Dear First Grade Families,
Winter break is upon us and I'm sure you are feeling the same excitement at home as we are at school! The next few days we will spend reviewing many reading and math skills that we have been working on. We will also wrap up our unit on Holidays Around the World. Please join us on December 22nd at 2:15 for our celebration. The students will be sharing some songs/poems and will also be given some time to share their souvenirs from our "Around the World" unit! We hope you can make it! Please email me if you plan on coming so that I am aware of how many guests will be attending.
Wednesday is pajama day!! Please have your child wear comfy pajamas and bring in one stuffed animal that is able to fit in his/her backpack. We will celebrate our last day of this year together with many fun activities planned.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and find some time to celebrate with family and friends. Happy New Year!
Kerry
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Week of December 14th
Dear Parents,
I hope you are enjoying hearing all about our adventures with Globe Trot Scott! He has taught us so many great things about how other people around the world celebrate holidays. We are also learning more about our own family traditions as well. This week we plan to travel to Africa, Russia and Sweden. We hope you can join us for our December celebration which will be held on December 22nd at 2:15. We plan on sharing all of our souvenirs in our suitcases, singing some holiday songs and eating some yummy treats. Thank you to all those who have volunteered to bring in items for our celebration!
Here's a sneak peek into the week ahead:
Spelling: This week (and next week) we will review long vowels with the silent e pattern. The students have done very well learning this pattern and it is evident by the scores on their spelling tests! Thank you again for working with them each night for spelling homework! This week you will notice only 8 words on their lists. We won't have a spelling test next week because it's a short week, so you will not see new word lists coming home on Monday.
Writing: We are in the final bend of our Informational Writing unit. This week the students will spend their focus on writing introductions and conclusions. I can't tell you how impressed I am with all of their great ideas. Many of my authors have become so invested in their writing that their folders are blossoming with great texts, while others have become so invested in a single piece that they have added numerous chapters that can teach their readers! This has been such a great experience for me to see their writing really take off!
Readers workshop: Our work as readers will continue with nonfiction texts.
Math: Our chapter 4 tests went home on Friday. Please be sure to sign the tests and return them in your child's folder as soon as possible. We will start Chapter 5 (Addition facts to 20) on Monday. In this chapter we will continue the basic fact strategies that we started in chapter 4. In first grade, there is a great emphasis on mastering the basic addition facts. For students who cannot quickly memorize these facts, we will review and practice addition strategies to use as an aid. We will review terms such as addition, addend, sum, part, and whole. We will focus on doubles, near doubles and making 10 to help us add.
I hope you all had a chance to get outside to enjoy the "spring" weather. This was certainly a nice treat!! Although we only have 8 days before winter break, we will be busy learning, having fun and growing together! First grade is full of excitement (more than usual) this time of year!! Have a great week!
Kerry
I hope you are enjoying hearing all about our adventures with Globe Trot Scott! He has taught us so many great things about how other people around the world celebrate holidays. We are also learning more about our own family traditions as well. This week we plan to travel to Africa, Russia and Sweden. We hope you can join us for our December celebration which will be held on December 22nd at 2:15. We plan on sharing all of our souvenirs in our suitcases, singing some holiday songs and eating some yummy treats. Thank you to all those who have volunteered to bring in items for our celebration!
Here's a sneak peek into the week ahead:
Spelling: This week (and next week) we will review long vowels with the silent e pattern. The students have done very well learning this pattern and it is evident by the scores on their spelling tests! Thank you again for working with them each night for spelling homework! This week you will notice only 8 words on their lists. We won't have a spelling test next week because it's a short week, so you will not see new word lists coming home on Monday.
Writing: We are in the final bend of our Informational Writing unit. This week the students will spend their focus on writing introductions and conclusions. I can't tell you how impressed I am with all of their great ideas. Many of my authors have become so invested in their writing that their folders are blossoming with great texts, while others have become so invested in a single piece that they have added numerous chapters that can teach their readers! This has been such a great experience for me to see their writing really take off!
Readers workshop: Our work as readers will continue with nonfiction texts.
Math: Our chapter 4 tests went home on Friday. Please be sure to sign the tests and return them in your child's folder as soon as possible. We will start Chapter 5 (Addition facts to 20) on Monday. In this chapter we will continue the basic fact strategies that we started in chapter 4. In first grade, there is a great emphasis on mastering the basic addition facts. For students who cannot quickly memorize these facts, we will review and practice addition strategies to use as an aid. We will review terms such as addition, addend, sum, part, and whole. We will focus on doubles, near doubles and making 10 to help us add.
I hope you all had a chance to get outside to enjoy the "spring" weather. This was certainly a nice treat!! Although we only have 8 days before winter break, we will be busy learning, having fun and growing together! First grade is full of excitement (more than usual) this time of year!! Have a great week!
Kerry
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Week of December 7th
Dear Families,
Our classroom is completely in the holiday spirit! The boys and girls had a chance to briefly meet a new friend named "Globe Trot Scott" last week. He is a friend who travels all over the globe learning about different cultures, traditions and celebrations. Last week he left us several small packages with "souvenirs" from France, Mexico and Italy. He brought us some books, fact sheets, crafts and some yummy treats too! We are excited to continue using our "Globetrotter Airways" tickets to travel to more places in the weeks to come! The students are compiling their artifacts and facts sheets in a very special suitcase which we plan on sharing with you later this month. In keeping with the holiday spirit, we invite you to join us in our classroom on December 22nd at 2:15 for some learning fun and treats! We certainly hope you can make it!!
