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Nicholson
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Passwords can be obtained from the Media Center. - Nicholson Home Page
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November 2009
November 15, 2009
Character Word of the Week: Service to Others
Important Dates This Week:
Monday, November 16 - Progress Reports and Academic Alerts go home - please sign and return both
Tuesday, November 17 - Terrific Kids 7:30 AM
Tuesday, November 17 - Book Fair Family Night 5:30 - 7:30 PM
Wednesday's Special - PE
Thursday, November 19 - VIP Lunch Grades 1, 3, and 5
Friday, November 20 - Spirit Day - Chick-fil-A biscuits for sale for $3.00
Monday, November 23 - Friday, November 27 - Thanksgiving Holiday - ENJOY!!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Stephanie for being our Terrific Kid this month.
Chase, Tanner, Harlie, and Alyssa for being daily winners in First in Math last week. I wonder who will get the chair on Monday?
Victoria for answering the Question of the Week last week.
PROGRESS REPORTS/ACADEMIC ALERTS
Progress reports will come home on Monday for all children. These are just to let you know how your child is doing at this time and where they might need to work harder. If your child has a "D" or an "F" in any subject, they will also bring home an Academic Alert. These include specific strategies for your child and you to do to help your child. They also include strategies that I am doing in the classroom. Your child still has 4 weeks to improve these grades. Please sign and return these forms as soon as possible. Thank you for your help.
MATH
This week we will tackle adding and subtracting mixed numbers with unlike denominators and then move on to multiplying fractions. A great website for adding and subtracting mixed numbers is Fishy Fractions. Don't forget to practice those basic facts.
WRITING WORKSHOP
We will be writing a fantasy short story next. This week we will discuss point of view, as well as look at two benchmark papers to discover what makes a great story. We will brainstorm ideas for our story and then focus on how to develop a main character.
GRAMMAR AND SPELLING
In grammar this week we will distinguish between plural and possessive nouns. In Spelling we will continue to work on words ending in -ion. Last week's spelling tests were a bit disappointing. If your child is struggling, don't forget to visit Spelling City for activities to teach, as well as practice, the spelling words.
SCIENCE
We are beginning a unit on matter this week. Physical changes will be our first topic.
READING WORKSHOP
This week we will focus on the difference between realistic and fantasy stories. We will discuss a character's purpose, as well as analyze the character's dialogue and actions. Your child's book log will be due this Friday. Please encourage your child to read over the Thanksgiving holidays.
November 08, 2009
November 9, 2009
Character Word of the Week: Patriotism
Important Dates This Week:
Wednesday, November 11 - End of 4 1/2 Weeks (Academic Alerts and Progress Reports will come home on Monday, November 16)
Wednesday's Special - ART
Thursday, November 12 - PTA Meeting at 6:45 PM - Chorus and 5th Grade Recorder Performance 7:00 PM
Book Fair coming next week!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Victoria and Andrea for answering the Question of the Week correctly. The answers were stop, cheese, and foot. Who will answer correctly this week?
Our daily winners last week were Tanner, Harlie, Chase, and Gerardo. Way to go!!!
MATH
This week we will focus on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. Check out these websites Adding Fractions and Subtracting Fractions.
We will have a timed multiplication and division test this week. If your child has already passed one or both of these tests, it will be the mixed test for them. Please continue to work on these basic math facts nightly. The 100th Day is coming up in January.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We will finish up our unit on the Civil War this week. A study guide will come home on Monday and will be due on Wednesday. We will go over the study guide on Wednesday and the test will be on Friday. Interactive notebooks will also be due on Friday. We will begin a science unit on Matter next week.
WRITING WORKSHOP
Our next writing will be a narrative fantasy piece. To get ready for that writing, we will spend this week analyzing fantasy picture books for setting, characters, and plot.
GRAMMAR
We will continue to work on dialogue this week and we will have a quiz on Friday covering punctuating and capitalizing dialogue correctly.
