February 27th-March 3rd Newsletter

First Grade Newsletter

February 27th- March 3rd

Literacy

Reading Street: Unit 3 Week 6
**Unit 3 Reading Test will be on Friday, March 3rd.**

Main selection:  Where Are My Animal Friends?

Weekly Question:  What do animals do when the seasons change?
Amazing Words: hibernate, migrate, autumn, weary, freeze, bitterly, temperature
High-Frequency Words: before, does, good-bye, oh, right, won't
Phonics Target: Comparative Endings -er, -est; Consonant Pattern -dge

Comprehension skills: Draw Conclusions
Comprehension strategy: Background Knowledge

Genres:  Drama
Written Expression: Predicate Expander "When" (The goose honked nervously this morning.)
Reading Street Parent Connection:

• Unit 3 Family talk letter for concept conversation starters and 6-week overview of the unit. (Sent home January 10th)
• Practice reading words (see white sheet sent home Friday) for Unit 3, Weeks 1-6 (all columns). 

Fundations: Unit 9, Week 1 & 2

Students will learn about...

• Closed syllables with short vowels
• Closed syllable vs. open syllable
• Vowel team sounds: ai, ay, ee, ea, ey, 
• Sight Words: say, says
• Unit Story: Fred the Frog
• Unit 9 Test on Friday, March 3rd

Math in Focus

Chapter 11
Picture Graphs and Bar Graphs

Thinking Skills
- Comparing
- Classifying 

Problem Solving Strategies  
- Make a systematic list

           Objectives
- Collect and organize data
- Show and understand data shown in a picture graph (also using symbols).
- Draw a picture graph.
- Make a tally chart.
- Show and understand data shown in a bar graph.

*                                      

Science

Backyard Growers Enrichment
     Due to our snow days the past couple weeks, we have rescheduled our last session "Farm to Table-Life of a Tomato" with Miss Gabi this week. 
We will start our Weather Unit next week.

Social Studies

   Economics Unit- This week we will have our final Economics test to wrap up the unit.
Second Steps- We are wrapping up our Emotional Management unit this week with a lesson on managing worry.

 Specialists

MONDAY: Music; Library

TUESDAY: P.E.

WEDNESDAY: Music

THURSDAY: P.E.; Backyard Growers

FRIDAY: Art; Music

Writing Workshop
Six Traits of Writing: Organization
     This week, students will be continuing to work on their how-to writing pieces. Our next two writing traits are Word Choice and Voice. We will be reading a story and work together as a class to find the author's voice in the story. We will then discuss what creates voice. 

This week's mini-lesson will include...
- What is voice? 
- How does word choice help with voice? 
- How to find evidence to support our thinking

     

                   Parent Reminders

1. Our library time is Mondays at 1 p.m. Please have books brought back to school by the Friday before or Monday morning.
2. Reading passages are due on Thursday. Reading Street Word Lists are due on Friday. 
3. Please make sure to record the comprehension questions you discuss with your child on the reading log each night. Thank you!
4. Before School Help-  Thursday mornings at 8 a.m. 
5. Scholastic Book Club: March catalogs will be going home with students on Monday, February 27th. Orders and money are due on Friday, March 10th. 
6. Shoe tying- When your child wears snow boots to school, they have up to 6 opportunities to tie their shoes. Please help your child learn this important life skill.
7. Our Valentine Celebration was HUGE success! The kids had lots of fun using money to shop for goodies. Thank you again for all of your donations and support!
8. Spring Conferences (3/16)- I will be sending home conference sign-up sheets to a few select students. If you receive one, please return your sheet ASAP. I hope to be sending confirmation slips home with your conference time early next week. Thanks!
9. On Thursday, March 2nd is Dr. Seuss' birthday. We will have a special, surprise guest reader! It is also "dress up as your favorite book character" day. 
10. Math Facts- As I check in with your child, I will send a note home about which rules they still need to work on. If they have the majority of the math facts mastered, I will send home the subtraction fact cards. Keep up the good work! 

Welcome back! 

