Dear families,
Hello! We just completed our 3rd week of school! The children are doing such a wonderful job of learning our classroom schedule and expectations, and have been making good choices daily. Each day is a new adventure that brings new learning and even new jokes. One of my favorite jokes this week is, "What did the math book say to the other math book? 'I have lots of problems!'" Hah! Next week is another exciting week and in all the first grade classrooms we will learn…..
Math:
We will finish up our unit on place value with building sets of 10’s and 1’s using manipulatives. We will also look at sets and determine the value. There are several games we will play to reinforce arranging numbers from least to greatest and comparing numbers more and less than. An assessment will be given at the end of the week to make sure your child understands this unit. Place value is a concept we will continue to reinforce and practice throughout the year. We will also continue our CGI problem solving and move more into sharing and comparing our answers with our classmates. We will begin making our “Math Strategies” chart that will be used every day in our classroom.
Writing Workshop:
This week we will focus on the concept of translating sounds into print. Some words in our writing we already know because we use them a lot (like the kindergarten word wall words). For unknown spelling words, we will learn how to stretch out the words, listening carefully to the sounds and writing the sounds as we hear them. This helps your child to quickly get their ideas down on paper so they can move on and not get caught up on the spelling of one or more words. We will also discuss how to use our writing tools like the first grade word wall list and our personal alphabet charts.
It has been delightful to watch my students sit in the Author’s Chair and proudly read and show their completed writing assignments!
Reading Workshop:
This week we will learn that strong readers can read the pictures as well as words. When we read the words, we follow along with our fingers, slow down and think about what we are reading. We will also learn the value in revisiting familiar books, books that we enjoyed before, but still can go back and re-read it. Each time we re-read a book, we will notice new details, and surprises. We will also learn to use our voices in different ways, such as sad, excited or creepy to learn to read with expression. We will revisit and enjoy a variety of great children’s authors such as Cynthia Rylant, Mo Willems, and Tomie DePaola.
Science/Social Studies :
The kids enjoyed being scientists this week by conducting our first experiment of the year – rainbow milk! We also practiced using our 5 senses to observe the properties of matter. Next week we will be celebrating our freedom in social studies by learning the meaning of the word “symbol”, as well as lots of important facts and history that go along with our nation. This unit is packed full of national symbols and learning. You will want to visit our hallway toward the end of the week and next week to see all the children's art work and writings displayed to celebrate Freedom Week in first grade!
Thank you!!
Thank you to our helpers! We LOVE you!
Abigail's mom, Evelyn's mom, David's mom and dad, Gray's mom, Katie's mom, Anna's mom, and Pranay's mom have all contributed this year in various ways. There may be more that I have missed (as I am in a hotel room in Lubbock... Wreck 'em Tech!!)
Reminders:
9/19 Early Release Day
9/25-12 Donuts with Dads for WATCH D.O.G.S. at 7:45 in Caraway Cafeteria
9/24-9/28 Education Go Get It Week
Monday: “Give a Hoot/College Bound” Students and teachers wear Kathy Caraway t-shirts.
Tuesday: “Dress for Success” Students dress up in career outfits or as if they are going for an interview.
Wednesday: “Step up for Education” Students and teachers wear sneakers or tennis shoes.
Thursday: “Hats off to College” Students and teachers wear favorite collegiate hat.
Friday: “Show Your College Spirit” Students and teachers wear their favorite collegiate t-shirt.
The students may bring a water bottle to class.
T/Th PE days, tennis shoes please
Tuesday: Library Day
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