February 26th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Last week was an exciting one as we were finishing up our narrative non-fiction writing pieces and their new understandings of how to figure out unknown words!  Many of us are very excited about bringing home books from the library that we can read on our own!  We are working on bringing home one book we can read on our own and one that our parents should read to us.  Remember, both are vital to growing readers!

This week we are beginning a fairy tale unit.  We will be reading fairy tales during our read alouds, creating a fairy tale during community writing, and writing fairy tales during writer's workshop.  We will be discussing the elements contained in a fairy tale (characters, setting, problem and solution).  Don't be surprised if your son or daughter brings home a fairy tale writing piece!  Embrace their excitement and try it with them!   

This week in math the students will learn more about fact families and fact triangles, explore time to the minute, review "What's My Rule", talk about place value to the thousands place, and use math language to communicate our thinking during Number Talks.

We are currently working on our 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 also be comparing and contrasting George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Special Points of Interest

• Read Across America is this Friday - See the Thursday folder for more information
• No School Friday, March 9th - Professional Development for Teachers

February 19th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week we are digging into the poems we are reading and writing some of our own in the writing center.  Along with understanding that poetry is written to describe things, we are learning about how a poet arranges the words into lines, so that the reader pauses at those line breaks.  It is hard work but the students are catching on!  We're also noticing the interesting words poets use to explain things.  For example, in a poem about a puffin, the poet wrote "A puffin loves stuffin' its bill full of fishes."  And many of us had no idea what meant by "stuffin'," so we learned he was referring to "stuffing" like "stuffing yourself" or "I feel stuffed," when you're full after eating.  

If you're thinking about ordering from Scholastic next month, maybe choose a poetry book!  Poetry is excellent for vocabulary, comprehension and fluency!  Your child will love learning to recite a favorite poem with you!

During writer's workshop, the students will continue their narrative writing based on Nicola Davies about the animal of their choice.  We will also continue working on editing our writing.

This week in math we will learn to tell time on an analog clock to the half-hour and quarter-hour, learn to tell time on an analog clock by 5-minute intervals, and work on calculating elapsed time.

We will be finishing up our study on the Olympics this week.  Next week we will begin a new social studies unit on Our Country.

Special Points of Interest

• We are almost out of tissues!  We have had a lot of runny noses in our classroom, so we have been going through tissues very quickly.  If you are able to donate a box of tissue to our classroom, it would be greatly appreciated!
• If you have a Connect Four game at home that you no longer use, we'd love to use it for a math center.  Even if you are missing some pieces!  I will be writing numbers on the chips, just as a heads up.

February 12th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week we are analyzing some of the poetry we've been reading about different animals and places.  We are learning about different tricks or tools poets use to make their poems more fun or more interesting!  We will also be learning about alliteration and rhyming and we are using these tricks to get started writing our own poems in writing center this week!  

We are focusing a lot on vowels in reading right now.  Short and long vowels can be very difficult for kids.  It would be great if you could notice words on signs while driving or in stores, and just ask, "Hmm, is that a short vowel or a long vowel?"  This week we are learning about consonant- vowel- consonant (or CVC) words and CVCe words (words with silent e).  These words are everywhere!  Maybe you could find 2 of each, AFTER reading the book that comes home, or any book really!  That would really help!

We will continue working on our Community Writing narrative piece about ducks.  The students are having a lot of fun creating a class book that will be added to our big book center when we are finished!  Additionally, we will be continuing our own narrative writing pieces about the animal of our choice during Writer's Workshop.  The students are doing a fabulous job with this!

In math we will learn about symmetry and review geometry, review telling time to the half-hour, learn how to tell time to the quarter hour and 5 minute increments, explore the concept of elapsed time, and continue using math language and gaining exposure to a variety of problem solving strategies through number talks.

The students will continue learning about the countries and events in the Winter Olympics during social studies time!

We will be going to IMC TOMORROW, February 13th since we do not have school on Friday.  Please make sure your child returns their books to school so that they can check out new books!  Thank you!

Special Points of Interest

• THANK YOU in advance to all of the families that donated items for our Valentine's Party. The kids are looking forward to the party on Wednesday!
• Read to Succeed forms are due this Thursday!
• Scholastic book orders are due Friday, February 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.
• No School this Friday!  Teachers have professional development.

100th Day Fun!

Important Reminders

Tomorrow, February 8th, we will be going outside for our rain check for Nature Ninja Days. Please remember to send ALL winter gear!

Friday, February 9th is the 100th day of school! Please remember to send your child with 100 NUT FREE trail-mix items (for example, 100 cheerios, 100 skittles) as we will be making 100th day trail mix.

On 100th day, we are encouraging students to dress like they are 100 years old!

February 5th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week, we will continue our author study of Nicola Davies by taking a closer look at a few of her books.  We are in the process of making a class book in Community Writing about ducks.  The students are then going to write their own narrative non-fiction book about an animal of their choice.  Additionally, they will be researching online using Pebble Go (which you can find on the IMC page) and they will begin to think about how to lay out their facts, their illustrations and their title.

In the beginning of the year, many of our students were going crazy for the Elephant and Piggie books (by Mo Willems) and we now are fascinated with Dory Fantasmagory (by Abby Hanlon)!  All three books are always checked out of the IMC by one of our first graders!  I just wanted to give you the title and author in case you wanted to check the public library or look on Amazon.  Dory is a girl who explodes with imagination and of course that sometimes gets her into trouble, which readers just LOVE!

In math we will combine plane shapes to make different shapes (2 trapezoids can make a hexagon; 3 rombi can make a hexagon; 6 triangles can make a hexagon) using pattern blocks.  We will also identify attributes (number of faces, edges, vertices) and non-defining attributes (color size) of solid shapes, name solid shapes and identify them in our environment.  Additionally, we will continue to do number talks to engage in mathematical conversation and have exposure to multiple strategies to solve problems.

On Friday, we are celebrating the 100th day of school.  We will have fun exploring different activities using the number 100.  Please send in your snack with 100 pieces and to dress like you're 100 years old on Friday! :-)

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, the first graders are learning about the Olympics and the different events they will see in the Winter Olympics.

Special Points of Interest

• Valentine's Day classroom parties are on February 14th - Thank you in advance to all of the parents who are donating food and items for our party!
• Scholastic book orders are due Friday, February 16th. You can go online to order www.scholastic.com/bookclub and type in the Online Code: JBVLX, or you can send the order form and money to school with your child.

Read to Succeed

Great America Reading Logs – Due Friday, February 15

This is a reminder to all K-5 families that the Six Flags Read to Succeed Reading Log is due Thursday, February 15th. If your 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!