News You Can Use!

Read below to learn about our fantastic week in 1-1.

Literacy

Treasures: 

This week, we began our first unit in Treasures. The children did a wonderful job of working with short /a/ words. Their stories for the week consisted of fantasies and a nonfiction piece. They worked on identifying what makes a story a fantasy. The children enjoyed using sequencing cards to retell one of the fantasy stories. They also learned that they can use the pictures in a nonfiction piece to learn additional facts. 

We started grammar packets this week. The children worked with sentences. They worked on recognizing the difference between a complete and incomplete sentence and learned that all sentences must start with a capital. Their grammar packet came home in their take home folder on Friday. At the top you will see a note that says, Done Together. We will complete this packet every week as a class. The children will continue to focus on sentence structure next week. 

This week, the children were also introduced to our Making Words lessons. They use letter tiles at their desk to create different words that follow our spelling pattern for the week. The children took turns coming up to the board to spell the words on our interactive pocket chart. Their favorite part of the lesson is when the get to try and figure out the “mystery word.” This word uses all of the letter tiles for the day. 

Daily 5 & Guided Reading:

The children did a great job this week during Daily 5 and guided reading. They were independent during their Daily 5 activities, which allowed for very productive guided reading groups. In guided reading the children worked hard at learning some of our reading strategies and reading their books. On nights when your child brings home their book bag, please have your child read the book to you. If your child brings home a word ring or graphic organizer have them read these to you as well. 

Poetry Folder:

In your child’s backpack you should have noticed a purple folder, this is your child’s poetry folder. Attached was a note explaining what to do with the folder over the weekend. Every week, we will learn a new poem that goes along with our spelling pattern of the week. Please read the poem with your child and send their folder back to school on Monday. 

Spelling:

The children did a great job on their first spelling test this Friday. I am so proud of how hard they practiced all week long. Next week our spelling pattern will continue to focus on the short /a/ sound. There is no school on Friday, so the children will take their test on Thursday. Thank you for helping your child review their words at home!

Writing

This week, the children put their autobiographies together into a book. To celebrate all of their hard work the children met with students from Mrs. Glaser class. In groups of four, the children took turns reading their autobiographies. They had a great time using the pretend microphones and sharing their writing. Enjoy the slide show of our writing celebration below! 

Math 

In Math, we began unit 2. The children worked with the number grid to locate numbers and solve math problems. As a class, the children brainstormed a list of ways that we use numbers around us. They also worked with ten frames, labeling numbers with units, finding sums of ten, and using calculators. To practice some of their math skills the children played two math games, Rolling to 50 and 10 Frame Top-it. 

Social Studies

This week, we finished our Map unit. The children enjoyed taking an imaginary trip around the world to visit different landforms. After we visited each land form the children wrote about it in their landforms booklet. 

The children also worked with basic map skills this week. They looked at maps and globes and discussed how they are similar and different. The children learned about the compass rose and cardinal directions. They really enjoyed learning a special way to remember the cardinal directions: Never Eat Soggy Waffles. The children learned about map keys. They took turns coming up to the board and using the cardinal directions and a map key, they located different areas on a map. 

Thinking Skills

On Friday, Mrs. Schwarz came in for another visit. This week she worked with the children on creative thinking. She showed them a piece of scrap wood. The children brainstormed and shared ideas of what they could create using the piece of wood. The children really enjoy her visits. Mrs. Schwarz will come in for her last visit on October 12th. 

Notes:

• Monday, is Picture day! Don’t forget to say cheese. 
• Wednesday, is Walk To School Day. All the teachers will be out at 8:40am to walk to school with the children. I hope to see you on your way to school! 
• There is no school on Friday due to a SIP Day. The children will take their spelling test on Thursday.

Have a great rest of the weekend!