September 25th-29th Newsletter

 First Grade Newsletter

September 25-29th

Literacy

Literacy Assessments:   Students will be taking the Unit 1 Fundations test this week. The main concepts covered in this test are the sounds of letters and the formation of letters.

Reading Street: Unit R*

Main selection:  School Day/Farmers Market

Weekly Question:  What is around us at school?/What can we see around our neighborhood?

Genres:  Realistic Fiction, Folk Tale

Comprehension skills:  plot, realism/fantasy

*We review concepts taught in Kindergarten during our Review Unit.

PHONICS

Lively Letters (Sounds)

• Review stories and sounds for each letter pair: x/y/c, w/wh/h, e
• Last week’s letter pairs: p/b, t/d, k/g, f/v, m/n, ng, s/z, a/o, j/ch, r/l, u/i, qu, th, th 

Fundations: Unit 2 (Week 1 of 2)

• Review formation of the following letters…v, w, y, x, qu
• Alphabetical order
• Identifying beginning, middle, and end sounds
• Reading three-sound words with short vowels sounds (ex: mad, sat, etc.)

Math in Focus

Chapter 2

Number bonds

Objectives

      - Identify the use for number bonds (to show parts and a whole)

      - Use different math materials to find number bonds, such as connector cubes and math balance

- Find different number bonds for numbers to 10

Science

In our first unit of study, students are learning about weather. Last week we discussed what weather is and important vocabulary that is associated with weather. This week we will learn about clouds, how they are formed as well as the names & characteristics of the different types. 
This week we will also be defining and discussing the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste).

Social Studies

This week, the students will continue to practice focusing and listening as well as learn to use self-talk for the third Skill for Learning in our Second Steps curriculum. These are skills I encourage students to use throughout the day to practice and find which strategy works better for them. The students will continue to practice and apply the Skills for Learning.

Our social studies learning continues to embed focusing on families and community in our reading program throughout this week. Our questions for the students will need to answer this week are, "What is around us at school?" and "What can we see around our neighborhood?". 

 Specialists

 

MONDAY: Music; Library; Backyard Growers

TUESDAY: P.E.

WEDNESDAY: Music

THURSDAY: P.E.

FRIDAY: Art, Music

  

Writing Workshop

     This past week students began reviewing the subject (noun) and predicate (verb) of 'barebone sentences' using the Framing Your Thoughts curriculum. There have been whole group discussions and brainstorming, partner discussion activities, and individual writing activities. Students will be creating word lists for both subjects and predicates to use when writing individually. They will also be given pictures to pull ideas from.

Process Writing~ Narrative
    This week we will begin exploring narrative writing through reading Stega Nona. As a class, we will be finding the story's critical character, setting, and object. Students will be drawing the character, setting and object once the whole class has discussed the story. 

                  Parent Reminders

1.  Meet the Teacher Night is this Thursday, September 28th 5:00-6:00pm. I’m looking forward to meeting all of you! Please note—This is an adult-only evening.
2. Parent/Teacher Conferences—There will be a sign-up sheet available at Meet the Teacher night for upcoming fall conferences (Oct. 26th /Nov. 9th). 
3. Topsfield Fair Field Trip (Oct. 5)- The first grade will be going to the Topsfield Fair on Thursday, October 5th. A permission slip went home this past Thursday (One correction is that we will be going on Thursday, October 5th, not October 4th.). Permission slips and money need to be turned in no later than Friday, September 29th. If your child needs a school lunch, please contact me. Three chaperones have been chosen and will be contacted this week.Thank you to everyone who offered to volunteer for our field trip!

4. Scholastic book order- October's catalog will be handed out this week. Catalog orders and money will be due on Friday, October 13th.

5.    Number Formation Guide- The guide will be sent home this week. Try and isolate just two numbers to practice each night for a couple minutes. Doing too many at once will not help break bad habits.