SPELLING
We are on Sort 8 in Words Their Way. This lesson focuses on words ending in -ion and their base words. These words do have spelling changes before adding the suffix -ion. Don't forget to visit Spelling City. It's a fun and effective way to study those spelling words.
READING WORKSHOP
We are beginning a new unit on Understanding Story Elements. This week we will talk about previewing books, point of view, and story elements. Don't forget that your child's book log is due next Monday. Next week I will let you know how many books your child has completed this nine weeks, as well as what your child's score is on AR tests already taken this nine weeks. Remember that your child must take and pass at least one AR test this nine weeks.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Divide the face of the clock into three parts with two lines so that the sum of the numbers in the three parts are equal.
November 01, 2009
November 2, 2009
Character Word of the Week: Democracy
Important Dates this Week:
Tuesday, November 3 - Student Holiday - Enjoy yourself!!!!
Wednesday's Special - PE
Wednesday, November 4 - Target will be switched from Thursday to Wednesday this week
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Joshua, Victoria, and Eddie for answering the question of the week about the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Looking on the internet there is not one definite answer so Gettysburg and Antietam were correct answers. Way to go guys!!!!
Khalil, Eddie, Mackenzie, and Alyssa for being daily winners in First In Math last week. Eddie is still our top student. Can anyone beat him?
MATH
Fractions, fractions, and more fractions. This week we will continue to compare fractions, using common denominators and other strategies. Be sure to ask your child some of those strategies. We will have a quiz Friday on common denominators and comparing fractions.
Please don't forget to continue to drill those basic facts. You can't find common denominators or simplify fractions without that knowledge.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We are about finished fighting the Civil War. This week we will focus on Reconstruction and the effect it had on African Americans.
WRITING WORKSHOP
We finished our personal narratives last week. We will share them with each other this week.
In the computer lab we will continue our Media Center lesson on taking notes on a famous American building or event. We will research the topic using the Cobb Virtual Library and then put our information together to produce a piece of informational writing.
GRAMMAR
Our focus this week will be on punctuating and capitalizing direct quotations correctly.
SPELLING
Has your child told you about Spelling City ? It's a great place to study the weekly spelling words. There are games, as well as a teaching and testing component. Each week I will put in the new word sort. This week's sort Download Spelling sort 7 includes base words with the suffixes -ion and -ian.
READING WORKSHOP
We are continuing our focus on questioning. This week we will ask questions of the author, generate questions to anticipate events or information, as well as to resolve confusion. Don't forget that your child's book log is due each Monday. The expectation is that your child read at least 90 minutes and complete 5 activities on the book log. Remember our goal is to read at least 6 books this 9 weeks. The yearly goal is to read at least 25 books.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
In each of these puzzles, a list of words is given. To solve the puzzle, think of a single word that goes with each word form to form a compound word (or a word pair that functions as a compound word). For example, if the given words are volley, field, and bearing, then the answer would be ball, because the word ball can be added to each of the other words to form volleyball, ballfield, and ball bearing. GOOD LUCK!!!
#1 - back, short, watch
#2 - blue, cake, cottage
#3 - stool, powder, ball
October 29, 2009
October 26, 2009
Character Word of the Week: School Pride/Cleanliness
Important Dates This Week:
Monday, Oct. 26 - Stevi B's Night
Wednesday, Oct. 28 - Friday, Oct. 30 - Penny Wars
Friday, Oct. 30 - Spirit Day; Wear your Nicholson t-shirt and don't forget that Chick-fil-A biscuits are for sale
Saturday, Oct. 31 - Change clocks back 1 hour
MATH
We now have 20 students participating in First in Math. Great job!!!! Our top 5 players are Eddie (1425 points), Khalil (1079 points), Tyler (526 points), Chandini (349 points) and Stephanie (336 points). Keep up the great work!!! Can anyone dethrone Eddie?
