Week of January 17th-January 21st

 

First Grade Newsletter

January 17th-January 21st

Literacy

Reading Street: Unit 3 Week 3

Main selection:  The Class Pet

Weekly Question:  What do we learn as animals grow and change?

Amazing Words: features, nibble, swoop, natural, wriggle, crumple, tumble, mature, nudges

High-Frequency Words: away, car, friends, house, our, school very

Phonics Target: Ending -es, Plural -es; Vowels: r-controlled or, ore

Comprehension skills: Fact and Opinion

Comprehension strategy: Monitor and Clarify

Genres:  Expository Text

Written Expression: Predicate Expander "How" (People cheer loudly!)

Reading Street Parent Connection:

• Unit 3 Family talk letter for concept conversation starters and 6-week overview of the unit. (Sent home January 3rd)
• Practice reading words (see red or green sheet sent home Monday) for Unit 3, Week 3 (third column). Review any of the marked works in Column 3.1 and 3.2. Please return sheet by Friday, January 21st for students to be tested on Week 3 words. 

PHONICS

Spelling 

• Skill(s):  Suffix -s (rocks, bags, mats)
• Review: Glued sounds (-an, -am), Bonus letters at the end of a word: ff, ll, ss (and sometimes zz); Use digraphs (sh, wh, th, ch, and -ck)
• Sentence: 
• Trick Words: who, what, when
• Review trick words and practice using in writing: the, of, and, a, is, his, as, has, in, into, we, he, she, be, me, or, for, you, your, I, they, was, one, said, from, have, do, does, were, are

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

Lively Letters (Sounds)

• Review stories and sounds for each letter pair: No new pairs
• Last week’s letter pairs: p/b, t/d, k/g, f/v, qu, m/n, s/z, j/ch, r/l, x/y/c, w/h,  a/o, u/i, e, ng, wh


Handwriting Without Tears
• Review all letter formations and writing letters NEATLY
• Alphabetical order 

Math in Focus

Chapter 5

Addition and Subtraction within 20

Objectives

- Add by counting on

- Add by making a 10

- Add by using doubles and doubles plus one facts

- Understand that addition can be done in any order

     -  Subtract by counting back

      - Subtract by grouping into a 10 and ones

     - Recognize related addition and subtraction sentences

     - Make fact families from number sentences

-    - Subtract using addition facts

     - Determine if number sentences involving addition and subtraction are true or false

     - Solve real world problems involving addition and subtraction

Science

Sound & Light Unit
        Last week students experimented with light to discover how light moves and reflection. Students learned what concave and convex means as well as what light looks like when it hits concave or convex reflective surfaces.

This week students will develop an understanding of reflection, geometric symmetry, and multiplication using mirrors. Students will experiment using paint and paper.

Social Studies

Our social studies learning this week is embedded in our reading program. We will be focusing on communities and change through our readings.  This week the children will work to answer the question "What do we learn as animals grow and change?".

In Second Steps, students will continue to learn about empathy. Students will learn how to identify how the other person is feeling by observing their face, body language, and learning about the situation the student is in.

Specialists

MONDAY: NO SCHOOL! 

TUESDAY: Music

WEDNESDAY: P.E.

THURSDAY: Art

FRIDAY: Music

Writing Workshop

This week students continue the morning work assignment that requires students to about two activities that they did over the weekend, including who was there, where the event took place, and how did the child feel about this event (favorite/worst part, sad, excited, etc.). Since students need to write about two events, we will be discussing transitional words to help students move from one event to another within their writing. The purpose of this exercise is for students to practice putting their ideas on paper through words and illustrations in narrative form.

Genre Writing-Opinion

     This week students will begin to write their first formal opinion writing piece. The topic of our first opinion writing piece will be if our class should have a class pet or not.

                  
Parent Reminders

1.  We do not have library this week due to no school on Monday.

 2.    Before school help on Tuesday morning at 8AM.

 3. Please be sure your child returns their green school-to-home folder and their homework folder to school everyday.  Also, please check your child's school-to-home folder each day for important handouts. I will write about specific handouts that you should be looking for throughout the week in this section of the newsletter. Students should also have their red homework folders in their backpacks every day.

4.    Children should bring in a small healthy snack (separate from their lunch) to have in class at 9:50 a.m. Please make sure that it is nut-free and has no glass products.

5.  Math Homework: This week students will practice the +3, +4, +5  and doubles rules (1+3, 3+4, 2+5, etc. and 1+1, 2+2, 3+3, etc.). Please fill out the parent survey towards the end of the week and return it in your child's red folder. Thank you!

6. Return Brad's Lost Glasses fluency passage on Thursday.

  

Have an amazing week!

Mrs. Ash

Homework

Your child will bring home their red homework folder on Monday. Inside the folder is a reading log, math activity with materials, and individual login information for all of our online platforms. This week students should be reading for 10 minutes, write a letter in their journal, and practice the addition math facts (Rule +3, +4, +5 & doubles).

Your child also will bring home their Dialogue Journal (penpal journal). Please read my letter and have your child respond to it in 1 penpal letter. If I did not write your child a letter, your child can write to me about anything s/he wants. Once your child has finished his/her letter, return it to school. If I did not receive your child's journal last week, please have your child write a letter to me this week and I will check both letters once the journal is turned in. 

Behind the reading log, there is our word lists for the next 6 weeks on red or green paper. Please practice the words in Column 3.3 on the sheet every day this week. I will check in with each child at the end of the week. Please also read and practice the fluency passage due on Thursdays. The homework folder should always be brought to school in your child's backpack, but only returned on Fridays. (Keep completed work in the homework folder.)