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: Lesson 4 Math  (due on Friday)
Wednesday: Dialogue Journal (due on Friday)

Thursday: Comprehension (due on Friday)

February 13-17th Newsletter

First Grade Newsletter

February 13th- 17th

Literacy

Reading Street: Unit 3 Week 6

Main selection:  Where Are My Animal Friends?

Weekly Question:  What do animals do when the seasons change?
Amazing Words: hibernate, migrate, autumn, weary, freeze, bitterly, temperature
High-Frequency Words: before, does, good-bye, oh, right, won't
Phonics Target: Comparative Endings -er, -est; Consonant Pattern -dge

Comprehension skills: Draw Conclusions
Comprehension strategy: Background Knowledge

Genres:  Drama
Written Expression: Predicate Expander "When" (The goose honked nervously this morning.)
Reading Street Parent Connection:

• Unit 3 Family talk letter for concept conversation starters and 6-week overview of the unit. (Sent home January 10th)
• Practice reading words (see white sheet sent home Friday) for Unit 3, Week 6 (sixth column). Please return sheet by Friday, February 17th for students to be tested on Week 6 words. 

Fundations: Unit 8, Week 2

Students will learn about...

• Consonant blends and segmenting and spelling words with four sounds (review)
• Baseword and suffix -s (review)
• Digraph blends (lunch)
• R-controlled vowels (er, ir, ur)
• Sight Words: her, over, number
• Unit Story: The Pink Dress
• Unit 8 Test will be on Wednesday, February 12th.

Math in Focus

Chapter 11
Picture Graphs and Bar Graphs

Thinking Skills
- Comparing
- Classifying 

Problem Solving Strategies  
- Make a systematic list

           Objectives
- Collect and organize data
- Show and understand data shown in a picture graph (also using symbols).
- Draw a picture graph.
- Make a tally chart.
- Show and understand data shown in a bar graph.

This week we will be wrapping up our mini-lesson on money at our Valentine's Celebration. The students will be making change and shopping at three different stores. **Continue to play Collect 25 at home for added practice.**

*                                      

Science

Backyard Growers Enrichment
     Due to the snow day last week, we are looking to reschedule our last session with Miss Gabi when we return from February break. 

Social Studies

   Economics Unit- This week we will shift gears to learn about goods and services. The students will sort pictures into two piles, goods and services and determine which ones fulfill a need or a want. 
Second Steps- We are continuing our Emotional Management unit this week with a lesson on positive self-talk.

 Specialists

MONDAY: SNOW DAY

TUESDAY: P.E.

WEDNESDAY: Music; Book Swap

THURSDAY: P.E.; Valentine's Celebration

FRIDAY: Art; Music

Writing Workshop
Six Traits of Writing: Organization
     The students are off to a great start understanding the format and elements necessary for a 'how-to' book. The students will be picking a topic that they know a lot about and begin writing their own 'how-to' guide.
This week's mini-lesson will include...
     - Transition words to continue to the flow of our writing.
     - Uppercase, spacing and punctuation
     - How to organize our writing

     

                   Parent Reminders

1. We missed our library time this week due to the snow day. We will be going to the Book Swap on Wednesday. 
2. Reading passages are due on Thursday. Reading Street Word Lists are due on Friday. 
3. Please make sure to record the comprehension questions you discuss with your child on the reading log each night. Thank you!
4. Before School Help-  Thursday mornings at 8 a.m. 
5. Scholastic Book Club: February book orders were sent home today! Enjoy your books! 
6. Valentine Celebration (2/16)— Thank you to everyone who sent in donations and have offered to help out! Volunteers, please be here by 12:15 so I can let you know which centers you will be running. The kids are very excited! Thanks again!
7. On Friday, I will be sending home your child's Math workbook from the first half of the school year. You can use this at home for extra practice. 
8. Shoe tying- When your child wears snow boots to school, they have up to 6 opportunities to tie their shoes. Please help your child learn this important life skill. 

Winter has finally arrived!
One more week to go! 

