I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weekend! It was wonderful to get a taste of summer. It's hard to believe we have just over 2 weeks left of school. With that are a few final projects. Here are some updates for this week: 

* Grammar Quiz Wednesday on Titles- students have notes in their spiral and some worksheets they can review. 
* Science Fair boards are being passed out today for those that have their data/conclusion finished. I have given feedback to those that have turned it in. Students should be making revisions. There is a suggested board layout with pictures on google classroom. Today, I will also be posting the final rubric. Students will have one board work day on Wednesday- they will have access to rubber cement, printing, and construction paper. They should come to school with whatever else they need. 
* One Pager final project for Two Roads is due this Friday. All directions are posted on GC. 
* Today, I am also giving out an extra credit reading assignment. That is also due Friday. 

Have a fantastic week!

Happy Friday!

      Thank you so very much for all of the generous and kind gifts and cards for teacher appreciation week! 

      This week was celebration week at school, we cheered on Special Olympics and ended in a whole school assembly. 

Updates for next week: 
* Reading quiz on chapter 27 on Monday- there are suggestions for preparing posted on Google Classroom 
* Science Fair experiment is suggested to be done by 5/15 and Component #2 is due Friday (data and conclusion). Students have a handout of directions for this and there is also a copy on Google Classroom. They are to write out their data and conclusion on the same document from Component #1. 


​Have a wonderful weekend! 

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! We have our field trip to MSI Wednesday, please submit payment via EPay ($13) and the permission slip by tomorrow. Students will be eating back at the school that day. Progress reports came home on Friday. 

ELA:
* We have begun unit 2 of Two Roads- we will be finishing the book and begin a writing project relating to the novel. 
* ELA Reach will take place on Friday during class

Science: 
* Science Fair Component #1 is due today- this is completed on the document posted on Google Classroom 
* Students should next be thinking about completing their experiment and collecting data- the suggested due date for this is 5/15
* We will begin our next science unit, The Earth's System, this week as well. 

Students also have Drama homework this week that needs to be completed and ready for Monday's drama class. 

Have a great week!
​

Hello 307 Families!

   Quite a different day to wake up to this morning, I was jaw dropped at the snow. I hope that you were able to enjoy the warm weather we had before that!  

     Students will be taking the ELA IAR this Tuesday and Wednesday. They will have 1 test each day. For any student who missed a Math or ELA test, they will make it up. Next week Tuesday and Wednesday, we will take the Illinois Science test. 5th and 8th grade students take this test in Illinois to assess all their science understanding they have learned during their school time. There will be a total of 3 tests. 

All missing work for the first half of Quarter 4 is due Monday, April 24th. Teachers have to submit their grades on Wednesday. 

Updates for ELA:
* End of Unit 1 Test which covers chapter 18 in Two Roads and analyzing point of view, structure and language is Friday. 

Updates for Science: 
* Science Fair proposals are due Friday- students can turn this in early. 
* Component 1 is being introduced this week. Students can begin this once their proposal has been approved. This part is typed on the given document on GC.  Students will receive a handout with directions for this part and everything is posted on Google Classroom, including an example. 
* Students have Scientific Method homework this week via Brain Pop- it is posted on Google Classroom. Students sign in through Clever with their CPS credentials. 

Have a great week!

Happy Friday!

     This week we completed Math IAR testing. If your child was absent a day of testing, they will make it up on a later date. We are all in on the Biome Boxes, I have been blown away by student creativity and collaboration on this project. Next week, students will focus on making the food web poster and ecosystem pennant to accompany their boxes. I am hoping to have these out for parent teacher conferences for anyone to see!

        Next week, there will be the mid unit assessment in ELA. Students will read a different excerpt from Zitkala- Sa's memoir to analyze point of view, central idea and figurative language/connotation of words. We have been working on this in class, and students have 2 resources in their red folder that they can review for it. 

Updates: 
* No school Wednesday- parent teacher conferences 
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f44aea92fa7fb6-3rdquarter#/

Hello 307 Families! 

     I hope you had a great weekend welcoming February. It's nice to see some warmer temps and some sunshine this Monday morning. Last week in class, students finished up researching about their innovator. We discussed reliable sources and developed some criteria to use when looking for research resources. In science, students created a food web model in class by forming food chains. 

       In ELA, we are moving on the unit 3 of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. In this unit, students will be writing two problem-solution essays. The first one will be written with a partner that is based off of William's design. The second essay will be an individual essay that is focused on the innovator they researched last week. The final performance task will be a Solution Symposium where students will feature their innovator and share with their peers. 

Updates this week: 
* Science test Wednesday- there will be a study guide on google classroom 
* Grammar quiz Thursday- on interjections. Students have notes in their spiral and will have a worksheet to review. 
* Reading buddies on Wednesday
* Progress reports come home on Friday
* Students will be able to pass out Valentines! (They aren't too old for this and they still love it every year!) We have 31 students. If they want to pass something out with their valentine, please do not send in food/candy. 

Have a wonderful week!

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week. We had some exciting new events this week. We met with our 1st grade reading buddies for the first time. Our students LOVED meeting with them and were blown away with how smart their buddies were. I am excited for this these partnerships to grow throughout the rest of the year. We attended our trip to the Facets. I enjoyed hearing student comments throughout the films about their reactions and feelings. They had a lot of good insight on what they saw. 

Updates: 
* This week in ELA, students chose an innovator to focus on for the remainder of the unit. They watched a TED talk focused on their innovator and are beginning to analyze the design process they went through to solve their critical problem. They will continue to research next week as we focus on reliable resources. At the end of the unit, they will write a problem/solution essay about their innovator and their design process. 
* No School next Friday 2/3

​Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday 307 Families! 

       We packed in a lot during this 4 day week. Students made terrariums last week in science to study over the the next few weeks. We couldn't believe how much the alfalfa and grass had grown when we got back to school on Tuesday! 

         On Thursday (1/26), we will be heading to Facets to view "Making Choices" which is from their film festival series. We have a few more trips in the planning stages and hope to solidify them soon. Please complete the film trip form and send in by Wednesday. The cost of the trip ($15), is to be paid online. Here is the link:

https://magic.collectorsolutions.com/magic-ui/Login/cps-22821-john-c-coonley-school

Other updates:
* We will begin Reading Buddies with our friends in 1st grade. This will take place every other Wednesday morning. For our first meet up, I asked the kids to bring a favorite childhood picture book to read to their buddies. 
* Reading quiz on Monday- students will read an short informational text and apply the skills we have been focusing on (figurative language, context clues, central idea, summarizing)


Have a great weekend!

Happy New Year 307 Families! 

      I hope that everyone had a wonderful winter break and enjoyed time with loved one and some rest! It was great to be back together today and hear about everyone's break. The kids were very excited to see each other and catch up. 

       Thank you so much for the kind holiday cards and generous gifts, I greatly appreciate your thoughtfulness. 

        Updates for the week: 

* We will resume The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind tomorrow. Students will be taking a partner quiz on Wednesday covering chapter 8. 
* In Science, we are beginning a new unit, Ecosystem Restoration. Students were excited to share what knowledge they already have in this area and began brainstorming why a specific organism population may decline in an ecosystem. More information about this new unit was sent via email to you all. 

Have a great week!
Ms. Butala