Weekly Update

Hello Families,

Another week of unexpected cancellations and delays is behind us! We are getting good at going with the flow and re-adjusting our schedule. Let’s hope February will be remarkably warm! J

Math

We are completing a short unit on repeating patterns. This unit will conclude on Tuesday and then we will work on counting and number patterns to 100.

Reading Workshop

GREAT readers ask questions about non-fiction text too! We will look deep into the difference of questioning when reading fiction and non-fiction. We are still working on asking questions using who, what, when, where, why, and how. Challenge your child to begin questions with these words at home too! J

Writer’s Workshop

We all have written our rough drafts of our opinion paragraphs. Next week we will write final copies. Our writing has improved so much since the beginning of 1^st grade!

This Week I Really Learned!

We were rushed this afternoon, so we did not follow our regular T.W.I.R.L. procedures. Some students did not have a chance to write a letter. Those that did, wrote their letters without the class brainstorming.  I was excited to see such great letters written independently.

Word Workshop

Yay for long vowels! We are now learning about the other sound that vowels make….the long sound. This week we are learning about long I made by adding a silent e. Be on the lookout for long I word with silent e endings. (stole, poke, joke, slope, rope) First graders should be able to read and spell long I words with silent e endings. Ask your child about the silent E song that we listen to every day. J

Grammar

We started learning about contractions with not and using them correctly. We know that we use “doesn’t” with he and she and “don’t” with I, they, you, and we.

I don’t

You don’t

We don’t

They don’t

He doesn’t

She doesn’t

(Person’s name) doesn’t

 

FAST Testing

All FAST Testing is complete! Students worked very hard to do their best. We will discuss this data at conferences, but feel free to contact me earlier if you’re curious about your child’s scores.

 

Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Birthday!!

Ethan

 

 

 

 

Silly Birthday Boy!

 

Silly Class!



Weekly Update

Hello Families,

We almost made it through a whole week without any weather related delays or cancellations! Thank you for sending your children with appropriate clothing for the bus and recess on the days we have it. Our January Mystery Readers were my brother, nieces, and nephew. They each read part of one of their favorite book.

 

 

My nephew, Reily, reading The Magic School Bus - Solar System

 

My niece, Kennedy, reading Little Cricket's Big Day 

 

My niece, McKenzie, reading Because You Matter

 

Math

We finished up our geometry unit today and will be taking the end of the unit assessment on Monday. This week we learned about solid geometric shapes: cones, cubes, rectangular prisms, spheres, and cylinders. We know that these shapes have vertices and faces.

Reading Workshop

GREAT readers ask questions…lots of questions! We know that good question words are who, what, where, when, why, and how. These questions allow us to dig deeper. Questions words like was, did, have, and do are okay, but they usually only require a yes or no answer which stops conversation about the text. Good readers reading a good fit book WILL have questions before, during, and after reading. If readers do not have questions while reading, the book is either too easy or too hard, or they are not thinking about what they’re reading.

Writer’s Workshop

We are writing an opinion paragraph. We all made a list of our favorites. Favorite book, movie, candy…. We chose one of our favorites to write about. Each child needed to identify his/her favorite something and list at least two reasons why it’s the best “something.” The reasons had to be specific. They could not say, “It’s good.” We will be working more on these this week.

This Week I Really Learned!

I hope you’re enjoying your child’s T.W.I.R.L. journals. We love reading your letters each week.  Students are more motivated to write when they know they will receive a letter back. Even a short letter is better than no letter at all. Thank you for taking the time to write each week. J

Word Workshop

Yay for long vowels! We are now learning about the other sound that vowels make….the long sound. This week we are learning about long O made by adding a silent e. Be on the lookout for long O word with silent e endings. (stole, poke, joke, slope, rope) First graders should be able to read and spell long O words with silent e endings. Ask your child about the silent E song that we listen to every day. J

Grammar

We practiced using is and are correctly. We use is when we talk about 1 thing and are when we talk about more than one thing.

FAST Testing

We are gathering math and reading data with FAST assessments. Some of these are being done in the classroom and others are done on the computer. We completed the math computer portion on Wednesday. Next Tuesday we will complete the reading portion on the computer. These results will be discussed at conferences.

 

Enjoy your weekend!

 

 

Mystery Reader

 

 

We have a last minute Mystery Reader coming tomorrow afternoon! Here are the clues:

 

We are a group of readers.

