Mystery Reader

SO was so happy to have her mom be last week's mystery reader. 

Peek at the Week of September 30- October 4

• Thank you for coming to last week's open house program.  It was great to match faces to names.  I hope that

• Homework:  We are on a mission to earn our gold stars for completing and turning in homework.  Please help by reminding your child to make sure they put their homework in their folders.  We LOVE reading the weekly blue journals each week.  Many students have started to

• We are all about apples this week in first grade. 

Please send in one apple with your child this week.  We will be using it on Friday.

We are having our first class party this Friday, October 4th at 2:30.  Thank you in advance to the following families for supplying everything for our "Apple Tasting" party.

Cope: 1 gallon of apple cider
Tanimoto: 1 gallon apple juice
Gately:  applesauce
Long: apple pie
Bell:  dried apples/apple chips
Kennedy:  apple bread
Orr:  spoons and napkins
Barber:  48 small paper cups


We will learn about this popular fall fruit and also learn about the concept of "Tall Tales" using Johnny Appleseed as our focus.  Paul Bunyan may also enter into the conversations too!


Homework and Specials
Monday, September 30
F Day:  Music
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Fall Word Work


Tuesday, October 1
A Day:  gym
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Math:  Apple Barrel Problem


Wednesday, October 2
B Day:  art and music
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Blue Writing Journals


Thursday, October 3
C Day:  gym
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test


Friday, October 4
D Day:  library

 

Have a great weekend!

Highlights of the Week September 27

*AB-  I shopped for new books.

*CB-  I played the triangle in music.

*CKC- We did worked more on our posters.

*CHC-  Yesterday we cleaned our classroom because our parents were coming to school.

*SD-  We played Mancala yesterday during choice time.

*NF-  We worked on our poster.

*TH-  We played instruments in music.

*WK-  We worked on making our stories better by showing how a character talks, moves, feels and thinks.

*CK-  We did Dreambox for the first time in computer lab.

*QK-  We played Sit in gym.

*PK-  We are making lanterns in art.

*MM-  We played Elimination in gym.

*AM-  We are starting our third spelling test today.

*SM-  We checked out new books in library.

*SO-  In math we learned about "alligator mouth". This is a symbol that shows which number is greater than or less than.

*VP-  At recess I played football.

*ER-  Next week will be our apple party.

*BS-  In Spanish we are learning our numbers.

*ST-  I am the first person to take home Hootie.

*WB-  Miss Dineen showed us raffle sticks.  She picks them to decide who is getting Hootie.

*SB-  We played Capture the Flag at gym.

*TB-  Mrs. Carr taught us how to get someone to pay attention.  You should tap their shoulder and then point at the person who is talking.

Peek at the Week of September 23-29

Open House for parents is this Thursday evening.  I look forward to meeting you there!

Homework has been coming in on schedule which is great!  A few students still need reminders to open up and empty their folders each morning.  We are working on making these daily tasks automatic.

I will be administering the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) over the course of the next few weeks.  This is a 1:1 reading activity I give to each child at least 3 times a year.  This information will be helpful in guiding your child when choosing their "just right" reading level books for independent reading. 

We have been enjoying our Friday Mystery Readers.  It has quickly become the highlight of our week!

Listed below are the specials and homework for this week.

Monday, September 23
A Day= gym
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fall Word Work


Tuesday, September 24
B Day= art and music
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Math


Wednesday, September 25
C Day= gym
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Blue Writing Journals


Thursday, September 26
D Day=library
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2. Study for tomorrow's spelling test


Friday, September 27
E Day=Spanish

Have a great week!

Mystery Reader

CC's mom surprised her and the class. She read two funny books. 

Highlights of the Week September 20

* (TB) We are doing Highlights of the Week letters.

*(AB) We played on the back playground for the first time.

*(CKC) We are going to take our second Spelling test of the year.

*(CHC)  We played Sit in gym.

*(SD) We celebrated AM's birthday this week.

*(NF) We read a book called Freckleface Strawberry in Reading Workshop.

