Hello Families!

I hope you were able to see the staff car parade today.  We loved seeing you all and miss you so much!  We even made the news!  Hang in there everyone and do what’s right for your family during this time.  Love each other, snuggle, and laugh!  I will be updating the blog each Monday.  The link below has some fun free subscriptions during the next few months.

News clip of the Alward Parade: https://youtu.be/-DheM7YkeAY

https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/135609/list-of-education-companies-offering-free-subscriptions/

Reading:

Please make sure your child is reading independently at least 20 minutes a day.  Be sure to also include YOU reading to your first grader too.  They love to hear read alouds and this is also a great time to snuggle with your child!

If you haven’t had a chance yet, log in to Reading A- Z and ABC Mouse the links are below.  Please let me know if you need your child’s log in information.

https://www.abcmouse.com/redeem

https://www.raz-kids.com

www.vooks.com/parent-resources

www.storylineonline.net

Writing:

Now would be a great time for you child to practice “How To” writing by having your child write the steps of how to do something.  Some good ideas would be “How To”:  play a game, ride a bike, bake cookies, play a sport, clean your room, make a craft, take care of your pet, or anything else your child knows how to do.

Your child could practice “Small Moment” writing by writing about something they have done since we’ve been out of school.  Some ideas could include:  family game night, family movie night, a time they helped make dinner, going on a walk with the family, the Alward car parade, or anything else they have been doing during our time away from school.

Your child could even write a letter to Pete the Cat!

Math:

Don’t forget to have your child practice on the Extra Math website at least a few times a week.  Also writing or telling story problems would be good practice, making flash cards of addition and subtraction equations, and practicing equations with unknown partners such as 4 + ___ = 12. 

If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, I check my email daily.  Thank you!!

Stay safe & healthy!

Reminders:

• Please remember to sign up for parent teacher conferences for the Week of March 10.
• Please make sure your child has outside clothing appropriate for the weather and shoes to wear in the classroom.
• Library on Tuesdays!
• Keep reading the take home baggy books.  Reading at home is super important as we get ready for second grade!

Writing:

We are back to small moment narrative writing.  The kids are learning to be better at writing small moments by studying and reading the books by author Mo Willems.  He is the infamous author of Elephant Piggy books Pigeon books and many other great stories.  We are remembering to include good beginnings, details, and good endings. We are also trying some of the things that makes Mo Willems a good author including things as:  speech bubbles, thinking bubbles, big bold words, humor,  and using a variety of end marks.

Social Studies:

We have studied some important people in history such as:  Christopher Columbus, The Pilgrims, George Washington, Abe Lincoln, & Martin Luther King Junior.  The kids were able to show the importance of these people in time using a timeline.

Math:

We have been working on unit 5 in math.  This unit focuses on addition and subtraction story problems with teen numbers. We will also solve story problems with 3 addends.  We also will count and write numbers to 120 and find 10 more and 10 less than a given number.

Reading:

We have started a new unit in reading called “Be the Boss of Your Reading”.  In this unit  we will review strategies to read tricky words.  When student come to a tricky word, they should not just use their knowledge of letters and sounds but also the knowledge of what the text is about.

We will also learn that reading for meaning is key to comprehension.  We will learn, if we read something and say “Huh?” We need to STOP and try something like…

Does that make sense?

Does that look right?

Does that sound right?

Then reread the sentence or page to understand the text better.

 Phonics:

In phonics we have been learning about vowel teams.  We have learned that vowels join together to make new sounds. But… we must pay attention!! Some vowel teams sound the same but look different and some vowel teams make more than one sound!

Reminders:

• Thank you for helping your child with the 100 day fashion show project.  What fun it was to see all the creativity!
• Please have your child bring/wear boots and snow pants to school.  They will not be allowed to leave the concrete at recess without these items. 
• Your child should be working on Valentines for all the students in the class.  A paper went home with all the kids names and numbers on them.  If you need another paper, please let me know.  We will not be mailing Valentines until Thursday morning.  You can have your child bring them to school then, or I can hold onto them if they bring them in early. 
• Our Valentine party will be on Friday, February 14 from 12:35- 1:25.  You are welcome to join us as long as you have a background check.  Thank you!
• Please make sure your child is reading take home books and returning them for new ones.
• Library is on Tuesdays!

