Week of February 25th

Sharing our math thinking.

Partners sharing their math evidence.

I can use a drawing to show my thinking!

Math Journals 

We having a spelling list this week.  List 24 can be found on Spelling City.   The pattern for this list is adding the suffixes ing and ed to words.  Please make sure you child knows the base word and how to add suffix to that word.   Our test will be Thursday!


We continue our study of bones and muscles.  Today your child will be bringing home a study guide for the test which is scheduled for next Friday the 8th.   Your child has two weeks to learn the information on the guide.   Please have them work on it a little each night.  

Next week, we will be taking ISAT tests in reading and math.  We have been going over the format of the test and have been doing test taking strategies.  Below you will find a interactive site that has actual practice tests for math and reading:

http://iirc.niu.edu/Tests.aspx?sample

It would be beneficial for your child to complete at least one of each test at home. 

February 20th

Since it is a short week, we will not be having a formal spelling list this week. 

Please be aware that the first week in March, we will be taking the ISAT test.  Look for notes coming home to give you more information about this test.  

We are more than half way through the year.   This week you will see a 2 minute timing come home that will give you an idea how your child is doing on mastering the multiplication facts.  Please look this over.  It is crunch time, your child needs to be secure on all single digit facts by the end of May.  Based on Xtramath data and in class observations, the students who are getting regular practice are much stronger.  It is critical your child does math practice at home.  Thank you for your support! 

Our bones and muscles inquiries our in full swing.  We are reading many resources and taking notes about our learning.   Each day we work on setting goals and working as a team to solve problems.   Today in class we brainstormed some of the challenges of working in a group and came up with possibles solutions.  Please ask your child about his/her  learning in inquiry.  Each day he/she should be able to tell new and interesting facts.  Below you will find photos of inquiry in action:

Using resources to help us learn.

Sharing our learning!

Starting with a question.

Taking good notes.

Keeping track of interesting information.

Listing our resources

Helping each other learn.

Reading for answers.

Touching base with my teammates.

Drawing sketches to help me remember.

Week of February 11th

We are starting our inquiries into bones and muscles.  This week we will be working on teamwork.  Each inquiry group will think of a team name and team ground rules.  The inquiry groups will be doing in depth research into one question about either bones or muscles.  This inquiry is a big undertaking and requires the children to read and think critically about a variety resources.   Here are some photos of  groups working together:

Can you work as a team?

Sharing our thinking!

Everyone is focused and working together.

We have team names!

We came up with ground rules for working together.

Teachers, parents, and middle and high school students across Illinois have the opportunity to participate in the Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey was designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school from the perspective of teachers, parents, and students.

Please take the time to do the following survey for the district.

Illinois 5Essentials Survey Information

Reported by webmaster@ipsd.org on 3/2/13

To take this short survey:

1. Visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois-d204/survey/parent/login/.
2. Select DuPage as "County."
3. Type your school's name into the "School" field and select your school.