*(PG) We started the third Clementine chapter book.  It is called "Clementine's Letter".

*(TH) We played Elimination in gym.

*(WK) We played an instrument in music for the second time.

*(CK) We went to the computer lab for the first time.  We played games on a website called ABCYa.

*(PK)  We made our first picture in art.  We used pencils to sketch and then sharpies and then crayons.  

*(MM) Senora taught us the months of the year.

*(AM) My mom brought in popsicles for my birthday.

*(SM) Miss Dineen gave us creepy witch fingers to practice pointing to the words when we read.

*(SO) We talked about bringing our stories to LIFE by telling how a character moves, talks, thinks, and feels.

*(VP) In gym we played Dr. Dodgeball.

*(ER) In reading workshop we made predictions about a story just by looking at the picture on the cover.

*(BS)  We played Capture the Flag in gym.

*(ST)  This week we started book shopping for morning work.

*(WB) Everyone got a second turn writing in the fun blue homework journals.

*(SB) We made birthday cards for AM's special day.

ABC Ya Website

Today during computer we are going to play a fun game called ABCYa.  This website has games for kids in grades K-5.  There are tons of games to try.

Peek at the Week of September 16-20

This is a regular 5 day week of school.  We will be able to really get into our academic subjects.

The class is really starting to come together!  Everyone is more comfortable with the morning routines and catching their buses and taking out and putting things away. 

We are building our stamina and have been talking about doing things for a long period of time.  We are using words like focus and concentrate and independent.  It is great to see the self-confidence growing.

Last week was the first week of homework.  Thank you for setting up a routine at home.  I do keep a similar schedule from week to week. 

On Mondays your child will bring home a new list of words for the week.  The list should be kept at home.  The Fall Word Work on Mondays has 5 choices.  As the year goes on I will add more choices to the list.

On Tuesdays I will give a math sheet or another seasonal activity.

On Wednesdays I will send home a blue composition book with your child.  These notebooks will rotate through the class over the course of the year.  This is the first year I am trying this out.  My hope/goal is that the Wednesday writing journals become a place for the students to use their imaginations, practice their spelling by s-t-r-e-t-c-h-I-n-g out sounds, and writing with correct grammar.  The "extra" perk of this homework is reading other entries by your classmates.

Monday 9/16
B Day:  art and music
1. Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fall Word Work

Tuesday 9/17
C Day:  gym
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Math:  One More, One Less, In Between

Wednesday 9/18
D Day:  library
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Blue Journal Writing

Thursday 9/19
E Day:  Spanish
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test

Friday 9/20
F Day:  music

5 Finger Rule

We learned how to use the 5 Finger Rule to help us decide is a book is too easy, too hard, or JUST RIGHT.  Ask your child to show you how to do this.  The video clip below explains it too!
Five Finger Rule

Mystery Reader

We had our first mystery reader of the year. ER was so happy to have her mom share books with our class. 

Highlights of the Week: September 13

* At recess I was tired.  (SB)
*  We took class pictures on Tuesday.  It was fun. (TB)
*  This week we went book shopping for the first time. (AB)
*  We started reading the second Clementine book. (CKC)
*  We made a new friend named Charlotte. (CHC)
*  We started Rainbow Word Work groups.  (SD)
*  We had our first spelling test. (NF)
*  In Spanish we counted. (PG)
*  We had a great time in gym.  (TH)
*  We played Elimination in gym.  (WK)
*  We played the triangle in music.  (CK)  
*  We played Capture the Flag outside in gym.  (QK)
*  We had a good spelling test.  (PK)
*  In Writing Workshop we talked about how BIG ideas are watermelons and the small moments are the seeds. (MM)
*   In music we played instruments. (AM)
*  We put our sight words in our reading binders. (SM)
*  In Reading Workshop we learned about picking a Just Right book.  (SO)
*  We played Sit in gym.  (VP)
*  In Reading Workshop we talked about how hard books are like riding a bike uphill.  Easy books are like riding a bike downhill.  And Just Right books are a little easy and a little hard.  (ER)
*  We are working on Small Moment stories in Writing Workshop.(BS)
*  We did a project called Mystery Boxes today in math. (ST)
* We played Dr. Dodgeball in gym. (WB)

Peek at the Week of September 9-13

Please remind your child to return his/her "All About Me" posters to school.