This week we also had a nice visit from Mrs. Libutti sharing one of her family traditions. The students learned all about their Thanksgiving tradition and had a chance to taste yummy cinnamon rolls while listening to some great Thanksgiving books. Thank you Mrs. Libutti!
Spelling: The students did a FANTASTIC job on their 1st formal spelling test with "a silent e" and "i silent e"! I was so proud of them! Thank you for all of your work in helping your child practice his/her spelling words and in helping them complete the homework assignments for the week. This week we will continue with silent e words while focusing on o_e and u_e. Please look for the new spelling lists to be sent home tomorrow. You will also notice that this weeks words will most likely have 8 pattern words and 2 priority words.
Reading: Last week we got into the groove of working in our guided reading groups as I spent the week before re-assessing most of the students on their reading skills. We adjusted groups and many of the students made some gains in their reading - YAY! Please remember to spend at least 15-20 minutes reading 5 days each week. Thank you for returning the reading bags that have I have been sending home with the students. These are the books we have been working with throughout the week and the purpose of sending them home is for the students to "show off" all of their hard work! Please take a few minutes to share in their joy of learning and reading! During Reader's Workshop, we have been investigating non fiction texts. We have learned all about the text features of non fiction books. Last week we started to "close read" several texts. Close reading simply means that you look at a text several times over the course of several days to gain a deeper understanding. The students are also learning to mark up their texts using various symbols to denote unfamiliar words, important parts, key words and things that surprise them. This is an upper level skill, but they sure are understanding it and having fun! We began this exploration by eating an Oreo cookie. The students ate it as fast as they could and when they finished told me what they ate - a cookie. Then they were asked to eat another one, but this time they had to eat it slowly and use their senses to really think about what they were eating. After eating the second time, they were able to tell me SO much more about the cookie. We explored things like it's texture, ingredients, what it smelled like, tasted like and much more! This was a really fun and neat way to get them to understand what we would be doing as close readers. This week we will continue to look at non fiction as readers. We will read some more books independently and note important vocabulary, facts and questions we still have as readers. These 1st graders amaze me each day at what they are able to accomplish - even when it seems hard!!
Writing: We are continuing with our Informational writing unit. We are getting stronger each day! Last week we had a lot of fun learning all about adding a table of contents. They are learning to chop up their topic into smaller pieces and add titles that are interesting, short and keep the reader interested! Many students are also adding "fun facts" and glossaries. We will most likely finish this unit right before break or shortly after. Here are some pictures of our authors collaborating to come up with a table of contents for a "celebration" book.
Math: This week we will wrap up Chapter 4 and plan on a "show me" assessment by Friday.
I hope you have a great week!
Kerry
Our classroom is completely in the holiday spirit! The boys and girls had a chance to briefly meet a new friend named "Globe Trot Scott" last week. He is a friend who travels all over the globe learning about different cultures, traditions and celebrations. Last week he left us several small packages with "souvenirs" from France, Mexico and Italy. He brought us some books, fact sheets, crafts and some yummy treats too! We are excited to continue using our "Globetrotter Airways" tickets to travel to more places in the weeks to come! The students are compiling their artifacts and facts sheets in a very special suitcase which we plan on sharing with you later this month. In keeping with the holiday spirit, we invite you to join us in our classroom on December 22nd at 2:15 for some learning fun and treats! We certainly hope you can make it!!
Spelling: The students did a FANTASTIC job on their 1st formal spelling test with "a silent e" and "i silent e"! I was so proud of them! Thank you for all of your work in helping your child practice his/her spelling words and in helping them complete the homework assignments for the week. This week we will continue with silent e words while focusing on o_e and u_e. Please look for the new spelling lists to be sent home tomorrow. You will also notice that this weeks words will most likely have 8 pattern words and 2 priority words.
Reading: Last week we got into the groove of working in our guided reading groups as I spent the week before re-assessing most of the students on their reading skills. We adjusted groups and many of the students made some gains in their reading - YAY! Please remember to spend at least 15-20 minutes reading 5 days each week. Thank you for returning the reading bags that have I have been sending home with the students. These are the books we have been working with throughout the week and the purpose of sending them home is for the students to "show off" all of their hard work! Please take a few minutes to share in their joy of learning and reading! During Reader's Workshop, we have been investigating non fiction texts. We have learned all about the text features of non fiction books. Last week we started to "close read" several texts. Close reading simply means that you look at a text several times over the course of several days to gain a deeper understanding. The students are also learning to mark up their texts using various symbols to denote unfamiliar words, important parts, key words and things that surprise them. This is an upper level skill, but they sure are understanding it and having fun! We began this exploration by eating an Oreo cookie. The students ate it as fast as they could and when they finished told me what they ate - a cookie. Then they were asked to eat another one, but this time they had to eat it slowly and use their senses to really think about what they were eating. After eating the second time, they were able to tell me SO much more about the cookie. We explored things like it's texture, ingredients, what it smelled like, tasted like and much more! This was a really fun and neat way to get them to understand what we would be doing as close readers. This week we will continue to look at non fiction as readers. We will read some more books independently and note important vocabulary, facts and questions we still have as readers. These 1st graders amaze me each day at what they are able to accomplish - even when it seems hard!!
Writing: We are continuing with our Informational writing unit. We are getting stronger each day! Last week we had a lot of fun learning all about adding a table of contents. They are learning to chop up their topic into smaller pieces and add titles that are interesting, short and keep the reader interested! Many students are also adding "fun facts" and glossaries. We will most likely finish this unit right before break or shortly after. Here are some pictures of our authors collaborating to come up with a table of contents for a "celebration" book.
Math: This week we will wrap up Chapter 4 and plan on a "show me" assessment by Friday.
I hope you have a great week!
Kerry
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)