Friday Update

Hello Families,

October is underway and we’re preparing for conferences in a couple of weeks. Final conference times were sent home on Thursday. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are unable to make your time. Most of my evening slots are full, but I have many options on Friday if you need to reschedule.

Math

Our focus is ADDING. We are getting it, but the concept is still tricky to some. Using everyday examples of adding would be very helpful if your child is struggling. We use adding in the morning when we’re counting hot and cold lunches by counting the number of lunches and then adding the 1 or 2 that forgot their lunch stick. We then say the number sentence: (EX. 18 + 1 = 19)

We took our Topic 3 check today on making 6, 7, 8, and 9 from two parts. We will begin Topic 5 on Monday which focuses on sums of 5 and 10.

Soon we will be staring timed basic fact tests to sums of 12. You are welcome to start with adding 0 and 1 at home if you wish! J

Reading Workshop

This week learned to share our thinking about texts.  Students used post-its with a heart, exclamation mark, a smile face, and a question mark to identify parts of text that we loved, had strong feelings about, made us laugh, or wondered about. This would be a great way for your child to discuss a book at home with you too!

We also reviewed identifying good fit books and the three reading strategies we’ve learned so far: Stretchy Snake, Lips the Fish, and Eagle Eye.

Good Fit Books

Most children at this age have trouble identifying good fit books independently. Please be sure your child is reading good fit books at home. If they are hard to find the little books that come home every few days are perfect! J

***Look for the following characteristics when helping your child find a "just right" book: It is read not too fast, but not too slow. He/she knows all or most of the words. The topic is age appropriate.***

 

Word Workshop

We are reviewing short vowel (CVC) words. First graders should be able to decode any regular CVC word. Even for First Graders that are reading, phonics review is very important. The little books are great practice for fluency. The students can choose to leave them at school in their books boxes or take them home for practice. Our review will continue next week, and we will begin our first non-review unit which will focus on l-family blends: fl, sl, bl, gl, pl.

This Week I Really Learned!

This week we brainstormed what we learned in a T.W.I.R.L. web. Each student was required to write two sentences that started with “I learned ______________. Students could take ideas from our web or finish the sentence on their own. From now on the line leader of the week will be taking our class T.W.I.R.L. chart home. J Thank you for taking time to write to your child. Please try to write back to your child whenever possible. They love hearing your letters during snack time.

Social Studies

We have been learning about communities. We described a community as a group of people that could be very large or very small. So far we’ve identified communities we’re part of from largest to smallest: Earth, North America, United States, and Minnesota. We’ll talk next week about our city/town communities.

Fire Safety

The Glencoe Fire Department visited Helen Baker on Tuesday. Your child is bringing home a Fire Safety care package today. The message from the fire department is to be sure to change your smoke alarm batteries twice a year and have a family meeting place in case of a fire in your home.

Message from the Custodial Staff:

With the weather beginning to change in the next couple of days, dipping to a high of 52* by Sunday, I urge all of you to dress for the weather.  This may mean layers as the temperature in the buildings will not be that of the outdoor air.

As in years past, the boilers are not functioning at this time as we are making necessary repairs and code requirements so they remain in safe operating condition.

Keep an eye on the weather and temperatures and please dress accordingly.

Enjoy the Homecoming festivities this weekend!