First Grade News

Somehow we are already at the end of January. How can that be?! Please take a look at what we have been up to,and where we are headed!

Coming Up:

• Thursday - Sunday, January 26-29: James and the Giant Peach at the JCA
• Friday, February 3: Early Release Day, Body Safe Presentation 
• Monday, February 6: Winter Break (No School)
• Thursday, February 9: All valentines to school by this date
• Tuesday, February 14: Valentine's Day Party at 9:00am
• February 22-24: Jump Rope for Heart

Valentine's Day:
If your child has completed his/her valentines, please feel free to send them in early.

Reading:
We are continuing our work with nonfiction. We have been learning how to track making connections, new learning, questions we have, and when we have reactions to our reading.

Writing: 
We are rolling with writing How To stories. This is one of my favorite units of the year. This week we  have been working on how to use transition words between sections (and not starting sentences with "And"), the parts of how to stories, and how to write a conclusion.

Math: 
We will be wrapping up unit 4, Place Value Concepts, at the end of next week. Our test will take place the following week.

Social Studies:
We are working our way through different periods of time. Please ask your child to tell you what is happening in our read aloud book, Meet Addy. There are many very heavy emotions that come from reading these books, and students will love sharing the books with you.
We have learned about Martin Luther King, Ruby Bridges, and Rosa Parks in the past two weeks. We will be learning about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington over the next two weeks, as well as diving more into the past, present and future.

Keyboarding:
Your child may have mentioned a website we have been working on in the computer lab to practice keyboarding skills. You can either search "dance mat typing" or follow this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3c6tfr. I have been very impressed by their dedication and ability to use the home row already. The more practice, the better!

Whiteboard Tip:
Time to dust off those whiteboards! The novelty may have worn off, but the value is still just as great. Students could use some accountability with making sure they are saying their sounds as they write - breaking up every single sound! Because I am not able to sit next to every child every time they write, some may be getting a bit lazy with saying their sounds. The difference in their writing when they "say as they write" is dramatic. Ask your child a simple question, such as: What is your favorite holiday and why? Or Where would you like to go on vacation and why? As they answer on their whiteboard (or a piece of paper if you have misplaced yours), sit next to them and hold them accountable to say every sound as they write it (the, for example, has two sounds, /th/ /e/). If there are any errors, stop them the instant the error is made, erase, and tell the correct spelling for the sound. Correct letter formation and handwriting as well. Thank you for your help! These kiddos are doing amazing things in reading and writing. It has been so much fun to watch their progress!

New Student:
We are excited to welcome a new student to our classroom on Monday - Lucas. He has 24 first graders excited to meet and welcome a new friend!

Have a wonderful weekend!

First Grade News

Back to reality for me this week, and nothing better than being greeted by 24 huge smiles on Monday! Our family had an amazing get away - it was everything we hoped it would be. But, as always, it is good to get back into the routine of day to day life.
Here is a little of what we are up to:

Coming Up:

Friday, February 3: Early Release Day
Monday, February 6: Winter Break (No School)
Thursday, February 9: All valentines to school by this date
Tuesday, February 14: Valentine's Day Party at 9:00am
February 22-24: Jump Rope for Heart

Library Books:
We have an increasing number of students enjoying their library books so much at home that they are forgetting to return them the next week! ;) Please be sure to have your child bring back their book to school each Thursday, or as soon as they feel they are ready to return it. Thank you!

Xtra Math and Kids A-Z:
Please remember to take advantage of these two online resources at home if possible. I can tell a few students that are regularly on Xtra Math - they are flying through math facts, and have become more efficient problem solvers. Thank you for your extra time and effort with both of these!
xtramth.org ~ kidsa-z.com

Valentine's Day: 
I am including a class list of names for valentines in your child's take home folder today. If your child wishes to give valentines to the class, please include one for everyone. You may notice an unfamiliar name on the list. We are slated to have a new student start with us the week of January 30, and wanted to be sure to include him as well.
Please bring valentines to school by Thursday, February 9. If they are done earlier, send them in as soon as they are done.

Reading:
We have started a new reading unit exploring nonfiction text. This unit is always exciting for students. Be sure to point out any nonfiction reading you are doing at home to your child. We also started my favorite read aloud we will do this year - Meet Addy, from American Girl. I absolutely love these series' of books. Addy is a young girl, growing up in slavery during the Civil War. Some of the concepts are very deep, but they make for great conversation. It correlates well with our history unit that we have just begun. I encourage you to ask your child what is happening in the book regularly.

Writing:
Our writing unit correlates well with our reading unit. We are learning how to write how to stories. These are aways a lot of fun. While pointing out nonfiction texts at home, be sure to point out how to texts as well (recipes, directions for playing a game, putting a toy together, etc.).

Math:
We are exploring tens and ones as we move into numbers through 100. We have been learning how to represent tens and ones with tens sticks and circles.

Social Studies:
We have begun a history unit, starting with learning about time lines. We will be learning about some influential figures in american history in the coming weeks.

Vocabulary word of the week: 
Draw - to take or pull apart.

Whiteboard Tip:
Time to dust off those whiteboards and put them to use again!
We have been learning about the different letters that make the a sound, like in ape, and we have been learning about all of the different sounds a can make. There are nine different sounds a can make in a word! We have focused on 5 of them this week.
We also dove into three super tricky homophones: there, their and they're.
Have your child draw each of these out for you:
there (draw an arrow to point over "there")
their (draw a house with two people inside to show it is "their" house)
they're (draw 2 stick figures to show "they're" (they are) walking together)

Then read the following sentence and have your child write it while really thinking of which form of the word to write. Remember to correct an errors!
"Their dog ran over there and they're watching her run."

Have a wonderful weekend!