 Math

We are starting unit 5 in math.  This unit focuses on addition and subtraction story problems with teen totals. We will also solve story problems with 3 addends.  We will count and write numbers to 120 and find 10 more and 10 less than a given number.

Reading     

Next week we will  start a new unit in reading where we will review strategies to read tricky words.  When students come to a tricky word, they should not just use their knowledge of letters and sounds but also the knowledge of what the text is about.

We will also learn that reading for meaning is key to comprehension.  We will learn, if we read something and say “Huh?” then we need to ask ourselves:

Does that make sense?

Does that look right?

Does that sound right?

Then reread the sentence or page to understand the text better.

Writing  

In writing we have just finished a  unit on ” How To Writing”.  In this unit we learned that directions must be in the correct order and easy to follow.  Students used procedural words- First, Next, Then, and Last to write the steps of their directions. 

Next week, we will start an author study using Mo Willems. We will study what he does as an author and the students will attempt to  use some of these  techniques in their own stories.

Phonics

Our focus in phonics has been using “vowel teams” to help solve hard words. We have learned the saying “when two vowels go a walkin’, the first one does the talkin’.” We have learned about vowel teams  ee,  ea,  oa,  and ai. We also learned when we see -ay at the end of a word, it makes the long a sound.

READING:

In readers workshop, we have just started a new unit in non-fiction. So far we have learned to take a sneak peek to learn about our topic and that good readers look closely at each page. We noticed that there are many different text features to pay attention to in a non-fiction book such as headings, captions, and diagrams.

Phonics

In phonics, we are learning to look closely at words and to read allll the ways through the word. We looked at common endings for words such as  -ing, -ed, -s, -es, and -er. We also learned that when we add -ing to a CVCE word, that E is very scared of -ing and runs away. So when we add -ing to a CVCE word we must first drop the e  before adding -ing.

Writing    

We continue to develop our craft of writing persuasive letters.  We have focused on stating our opinion to the appropriate audience, coming up with the best reasons to support our opinion, and having a closing for our letter.

Math    

Our focus for math has been solving for unknown partners or totals in story problems and equations. We are learning that there are different strategies we can use to solve for an unknown partner and that it is important to always show our work. We can show our work with an equation, math mountain, or a proof drawing.

Hello families-

Please remember to send your child a warm jacket for this colder weather and a morning snack.  Please have your child read their take-home baggy books and return them when they are done.  They do not need to return them everyday, but a couple times a week is great!

Halloween is on Thursday.  Please do not send your child dressed in their costume.  They will change into their costumes before the party at 12:35.  The party will go from 12:35- 1:25.  The parade will be at 2:00.

The Turkey Trot will be on Tuesday, October 29.  It will be held at the Eagle Stadium.

Reading

Writing

In writers workshop we focused on making our stories easy for others to read. We have concentrated on stretching out words to hear and write all the sounds.  We are also using 5 star sentences, which includes neat handwriting, finger spaces between the words, and using proper punctuation.  We are also working on having good story beginnings, details, and endings. 

Math:

We are finishing up unit 2 in math. This unit is all about finding strategies for solving addition and subtraction equations. This week we started learning to solve subtraction equations. We have learned to make a proof drawing to help us solve the equations accurately.  We have also learned how to count on from the big number in solving addition equations.  We will be taking the unit 2 test next week.  In unit 3 we will be learning how to find unknown numbers in addition and subtraction.

Reminders:

• Thank you for helping your child raise money for the walk-a-thon!  We had a record breaking year for money raised!  Great job!
• Please help your child return home folder each day.  Please take out papers each night.  Math homework is due each Thursday. Your child may turn it in early if they are done.
• Our next early release day will be on October 18.
• Please remember to pack your child a morning snack. 
• Return library books on Tuesdays!

READING:

Take Home Baggy Books:

Today your child will come home with a bag of 2 books.  These are at home reading books at your child’s Independent reading level.  These levels were determined by beginning of the year reading assessments.  

These books are meant to be fairly easy for your child so they are not making many errors, building fluency and confidence in reading, and where they can practice retelling in detail. You do not need to send these books back to school every day with your child.  Reread them and keep them at home for a few days before returning them for new ones.  