This week we will continue to work with fractions. We will simplify fractions, as well as compare them. Please continue to encourage your child to work on the basic facts. You must know those facts to find the greatest common factor and you need to know the greatest common factor in order to simplify fractions. Thank you for all of your help.
SOCIAL STUDIES
This week we will focus on the battles, people, and events of the civil War. Don't forget that the Social Studies textbook is online. That makes reviewing what we did in class very easy.
WRITING WORKSHOP
We are still working on our personal narrative. The date for the completion of the final copy has been moved to this Friday. We have discussed voice, word choice, great leads and circular endings.
SPELLING
We are on Unit 6 this week. Our words contain the suffix "ion". A list (Download Spelling sort 6) will come home on Monday. Your child needs to know how to spell the words, as well as the definitions of the words.
GRAMMAR
Capitalization rules rule the day! We will review proper nouns, first words in a sentence, parts of a letter, as well as the first word in quotations.
We are continuing our unit on questioning. We will also begin Guided Reading Groups this week. Please continue to encourage your child to read at least 90 minutes this week. The book log is due next Monday.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Only Joshua and Victoria attempted the problem last week. Victoria correctly answered part of the question correctly, while Joshua was 100% correct. Please come see me for a chance when you read this Joshua and Victoria.
Now for this week's question - In what Civil War battle did the most soldiers die? Be sure to let me know how you know.
October 19, 2009
Character Word of the Week: Honor
Important Dates This Week:
Monday, October 19 - Art Fundraiser due
Tuesday, October 20 - Terrific Kids 7:30 AM
Tuesday, October 20 - Bus Driver Appreciation Day
Tuesday, October 20 - Picture Make-ups (must return original picture packet if you want a retake)
Wednesday's Special - PE
Wednesday, October 21- Early Release Day (students dismissed at 12:20)
Wednesday, October 21 - Guest speaker - Judge Grubbs
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Mackenzie for being recognized as our Terrific Kid this month. This is a very difficult choice for me each month because the class is full of caring students who work well together. Lucky me! Thankfully I have the opportunity to recognize many more students this year.
Khalil, Joshua, Victoria, Stephanie, Leda, Mackenzie, Bailey, Sarah, and Nic who have passed their brown belt recorder test in Music.
A great time was had by all who could attend the carnival last Friday night. I counted at least 12 students from our class there. I wonder how many of them heard "Leader of the Pack" sung (?) by Mrs. Sheridan, Mrs. O'Donnell, Mrs. Myers, Mrs. Freeman, and me? I'm sure Mrs. Kneur is glad that I am not in her chorus. A BIG THANKS to Mrs. Carlino for the backpack of books for the Silent Auction and to all of the parents who volunteered their time at the carnival.
HEALTHY CHOICES WEEK
We wil have two guest speakers this week for Healthy Choices Week. On Thursday some members of the Cobb County Sheriff's Dept. will be here with a drug dog. On Friday Mr. Dess will be here from the Prevention/Intervention Center. Both assemblies will be at 8:15 in the morning. Thank you to our counseling department for arranging these speakers.
MATH
We have had a fun and exciting week of math practice with First in Math. Not only has our class collected stickers, but 16 students are participating. They are Khalil, Joshua, Victoria, Stephanie, Eddie, Tanner, Chandini, Mackenzie, Chase, Gerardo, Bailey, Sarah, Andrew, Selena, Tyler and Nic. Eddie has the highest amount of stickers this week - 601. He squeaked by Khalil who has 600. I wonder who will have the top points next week? Please continue to encourage this at home. What a terrific way to reinforce the basic multiplication and division skills that are needed to pass the timed tests! Hopefully we will see a lot of improvement this week on those tests.
We will begin a new unit on fractions, algebra, and data analysis. Our first focus will be on equvalent fractions, simplifying fractions, and comparing fractions. Feeling a bit rusty with these concepts? Check out pages 244 - 249 for some review. Don't forget to check out the online book - lots of explanations, practice, and games. Some websites to visit are Comparing Fractions and Fraction Frenzy (my favorite). Good luck!