6.    Wish List- Thank you for all of the donations! 
7.  Children should bring in a small healthy snack (separate from their lunch) to have in class at 9:45 a.m. Please make sure that it is nut-free and has no glass products.
8.  Dialogue Journal Letter: I sent home a reminder about dialogue journals today. Please take a look at it and bring any questions you have to Meet the Teacher Night. I will explain more then. Students will not be assigned dialogue journals until next week.

Have a fantastic week!

Miss Biggar

Homework

Monday:  Reading Log (due on Friday)
Tuesday: Number Formation (due on Friday)
Wednesday: Letter Formation (due on Friday)

September 18th-22nd, 2017

 First Grade Newsletter

September 18-22nd

Literacy

Literacy Assessments:  There are no assessments during this week. I will be adding to the students' personal book bags for silent reading throughout this week.  

Reading Street: Unit R*

Main selection:  Snap/Tip and Tam

Weekly Question:  Who is in our family?/What is outside our door?

Genres:  Realistic Fiction

Comprehension skills:  setting, 

*We review concepts taught in Kindergarten during our Review Unit.

PHONICS

Lively Letters (Sounds)

• Review stories and sounds for each letter pair: qu, th, th, x/y/c, w/wh/h, e
• Last week’s letter pairs: p/b, t/d, k/g, f/v, m/n, ng, s/z, a/o, j/ch, r/l, u/i

Fundations: Unit 1 (Week 2/3 of 3)

• Review formation of the following letters…t, b, f, n, m, c, a, i, r, o, g, d, s, e, u, l, h, k
• Alphabetical order

*Please note that Unit 1 of Fundations and Lively Letters are very fast paced reviews of the alphabet letter sounds and formations taught extensively in Kindergarten.

Math in Focus

Chapter 1

Pre-requisite skills and number sense
**Chapter 1 Test on Tuesday, September 19th**

Objectives

-  Count from 0 to 10 objects 

-  Read and write 0 to 10 in numbers and words

     -  Compare two sets of objects by using one-to-one correspondence 

      -  Identify the set that has more, fewer, or the same number of object
                 - Identify the number that is greater than or less than another number

-               -  Make number patterns

*Please note:  Math instruction in this unit is reviewing groundwork established in Kindergarten.  We will be building upon these skills as we progress through the future math units.

Science

There has been a change to our Science curriculum and our first unit of study will be weather. Last week the class brainstormed words and concepts that they knew about weather. This week we will discuss what weather is and important vocabulary that is associated with weather. 

Social Studies

Our class rules have been posted in our room! Each morning the rules have been posted we remind ourselves what our classroom rules are to give each student a safe and friendly environment to learn in. In our Second Steps lessons, we have learned two of four Skills for Learning: focusing attention and listening. We use our attent-o-scopes to keep ourselves from being distracted and there are three parts of our bodies we use to listen: our ears, eyes, and brains. 

Our social studies learning continues to embed focusing on families and community in our reading program throughout this week. Our questions for the students will need to answer this week are, "Who is in our family?" and "What is outside of our door?". 

 Specialists

 

MONDAY: Music

TUESDAY: Early Release

WEDNESDAY: Music; Backyard Growers

THURSDAY: P.E.

FRIDAY: Art, Music

  

Writing Workshop

This week students will begin our weekly literacy center assignment that requires students to write about one activity that they did over the weekend. The purpose of this exercise is for students to practice putting their ideas on paper through words and illustrations.

                  Parent Reminders

1.  Meet the Teacher Night is Thursday, September 28th 5:00-6:00pm. I’m looking forward to meeting all of you! Please note—This is an adult-only evening.
2. Parent/Teacher Conferences—There will be a sign-up sheet available at Meet the Teacher night for upcoming fall conferences (Oct. 26th /Nov. 9th)
3. Topsfield Fair Field Trip (Oct. 5)- The first grade will be going to the Topsfield Fair on Thursday, October 5th. Be on the look out for a permission slip in your child's folder. I am looking for 3 parent volunteers who would like to chaperone.  Please contact me if you are interested!  Please note:  You will need to be CORI checked in order to chaperone.

