March 30th Newsletter

This week in reading we will continue to learn about cause and effect as well as homophones.  The children will also learn about synonyms and antonyms and we will be completing a fun activities that will help us understand what these two words mean.  We will also be finishing up our story writing unit.  Next quarter, we will be writing informational pieces on animals.  Additionally, we will NOT have new spelling words this week.

In math we will be using this week as a review week.  We will be reviewing all of the concepts that we learned about throughout the course of the third quarter.  This Wednesday, April 1st, we will be having a Math Game Day.  Your child may bring in any math game that they are able to teach to a friend.  Please look for the Unit 9 family letter and Home Link 9.1 to come home this week.

We are going to continue learning and writing about South American animals.

Special Points of Interest

• This Wednesday, April 1st is the last day of school before spring break
• Spring Break is April 2-12 - I hope you have a fun week with your children!
• Save the Date:  Fine Arts Night is on April 23rd

March 23rd Newsletter

This week in reading we will be focusing on cause and effect and signal words that are used in cause and effect relationships.  Some of the signal words and phrases we will be concentrating on are so, since, as a result, and because.  The children will be introduced to homophones and we will be doing a few activities related to the subject.  We will be focusing on the r-controlled vowel sound, as in the words car and smart.

In math, we will be using counting up as a strategy for making change for amounts up to one dollar.  We will also be exploring equal shares by dividing objects and groups of items into equal parts.  This will be our introduction to fractions.  We will be having a Math Game Day on Wednesday, April 1st.  Your child may bring in any math game they are able to teach to a friend.  Look for Home Links 8.5, 8.6 and 8.7 to come home this week.

We are going to begin learning and writing about South America and some of the animals that live there.

Our last Junior Achievement lesson is this Friday, March 27th.  A huge THANK YOU to Mrs. Emmerich for teaching our class!  We had so much fun!

Special Points of Interest

• Parent/Teacher Conferences are tomorrow, March 24th.  I look forward to meeting with some of you to talk about your wonderful children!
• April 1st is the last day of school before spring break
• Spring Break is April 2-12
• Save the Date:  Fine Arts Night is on April 23rd

March 16th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week we will continue working on our author study of Arnold Lobel.  We will continue to listen to, partner read, and read Frog and Toad stories by ourselves.  At the end of the week, we will be playing a Frog and Toad comprehension game.  To go along with our author study, we will be learning about amphibians and comparing and contrasting frogs and toads.  The students will also continue to learn about main idea and details.

The students will not have spelling homework this week, but we will have ten spelling words.  Some of the words are new and go along with our Frog and Toad stories and a few of them are review.  The students will NOT be tested in sentence form, they will just be tested on the ten words.

In math this week, we will be reviewing money and place value.  We will be learning place value concepts to hundreds.  We will also be revisiting money.  The students will be introduced to the dollar bill.  They will get to work on making combinations using the dollar bill, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies.  Look for Home Links 8.1 and 8.2 and 8.4 to come home this week.

Special Points of Interest

• Parent/Teacher Conferences are next Tuesday, March 24th
• Science Fair - March 19th
• Fine Arts Night - April 23rd

Tutoring this Summer

Are you looking for a tutor for your child this summer?  I would love to continue working with them throughout the summer in order to help your child maintain the important skills that they have learned in first grade.  If you or anyone that you know are interested, please email me for additional information and availability.

March 9th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week The Kite by Arnold Lobel.  Additionally, we will be focusing on the problem and solution in stories.  We will read stories that begin with a problem and end with a solution.  We are also going to focus on the long i spelled i, y, and igh.  Next week, we will continue working on our author study of Arnold Lobel.  We will be reading Frog and Toad are Friends.

This week in math we will continue learning about 3-dimensional shapes and sorting them by their attributes.  We will also be revisiting symmetry.  We will be assessing addition and subtraction facts to 16 on a weekly basis.  Please continue practicing these math facts at home.  Look for Home Link 7.6, a story problem sheet, and the Unit 8 Family Letter to come home this week.

This week we will begin a new social studies unit on Canada.  The students will learn the location of Canada and important facts related to Canada.  We will also be exploring the wildlife found there and taking a look at the Canadian flag.

Special Points of Interest

• Scholastic Book Orders are due this Friday, March 13th. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX
• Thorson Variety Show is tomorrow night, March 10th
• Science Fair - March 19th
• Fine Arts Night - April 23rd

Parent/Teacher Conferences

                                 

This spring, we will only have one evening of conferences on Tuesday, March 24th.  Since many of you would like a conference, I do not have enough slots for that evening.  I would love to schedule your child's conference sooner.  I would be available before school or while the students are at specials (2:30-3:25).

Please email me if this is something that you are interested in.

Thank you in advance!

March 2nd Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we will be focusing on the beginning, middle, and end of the stories that we read.  We will be incorporating this into our writing by writing stories that have a beginning, middle, and end.  Additionally, we are going to focus on the long o sound spelled -ow and -oa as in the words grow and goal.

This week we will continue learning about different shapes, including polygons, spheres, cylinders, rectangular prisms, pyramids, cones, and cubes.  We are going to investigate the characteristics that these shapes display.  The children are going to complete many hands on activities using manipulatives.  Remember to keep practicing addition and subtraction facts to 16 at home, so your child can develop fact power.  Look for Home Links 7.3, 7.4, and a subtraction practice sheet to come home this week.

We will be finishing our social studies unit Our Country this week.  The kids have been very interested in the geography of the United States and the symbols that represent the USA.

The science fair is quickly approaching!  It is on March 19th.  Start helping your child think of science experiments!

We are completely out of napkins and we are getting close to running out of facial tissue.  If you would be willing to donate a pack of napkins or a box of facial tissue to our classroom, we would greatly appreciate it!  Thank you in advance!

Special Points of Interest

• Thank you to the parents who came to read with the kids during Read Across America!  The kids had a lot of fun reading!
• Scholastic Book Orders are due on Friday, March 13th. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation  Code: JBVLX
• The Winter Carnival is this Saturday, March 7th from 11:00-3:00.
• Thorson Variety Show - March 10th
• Science Fair - March 19th
• Fine Arts Night - April 23rd