October 17-21st Newsletter

First Grade Newsletter

October 17-21st

Literacy

Reading Street: Unit 1 Week 3

Main selection:  The Big Blue Ox

Weekly Question:  How do animals help people?
Amazing Words: past, present, produce, transportation, danger, serve, snuggle, enormous, powerful
High-Frequency Words: blue, help, little, from, use, get
Phonics Target: Short 'o', plural -s; consonant 's'/z/

Comprehension skills:  Character and Setting
Comprehension strategy: Visualize

Genres:  Animal Fantasy
Reading Street Parent Connection:

• Family Times gives various activities that can be done at home that connect to the concept we're learning this week.
• Practice reading phonics and sight words for Unit 1, Week 3 (third column only).   

Fundations: Unit 3 (Week 2 of 2)

Students will...

• Segment individual sounds of words
• Spell words with -ck at the end
• Observe the form of a narrative story (character, setting, and main events) 
• Story: Cod Fish
• Sight words: into, we, he, she, be, me. or, for

Math in Focus

Chapter 3

Addition Fact to 10 

Thinking Skills
- Analyzing parts and a whole
- Deduction

Problem Solving Strategies 
- Act it Out
 - Draw a diagram

Objectives

      - Count on to add 
   - Use number bonds to add in any order

- - Write and solve addition sentences
- - Tell and write addition stories about pictures

Science

 Last week, an organization called Wing Masters came to the school to educated the children on five different birds they would be able to see in their area. The birds they present to the children are birds that have been rescued and are unable to 

return to the wild due to their handicaps. The children were able to learn about a 30 year-old red tailed hawk, an American kestrel, a peregrine falcon, a barred owl, and a northern saw-whet owl.

We will be taking a break from science activities and be focusing more on Social Studies and History topics until our unit on matter. We will be briefing reviewing and discussing science topics that relate to our Reading Street program.

Social Studies

     We will be focusing on communities over time and transportation through our weekly readings. This week the children will work to answer the question, "Who helps animals?"

This week the class will be continuing to put into practice the four Skills for Learning throughout the day. We will begin Unit 2 of Second Steps on Wednesday by discussing empathy. 

 Specialists

MONDAY: Music
TUESDAY: P.E.

WEDNESDAY: Music

THURSDAY: P.E.

FRIDAY: Art, Music

  

Writing Workshop

Framing Your Thoughts 
    This week students will begin reviewing the connector ('and') of 'barebone sentences'. Students will be writing their own barebone sentences with the help of word lists, pictures, and their own creativity. 

Process Writing~ Informative 
     This week we will be writing about the Wing Master birds that we learned about on Friday. Students will decide which bird they want to write on, pick three facts about the bird, and then write the facts into complete sentences and construct their introduction and conclusion to their paragraph. 

                  Parent Reminders

1.  Homework Reading Log- Please make sure to write down the discussion question number(s) you and your child talk about each night you read.

2. Dialogue Journals- Please send in your child's dialogue journal with the first letter completed. The first letter your child writes should be a response to the letter I have written them. For the second letter your child writes, if there is no letter from me the student can use the idea page on the inside of the front cover to come up with an idea of what to write. 
3. Library- Our class will be going to the library on Mondays at 1:00 p.m. I have sent home library permission slips with the students who I did not get a permission slip back from. Please sign and date the permission slip. Your child will be able to take a book out today (Monday, October 17th), but will not be able to bring the book home until I receive the permission slip back. 
4. Unit 1 Reading Card- I recorded how many of the phonics and high-frequency words your child read correctly. I also highlighted the words you did not read correctly. This week you’ll practice the third column of words. Please note I am looking for the students to be able to read these words with automaticity (within 3 seconds). If your child needs a new list, please let me know. (Reminder: please return these on Fridays.) 
5. Parent Conferences- The first round of conferences will be held this week on Thursday, October 20th in my room (Room 116). If your child's conference is this week, please be thinking about concerns you may have about your child as well as academic and social goals you have for him/her. 

Have a great week!

Miss Biggar

Homework for the Week

 Daily

Reading Words (Phonics/Sight)

Reading Log (with Discussion questions)

Number/Letter Formation   

Monday:  Reading Log (due on Friday)
Tuesday: Number Bond Worksheet (due on Wednesday)
Wednesday: Dialogue Journal (due on Friday)