Last Friday we took our first Math Benchmark test. This tests all the material that was taught in the first nine weeks. We will go over that test on Monday in class. A sticker will be in your child's agenda giving the pre and post test (Benchmark Test) scores. If you would like more detailed information on what skills your child still needs to master, please let me know. I will be happy to get that information to you.
SOCIAL STUDIES
This week we will begin to discuss the people and the battles of the Civil War,
WRITING WORKSHOP
We are continuing to work on our personal narratives. Last week we read a few narrtives and analyzed them for the trait of voice. This week we will focus on our lead and our ending, and hopefully have our rough draft completed by Friday.
GRAMMAR AND SPELLING
This week we will review dependent and independent clauses, as well as fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. Check out the Language Arts websites (11 - 14) for practice.
We will NOT have a new spelling unit this week.
READING WORKSHOP
We are continuing to work on questioning this week. Your child will have a new booklog for homewok this week. Please sign the sheet when your child has read at least 90 minutes independently at home. Thank you!!!
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Last week's question of the week was successfully completed by Joshua and Andrea. Nice try by Khalil, Stephanie, and Alyssa. This week's question is - Sixteen students in Mrs. Nelson's Class have started to participate in First in Math. Can you write that as a fraction, simplify the fraction, and then write the amount as a decimal? Sure you can!!! Turn it in for a chance.
October 11, 2009
Character Word of the Week: Accountability
Tuesday, Oct. 13 - Cafeteria Staff & Custodial Staff Appreciation Day
Tuesday, Oct. 13 - Chick-fil-A Family Night (Sprayberry location)
Wednesday, Oct. 14 - Special : ART
Friday, Oct. 16 - Carnival and 20th Anniversary Celebration
Friday, Oct. 16 - Report Cards go home
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Alyssa and Victoria for being our new Safety Patrol representatives.
Victoria for being a summer reader! A celebration will be held this week in the Media Center.
Joshua, Victoria, Chandini, and Andrea for answering the Question of the Week correctly. The answer was pages 121 and 122.
MATH
Did you know that First in Math is coming Wednesday to a computer near you?
Your child can compete as an individual, a member of our class, as well as a member of our school!! It looks pretty cool so be on the lookout for more information this week.
We will finish up our unit this week and take a Benchmark test on Friday. Monday and Tuesday we will be dividing decimals with whole numbers, as well as with decimals. Tuesday's homework will be a review worksheet for the entire 9 weeks. Your child should bring home their math book to help them review. Don't forget the online textbook and all of the activities that are available.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We finally finished up our Science unit on Constructive and Destructive Forces. Be on the lookout for your child's test in Thursday's papers. Remember that your child's Science Interactive Notebook is due this Wednesday.
Our next unit of study will be the Civil War. This week we will look at the major causes of the Civil War. Can you name a cause other than slavery for the war? Your child should be able to by Tuesday.
WRITING WORKSHOP
We are working on our personal narratives. This week we will focus on narrowing our topic, reviewing different types of leads, and the trait of voice. What is voice?
Voice gives our writing personality, flavor, and style. Through voice, the reader understands what we care about. When a writer creates a paper with good Voice, the words speak directly to the reader in a style that is individualistic, expressive, and engaging. The writing demonstrates sensitivity to the needs of the audience.
Some questions parents can suggest their children ask to direct attention to Voice are:
·
· Did I say what I think and feel?
· Does my writing have energy and passion?
· Is my writing appropriate for my audience
and purpose?
GRAMMAR
This week we will talk about fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. A website to visit is: Quia - Fragments or complete sentence.
SPELLING
We are on Unit 5 in Words Their Way. This unit focuses on the suffixes of ness, less, and ful. Your child needs to know how to spell the words, as well as how the suffixes change the meanings of the words. Our quiz will be on Friday and will include words from Unit 4 as well as words from Unit 5. Download Spelling sort 4 and Download Spelling sort 5.
