February 22nd Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we will be taking a look at realism and fantasy.  We will be creating story maps and comparing and contrasting animal fantasy stories.  We will be discussing what real things the animals do and what things the animals do that are fantasy.  We will also be creating our own animals doing something real and something that is fantasy.  In writing, we will be finishing and sharing our story writing on our version of The Mitten and we will continue story writing the rest of the third quarter.  Our chunk this week will be -ing and in ring.

This week in math we will be analyzing data and creating graphs.  We will also be learning about different shapes, including polygons, spheres, cylinders, rectangular prisms, pyramids, cones, and cubes.  Look for the Unit 7 Family Letter along with Home Links 6.12, 7.1 and an addition practice sheet to come home this week.  Please keep Home Link 7.1 at home for extra practice.

We will be continuing our study of the United States.  We will learn more about our countries symbols and past presidents.

The science fair is quickly approaching!  It is on March 3rd.  Make sure to sign up if you are interested in participating!  More information and the form for signing up is located in the Thursday folder.

Special Points of Interest

• Read Across America is from 3:00-3:30 on March 2nd.  If you plan on coming to read with our class, please fill out the online form.  Here is a direct link to the form.
• Science Fair - March 3rd
• Thorson Variety Show - March 15th

February 15th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we will continue to make inferences about the stories that we read by using the picture and story clues in the books that we read.  Additionally, we will be focusing on the long e sound, spelled ee, ea, and e.  We will be reading biographies of famous people and writing short reports about them.  This week we will be reading biographies about Alexander Graham Bell, Amelia Earhart, and Benjamin Franklin.

In writing, we will be continuing to focus on story writing.  Last week the students created a story map of their own version of The Mitten and this week they will be writing their stories.  The students need to include characters, settings, and events in their stories.

In math, we are going to continue practicing “What’s My Rule?” problems.  We will also provide experience finding the value of collections of quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies.  We will review time and introduce our math reference book.  We will be playing math games using our math triangles, please reinforce this at home by practicing them at home with your child.  Look for Home Links 6.8, 6.9, 6.11 and a subtraction practice sheet to come home this week.  Please keep Home Link 6.11 at home for your child to practice with.

Last week we started a new social studies unit called Our Country.  In the next two weeks we will be taking a closer look at a map of the United States and we will be locating different states.  We will also learn about the locations of the continents and the oceans.  Additionally, we will be learning about important symbols of the United States.  We will be learning about a few of our presidents and taking a close look at George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  We will be comparing and contrasting George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Special Points of Interest

• THANK YOU to all of the families that donated items for our Valentine's Party - The kids had a lot of fun!
• No school on Monday, February 29th - Professional Development for Teachers
• Science Fair - March 3rd
• Thorson Variety Show - March 15th

100 Days Smarter

Yesterday was our 100th day of first grade!  We are 100 days smarter!

Birds of Prey Presentation

This morning, Schlitz Audubon Nature Center will be here to do a program for the first graders about birds of prey. Thank you to the PTO for helping to bring this program to us!  Make sure to ask your child about the birds that they saw and what they learned during this program.

Packer Party Fun!

February 8th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we are going to be comparing and contrasting different stories with the story The Mitten by Jan Brett.  We will be focusing on the different aspects of a story, such as characters, setting, problems in the stories, and how they’re resolved.  The students will not have new spelling words or a spelling homework packet this week.  Our chunk of the week will be -ip as in clip.

In math, the children will continue to use the Addition/Subtraction Facts Table to solve subtraction problems.  We will also be learning about the centimeter as a unit of measure.  Look for Home Links 6.5, 6.6 and 6.7 to come home this week.  Please keep Home Link 6.7 at home so your child can practice math facts with the math triangles.

We are celebrating the 100th day of school today.  We will have fun exploring different activities using the number 100.

A great resource for all subject areas is BrainPopJr.  From Thorson’s homepage, go to students and click on Destiny, then click on the link for BrainPopJr. Username:  csdthorson  Password: cedarburg There are many videos and games that are fun and educational for the children!

This week we will be starting a new Social Studies unit called Our Country.  We will be learning about the location of our country, important symbols of our country, and much more!

Special Points of Interest

• Valentine's Day classroom parties are this Friday, February 12th.  Your child should bring their valentines to school by Thursday, February 11th.
• Read to Succeed Reading Logs are due this Friday, February 12th, if your child is participating
• Scholastic Book Orders are due on Friday, February 12th. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX
• No school on Monday, February 29th - Professional Development for Teachers

February 1st Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we will be working on comparing and contrasting.  We will be looking for things in the stories that we read that are alike and different.  We will also be revisiting compound words.  Additionally, we will be focusing on the sound ay and ai as in the words bay and mail.

In math, we are going to continue using name collection boxes.  We will also be practicing our fact families and learning about fact triangles.  The Unit 6 Family Letter was sent home last Friday.  Look for Home Links 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4 to come home this week.  Again this week our math home links were copied on white instead of yellow.  Sorry about the confusion!  Please keep the fact triangle home link (6.4) at home so that your child can practice with the fact triangles.  Remember to keep practicing addition and subtraction facts at home.  This quarter we will be working on facts all the way up to 16.

Happy Groundhog Day!  Today we will be making predictions as to whether the groundhog would see his shadow or not.  Will we have six more weeks of winter or will we have an early spring?

Scholastic book orders are due next Friday, February 12th. 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.

This Friday is our field trip to the Schauer Arts and Activities Center for a play.  Please make sure your child is on time as we will be leaving right away.  Also, make sure to send a cold lunch with your child.  Thank you!

Special Points of Interest

• Valentine's Day classroom parties are on Friday, February 12th - Thank you in advance to all of the parents who are donating food and items for our party!
• Thorson Winter Carnival on Saturday, March 6th from 11:00-3:00
• Reminder:  Read to Succeed Reading Logs are due on Friday, February 12th, if your child is participating