Six Flags Read to Succeed

This is a reminder to all families that the Six Flags Read to Succeed Reading Log is due Friday, February 13th. If you child has read six hours, please fill out the dates and times and sign the reading log. Return the completed reading log to your child’s teacher. You will receive a free student ticket to Great America before the end of the school year. Keep on reading! 

January 26th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we start the third quarter, I would like to thank all of your for all of the reading you have been doing at home with your child.  It has been amazing to see the growth in reading from the beginning of the year until now.  This wouldn't happen without all of the practice outside of school!  Reading every day reinforces so many important reading and writing skills.  Thank you so much for all of your support!

This week in guided reading we will be working on drawing conclusions.  The students will practice listening for details and after each detail they will be asked to draw a conclusion.  We are also going to focus on the sound of u as in the word cute.

During third quarter we will be working on story writing.  The students will start to practice this skill by planning a story that includes all of the parts (characters, setting, problem, solution, etc.) we talk about in reading.  Please help your child at home by encouraging their interests and imagination by coming up with ideas for a story they may want to write.

In math, we are going to use our addition and subtraction math facts in order to figure out “What’s My Rule?” problems.  We will also continue learning about fact families and name collection boxes.  Look at the parent letter for further explanation on the "What's My Rule?" problems and Home Links 5.12 and 5.13 (back to back) to come home this week in a packet.

Remember to keep practicing addition and subtraction facts at home.  This quarter, we will be doing addition and subtraction facts to 16.  Please continue to practice these facts at home with your children.  Flashcards are a great way to help your child become faster with their facts.  There are also a lot of fun resources on the Thorson website that help with addition and subtraction, a good one to check out is “Math Bingo” on www.abcya.com.  XtraMath.org is another great resource and a fun way for the children to practice their math facts!  If you would like extra sheets to practice with, please let me know and I will be happy to send them home.

This quarter we will be doing geometry.  Problem solving, money, time, and counting to 120 starting at any number are skills we continually work on in math.

Special Points of Interest

• Family Wellness Night is this Friday from 5:30-8:00
• Valentine's Day classroom parties are on Friday, February 13th - look for more information in the near future
• Save the Date - The Thorson Winter Carnival is on Saturday, March 7th from 11:00-3:00

No Spelling Test!

We had a very busy day in first grade today finishing up our Arctic animal writing packet, sharing the rest of our treasures, reading with a partner and finding inferences, completing a lot of math activities and so much more.  The children did such a great job staying busy and finishing all of their activities that we didn't have our spelling test.

I hope you have a great extra long weekend with your children! :-)

January 19th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we are going to work on making inferences.  This reading strategy has the students draw on their prior knowledge and use the information from the story and picture clues to make an inference about what the author does not say in the text.  We are also going to focus on the long o sound, as in the word home.  

This week in writer's workshop the students will focus on writing about people and things that they love.  On Tuesday, the children will be bringing home a brown paper bag.  Please have your child select one treasure to put in the bag that means a lot to them.  We will be writing about the treasures that are near and dear to our hearts on Wednesday.

In math, we will be working on story problems, turn-around facts and adding two digit numbers without regrouping.  Look for Home Links 5.8, 5.10, and 5.11 to come home this week.  Remember to keep practicing addition and subtraction facts at home with your child.

The students will be starting a new science unit, Pushes and Pulls, this week.  The students will be thinking about their favorite jobs and how pushes and pulls are used in that job.

Special Points of Interest

• Our Math MAP test is on Wednesday afternoon
• No school this Friday, January 23th. It is the end of second quarter and teacher record day.
• Family Wellness Night is next Friday, January 30th from 5:30 to 8:00 here at Thorson

January 12th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we are going to focus on the characters and the setting of the stories that we read.  We will continue reading and writing about Arctic animals.  The children are also going to be learning about contractions and triple consonant sounds, as in scr, spl, and str.  Our chunk of the week is –ide as in hide.

This week we will be introducing addition of two digit numbers.  The children will be using base-ten blocks to find the total weight of pairs of animals.  We will be playing Shaker Addition Top-it to practice our addition facts.  We will also be practicing with more than and less than number stories that involve addition and subtraction.  Look for Home Links 5.5, 5.6, and 5.7 to come home this week.

Scholastic book orders are due this Friday, January 16th.  You can go online to order www.scholastic.com/bookclubs and type in the Online Code: JBVLX, or you can send the order form and money to school with your child.

Special Points of Interest

• No school on Friday, January 23th.  It is the end of second quarter and teacher record day.
• Family Wellness Night is on Friday, January 30th from 5:30 to 8:00.
• Our Reading MAP test is tomorrow afternoon.  We will be starting the reading test tomorrow and finishing it on Friday.  We will be doing the Math MAP test next week.

Scholastic Book Order

Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub
One-Time Class Activation Code: JBVLX

Dear Families,

Please remember to place your Reading Club orders by Friday, January 16th.

You can shop and submit your order online or return the printed order form with payment directly to me. No matter how you order, every purchase you make earns FREE Books and educational supplies for our classroom.

The arrival of the book box is always a highlight-thanks for making it happen!

Happy reading,

Mrs. Majinski

Ordering online is fast and easy:

• REGISTER at scholastic.com/readingclub
• ENTER the Class Activation Code at the top of this letter
• CHOOSE from thousands of print titles, value packs, and Storia eBooks
• SUBMIT the order to me by the due date at the top of this letter
• EARN FREE Books for our classroom too!

January 5th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome back!  During our first week back we will be working on stories dealing with families.  We are also going to continue working on making predictions as we read stories.  Our sound of the week is the long i sound, as in the word mine.  The children are going to be learning about adjectives and working on writing descriptive sentences.

In math, we are going to begin learning about place value.  We will be using manipulatives, as well as calculators.  The children will be finding mystery numbers after they are given place value clues.  We will also be revisiting money by completing a few fun activities.  The children will be comparing numbers and learning how to use the relation symbols greater than, less than, and equal to.  In addition, we will be doing activities that help the children memorize their addition facts in order to continue developing “fact power.”  Keep working with your children at home on both their addition and subtraction facts.  Look for Home Links 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4 and the Unit 5 Family Letter to come home this week.

We are beginning our Arctic animal study in science this week.  We will be learning about the Arcitic habitat and learning and writing about animals found in the Arctic.

Special Points of Interest

• The holiday party was fun for all.  Thank you so much to all of the parents who donated items and a special thanks to Mrs. Kennison and Mrs. Emmerich for all of the fun games and activities!
• I hope you had a great winter break and enjoyed spending time with your children!
• Please send an extra pair of socks and mittens in your child's backpack for the wet winter weather.
• MAP testing begins next week.