Happy Halloween!

What a wonderful celebration we had today! Many thanks to all of the volunteers that were able to attend, help and coordinate our party, and to those that donated supplies. It was definitely a success. Thank you! And the rest of the day has been smooth sailing. For those trick or treating tonight, stay warm! And candy makes a wonderful after school snack - healthy snacks for our morning are still appreciated!;) Happy Halloween!

First Grade News

What an amazing fall weekend ahead! I hope you were able to get outside to enjoy it. Please see a few quick updates below:

Don't forget to get your book orders in by this MONDAY! Head to - https://orders.scholastic.com/LGVW7 to order. There are some awesome books, many for just $1. Your child is likely starting to read like crazy - how fun to get new books!

Coming up:

• Tuesday, October 17: Marco's Pizza Night. Be sure to tell them my name when you order. We'd love to earn a pizza party!
• Monday, October 23: Book order due
• 10/24 - 10/26: All for Books Coin War. Please send in your loose change! (Feel free to send in anytime before as well.)
• Thursday, October 26: Picture Retakes / Bauer Skating Party at Terry Hall
• Tuesday, October 31: Halloween Party at 9am
• Friday, November 3: Early Release Day (Bauer Be Awesome Shirt Day)
• Wednesday, November 8 and Tuesday, November 14: Parent/Teacher Conferences (notices with times will be sent home next MONDAY)
• Tuesday, November 28: Bauer Holiday Music Program

What we have been working on:

• Reading: We started our work with reading partners this past week. We learned how to take turns while reading with each other. We also searched for words that make the /k/ sound as in bike, rack, cone, and skip, and recorded them in our reader's notebooks. 
• Writing: This week we began writing our small moment stories. I am amazed by the work I am seeing! Continue to encourage your child to "say as they write" anytime they are writing at home. Their practice is paying off.  This coming week we will continue our stories. 
• Math: We will be wrapping up unit 2 next week. We are projected to take our unit 2 test on Tuesday. 
• Whiteboard Practice: To extend our practice reading and writing words with the /o/ sound, we discussed the concept of homophones this week. Homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and mean different things. We looked at the words rode and road. When we said the sounds in each word it was exactly the same, however when we started spelling it out it was different! To help us understand the meanings and to be sure we could remember the spellings,  we first put a dot under each 1-letter sound and a dash under each 2-letter sound. Then we drew a picture next to each word. To wrap up, we wrote a sentence trying to use both words in the correct context! (see picture) This would be a great activity to do at home with other homophones such as: ate/eight, be/bee, to/two, or any others! Be sure your child is saying those sounds out loud as they write each word in their sentence. Also be sure to correct handwriting and spelling errors! 

First Grade News

Last week we had the opportunity to be consumers at the 4th grade Market Day. First graders were each given 10 "dollars" to spend at the booths set up by 4th grade students. This is part of the 4th grade social studies curriculum, and is a perfect intro for the economics unit 1st grade students will be learning next month. It is such a fun time for our students. Here are some photos from our shopping experience! 

Coming up:

• Tuesday, October 17: Marco's Pizza Night. Be sure to tell them my name when you order. We'd love to earn a pizza party!
• Monday, October 23: Book order due - https://orders.scholastic.com/LGVW7
• 10/24 - 10/26: All for Books Coin War. Please send in your loose change! (Feel free to send in anytime before as well.)
• Thursday, October 26: Picture Retakes / Bauer Skating Party at Terry Hall
• Tuesday, October 31: Halloween Party at 9am
• Friday, November 3: Early Release Day (Bauer Be Awesome Shirt Day)
• Wednesday, November 8 and Tuesday, November 14: Parent/Teacher Conferences 
• Tuesday, November 28: Bauer Holiday Music Program

What we have been working on:

• Reading: This past week we learned how to retell our story using five fingers as we told what happened: first, next, then, after that, and finally. We will start working with reading partners this coming week. 
• Writing: Last week we selected our first individual small moment writing topics. Students planned their stories across their fingers (the same way we retold our stories in reading!), and planned our stories on a timeline. This coming week we will begin writing without lead and what happened first. Continue to encourage your child to "say as they write" anytime they are writing at home. Their practice is paying off.  
• Math: Last week students were introduced to subtraction stories. We will continue to practice this week, and will wrap up our unit at the end of this week.   
• Whiteboard Practice: 
• Whiteboard Practice Idea: This week we learned about 4 different spelling for the /k/ sound: c   k   ck   ke - Here is an activity you can do with your child!
Have your child say and write these four spellings for this sound on the top of their board.




Have your child go on a hunt for the /k/ sound around the house. When they find something, have them say as they write the word in the middle of their boards. You will stop them to error correct any misspellings that occur.
Then ask your child to either dot or dash the letter(s) that make the /k/ sound. Ask them what column it belongs in. Erase the word, and have them say as they write the word in the correct column. Remember to stop and correct them if any errors are made.

• Halloween Reminder: Our party will be taking place first thing in the morning at 9am. Students are asked to wear their costumes to school that day. This should be over their clothes. Once the party is over, students will remove their costumes and place them in their backpacks. (Any parents in attendance may take costumes home.) We tried this time for parties last year, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Any questions, please let me know. 

First Grade News

We loved seeing all of the MAIZE and BLUE in the school today (okay, and a little green and white! :) Spirit days are always so exciting.

Thank you to everyone for sending in your $3 donation to our class parties for the year. If you have not sent your money in yet, please next week.

Conference time request forms went home in folders today. Please return as soon as possible. Thank you!

Coming up:

• Friday, October 13: Early Release Day - Wear your BE AWESOME t-shirt!
• Tuesday, October 31: Halloween Party 9:00am

Here's a quick update on what we have been up to in 1st grade:

• Reading Workshop: We have been using our Reader's Notebooks to record sound that begin with the /w/ sound, spelling /w/ and /wh/., as well as the /ch/ and /tch/ sounds. We have learned about other spots to sit in the classroom during reading and the expectations for those spots. We also learned how as readers we make a move in our mind as we read. We continued with James and the Giant Peach. Ask your child to retell what we have read so far. 

• Writing Workshop: We continued our class story this week about the Walk-a-thon. Thank you for returning the yellow topic idea sheet on Monday if you have not done so yet. 

• Math: This week we learned the strategy of "counting on" to solve addition equations. We learned how to count on and count all, and worked on which was more efficient. 

• Whiteboard Practice Idea: One of the sounds we have been focusing on this week is /ch/. We have identified two ways to spell this sound - "ch" and "tch." Set up the whiteboard with both of these spellings.  With your child, go on a word hunt through their WEB books or books from home to find words that will fit under each heading. Be sure your child is saying the sounds as they write each word! Discuss the patterns they notice (a big one is that "tch" is most commonly found at the end of a word).