an open book comprehension quiz on Wednesday of this week.

English: In English this week we will work on Explanatory Writing. The students will choose a hero in their life.  They will brainstorm and organize their ideas.  Then we will review writing a hook, or lead to get the readers attention.

Social Studies: We will begin our study of the Midwest. In lesson one, we will read and learn how the Great Lakes link the Midwest region to the Gulf of Mexico and to the Atlantic Ocean.  On Tuesday we will complete a map of the Midwest. There will be a map quiz on Friday.

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

Important Dates to Remember:
Thursday, January 26- Grade Level Spelling B  Congratulations to Izzy Chlopek our classroom winner and Tyler Maylath our runner up.
Thursday, Feb. 2- Early Dismissal-11:30
Tuesday, Feb. 14- Valentine's Day Classroom Party-1:30-The students may bring in Valentine's to hand out to each of their classmates.

Math-There is a Check Point Review on Subtraction on Tuesday of this week.  The students should understand how to use the Constant Difference and be able to regroup when needed.  A worksheet will go home to help them practice.  This week we will also discuss measurement benchmarks and how we use measurement in our everyday life.

Spelling- This week in spelling the students will work with words that have tion.  They will understand that adding tion to a rootword can change the meaning from a verb to a noun.

Reading-. The students will answer text dependent questions and work on new vocabulary for the story of Lou Gehrig.  There will be a comprehension and vocabulary test over Lou Gehrig on Friday of this week.  There is a Quizlet on the Reading Classroom to help students understand the vocabulary.

Science-This week in science the students will continue to study the life cycle of animals.  They will understand how some animals grow and develop. Direct Development, incomplete metamorphosis, and complete metamorphosis.  There will be a test over the life cycles of plants and animals on Thursday of this week. 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
understand what tubers are
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 Jan. 17-20

Dates to Remember:
Monday, January 16- No School-Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Thursday, January 19-Room Spelling B
Thursday, January 26- Grade Level Spelling B

Math- In math this week the students will work on subtraction strategies- finding the difference(counting up) and Removing (taking away).  They will also use the standard algorithm to solve subtraction problems.  A check point review of subtraction strategies will be given on Tuesday, January 24.

Spelling- This week the students will study more words that have Greek roots.  We will review synonyms, antonyms, similes, and metaphors.

Reading-The students will read the myth of Arachne and Athena. They will compare and contrast the two women.  The students will read a biography on Lou Gehrig. They will answer text-dependent questions and work with the vocabulary of the reading.

English-This week the students will understand conjunctions and use them correctly in sentences.  We will review similes and metaphors.

Science- The students will finish their life cycle of a plant project.  They will understand the difference in life cycles between plants that grow from  seeds and plants that grow from spores. They will understand that some plants can grow from stems of parent plants and some can grow from a storage plant called a tuber, like potatoes and onions.

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

Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, Jan. 10- MAP testing Reading
Wednesday, Jan. 11-MAP testing Math
Monday, January 16- No School-Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Math- Students will review strategies such as the Give and Take (Compensation strategy), Split them Up, or the standard algorithm to solve 3 digit addition story problems.  A Checkpoint Quiz will be given on Friday.  They should understand how to write larger numbers using words, expanded form and standard form.  They should be able to round numbers to the underlined place value, compare larger numbers and solve 3 digit addition problems using the standard algorithm.

Reading/English-The students will share the slideshow they created on their myth.  They will read myths about Arachne and Athena and compare their different character traits.  We will also look for references to Greek Mythology in our everyday life.

The students will work with Greek and Latin roots- non, bi, tri, quad and oct.  They will fill in their vocabulary wheels for each.

They will review homophones

They will understand the use of commas before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.

Social Studies-The students will make an early Cherokee village including all the things which represent their culture.  They will follow a rubric to know what is expected of them.

Science- We will begin our new science unit this week: Life Cycles-First we will study the life cycle of plants. The students will observe how seeds germinate.