First Grade Happenings

It is kind of hard to believe that we have been together in 1st grade for only 14 school days. I feel like we have already connected as a class, and are rolling right along. This is a really fun group. They've definitely captured my heart already! 

Be sure to check out our Walk-a-thon pictures on the blog. 

Thank you for your work with returning library books by Thursday. We were the only class to have all of our books returned on time. Good work!

Coming up:

• Star Student: Nora Schreur
• Monday, September 26: 1st Grade Literacy Night - 6:30pm
• Friday, October 14: Early Release Day

Here's what we have been up to in 1st grade:

• Reading: We are falling into a grove with reading workshop. I was able to wrap up assessments this past week. Students will be selecting new books this week. We have been reading the book, "Chocolate Touch" during our read aloud time. This is such a fun book to start the year with. Ask your child to tell you what is wrong with John Midas. We will be wrapping up the book this week. 
• Vocabulary: Starting this week, our school will be learning a vocabulary word each week. We will be studying this word together. Our word for the upcoming week is: describe. As the week goes on, ask your child what this word means, and look for opportunities to point out the use of the word in real life situations. 
• Writing: We have been learning about small moment topics, how to plan a story, and how to draw "ish" pictures when we write (ask your child what those are!). We are also working on various strategies such as "say as you write". Be sure to come to the 1st Grade Literacy Night on Monday to hear more!
• Math: We will be wrapping up our first math unit this week with our test on Monday. We will begin unit 2, addition and subtraction strategies, later this week. 
• Social Studies: We wrapped up our citizenship unit this past week. We will spend some time on leadership/7 habits lessons for the next two weeks, then dive into science. 
• Behavior Calendars: The purpose of sending these calendars home is to make you aware of where your child is landing on our clip chart. It sounds like overall this has been a helpful tool for parents. Please remember that GREEN is the average. Please do not expect to have your child above this color. That is just a bonus. 
• Volunteers: For those of you interested in volunteering, I have not forgotten about you! It takes some time to let the dust settle as the year begins. I will be contacting you this week with some possible times and opportunities. Thank you!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Not only is this a great group of kids, I can already tell what a great group of parents you all will be to partner with this year. Here's to a great week 4!