4. Scholastic book order- September’s order will be due on Friday, September 22nd.

5.    Number Formation Guide- The guide will be sent home this week along with which numbers your child needs practice forming. Try and isolate just one number to practice each night for a couple minutes. Doing too many at once will not help them break bad habits.

6.    Wish List- Thank you for all of the donations! 
7.  Children should bring in a small healthy snack (separate from their lunch) to have in class at 9:45 a.m. Please make sure that it is nut-free and has no glass products.
8. Help needed—Room Parents:  I am still looking for two room parents who can share the class contact list.  Room parents coordinate calling parents for special classroom celebrations. 

Have a great week!

Miss Biggar

Homework

Monday:  Reading Log (due on Friday)
Tuesday: Letter Formation (due Friday)

September 11th-15th Newsletter

  First Grade Newsletter

September 11-15^th

Literacy

Literacy Assessments:  Last week the students took a baseline reading assessment and their Fall DIBELs, which will help drive my instruction.  

I will also be conferencing with each student individually to assess their reading level and begin a personalized collection of books for them to read during independent reading.

Reading Street: Unit R*

Main selection:  Sam

Weekly Question:  What is around us at home?

Amazing Words:  furniture, tidy, unwind, cozy, middle, straw, yawn

Genres:  Realistic Fiction, Folk Tale

Comprehension skills:  character, setting

*We review concepts taught in Kindergarten during our Review Unit.

PHONICS

Lively Letters (Sounds)

• Review stories and sounds for each letter pair: j/ch, r/l, u/I, qu/x/y/c, w/wh/h, e
• Last week’s letter pairs: p/b, t/d, k/g, f/v, m/n, ng, s/z, a/o 

Fundations: Unit 1 (Week 1 of 3)

• Review formation of the following letters…t, b, f, n, m, c, a, i, r, o, g, d, s, e, u, l, h, k
• Alphabetical order*Please note that Unit 1 of Fundations and Lively Letters are very fast paced reviews of the alphabet letter sounds and formations taught extensively in Kindergarten.

Math in Focus

Chapter 1

Pre-requisite skills and number sense

Objectives

-  Count from 0 to 10 objects 

-  Read and write 0 to 10 in numbers and words

     -  Compare two sets of objects by using one-to-one correspondence 

      -  Identify the set that has more, fewer, or the same number of objects
- Identify the number that is greater than or less than another number

-                                   - Make number patterns

*Please note:  Math instruction in this unit is reviewing groundwork established in Kindergarten.  We will be building upon these skills as we progress through the future math units.

Science

Our first unit of study will be living vs. non-living things.  We will observe, record and share our ideas together.  This week, we will discuss what makes something a living and non-living.

Social Studies

Last week, we developed our classroom rules  and logical consequences together. This week we will continue to engage in friendship-building, cooperative exercises, always emphasizing the importance of friendship, unity, and cooperation.

Our social studies learning this week is embedded in our reading program. We will be focusing on families and community through our readings.  This week the children will work to answer the question “What is around us at home?”  The students will also be learning how to participate in a discussion.

 Specialists

 

MONDAY: Music

TUESDAY: P.E.

WEDNESDAY: Music

THURSDAY: P.E.

FRIDAY: Art, Music

  

Writing Workshop

This week students will begin a morning work assignment that requires students to write about one activity that they did over the weekend. The purpose of this exercise is for students to practice putting their ideas on paper through words and illustrations.

                  Parent Reminders

1.  Wish list: Thank you so much to everyone who sent in school supplies.  Our classroom is supplied and ready for a great school year! A wish list will be posted on the blog throughout the year if you would like to donate to our class.

2.    Please be sure your child returns their school folder to school everyday.  Also, please check it each day for important handouts and homework assignments. I will write about specific handouts that you should be looking for throughout the week in this section of the newsletter.

