March 9th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week we will be reading Narwhal and Jelly books by Ben Clanton, which I'm sure you will be hearing all about later this week!  We are learning about how important the illustrations in a book can be, and will focus on giving our readers detailed illustrations with our current writing projects.

We will continue working on our fairy tales in writing and we will be working on word choice and showing (not telling) how characters in our stories are feeling.  We also finished our class fairy tale in community writing!  We are finishing up the illustrations during art center this week.  Make sure you ask your child all about it!

This week in math, we will...

• Solve addition story problems within 20, with unknowns in different positions of equations.
• Solve subtraction story problems within 20, with unknowns in different positions of equations. 
• Compare heights of different kinds of penguins. We will work on writing inequality statements, order heights and figure out the difference between our heights and the penguin's height. 
• Recognize, describe, and extend number patterns and count by 2's beyond 20.

We will continue working on our social studies unit Our Country this week.  The kids have been very interested in the geography of the United States and this week we will continue to focus on the geography as well as learn about some of the symbols that represent the USA.

Special Points of Interest

• March 9- PTO Meeting (7:00 pm)
• March 11- Schauer Arts Center field trip fee due in Skyward
• Scholastic Book Orders are due this Friday, March 13th. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX
• March 17- St. Patrick's Day- Trinity Dancers Assembly
• March 19- End of 3rd Quarter
• March 20- March 27- Spring Break
• March 30- School Resumes
• April 2- Field Trip to Schauer Arts Center

March 2nd Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It sure has been exciting to take the students to the IMC the last few weeks.  Many of our students are very excited about being able to check out books they can read on their own!  While it is fantastic to listen to your child read, please remember that reading to your child is still just as powerful, as the vocabulary they can't quite read in more difficult picture books is just what they need to help them grow as a reader.  

In writing, we continuing to work on fairy tales.  We are currently working on a class fairy tale in community writing, and the students are writing their own fairy tales during writer's workshop.  Last week we focused on mapping out our stories and writing a solid beginning to our stories.  This week the students will work on stretching out characters' actions, using more vivid verbs, telling what their characters said using speech bubbles or dialogue within their text and showing how their characters felt.

This week in math, we will...

• Count pennies, nickels, and dimes.
• Read analog clocks to the hour and half-hour. 
• Solve Doubles Plus or Minus One addition facts within 20.
• Solve addition facts using the strategies we have been working on throughout the year, including:
• Doubles 
• Doubles Plus or Minus One
• Make Ten
• Add Tens
• Add Nines
• Learn two new Work Places called, "What's Missing and Pick Two to Make 20.
• Solve different types of addition and subtraction story problems including:
• Result unknown (10+3=?)
• Change unknown (13-?=8)
• Start unknown (?-5=10)

This week in social studies, we will continue learning about the United States and American symbols.

THANK YOU to the families that donated tissues and hand sanitizer to our classroom.  I really appreciate your generosity!

Scholastic Book Orders are due this Friday, March 13th. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX

Special Points of Interest

• March 2- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish Day- Wear red or blue
• March 3- Oh, The Places You'll Go Day- Wear college jersey/t-shirt
• March 4- Green Eggs and Ham Day- Wear green
• March 5- Fox in Socks Day- Wear fun socks
• March 6- Cat in the Hat Day- Wear fun hat
• March 7- Winter Carnival (11:00 am- 3:00 pm)
• March 9- PTO Meeting (7:00 pm)
• March 11- Schauer Arts Center field trip fee due in Skyward 
• March 17- St. Patrick's Day- Trinity Dancers Assembly
• March 19- End of 3rd Quarter
• March 20- March 27- Spring Break
• March 30- School Resumes
• April 2- Field Trip to Schauer Arts Center

February 24th 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, we will...

• Use number racks to model and solve story problems for situations that involve adding different 1-digit numbers to 10 and adding 1-digit numbers to 9.
• Solve addition and subtraction story problems and fact strategies to 20. 
• Work together to determine whether different quantities of penguins can march in pairs or not as a way to focus on Doubles and Doubles Plus/Minus One.
• Write equations to match combinations on a number rack and classify the fact as a Double Plus or Minus One, Add Ten, Add Nine, or Make Ten. 
• Learn a new Math Workplace game called, What's Missing?

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.

Special Points of Interest

• February 28- Read Across America
• March 7- Winter Carnival
• March 9- PTO Meeting (7:00 pm)
• March 19- End of 3rd Quarter
• March 20- March 27- Spring Break
• March 30- School Resumes

Read to Succeed

There is still time for your child to register to earn a free Six Flags ticket for reading 6 hours!

You can register for Read to Succeed using the details below: Register child at sixflags.com/books using code EBBN5 By April 17, complete the online reading log for your child. Expect a Six Flags Great America ticket for your child in May! Once your child is registered, you will have access to your online account. Happy Reading!

February 17th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week we are digging into the poems we are reading and also 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.  

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..

• Solve addition and subtraction equations within 20. We will use 5 and 10 as landmark (friendly) numbers. 
• Recognize number patterns involving doubles.
• Solve story problems involving the Add Ten facts (10+4, 10+7, 3+10, etc.)
• Use number racks to model and solve story problems for situations that involve adding different 1-digit numbers to 10 and adding 1-digit numbers to 9.

We will be continuing our unit on Our Country.  This week we will learn about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, along with a few other past presidents.


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!

Special Points of Interest

• February 20- Parent-Teacher Conferences
• February 21- No School- Professional Development
• February 28- Read Across America
• March 7- Winter Carnival
• March 9- PTO Meeting (7:00 pm)
• March 20- March 27- Spring Break
• March 30- School Resumes

Scholastic Book Orders Due This Friday!!!

Class Code - JBVLX

Order Due Date -  02/14/20

BE A READING HERO
In Your Child’s Class!

