October 28th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The last few weeks in literacy we did some focused work with vowels.  Vowels are tricky, and if we don't continue to notice and emphasize them they can be very confusing.  We found them in our shared reading poems, we created a vowel chart, and we've been finding them on various print around the classroom.  We've been practicing both the short and the long sounds for the vowels.  You can help at home by doing the same with words you notice when reading with your child or even when looking at a holiday catalog or a recipe!  Help your child understand that words are all around us, and they all have to have at least one vowel.  Keep in mind, it is best to use words that either have the short or the long sound in them, like in "bat," but not "ball."  Or in "that," but not in "the." 

This week we will continue our first study of small moment (or narrative) stories for the year.  We are hoping to be done with this unit next week.  Some stories will continue to come home, and some will be saved for parent teacher conferences.  It sure has been fun to learn more about these amazing kids and get to know them in the best way, through their stories!  I've learned about their friends, their pets, their families, their weekend adventures and more!  Keep the stories coming!

This week in Math, we will...

• Count by 5's and 10's with nickels and dimes when playing games called "Who Has More Cents with Nickels & Pennies" and "Who Has More Cents with Dimes, Nickels and Pennies."
• Compare amounts using the terms greater than, less than and equal to. 
• Play a game called "Drop the Beans" to practice fluently adding sums within 10, apply the commutative property when adding and organize/represent data on a graph.
• Make a variety of combinations of 10 by matching ten frames.
• Learn several new Math Workplace games to reinforce these skills!

**Math homework is due on Monday, because of the short week. 

This week in Social Studies, we will learn about land forms, bodies of water, and using globes and maps. We will also continue to learn about bullying prevention with Mrs. Kikkert.

**Children can bring their costumes to school on Thursday in a labeled bag. They will change into them before our Fall Party! It's going to be a fun day, and a fun week.  Thank you in advance for all of the help and donations for our Halloween Classroom Party!  The kids had a blast!

Remember to dress your child for the cold weather.  They will be going outside for every recess unless it rains.

Reminders and Upcoming Events:

• October 30- Picture Retakes
• October 31- Fall Party and Halloween Parade (3:00 pm)
• November 1- End of first quarter- No School
• November 11-15- Stuff the Bus Food Drive
• November 11- Veterans Day Program (2:00 pm)
• November 13- Dining for Dollars-Brandywine
• November 21- Parent-Teacher Conferences
• November 25- Parent-Teacher Conferences
• November 27-29- Thanksgiving Break-No School

October 21st Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

During our literacy block, one very important time of our day is called Community Writing.  During this time, we do some writing together as a whole group, that relates back to a book we read or an experience we had.  For example, after a big book we read called, "In a Dark, Dark Wood," we wrote our own version called "In a Dark, Dark School!"  It was so much fun to share ideas and write the story together.  We work on composing a message, listening for the sounds in the word, spelling word wall words (sight words) correctly, and letter formation.  One goal is to keep the purpose of the writing very authentic, so we also wrote a letter to Mrs. Staffaroni's class (by vote) and asked them if they'd like to read our book.  It was very exciting to have a real audience for our writing!

We are really growing as writers, this week we'll focus on telling a story part by part, so that we understand how to include a beginning, a middle, and an end.  See what authentic ways you can get your child writing at home!  They could help with the grocery list, or write a letter to a family member, or keep a diary/journal.  Seeing parents write at home is also very supportive!

This week in Math, we will...

• Represent subtraction on a nu`mber line and by counting back. We will practice these skills by playing a game called Spin & Subtract.
• Determine how many more we need to make five and 6 (I have 3, how many more do I need to make 5/6).
• Explore multiples of 5 by making a class "Sea Star" quilt. We will observe patterns that involve 5s, as well as count by 5s and 10s.

Example of "Sea Star" quilt- We will notice patterns, count the stars "arms" by 5s, etc.

We will be starting our Land and Water unit in Science.  The students will learn about landforms, bodies of water, and using globes and maps.  We will also learn about bullying prevention with Mrs. Kikkert.