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: Collect 25 Game  (due on Friday)
Wednesday: Dialogue Journal (due on Friday)

Thursday: Valentine's Comprehension (due on Friday)

February 6th-10th Newsletter

First Grade Newsletter

February 6th- 10th

Literacy

Reading Street: Unit 3 Week 5

Main selection:  I'm a Caterpillar

Weekly Question:  What changes can be seen in nature?
Amazing Words: cycle, develop, insect, rearrange, flurries, emerge, fragile, vessel
High-Frequency Words: done, know, push, visit, wait
Phonics Target: Contractions; Vowel r-Controlled er, ir, ur

Comprehension skills: Fact and Opinion
Comprehension strategy: Text Structure

Genres:  Literary Nonfiction
Written Expression: Predicate Expander "When" (The goose honked nervously this morning.)
Reading Street Parent Connection:

• Unit 3 Family talk letter for concept conversation starters and 6-week overview of the unit. (Sent home January 10th)
• Practice reading words (see white sheet sent home Friday) for Unit 3, Week 5 (fifth column). Please return sheet by Friday, February 10th for students to be tested on Week 5 words. 

Fundations: Unit 8, Week 2

Students will learn about...

• Consonant blends and segmenting and spelling words with four sounds (review)
• Baseword and suffix -s (review)
• Digraph blends (lunch)
• R-controlled vowels (er, ir, ur)
• Sight Words: her, over, number
• Unit Story: The Pink Dress
• Unit 8 Test will be on Friday, February 10th.

Math in Focus

Chapter 9

Length

**Chapter 9 Test on Thursday, February 9th**
Thinking Skills
- Comparing
Problem Solving Strategies  
- Act it out
- Use a diagram

           Objectives

                                    - Compare two lengths, using the terms tall/taller, long/longer, and short/shorter.
                 - Compare more than two lengths using the terms tallest, longest, and shortest.
                 - Use a common starting point when comparing lengths.
                 - Measure lengths using non-standard units and understand that using different non-standard units may give you different measurements for the same thing.

*                                      

Science

Backyard Growers Enrichment
     In our last week, the lesson is called "Farm to Table-Life of a Tomato." There will be a focus on goods vs. services and why people have to make choices for what to buy.

Social Studies

   Economics Unit- This week we will shift gears to learn about goods and services. The students will sort pictures into two piles, goods and services and determine which ones fulfill a need or a want. 
Second Steps- We are continuing our Emotional Management unit this week with a lesson on positive self-talk.

 Specialists

MONDAY: Music; Library

TUESDAY: P.E.

WEDNESDAY: Music

THURSDAY: P.E.; Backyard Growers

FRIDAY: Art; Music

Writing Workshop
Six Traits of Writing: Organization
     The students are off to a great start understanding the format and elements necessary for a 'how-to' book. The students will be picking a topic that they know a lot about and begin writing their own 'how-to' guide.
This week's mini-lesson will include...
     - Transition words to continue to the flow of our writing.
     - Uppercase, spacing and punctuation
     - How to organize our writing

     

                   Parent Reminders

1. We went to the library today. Make sure to return books by Friday or Monday morning!
2. Fluency & Comprehension- For students who are working on reading with expression and for meaning, I'm sending home a sample conversation you might have with your child about this week's reading passage homework and ways to dig for deeper meaning.
3.Wish list- Tissues and paper towels
4. Before School Help-  Thursday mornings at 8 a.m. 
5. Scholastic Book Club: February book orders have been processed! I will update you when the shipment will arrive once the order has been completely processed. 
6. Valentine Celebration (2/16)— $2.00 for supplies is due ASAP so we can order everything. Thank you for your support!
7. February 7th will be our 100th day of school! The children are encouraged to bring in 100 of something that can fit into a sandwich baggie. 
8. Shoe tying- When your child wears snow boots to school, they have up to 6 opportunities to tie their shoes. Please help your child learn this important life skill. 

Have a fantastic 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: Ice Cream Math  (due on Friday)
Wednesday: Dialogue Journal (due on Friday)

Thursday: Goods & Services Comprehension (due on Friday)