First Grade News

We have enjoyed a little spring fever to end our week. Sounds like it won't last long. Hopefully you get out and enjoy it! It is so hard to know what to dress kids in when the days are like this. Keep an eye on the forecast, knowing it can change even throughout the course of the day. And keep in mind that the playground is often messy, so boots are never a bad idea. 

Coming Up:

Friday, February 2: Early Release Day

Monday - Tuesday, February 5-6: No School, Mid-Winter Break 

Friday, February 9: Valentines Due

Wednesday, February 14: Valentine's Day Party at 9:00am

Saturday, February 24: Father/Daughter Dance

Thank you!

Our classroom has received many wonderful donations from the BPC school supply restock sign up. Thank you to all of you that donated! It has been such a treat to have new dry erase markers that work, a restock of graham crackers for forgotten snacks, new items to build with for morning tubs, and more. It has been fun to see students excited to give. Thank you for your generosity! 

Water:
A quick reminder to only send in spill proof water bottles. Juice boxes, gatorade, chocolate milk and more are too easy to spill and make things sticky. Please save those for lunchtime. And twist off water bottles are hard for first grade hands. Thanks for your help with this! 

Valentine's Day: 
Hopefully you received the class list of names for valentines last week. If you need another copy, please let me know ASAP. Your child may choose to include Mrs. T and Miss Kim, the two para pros that spend time in our classroom. 

Please bring valentines to school no later than Friday, February 9. 

Reading: 

We continued our study of nonfiction books this week. We have been focusing on the main idea of the book and telling what we learned from reading it. We use our hand to retell: make a fist to tell the main idea, then raise one finger at a time and say, "I learned..." to tell 5 things learned in the book. Please practice this at home. If your child is struggling to retell details from an entire book, try just a page or two or a section. This can be done with WEB books if nonfiction, books read on kidsa-z.com, or any other nonfiction books. 

Writing:

We have begun a shared opinion piece. We are writing about why first grade is the best. Student have a lot of great reasons! After brainstorming a list of reasons we voted to decide which three we would write about. The winning three were: We get to have Read Aloud and read Meet Addy (kids love to be read to!), we get to learn how to read nonfiction books, and we learn how to say our sounds as we write. Their choices surely made my heart happy! 

Math:

We are wrapping up unit 4 and will be taking our test next week. Look for these in data notebooks coming home next week. 

Social Studies:

We have continued our history unit learning this week about Rosa Parks and Abraham Lincoln. I love that many students have said they are sharing what they have learned with you!

Whiteboard Tip:
We have been working on the /s/ sound. There are 5 ways to make this sound that we have learned about (of course there are many more!). Have your child write these sounds on their whiteboard, as seen in the picture (only the headings, I have included some examples for you). Then have them search through their books for words with the /s/ sound that and record under the correct spelling. Be careful to make sure the word actually makes the /s/ sound. Many say /z/ like in the word has. I could record house under se, however I could not record hose. Be sure to check their work for the correct spellings and as always, make sure they say as they write!

From Our Bauer Parent Club:

The Bauer Father/Daughter dance is scheduled for 

Saturday, February 24th from 6:30-8:30pm at Bauer. 

All Bauer girls, pre-K through 5th grade, and their dad (or other special guy!) are invited to join us for a night of dancing, crafts, a photo booth, snacks, and lots of fun! 

(Please note: we will have many yummy snacks but dinner will not be served.)

To order a ticket for your family, please use this link:

https://bauerfatherdaughterdance.eventbrite.com

*The above link can also be accessed through the Bauer Elementary Facebook page as well as the Bauer Blog. 

**Ticket prices are per family.

***Dads, we encourage you to carpool, as parking at Bauer is limited. Thanks for considering!

Please contact Lindsey Bolhouse with any questions. 

lindseybolhouse@gmail.com

First Grade News

Happy Friday everyone! Here is a quick update:

Coming Up:

Friday, February 2: Early Release Day

Monday - Tuesday, February 5-6: No School, Mid-Winter Break 

Friday, February 9: Valentines Due

Wednesday, February 14: Valentine's Day Party at 9:00am

Valentine's Day: 
The class list went home in folders yesterday. It is a pink piece of paper. Please check your child's bag for this note. Please bring valentines to school no later than Friday, February 9. 

Reading:

This week we focused on different text features in a non-fiction text. We learned about features that include: table of contents, index, glossary, diagram, label, map, and keywords. We also learned that there are many new words in nonfiction books, and that when we don't know what the word means, we can look in the glossary, or use other words in the text to determine the meaning. We finished the week practicing reading our nonfiction books in a teacher voice. When we read nonfiction books to others we are like teachers teaching facts. 

I have been thrilled with the number of students taking advantage of kidsa-z at home. Students are sharing their excitement over the books the are reading and the robots they are building as their incentives. Thank you for encouraging this at home. 

Writing:

We have focused this week on facts vs. opinions. Have you had a chance to ask some "would you rather" questions? If not, your child would LOVE to try some of these with you!

Math:

This week we started adding a 2-digit number to a 1-digit number. We practiced different strategies for solving these equations. We continue to work toward being efficient in our work.

Social Studies:

This week we have been learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and the impact he made in our country. It is such a gift to be able to share the story of MLK with your children. I have loved hearing students that have shared the conversations they have had at home with your about this amazing man. 

Whiteboard Tip:

The novelty of having their own whiteboard at home 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!

First Grade News

We are back in full swing! In some ways it is hard to believe we have only been back for a week. Here is what we are up to in first grade:

Coming Up:

Tuesday, January 16: Jet's Pizza Night

Friday, January 19: PJ day

Friday, February 2: Early Release Day

Monday - Tuesday, February 5-6: No School, Mid-Winter Break 

Friday, February 9: Valentines Due

Wednesday, February 14: Valentine's Day Party at 9:00am

Valentine's Day: 
I will be including a class list of names for valentines in your child's take home folder tomorrow or Tuesday. Please watch for this. If your child wishes to give valentines to the class, please include one for everyone. Please bring valentines to school by Friday, 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 (cook books, how to directions for a game, etc). 

Writing:

We finished up our how to unit last week. I hope you enjoyed the story your child brought home. This week we will begin our opinion writing unit. 

Here is a game you can play at home to go along with our unit: Would you rather:

This is a great activity when traveling in the car or over dinner. Ask your child(ren) Would you rather ___ or ____? For example, Would you rather have summer year round or winter year round? When they reply, make sure they use a complete sentence, restating the question and giving good reasons (if they don't really explain why, probe them to explain a little more. 

For example, I would rather have summer year round because it is fun, is not descriptive enough. 

I would rather have summer year round because I enjoy summer outdoor activities like swimming and golf better than winter activities, is much more descriptive. 

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. Our Martin Luther King Jr.lesson happens to line up perfectly with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

Whiteboard Tip:
Time to dust off those whiteboards and put them to use again!
Before break dove into three super tricky homophones: there, their and they're. These are tricky for many adults, but teaching them now, we hope this isn't an issue for these kiddos.
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, it belongs to them)
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."

Here's to a great week ahead!