Please keep track of your child’s reading by filling out the “Lucky Listener” page.  Your child’s book levels will change throughout the year as I do ongoing reading assessments with your child. Thank you for taking part in this important activity with your child! Please let me know if you have any questions.

In readers workshop the kids are working hard on learning and using good reading habits.  Some of the reading habits for hard words are:  check the picture, look at all parts of the word, double check the word-  Does it look right?  Does it make sense?, try the vowel sound 2 ways, and have persistence- Don’t give up!  The kids are also learning how to read with partners by giving book introductions and helping each other with hard words.

PHONICS:

In phones we have been focusing on reading “snap words” in a snap.  We have been learned strategies that help us solve hard words.  First we try to read it, we clap out the syllables, we use the sounds of the letters, we study it closely and name the letters, then we notice the vowels, last we notice the blends and digraphs.

We have also been stretching out words to hear all the sounds as we write.

WRITING

In writers workshop we have been practicing the three W’s (Where, who, and what) in our writing. We also learned, “When you think you’re done, You’ve just begun”. We can always add more to the picture, the words, or start a new story.

 We have learned that we can attempt to spell any word by stretching it out and writing the sounds we hear in the word.  This is first grade sound spelling!  We have also brainstormed small moment topics to write about in our “Tiny Topics” Notebook.  

MATH

We just finished up our first unit of math by taking our first math assessment. The students all did a great job on this.

In our next unit, we will continue our use of number partners to develop a deeper understanding of how to break numbers apart. We will also begin practicing addition facts by creating their own flashcards.

The kids are doing a fabulous job in first grade!  We are continuing to work on classroom procedures and being responsible students in first grade.  Thank you so much for all the classroom donations!  We are enjoying and using them already!

Here are a few reminders:

• Send your child’s blue plastic home folder to school every day.
• If your child is going home a different way than they normally do, I need a note or email from you (to the office or me) that there is a change.
• Please try to attend the first PTC meeting on Wednesday September 11 from 7- 8 PM.  The class with the most parents will have a pizza party!
• Picture day is on Friday, September 13!  
• Math homework is due by each Thursday.
• The first early release day is Friday, September 20 @12:15.
• Don’t forget to send a morning snack with your child.  
• If your child would like to celebrate their birthday (or half birthday for summer birthdays) at school, please remember no food treats.  Your child can bring in a non food item for the class but do not have to.  We will still sing, have a birthday crown and make a birthday book to celebrate your child.

Thank you for your help and support!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Reading

Phonics/Word Study

We have learned how to study words and names.  We’ve learned we can study words and names to help us spell other words.  We also met our class mascot lion named Rasheed.  He will help us learn about words this year.

Writing  

 

Procedures, procedures, procedures! In writers workshop we have been practicing working on our writing the whole time, working quietly, and keeping our eyes on our own paper. These first few weeks of school are spent on developing good work habits so that we may do our best work in First Grade!  We are working on “small moment” or true stories.  We have learned how to “Think, Draw, Write” and what to do when we are finished with a story.

It was so great meeting everyone at open house last week!  I loved meeting your first grader and I know we will have a fantastic year together!

I’m so excited to start another year teaching first grade and can’t wait to see their smiling faces in the morning!

If you need to get a hold of me, email me at- sdecarlo@hpseagles.net or you may call the main office.

Thank you and I look forward to a great year together!

FIRST GRADE SUPPLY LIST 2019- 2020 School year

To aid in all the fun things we will be doing this year, there are a few items that would be helpful for you to send with your child the first day of school.

*PENCIL BOX– (approx. 5” by 7”)- To hold pencils, crayons, glue, etc.

*LARGE CONTAINER OF ANTIBACTERIAL WIPES–

To keep our tables clean.

*3 GLUE STICKS– For all of our fun projects this year!

*BOX OF KLEENEX– For all those runny noses!

Your child will receive a plastic take home folder, pencils, scissors, crayons, and a large eraser.  Markers are optional.  Please do not send regular colored pencils (unless they are the twistable kind) they do not stay sharp and are frustrating to all! 🙂

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!