It is hard to believe that the end of first quarter is right around the corner. Wow! We are continuing to work hard to get smart in 1st grade. This week we are working on...
FAST Phonics:
We are learning about ph, kn, wr. This week we are introducing the concept of "best and rest" spellings. Your scholars have been soaring with our consonant teams and will continue working on reading and spelling new syllables and words.
Writing:
Ask your scholars about the ways we learned to help our characters come alive in our stories. This week we are using authors of some of our favorite books as mentors to help us write stories our readers will LOVE reading.
Reading:
This is our final week working on fix up strategies. Your scholars have been practicing persisting when they see tricky words and using strategies to tackle these words instead of giving up.
Math:
We are working on building up our number sense and learning about two digit numbers. We are practicing making and breaking down two digit numbers using base 10 blocks.
Hope you have a wonderful week! As always, please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Happy Fall!
I'm looking forward to another great week of learning! This fall weather has me craving pumpkins, apples, and crunchy leaves and I'm looking forward to learning about all of these things with your scholars in the upcoming month!
This week we are learning about...
Phonics: We are learning about consonant teams this week. We are practicing reading and spelling sounds and syllables containing ch, th, sh, wh, qu, and ng. Whew! These consonant teams are helping us read some tricky words and allow us to read harder and harder stories.
Writing: Our authors are continuing to make their stories come alive by learning ways to unfreeze our characters. This week we are learning to show our readers how are character think and feel. We are hard at work creating stories that our readers want to read and can't put down.
Reading: We are continuing to work on fix up strategies we can use when we get stuck on tricky words. We are also continuing to meet daily in small groups and reading some great books together with our teammates.
Math: We are working on becoming critical thinkers and looking at multiple solutions to problems. This week we will spend time making our own graphs based on questions that are meaningful to us. We will then ask teammates around our school our questions, and make a tally chart to record their answers. We will graph our information on a bar graph to organize our thinking.
We have our first field trip this week! We are going to the library, then having a reading picnic at Loose Park, followed by a trip to the Reading Reptile children's book store for a workshop. It promises to be a fun filled day. Remember, field trips are a PRIVILEGE and are earned by excellent choices at school.
Have a fantastic week and as always, please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns :)
This week we are learning about...
Phonics: We are learning about consonant teams this week. We are practicing reading and spelling sounds and syllables containing ch, th, sh, wh, qu, and ng. Whew! These consonant teams are helping us read some tricky words and allow us to read harder and harder stories.
Writing: Our authors are continuing to make their stories come alive by learning ways to unfreeze our characters. This week we are learning to show our readers how are character think and feel. We are hard at work creating stories that our readers want to read and can't put down.
Reading: We are continuing to work on fix up strategies we can use when we get stuck on tricky words. We are also continuing to meet daily in small groups and reading some great books together with our teammates.
Math: We are working on becoming critical thinkers and looking at multiple solutions to problems. This week we will spend time making our own graphs based on questions that are meaningful to us. We will then ask teammates around our school our questions, and make a tally chart to record their answers. We will graph our information on a bar graph to organize our thinking.
We have our first field trip this week! We are going to the library, then having a reading picnic at Loose Park, followed by a trip to the Reading Reptile children's book store for a workshop. It promises to be a fun filled day. Remember, field trips are a PRIVILEGE and are earned by excellent choices at school.
Have a fantastic week and as always, please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns :)
Saturday, September 14, 2013
We are 25 days smarter!
It's hard to believe that this Monday, we've been in 1st grade for 25 days! Wow! This past week was full of excitement with some special visitors to our classroom. We've been learning about different jobs we can grow up to do and we've had visits from a web app designer, a nutritionist, and this week... a graphic designer! Our scholars are great at asking questions to learn more about these occupations. We learned how the choices we make in 1st grade can help our brains grow so one day we can do these amazing jobs.
This week we also had the privilege of meeting one of our favorite authors, Bridget Heos who wrote, "Mustache Baby." We all donned mustaches and waited in anxious anticipation for her visit. She talked to our 1st grade authors about the writing process and how she thinks up ideas. We also got to hear a sneak peak of her next book and we give it two thumbs way up. Our authors were excited to put her ideas into practice in their own books.
School pictures are coming up on Tuesday, September 17. Your scholar can dress up for pictures. Order forms were sent home, please let me know if you need another copy.
We also have a field trip coming up on Friday, September 27! We are taking a tour of the Plaza library, having a book picnic at Loose Park, and visiting the Reading Reptile bookstore for a tour and workshop. Whew! It promises to be an exciting day of learning!
Have a wonderful week!
This week we also had the privilege of meeting one of our favorite authors, Bridget Heos who wrote, "Mustache Baby." We all donned mustaches and waited in anxious anticipation for her visit. She talked to our 1st grade authors about the writing process and how she thinks up ideas. We also got to hear a sneak peak of her next book and we give it two thumbs way up. Our authors were excited to put her ideas into practice in their own books.
School pictures are coming up on Tuesday, September 17. Your scholar can dress up for pictures. Order forms were sent home, please let me know if you need another copy.
We also have a field trip coming up on Friday, September 27! We are taking a tour of the Plaza library, having a book picnic at Loose Park, and visiting the Reading Reptile bookstore for a tour and workshop. Whew! It promises to be an exciting day of learning!
Have a wonderful week!
Scholars listening to one of our favorite authors!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Our Brains Are Growing!
We've had a great start to the school year! Your scholars have made coming to school a joy. We have Family Information Night Monday, September 9 from 5-8. Please make every effort to join us! We will be talking about your scholar's beginning of the year data and looking at ways we can partner to maximize your child's learning. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. Looking forward to seeing you soon!