 

There are 4 of us.

 

We are all part of the same family.

Hello Families,

Maybe we’ll have a full week of school next week. I'm glad everyone made it safely back home Thursday morning. The children are doing very well with regular routines and procedures with all of the schedule changes. It’s amazing to see how much they’ve grown and matured since the beginning of the year.

 

We love indoor recess...more than Miss Grimes does. :-)

 

Math

Geometry continues to be fun for the first graders. This week we learned about congruent shapes, transformations of shapes, and symmetrical shapes. The following are words that your child should be using when talking about geometry:

·         Symmetrical

·         Symmetry

·         Slide – translation

·         Flip – reflection

·         Turn – rotation

·         Congruent

Please try and have conversations with your child about math using these words. Academic vocabulary is very important. Hearing and using the words only in school is not enough. Thank you for all you do at home to support academic vocabulary.

Reading Workshop

GREAT readers ask questions…lots of questions! This week we learned how to go from wondering to asking a question using a question word. We know that good question words are who, what, where, when, why, and how. These questions allow us to dig deeper. Questions words like was, did, have, and do are okay, but they usually only require a yes or no answer which stops conversation about the text.  

Example: Did you have fun at the park?   “Yes”

OR….What did you have fun doing at the park? Who was at the park with you? Why did you go to the park? When did you go to the park? How did you get to the park? Where is the park?

Encourage your child to share his/her questions about text with you. Encourage questions that lead to deep thinking.

Writer’s Workshop

We are writing an opinion paragraph. We all made a list of our favorites. Favorite book, movie, candy…. We chose one of our favorites to write about. Each child needed to identify his/her favorite something and list at least two reasons why it’s the best “something.” The reasons had to be specific. They could not say, “It’s good.” We will be working more on these this week.

This Week I Really Learned!

I hope you’re enjoying your child’s T.W.I.R.L. journals. We love reading your letters each week.  Students are more motivated to write when they know they will receive a letter back. Even a short letter is better than no letter at all. Thank you for taking the time to write each week. J

Word Workshop

Yea for long vowels! We are now learning about the other sound that vowels make….the long sound. This week we are learning about long A made by adding a silent e. Be on the lookout for long A word with silent e endings. (make, take, rake, snake, shake, shame, blame) First graders should be able to read and spell long A words with silent e endings.  

Grammar

We worked on identifying past tense verbs in writing and speaking. Correct your child if verbs are written or spoken using the wrong tense.

Enjoy your weekend!

 

 

Hello Families,

We are finally starting to settle back into our regular routines after Christmas vacation and our 2 cancelled school days this week. The kids have done a wonderful job getting right back to work. Celebrations are in order for the amount the students retained over break. Math facts and reading levels were maintained if not improved! Thank you for all you did, do, and continue to do at home! J

Math

We began a geometry unit when we returned from break. Plane shapes we are working with are triangles, squares, trapezoids, parallelograms/rhombuses, rectangles, and hexagons. We have been making large shapes from small shapes and breaking apart large shapes to small shapes. Working with pattern blocks has been lots of fun!

 

Reading Workshop

We dug deep into making meaningful connections to characters in stories. We know that connecting to characters helps us understand the story in a deeper way, because we can understand why characters behave the way they do. We also practiced comparing two books by the same author and identifying “point of view.” First graders should be able to tell if the story is being told by the main character or a narrator.

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.***

Writer’s Workshop

We had fun writing thank you notes last week. I hope your child was able to share the note with you. They worked very hard on them and really seemed to be excited about giving it to the person it was written for. J

This Week I Really Learned!

I hope you’re enjoying your child’s T.W.I.R.L. journals. We love reading your letters each week.  Students are more motivated to write when they know they will receive a letter back. Even a short letter is better than no letter at all. Thank you for taking the time to write each week. J

Word Workshop

We reviewed 3 letters blends, initial family blends, s-blends, and ending blends and consonant clusters. Extra practice reading words with blends and clusters would be helpful. Students seem to be able to do it in isolation, but are still struggling with it comes to reading and spelling those words in everyday writing and reading.

Grammar

We worked in identifying present tense verbs in writing and speaking. Correct your child if verbs are written or spoken using the wrong tense.

Look how neatly we can hang up our coats, snow pants, and backpacks!

 

 

 

 

Enjoy your weekend!