First Grade News

I hope those of you that had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with your children enjoyed it. The sunshine looks lovely!
I truly look forward to seeing all of you at conferences. The time goes quickly, but I value it immensely. Thank you for making the time to be here. I will be setting your family pictures out for you to take home. Thank you for sharing them with us!

Coming Up:
Star Student: Sophia Gates
Monday, November 7: Report Cards go home
Wednesday and Thursday, November 9-10: Parent/Teacher Conferences. If you need a reminder of your time, please let me know.
Friday, November 11: Book Fair Preview
Monday, November 14: Book Fair Shopping Day
November 23-25: Thanksgiving Break, No School

Report Cards: These will be going home in folders on Monday. Please keep in mind this is a standards based report card. Some items are left blank due to not covering or assessing those standards yet. By the end of the year those items will be marked. Some areas are marked now and will be marked again in later trimesters. These scores may fluctuate. A score of a 2 is not uncommon, especially in November. The goal is 3 by the end of the year.

Pick Ups: If your child has a change of transportation home, please try to contact the office that day. If I have a sub, or if I have a meeting during my planning time, there is a chance I may not see the email before the end of the day. A note in your child's folder (as long as they know it is there so they remember to pull it out) should also work.

WEB Books: We have completed our first month with WEB books. Many students have changed levels in the past week or two, or will change in the coming week. Please only mark the calendar on nights when your child has read. Several students had calendars filled for everyday, even though the child did not read their WEB books each night. Children notice these things, and I would rather we are honest with them. It is an important life lesson they will pick up on.

Kids A-Z: Every Monday I am sent an email of which kids have logged into kids a-z in the past week. It gives me updates too as to how many stories are read, quizzes are taken, etc. I am thrilled with the amount of reading our class is doing! More practice definitely equals more reading growth. It has been exciting to see some students take off. If your child ever forgets his/her WEB book at school, this is a great alternative. I will be adjusting some levels for students next week.

Whiteboard Tip: This week's tip is more of a reading skill than a writing skill. But it's also a very important one for the students to be doing. As readers our words can get pretty long and tricky. While saying each sound and blending them together is important, it is only the groundwork for a much more efficient skill. When we read multi-syllable words, we split up the word by "mouthfuls." Mouthfuls are actually syllables, but it's easier for the kiddos to remember. ;) When a large word is broken up into mouthfuls, it's easier for a reader to tackle one part at a time. (see picture below). 

Our process for teaching this reading is to say the sounds in the first mouthful, sound by sound (putting a dot under each one letter sound and a dash under each 2+ letter sound). Then we blend that first part together. Next, we move on to the next mouthful, saying each of those sounds and blending it together. Finally we go back and thread both mouthfuls together and say the word. This process can be done with any multi-syllable word- see if you can think of words your child has some interest in. Write that word on the left side of the whiteboard. On the right side, split it up by mouthfuls and then have your child go through those sounds with you.