Room: 215
Work phone: 847-963-5756
E-mail: kedziorj@ccsd15.net

Mission Statement
Our mission in Room 215, is to learn, have fun, and to observe the six pillars of good character. We will treat others the way we want to be treated. We will do this by following the Golden Rule, being a good listener, following directions, and showing teamwork and cooperation. We will strive for quality work.

Study Skills of Highly Effective Students
Our Students work hard to fill in their assignment notebooks with the necessary homework information. The daily assignments are listed on the chalkboard, and we go over the assignments orally at the end of the day. Organization is an important school skill. Tips to homework success: 1. Set aside time each day to do your homework assignment. 2. Choose a quiet place to do your homework. 3. Prepare with all necessary materials. 4. Check over completed assignments. 5. Put your homework in your backpack to bring back to school.

Reading
Throughout the year, students will be reading independently, in small groups, and as a whole class. We will cover current events in our non-fiction reading of National Geographic Magazine, as well as our textbooks and articles that support our curricular studies. Students will also enjoy fictional reading with the many novels and short stories we will read together. During each novel, student groups will work on fluency, comprehension, and decoding skills. Students also read independently with our Accelerated Reader program. Each student should be reading for a minimum of 30 minutes each night.

Spelling and Writing
Each week students will do daily activities with the spelling words of the week from the Everyday Spelling textbook in order to prepare for their Friday test. Students are pretested on Monday. All students are encouraged to try the challenge words which may include words from our science and social studies units. Throughout the year, the class will work on the three forms of writing (narrative, persuasive, and expository). Initially, we will review the format for each and then work to expand their writing skills. Students are encouraged to express their creativity and use their "own voice" in their writing. We also enjoy creative writing and poetry throughout the year.

Social Studies and Science
We travel the five regions of the United States. For each region we gain an understanding of the natural resources, geography, history, and important people. We also study our government at the national, state, and local levels. Students are expected to locate the fifty states and learn the capitals and postal abbreviations. Our three science units are rocks and minerals, food chains and owl pellets, and electricity and magnetism. Many of our activities are hands on.