READING WORKSHOP
Questions, questions, and more questions! Proficient readers ask questions before they read, as they read, and after they read. That is our focus this week.
We are beginning a new 9 week grading period. Encourage your child to read each night. You will notice a new reading log coming home this week. Your child will be required to read at least 90 minutes each week. They are not required to read every night - just a total of 90 minutes each week. They must also complete the activities on the sheet. This log needs to be returned on Friday. Thank you for your help.
Like last quarter, your child is required to read at least 6 books and to successfully pass at east 1 AR test. Most students were successful last 9 weeks. Let's make it 100% this Nine Weeks!!
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
There are 12 people in a room. 6 people are wearing socks and 4 people are wearing shoes. 3 people are wearing both. How many people are in bare feet? Show your thinking.
October 08, 2009
October 04, 2009
Character Word of the Week: Cheerfulness/Positive Attitude
Important Dates This Week:
Tuesday, October 6 - Fur Bus for Sally Foster top sellers
Wednesday's Special - PE
Thursday, October 8 - Walk Fit (7:25 - 7:45)
Friday, October 9 - End of First Nine Weeks (report cards will come home next Friday) and Art Fundraiser goes home
THANK YOU to:
all the donations we received for the firemen. Our class alone had 4 bags of food and staples, along with a gift card.
those of you who attended the Spaghetti Dinner and Game Night. I had a great time competing against the students.
Congratulations to Khalil and Bailey for being our Student Council representative and alternate! It was a hard fought battle with 14 students competing. They were Khalil, Joshua, Victoria, Stephanie, Tanner, Leda, Harlie, Mackenzie, Alyssa, Bailey, Sarah, Andrea, Tyler, and Nic.
Congratulations to Joshua for being one of the top sellers in the Sally Foster fundraiser. On Wednesday he will be treated to a ride in the Fur Bus with other top sellers, along with Mrs. McWhorter and Mrs. Shue and then lunch. Way to go Joshua!!!
MATH
At the beginning of this week we will tackle multiplying whole numbers, as well as decimals, by powers of ten. Then we will move on to multiplying decimals by whole numbers, as well as by other decimals. Not only do the children need to be able to compute the agorithm, they must also be able to illustrate it. Hasn't math changed since we were all in 5th grade?
SCIENCE
We will be finishing up our unit on Destructive and Constructive Forces this week. Your child should bring home a study guide Monday night. Download Constructive and Destructive Forces Study Guide It is due on Wednesday. On Thursday we will review with "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire". Will your child be one? I hope so. Interactive Notebooks will be due next Wednesday. The checklist should come home this Monday. Download Interactive Checklist
WRITING WORKSHOP
We finished our unit on descriptive writing and our papers are posted in the hallway. If you are by the school, you should stop by and read them. Our next writing project will be a personal narrative.
GRAMMAR
This week simple, compound, and complex sentences will be our focus. If it sounds complicated, take a look at the follwing websites.
SPELLING
In unit 4 this week we will study the comparative suffixes "er" and "est" and figure out how these suffixes change the meaning of the base word. We will then examine which words need "er" and "est" and which need "ier" and "iest" and determine a rule for this.
READING WORKSHOP
Questioning and inferring will be our focus this week. Producing text-explicit and text-implicit questions will be our goal. Be sure to ask your child what the difference is between the two.
Continue to encourage your child to read al least 20 minutes each night. Your chilld needs to have his/her six books read by this Friday, as well as to have passed at least one AR test. Thank you for your support.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Even though a few people attempted this this week, only Khalil came up with the correct answer - the 6th, 12th, and 18th lily pad.
Here is this week's question - Rachel opened her math book and found that the sum of the facing pages was 243. What pages did she open to?
September 28, 2009
Fire Safety Appreciation Week
Nicholson Elementary is proud to thank the firemen at Station #25. We would like to provide some basic supplies to the firemen so that they personally do not have to purchase them. Please send in these donations this week. As always, thank you for your generous donations.
