February 26th- March 2nd Newsletter

First Grade Newsletter

February 26th- March 2nd

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, 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

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
     This week our Backyard Growers enrichment program begins! This is a great opportunity for the children to learn science content through a local organization with hands-on activities. The first lesson will be about the garden ecosystem. 

Social Studies

   Economics Unit- This week we will review everything we have learned about goods, services, needs, and wants. 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; 101 Dalmations Play

THURSDAY: P.E.; Backyard Growers

FRIDAY: Art; Music

Writing Workshop
Pen Pal Letters
     This week students will receiving a letter from another first grade student in Gloucester. Each student will read and respond to their pen pal's letter using our letter format (greeting, body, closing, & signature). Students will be asking their pen pals questions to gather information about him/her. 

This week's mini-lesson will include...
- Letter format
- How to respond to a letter
- Grammar (punctuation, uppercase)

     

                   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. Math Homework-This week's math homework is Collect 25. This activity as well as the two other coin activities can be played weekly to help students continue to practice trading and exchanging coins. 
5. Scholastic Book Club: March catalogs will be going home with students this week.  
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 Friday, March 2nd is Dr. Seuss' birthday. We will have a special, surprise guest reader! 
10. Math Facts- I will be checking in on your child's progress with the addition math facts. 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

Math Number Sense Games
Coin Games

This week's homework:

 Reading Log (due on Friday)

 Collect 25 Game & Math Facts  (Daily) [Sent home on Tuesday]

 Dialogue Journal (due on Friday) [Sent home on Wednesday]
Dr. Seuss Comprehension (due on Friday) [Sent home on Tuesday]

February 12th-16th Newsletter

First Grade Newsletter

February 12th- 16th

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 (sixth column). Please return sheet by Friday, February 16th 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 14th.

Math in Focus

Chapter 9
**Chapter 9 Test on Wednesday, February 14th**

Length

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.

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 the coin games at home for added practice.**

*                                      

Science

Physical Science
Sound Waves
     This week students will be learning about how sound travels over a distance through vibration waves. They will be using string phones to experiment whether then can hear a friend speak quietly through the phone. 

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.; Valentine's Celebration

FRIDAY: Art; Music

Writing Workshop
Pen Pal Letter Writing
     This week students will be given a pen pal letter from another Gloucester first grader. We will go over what a pen pal is and begin writing our introduction pages with a portrait of each student and their names. We will be going over letter structures and how a letter should be written. I am very excited to see how these pen pal letters come out!

100 Year Old Prompts
      Last week students wrote creative writing pieces about what they would be like when they were 100 years old. There were so many great ideas ranging from what the students thinks they will look like at the age of 100 to what activities they would do. 

     

                   Parent Reminders

1. We will not be going to the library this week due to the book swap. Our class will be going to the book swap this week instead. 
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.. Scholastic Book Club: February book orders should be in this week. I will send home the books when they arrive at school.
5. Valentine Celebration (2/15)— 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!
6. 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. 
7. 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. 
8. Happy Numbers- This week I will be sending home students logins for a program called Happy Numbers. This is a math enrichment program that is another great way for your child to practice their math skills on. Enjoy!

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)
Fluency Reading
Number/Letter Formation
Number Sense Math Games

This week's homework:

 Reading Log (due on Friday)

 Shopping Coin Game & Math Facts  (Daily) [Sent home on Monday]

 Dialogue Journal (due on Friday) [Sent home on Wednesday]

February 5th-9th Newsletter

First Grade Newsletter

February 5th- 9th

Literacy

Reading Street: Unit 3 Week 4

Main selection:  Frog and Toad Together

Weekly Question:  What changes happen in a garden?
Amazing Words: gardener, nature, sprout, dim, shade, sprinkling, humongous
High-Frequency Words: afraid, again, few, how, read, soon
Phonics Target: Adding endings; Vowel r-Controlled ar

Comprehension skills: Author's Purpose
Comprehension strategy: Visualize

Genres:  Animal Fantasy
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 4 (fourth column). Please return sheet by Friday, February 9th for students to be tested on Week 4 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

Math in Focus

Chapter 9

Length

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

This week students will be learning about how sound travels. Students will be using string, a plastic cup, and a spoon this week to experiment with how sound travels and will record their findings into their science journals. 

Reptile Show

     Last week West Parish was able to enjoy a reptile show. Students learned about all different types of reptiles including boa constrictors, marine toads and alligators. We learned about their habitats, adaptations to the environments around them, and specific characteristics of each animal. We also learned about new rich vocabulary, such as omnivore, osteoderms, parata glades, and pokilothermic. Each animal that was discussed was shown and even held by some of our very own students! 

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.

FRIDAY: Art; Music

Writing Workshop
Six Traits of Writing: Organization
     The students will 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...
     - 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- Paper towels
4. Missing Snow Pants!- A student in our class is missing a pair of snow pants. The snow pants are black bib styled pants that are size 6/6x and Iceburg brand. If you find these snow pants at your home, please return them to school with your child ASAP. Thank you! 
5. Scholastic Book Club: February book orders have been sent! 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
Math Number Sense Games

This week's homework:

 Reading Log (due on Friday)

 Shopping Coin Game & Math Facts  (Daily) [Sent home on Monday]

 Dialogue Journal (due on Friday) [Sent home on Wednesday]
Wants & Needs Comprehension (due on Friday)