Weekly News!

What a fun filled week we’ve had in first grade! Here’s what we’ve been working on:

Reading:

This week was our Treasures review and assessment week, which means we had no new spelling words or reading focus strategies. We used the Mimio Vote system to assess our reading skills we have been working on in Unit 1. We continued to meet in our Guided Reading groups and review our reading strategies. Next week, our Treasures theme will be “Animal Families”. Our spelling word pattern for the week will be words with the short /o/ sound. Our comprehension strategies will include summarizing and identifying the main idea and details in a story. The grammar lessons for the week will be about nouns. During Guided Reading time, I will be reassessing the students' Guided Reading levels, so you will not see their book baggies coming home! The students may also mention that their reading groups are changing. That is because I will be moving the children around to better meet their reading needs according to their progress thus far.

Writing:

This week, we continued to revise our personal narrative writing. We stretched out our words to include beginning, middle, and ending sounds. We checked our sentences for capitals at the beginning and an ending mark at the end. Then, we wrote an opening sentence and a closing sentence for our narratives. Next week, we will begin publishing our writing in a story board format. On Friday, we finished up our October handwriting books, and brought those home! Make sure to have your child read their book to you and show off their hard work with their letter formation. If you notice that your child’s handwriting is difficult to read, and you would like another handwriting packet to practice at home, please let me know and I would be happy to send one home with your child!

Math:

We began math instruction this week by studying number grid patterns. Tuesday was an Explorations day, followed by counting on the number line. Finally, we studied number line addition and subtraction, and practiced writing number models. Next week, we will not have regular math instruction on Monday, but we will resume our normal math routine on Tuesday, with telling time to the half hour. We will follow this up with an introduction to the “Frames and Arrows” routine. (Make sure to read the family note at the top of the home link each night, as this will help to explain what the students are working on in the classroom!) We will wrap up math for the week with more practice with Frames and Arrows problems.

Science:

We continued to practice our Matter chant this week, as well as a study on the changing states of matter. Students observed how heat can change an ice cube (solid) to water (liquid), and finally from water to steam (gas). We talked about how the liquid could be changed back into a solid by freezing it. Next week, we will explore with a mystery substance called Oobleck after we read the book, “Bartholomew and the Oobleck” by Dr. Seuss. Is it a solid? Is it a liquid? Our first grade scientists will find out next week!

Pumpkin Carving Day:

Friday was a very special day, as it was our pumpkin carving event! Thank you to all of the moms, dads, and grandparents who joined us! I think the kids had a blast, and they were so excited throughout the day. I began wondering if perhaps I should have made a shirt to wear that said “2:00” on it, because I cannot tell you the number of times I said that on Friday, answering their questions about what time their special guests would be coming for pumpkin carving! In the morning, we picked our pumpkins (generously donated by Joe Caputo & Sons Market!), cleaned them, and then did a pumpkin math book about them. We counted how many lines our pumpkins had, weighed our pumpkins, and measured how tall our pumpkins were with unifix cubes. Once we had fully assessed our pumpkins, we did buddy reading with our pumpkins. It was so nice to see how conscious our first graders were about showing their pumpkins the pictures, and making sure they were reading in a clear enough voice for their pumpkins to hear the story!

Upcoming Events:

10/31: Halloween Parade (1:15) and party

11/9: School photo retakes

11/11: Veterans’ Day (No school for students)

11/17: Dads & Donuts 8:30 am in the gym

11/18: High Touch High Tech in school field trip

11/18: Progress Reports sent home

11/21-11/22: Parent Teacher conferences (No school for students)

11/23-11/25: Thanksgiving break (No school for students)