3.    Children should bring in a small healthy snack (separate from their lunch) to have in class at 9:45 a.m. Please make sure that it is nut-free and has no glass products.

4.    Scholastic book order: I will be sending home the September catalog this week.  I will send these home monthly.  Please do not feel obligated to participate every month, but the prices are great and it’s a great way to build your child’s home library and add to our classroom selection. A handout will be attached to this month’s catalog explaining more about Scholastic orders. September’s order is due on Monday, September 18^th.

5. Meet the Teacher Night is coming up. Thursday, September 28^th 5:00-6:00pm.  I’m looking forward to meeting all of you!  Please note—This is an adult-only evening. 
6. The first-grade team is in the process of planning our first field trip to the Topsfield Fair.  We will be going either Wednesday, October 4^th or Thursday, October 5^th, depending on bus availability.  I am looking for 3 parent volunteers who would like to chaperone.  Please contact me if you are interested!  Please note:  You will need to be CORI checked in order to chaperone. 
7. Help needed—Room Parents:  I am still looking for one more room parent who can share the class contact list.  Room parents coordinate calling parents for special classroom celebrations. 

 

I look forward to an exciting year in 1^st grade!

Miss Biggar

Homework

Monday:  Reading Log (due on Friday)

Welcome 2017-2018 First Grade Families!

Welcome to First Grade!

My name is Abigail Biggar and I am your child’s first grade teacher. Although I am very excited that we have begun the year, I had a very enjoyable summer. A couple of my adventures during the summer included visiting the island of Saint Maarten. My family and I relaxed on the white sandy beaches, ate delicious island food, and enjoyed the beautiful views. I also was able to enjoy the city of Gloucester! Whether I was walking my dog, Theo, around town, soaking up the sun at one of the local beaches or enjoying a fresh off-the-boat lobster roll, there was never a dull moment. Even though summer was full of fun adventures, I am looking forward to this wonderful year ahead of us!

As I stated on the handout I sent home, the purpose of this blog is to be an information center for families to easily access. There will be a weekly newsletter posted every Monday about what the class is up to including where we are in curriculum, reminders of important events happening during the week, and other relevant information. Curriculum support, support information, notices, permission slips, important forms, useful links and other information will also be accessible through the blog.

This first post is to inform you about the class’ specials schedule, to begin collecting information from parents/guardians who are interested in volunteering, and to explain the first piece of homework your child will bring home on Tuesday.

1. Weekly Specials Schedule

MONDAY: Music

TUESDAY: P.E.

WEDNESDAY: Music

THURSDAY: P.E.

FRIDAY: Art and Music

On the days the class has P.E., students need to bring or wear sneakers to school. The other specials do not have any other particular requirements for clothing or supplies.

2. Volunteer Information

Volunteer requests and opportunities will also be posted on the blog. If you would like to volunteer in the classroom, please email me times you are consistently available Monday through Friday and the types of events you would like to volunteer for. Here are the types of events we have in first grade:  

a. Class Celebrations/Events   

b. Field Trips   

c. Library   

If you are interested in volunteering, you will need to fill out a CORI form. These forms can be filled out and submitted at West Parish’s main office at 10 Concord Street. If you have already been CORIed by Gloucester Public Schools' main office, but not through West Parish's office, please see our secretary Ms. Lois Lane to fill out the form.

3. Homework: Reading Log

This afternoon your child will have a reading log in their homework folder. Reading logs will be passed out on Monday and due on Friday. The title of the book, number of minutes read, and reader should be recorded for each day. Use this activity to encourage your child to explore new books while practicing their reading skills. In first grade, we believe that nightly reading is as important as a child brushing his/her teeth every night.

This blog will be my main form of communication to parents and guardians unless it is a personal matter. If you need to contact me with questions, concerns or an important message, my email is abiggar@gloucesterschools.com and school phone number is (978) 281-9835 ext. 28116.

Have a great afternoon!

Miss Biggar