Amanda Hill

Week of September 18-22

Calendar:Each day a different student will assist in updating the calendar components.  They are doing a great job thinking about their math strategies and talking about the thinking that is going on in their minds as they solve the problems.  A great way to help at home is to ask your child the strategies they use when solving math problems at home; for example how many plates do we need to set the table or how many forks and knives will we need if one more person is having dinner with us then ask them how they solved the problem.

Phonics:  We have introduced several more letters to our bank of sound knowledge.  Letters d, s, c, short i and m.  We have worked on clapping the syllables in our names and other words.  A great site for students to practice syllabication is

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/soundandspell/syllables/game.shtml

it reads the words for them then they have to decide which category to place the word.

Writing:  We are continuing to work on writing complete sentences while using two finger spacing, capitals at the beginning of the sentence and ending sentences with correct punctuation.  We are also using transitional words in our stories. A fun game for students to practice correct punctuation and capitals at the beginning of sentences can be found at the following site:

http://www.iknowthat.com/com/L3?Area=Paintball

Math: We have been learning how to combine numbers to make addition problems.  We started working on fact families in order to help us  learn addition and subtraction facts.  One strategy that we learned this week to help with addition facts is the counting on strategy.  This is an important strategy for students to learn.  Encourage your child to use the counting on strategy when practicing math facts.  This strategy is especially important as we move into facts up to 18 when they no longer have enough fingers to solve the problems!

 

Science:  As we prepare for Nananature to come teach us about plants, what they need to survive and plant parts we are talking about what animals need to survive.  We made bird feeders using pine cones this week to place in our Outdoor Classroom.

Counselor Lesson:  Mrs. Carlisle, our counselor for first grade, taught a lesson this week on "I can" statements.

Reading:  Please continue to read with your child each night.  The books they are bringing home each night are the books we used in our Guided Reading lesson time.  Your child should be able to read the books fluently they should not be a struggle for them.  It  is important for them to have confidence in their reading.  Allow them to talk about what the story was about and if they do struggle with a word after reading ask them what strategies they can use to solve the problem.  Thanks to Mr. Yetman for reading to our class every Friday morning five chapters from the Magic Tree House Series.  Read alouds are great ways for children to use their visualizing skills.  Be sure to read aloud to your child at home and stop periodically to ask them about the pictures they are making in their minds or have them draw a picture.

 

Reminders:

* Trip to Fox Theater October 4

* NanaNature October 9 or 10 in Outdoor Classroom at Bullard

* Student holiday October 13

* Conference Week October 16-20

* Family Movie Night rescheduled for October 13@6:00

Week of September 4-8

We have had a busy week.

Calendar:

We update the calendar daily.  Calendar is a great way to reinforce math strategies and it helps students to share how they think about math and how they use problem solving strategies. 

Writer's Workshop:

We spent the first two weeks learning routines and procedures for Writer's Workshop.  We now know how to get started, where to get the supplies we need and how to store our stories.  Then we started working on how to construct a sentence,how to start a sentence, how to space words, how to stretch out words (rubber band spelling) and how to pick the right punctuation to end our sentences.  Students are picked during conferencing time to share a story each day. I use this time to review our lesson for the day and to encourage them to continue to use good writing strategies. They love to read their stories to each other. 

Phonics:

We have introduced the following letters and their sounds this week m, short a,t, h, and p.  We have worked on how to combine these letters and their sounds to make words.  Each week we will continue to introduce letters and build words. 

Math:

We have been working on Number Sense and how we use numbers in Math.  We have learned several math games to help us think about addition strategies and will work on math facts to 18 this week.  The games help them to understand how we combine numbers then they will be able to apply the strategies to computation. 

Science:

We have been learning about the basic needs of animals. 

Social Studies:

I will integrate our Social Studies unit into our Writer's Workshop sessions this week.  We will work on families; specifically our roles and responsibilities within our families. 

Things to Remember:

*Return the Performing Arts Permission slips-even if you do not elect to make a donation I still need your permission for them to attend the in-school performances. 

*Return money and size choices for First Grade t-shirts

*Thanks for the book orders.  If you ordered books your child should have brought them home on Friday.

*Testing for 3rd and 5th graders this week which means our schedule will be different for Specials but lunch will remain the same. 

*Please check your child's Daily folder each day. 

Thanks,

Mandy