Special Points of Interest

• October 30- Picture Retakes
• October 31- Halloween Parade at 3:00 pm
• November 1- End of first quarter- No School
• November 11-15- Stuff the Bus Food Drive
• November 13- Dining for Dollars-Brandywine
• November 21- Parent-Teacher Conferences
• November 25- Parent-Teacher Conferences
• November 27-29- Thanksgiving Break-No School

October 14th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We're off to a great start in guided reading!  All groups have met with multiple times and I'm just so proud of these 1st grade readers!  Please remember when reading at home that it is very important to give children lots of practice with reading text that they are able to read well.  This means fluent reading that sounds good!   Don't be fooled into thinking that your child isn't learning or progressing unless they're struggling or working hard to decode.  Their reading should sound like good reading.  If the reading doesn't sound fluent, feel free to try reading together for a few pages.  It will help your child to hear your fluent reading of the same text he/she is reading.  

This week during literacy, we'll continue to learn the routines of guided reading and we'll also be focusing on complete sentences.  You can help at home by encouraging your child to speak in complete sentences.  When they use an incomplete sentence, model what the complete sentence version would sound like and have them repeat it.  This will support our work in writer's workshop as we make sure we are beginning with a capital letter and using ending punctuation in our complete sentences.  

Our students have been working very hard on a small moment (narrative) story that spans multiple pages.  They have been adding to their stories day by day as well as making corrections such as capital letters and ending punctuation.  Take a look at them when they come home.  You will be so proud!

In math this week, we will...

• Write equations for fact families to understand the commutative property (changing the order of the addends does not change the sum). Students will write math stories to match the addition and subtraction equations they write for their fact families. 
• Use <, >, and = symbols to record comparisons of the total dots on dominoes.
• Recognize, represent, and solve addition combinations to 12 using dominoes. We will share our strategies for adding.
• Learn doubles addition facts through 6+6 using dominoes. 
• Learn new Math Workplace games called "Double It" and "Spin & Subtract".

This week in Science/Social Studies, we will finish our unit on Animals in Fall and learn about bullying prevention with Mrs. Kikkert.

Now that the cold weather is here, please label your child's winter gear with their first and last name!!  Also, we will be going outside unless it is raining or below 0, so please send warm clothing for your child!

Special Points of Interest

• Homework is due on Fridays.
• October 16- Dining for Dollars- Even and Odds Pizza
• Book Orders are due on Friday, October 18th.  Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX
• October 18 - Box Top Turn In Day
• October 30 - Picture Retake Day.
• Thursday, October 31st - Halloween Parade
• November 1- End of first quarter- No School
• November 11-15- Stuff the Bus Food Drive
• November 13- Dining for Dollars-Brandywine
• November 21- Parent-Teacher Conferences
• November 25- Parent-Teacher Conferences
• November 27-29- Thanksgiving Break-No School

October 7th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week we'll get started with guided reading, now that we have learned how to do each of our centers.  Our centers have become one of the favorite parts of our day.  During this time students are reading independently or with a buddy, or with a small group.  In some centers we read with big pointers and in some we're reading the poems we learn during shared reading.  A favorite is the listening center, where students use iPads and their headphones to listen to a variety of picture books, which are changed monthly.  We're also doing some word work, some free writing, and even some art!  Often we will be illustrating pieces of writing we did as a whole group and either creating a big book or hanging them in the hallway to share.

This week in math we will...

• Use strategies to add within 20 using dominoes. 
• Solve number puzzles called Magic Squares. The children will use two dominoes arranged one above the other to form two rows and two columns of dots. We will find the sums of both rows across and both columns down, then we will add the results of the rows and the results of the columns. We will observe that the sums are the same. Magic!!
• Explore fact families using dot cards.
• Write fact family equations, and write story problems for our equations. 
• Play a game called Sort the Sum during Math Work Places.

This week we will learn and write about animals that we see in the fall.  We will learn more about what it means when animals migrate, hibernate, and adapt and some of the animals that do these things to prepare for winter.

Special Points of Interest

• Friday, October 11th - Jaguar Jumpstart - wear Thorson spirt wear or blue
• October 14 - PTO Meeting at 7:00 pm
• Book Orders are due on Friday, October 18th.  Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX
• Friday, October 18th - Box Tops Turn In Day!
• Wednesday, October 30th - Picture Retake Day
• October 31 - Halloween Parade
• November 1 - End of 1st Quarter - No School