October 28th-November 1st Newsletter

First Grade Newsletter

October 28th-November 1st

Literacy

Reading Street: Unit 1 Week 5

Main selection:  Get the Egg!

Weekly Question:  Which wild animals live in our neighborhood?

Amazing Words: habitat, hatch, survive, chirp, croak, moist

High-Frequency Words: saw, tree, your, small

Phonics Target: Short e: e; Initial Consonant Blends (st-, bl-, pl-, gr-)

Comprehension skills:  Main idea and Details

Comprehension strategy: Important Details

Genres:  Realistic Fiction

Reading Street Parent Connection:

• Unit 1 Family Talk letter for concept conversation starters and 6 week overview of the unit. 
• 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 5 (fifth column only).   

PHONICS

Lively Letters (Sounds)

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

Spelling 

• Skill(s): Tapping out sounds in words with CVC patterns (Consonant, Vowel, Consonant; such as 'cat') 
• Spelling words with digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh, ck)
• Trick Words: a, was, to
• Taught Trick Word List: the, of, and

**Trick words are irregularly spelled words that each child is expected to be able to spell in their writing.**

Handwriting Without Tears

• Review formation of the following letters…c, o, s, v, w, t, a, d, g, u, i, e, l, k, y, j, p, r, n, m, h, b, f, q, x, z
• Alphabetical order  

Math in Focus

Chapter 3

   Addition Fact to 10 

   **Chapter 3 Test on Tuesday, October 29th**

  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

Decomposition of Pumpkin
This week students will be recording what they see and what they predict will happen to the pumpkin as time goes on.  
Space Unit
Patterns in the Sky
     Last week students learned about the different moon phases. They used models (Oreo cookies) to form the 8 different phases we are focusing on (Full, gibbous, half, crescent, new, gibbous, half, and crescent). I reminded them that scientists use models to help learn about large objects using smaller materials. This week students will plan and conduct an investigation about the moon's phases. 

Social Studies

Thanksgiving Unit
We will be working on developing an understanding of life as a colonist and a Wampanoag Native American. We’ll start by learning about each of their homes.
Second Steps—We began our Empathy Unit last week with identifying feelings. This week we will continue to discuss ways to identify feelings in ourselves and others. 

 Specialists

MONDAY: Music 

TUESDAY: Early Release

WEDNESDAY: Music

THURSDAY: Halloween Parade!

FRIDAY: Art; Music; Library

Writing Workshop

Genre Writing~ Narrative
      This week we will begin our pre-write with brainstorming characters, the setting, and discuss problems vs. solutions of students' stories. 

Six Traits of Writing~ Ideas
     When writing the stories, each student will be looking at their heart inventory paper to find ideas of what topic they would like to write about. Once the students have a topic, they will write five important details they want to share in their story about the topic. These details will be in one or two word phrases on the Five Finger Detail organizer. By giving students the organizer, the focus will be more on five solid details about the topic than writing a proper sentence.

Framing Your Thoughts ~ Connector ('and')

     This week students will be practicing using the connector ('and') in bare bone sentences. Students will practice using this part of a sentence during literacy centers and convention writing time. 

This week’s mini-lessons will include:

• Choose a topic 
• Use important details to tell about a topic
• Use uppercase at the beginning & punctuation at the end
• Use spacing between words
• Writers reread their writing to see if it makes sense and stays on topic.

   Parent Reminders

1. Library day is on Friday. Please make sure you help your child remember to bring in their book in by the end of the week.

2. Halloween Parade- Our Halloween Parade is this Thursday, October 31st beginning at 2:00 p.m. Please be at the school by 1:50 p.m. to watch the parade. If you would like to dismiss your child after the parade, please send in a note with your child before Thursday or at the beginning of the day on Thursday, October 31st. We are in need of 3 parent volunteers to come into our room (Room 116) at 1:30 p.m. to help students get into their costumes before the parade. We already have 2 volunteers, but we need 1 more. If you would like to volunteer, please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you!

3. Scholastic Orders- November catalogs will be handed out this week.

4. Ten Frame Build Math Game— Play the ten frame game Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday, please have your child record what his/her answers are when playing on the recording sheet passed out on Wednesday. This will allow me to see how your child is progressing with their number sense.

5. Reading Phonics & Sight Word Lists (Unit 1)- Unit 1 Cards were handed back last Friday, October 25th. Please practice Week 5 (the second to last column only) of your child's Reading Street word lists. I will be collecting the Reading Street Unit 1 sheets on Friday, November 1st to check-in with students. Thank you!

Have a wonderful week! 

Miss Biggar

Homework for the Week

 Daily

Reading Log (with discussion questions)

Number/Letter Formation

Math Number Sense Games

This week's homework:

 Reading Log (due on Friday)

Ten Frame Game Recording Sheet (due on Friday) [Sent home on Tuesday] 

Dialogue Journal #5 (due on Friday) [Sent home on Tuesday]