Dear Family,

We are celebrating Scholastic’s 100th Birthday and you can be a Reading Hero!

Our class gets 100 Extra Bonus Points when you place a book order of $10 or more.

Thank you for supporting your child’s reading success by being a Reading Hero!

Mrs. Majinski

What Are Bonus Points?
I use Bonus Points to get FREE Books and resources for our classroom.

February 10th 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!  

If you're thinking about ordering from Scholastic this 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!

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 polar bears.  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!

This week in math, we will...

• Solve shape riddles for two-dimensional shapes. 
• Identify, sort and graph two-dimensional shapes.
• Solve addition and subtraction equations within 20. We will use 5 and 10 as landmark (friendly) numbers. 
• Have some fun with a Valentine's Day graphing activity.

In social studies this week, the students will learn about the United States.  We will be focusing on Our Country, symbols, and past presidents throughout the rest of the month of February.

THANK YOU in advance to all of the families that will be donating items for our Valentine's Party. The kids are looking forward to the party on Friday!

Special Points of Interest

• February 10- Thorson's 50th Birthday Celebration/PTO Meeting (7:00 pm)
• February 14- Valentine's Day Activities/Box Top Turn in Day- Please remember to have your child bring their Valentine Box and 23 Valentines to distribute to their friends!
• Scholastic book orders are due this Friday, February 14th. 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.
• February 20- Parent-Teacher Conferences- I will contact you if I feel a conference is necessary. Conferences are optional but can be scheduled if you have a specific concern. 
• February 21- No School- Professional Development
• February 28- Read Across America
• March 7- Winter Carnival
• March 9- PTO Meeting (7:00 pm)
• March 20- March 27- Spring Break
• March 30- School Resumes

February 3rd 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 going to begin making a class book in Community Writing that is in the same format as her books.  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), as well as finding facts in non-fiction books from the IMC.  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 Mercy Watson and Narwhal and Jelly books!  Many of these books are always checked out of the IMC by one of the 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.  

In math this week we will...

• Review defining attributes of 2- and 3-dimensional shapes.
• Read Wholey-y Cow: Fractions Are Fun by Taryn Souders and Give Me Half by Stuart J. Murphy.
• Explore what happens when 2, 3 and 4 students have to share 1 pizza, as well as what happens when 4 and 8 students share 2 pizzas. 
• Play "Fraction Bingo"
• Have fun with 100th Day of School activities!

On Friday, we are celebrating the 100th day of school.  We will have fun exploring different activities using the number 100.  If your child is comfortable, please have them dress like they'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.  There are many videos and games that are fun and educational for the children!

Special Points of Interest

• February 7- 100th Day of School 
• February 10- Thorson's 50th Birthday Celebration/PTO Meeting (7:00 pm)
• February 14- Valentine's Day Activities/Box Top Turn in Day
• 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 14th. 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.
• February 20- Parent-Teacher Conferences (teacher or parent request)
• February 21- No School- Professional Development

January 27th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week we will be starting an author study on Nicola Davies who writes narrative stories that have facts interwoven in them.  Her books have amazing illustrations and they are so engaging for the kids!  Make sure to ask your child to what their favorite Nicola Davies book is! Additionally, we will work on editing our work during writer's workshop.  We will be focusing on capitalizing the first word of every sentence and ending every sentence with a punctuation mark.  We will also learn about proper nouns and capitalizing any proper nouns that we use in our writing.  The students will also work on classifying and categorizing items in both their word work center and pocket chart center this week.

This week in math, we will...

• Discuss attributes of cubes and pyramids and make them with Polydrons.
• Invent our own nine-patch quilt blocks by coloring 3x3 grids using two colors. Students will write an addition equation to match each block. 
• Work on dividing squares into halves and quarters in different ways.
  

This week in social studies, we will...

• Learn about our neighbors to the north, Canada.  We will be learning about their flag, Canadian symbols, and we will be comparing the United States with Canada.
  

Reminders and Upcoming Events:

• February 7- 100th Day of School 
• February 10- PTO Meeting (7:00 pm)
• February 14- Valentine's Day Activities/Box Top Turn in Day
• February 20- Parent-Teacher Conferences (teacher or parent request only)
• February 21- No School- Professional Development

January 21st Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we are half way done with the school year, I would like to thank all of you 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 we will discuss complete and incomplete sentences.  The students will work on writing sentences correctly, remembering to begin with a capital letter, put spaces in between words, end with a punctuation mark and state a complete thought.  We will also work on identifying words with short and long vowel sounds in our pocket chart center.

We will continue How-To writing.  This week we will focus on adding descriptive language so that our readers understand exactly what we are trying to say.  We will also focus on writing an interesting beginning and putting the steps in the correct order.

This week in math we will...

• Review defining and non-defining attributes of two-dimensional shapes by playing a game called There's a Shape in My Pocket.
• Compose larger shapes with pattern blocks.
• Go on a shape hunt around our room to find examples of three-dimensional shapes (cone, cube, cylinder, pyramid, rectangular prism, sphere, and triangular prism).
• Identify and sort three-dimensional shapes by their defining attributes.
• Use Polydrons to build three-dimensional shapes.

Example of Polydrons from our Bridges Curriculum

The first graders will be going to the IMC on Friday instead of Monday this week.  If your child would like to check out new books, please make sure they return their books on time!

Special Points of Interest

• • January 20- No School- Professional Development
  • January 21- MAP Assessment (Math)
  • January 24- Family Wellness Night (5:30-8:00 pm)
  • February 7- 100th Day of School (more information will be sent out soon)
  • February 10- PTO Meeting (7:00 pm)
  • February 14- Valentine's Day Activities (more information will be sent out soon)/Box Top Turn in Day