Tuesday is Picture Day.  I was able to get a morning slot which is great!

The first grade class coffee is Wednesday, September 11th at 9:30.  Our class moms are Mrs. Bell and Mrs. Kahn.  I appreciate all of your help.

Open House is going to be on Thursday, September 24th.  I know that questions may come up before then, but I am hopeful that I can do my best to explain things here for now. 

Homework is starting this week.  We have had 1 full week and then a short week and we are back at a full week.  I didn't want too much time to go by before starting some routines.  Homework will be given Monday through Thursday evenings.  Reading at home is an important thing to do every night.  In addition to reading at home I will usually assign 1 written piece of homework.  Homework assignments will be explained below at the very end of this newsletter. 

Academic Update
Word Work
This week your child will be working in a small group which I call their "Rainbow Groups".  Each week your child will receive a new set of words.  This word list will be sent home on Mondays for you to keep at home.  You may choose to have your child cut up the words into little cards to sort or they can leave it as 1 whole sheet without cutting.  The top of the paper will have the sort.  For example, it may be -at -an -ad words. 


Reading Workshop
Our first unit is called "Readers Build Good Habits".  This unit of study is what I call the "set up" unit.  We have had some lessons on the following topics:
-What is Reading Workshop?
-Independent Reading:  what to do during this block, using a reading log
-Introduction to Partnerships:  how to talk to a partner about what you have read, good questions to ask
-How to pick a Just Right book and where to find books in our classroom library


Writing Workshop
Our first unit is called "Small Moments".  Small moment stories are stories that are true things that have happened to your child.  We have had some discussion about BIG moment vs. small moments.  An example of BIG vs. small is Your entire summer vacation in Cape Cod vs. the day of boogie boarding at the beach.  The purpose of this unit is for your child to select an idea, plan out a beginning, middle and end and then put it down on paper.  Writing in complete sentences will be an important series of lessons.

Math Workshop
We have a new math program we are using called "Investigations".  Your child may have referred to it as the 'fat book'.  We are right in the middle of the first unit in this math program.

Listed below are the specials & homework for the upcoming week.

Monday 9/2   
C Day- gym
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fall Word Work (Directions are on the sheet.  Your child should choose 1 of the listed activities.)  Your child's word list is attached to the homework page.  The list is to be kept at home, just the top sheet needs to be returned to school.

Tuesday 9/3
D Day-library
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Math: Numbers All Around Us

Wednesday 9/4
E Day-Spanish
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Journal Writing:  Your child will bring home a blue composition notebook.  There will be a label on the front cover.  The first entry in the notebook is written by me.  You can read my entry to your child.  Then your child is going to write his/her own journal entry.   

Thursday 9/5
F Day-music
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Review your words for tomorrow's spelling test

Friday 9/6
A Day- gym
1.  Read over the weekend
2.  Have fun!

Have a great week!

Weekly Wrap Up

* (WB) We played the frog hop game in math.
*(SB) In music we did a long poster.
*(TB) We played Poison Apple.
*(AB) I used snap cubes in math.
*(CKC) We like our teacher.
*(CHC) We played fun games.
*(SD) We did half of gym inside and half of gym outside.
*(NF) We worked on a really long project in art.
*(PG) My friends play with me every day at recess.
*(TH) We played Capture the Flag at gym.
*(WK) We played Elimination in gym.
*(CK) We had Free Choice in our classroom.
*(QK) We did morning work.
*(PK) We had fun at school!
*(MM) We went to art.
*(AM) In Writing Workshop we are doing small moment stories.
*(SM) We read sight words with Mrs. Anderson.
*(SO)
*(VP) We played Dr. Dodgeball in gym.
*(ER) We met a new friend named CB.  She just moved to our school.
*(BS)  We played Sit in gym.
*(ST) We only had three days of school this week.