Friday, January 11, 2013

Dear Families,

We are off to a great start as we made it through our first week of 2013 with only two days of rain and no absences. Believe it or not, we have even already had 4 teeth lost in 2013, with one of those teeth being pulled during class today!

Reading Workshop:

To begin our unit on inference, we will practice inferring with objects and books.  We will be using clues from the pictures, on the cover, and reading the words in the story to draw conclusions about the story.  Look for our inferring activity in the hallways throughout the week!

We are also reading and studying Historical Fiction, which will include stories such as Apples to Oregon as this is a fiction story with real historical details.

Writer’s Workshop:

In Writer’s Workshop we will continue learning about Small Moments.  We will be reading mentor texts such as Ezra Jack Keat’s The Snowy Day and discussing how authors take a small piece of time and write about it in detail.  We will focus on writing stories from our own experiences.  The students look forward to publishing and sharing their work in the Author’s Chair.

Math:

Geometry is our next topic of study.  We will focus on 2D shapes through manipulating shapes, draw pictures, labeling the parts of each shape, and solving problems involving shapes. We will be discussing the attributes of each shape as a whole group and playing the “Guess that Shape” game.

Social Studies:

In Social Studies we will continue our unit on Citizens Who Shape our Community.  We still have one inventor to research and then we will focus on presidents in our community.  We will learn about the contributions of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  We will make a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the lives of these historical figures.  The children have really enjoyed this unit, and I know they will be excited to find out we are still going to study the famous citizens in our community!

Thank you:

Computer Lab: Mr. Alagar

Parent Reader: Mrs. Rodsari Sayyar

Reminders:

Every Tuesday – Library Day!

Science Fair- Please visit our school website for the sign-up sheet if you want to participate

Monday, January 21^st – Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

Tuesday, February 5^th – First Grade P.E. Program (information in Tues. folders)