Looking forward to a “sweet” week of learning!

 

This week - /o/ as in otter

Be sure to check your child's progress on the Read Well Assessment Check sheet located in the take-home folder. Please make sure you’re reading over the homework stories every night. Also keep up with the Word Wall calendar and review those words each night. If your child is able to read the words with ease, then they should practice spelling them correctly.

Word wall words for this week: not do well they before

We will continue Chapter 19 this week. This chapter includes doubles, and doubles plus 1 along with addition of sums to 20. Continue practicing math facts at home, this will become important when the Math Store opens in February. I sent home a note about the store last week. The children will earn Blount Bucks for levels passed on Math Facts in a Flash and other activities, for example, making an A on math tests. {More info on that later.} The children will use their Blount Bucks to shop at the math store once a month. Their bucks can be saved or spent all at once. We have a preview day Thursday for the children to see what they can buy with their bucks.

We will continue the format of DOL sentences on Monday, Wednesday and a grade on Friday. Morning Message on Tuesday and Thursday allows the children to put in practice the skills we’ve been learning and practicing all year. Next week we will learn about verbs.

We will rotate tomorrow to Coach Rader for the next three weeks.

Nancy’s Italian Ice – Monday ~ Money needs to be labeled and cannot be accepted after 8:10.

                            

Valentine’s Party – Tuesday 1:30-2:15. Thank you so much for helping by sending in items for our ice cream party, it’s sure to be a fun time. Please be sure to send in your item by Tuesday morning. The children are VERY excited about this party.

February 21 – Humane Society Speaker will speak with us and kick off our First Grade service project. Details to come home soon.

 February 27 -  Field Trip to Let’s Pretend Hospital. Permission slips will be coming home soon. Due to the limited space at the facility this field trip is only for students, but I promise I will take lots of precious pictures!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend! I want to leave you with these adorable pictures from our fun and exciting 100th Day of School!

Have a great week!
Hugs!

Hip! Hip! Hooray…….Tomorrow is the 100th Day of 1st Grade!

We have been counting since day 1 and have finally made it to 100!

I must say this is probably one of the most anticipated days of the school year! We will be celebrating the 100th way, all day long in Room 123!

Many thanks to everyone who sent in items to help make our celebration fun! (and tasty!)

Take a look at these 100 year old portraits……I only wish I had audio for you to hear the discussions among the children as they were creating their masterpieces.  Just imagine….

Firstie:  “Mrs. Wright, can we put glasses on him?”

Me:  “Sure!”

Firstie’s Friend:  “He doesn’t need glasses when you turn 100 your almost blind.”

Firstie’s Other Friend: “No, that’s not right, your almost blind when your about 50.”

Firstie: “I’m not going to use anything for hair, when your 100 you really don’t have any.”

Firstie’s Friend:  “Yea you do, my Maw Maw gets her hair done all the time and she is past 100. I know cause we have to pick her up every time.”

Oh friends I could go on and on! This is only one of the reasons I love these children and my job.  There is never a dull moment!

Now on to learning…….

Can’t wait to read all of our 100th Day Books!

Our focus letter this week is /l/ as in letter. (Our poem has to do with “Letters in the Laundry.)  Our writing jobs will be about all things February…… love, Abe Lincoln, writing letters.

Word Wall Words ~ let, likes, said, like, ride, wanted, will & who.

At this point in the school year all word wall words should be read without hesitation.  If you have not already now is the time to start practicing spelling sight words.  Also, please make sure your sweet little firstie is reading each night.  They should be taking a minimum of three AR tests each week.  It is their responsibility to let me know when they are ready to take a test.  I am always available to assist any who may need some additional help reading questions and answer choices.  It is also their responsibility to let me know when they need to go to the library.  Sometimes they “forget” until 10 minutes left in the school day and it is too late.  Please help me by encouraging your little one to read their book three times and take an AR test.  If you have any questions I will be glad to answer them. 

We will finish up Chapter 13 tomorrow (if everything goes as planned) and test on Tuesday.  This chapter has included sums to 12 as well as adding 3 numbers.  Please make sure you are using your practice workbook at home and reviewing the day’s lesson that comes home in your child’s take home binder.  At this point in the school year simple addition and subtraction facts should be memorized.  Be sure you are continuing to practice using flash cards each night, especially if your little one still wants to use their fingers.   Math Facts in a Flash seems to be back on track, let me know if you are experiencing any problems at home.

We will begin Chapter 18 on Wednesday.  This chapter includes doubles, and doubles plus 1 along with addition of sums to 20.  As you can tell we are moving right along that is why I want the children to have a solid foundation of their simple addition and subtraction facts.

No new rule this week. The children really seem to enjoy our new format of DOL.  On Monday and Wednesday we continue our DOL as we have all year.  On Tuesday and Thursday we complete a morning message together.  It is like a letter that I am writing to the children and they complete parts of it.  The message always has to do with what we are learning in school.  After they complete the message they illustrate part of it.  This week we will begin doing these in our Morning Message notebooks, so they will remain at school.  The children will bring them home monthly to share with you.  On Friday we will continue to have DOL taken as a grade.  The sentences will come from Monday and Wednesday.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Nancy's Italian Ice is Monday for $1.00.

PTA is this Tuesday at 6:00. Come attend the "Around the World" at Blount.

In Friday's folder yearbook information went home. Please be sure and label any money you send in.

Information about our “lovely” Valentine Party will be coming home this week along with a list of all the “Sweeties” in our class.

Have a wonderful week!

Hugs!!

New Beginnings!

The 3rd nine weeks started today. That means: new grades, new reading log, new behavior log (everyone starts back with a 100 for conduct) YAY!! I like new beginnings!

Next week the library will be closed for most of the day while classes are given the DIBELS test. It will open in the afternoon after the day’s testing is complete. So don’t be alarmed if new library books aren’t being brought home. I’ll let the children go as soon as it is open each day.  I have also told the children they may borrow books from our classroom library this week to take home. The dates for DIBELS is Jan. 23th -27th. The schedule is as follows:

Jan. 23 - 1st grade

Jan. 24 - Kindergarten

Jan. 25- 2nd grade

Jan. 26- 3rd grade

I am on the testing team and will be out of the classroom Tuesday until testing is complete.  The children will stay with the other first grade teachers who they are very familiar with.  I will pick up my class as soon as testing is complete.

First graders will be assessed in Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) this testing period. They will read three unfamiliar passages for one minute. The total number of words read, minus errors determines their words read per minute. Highest and lowest scores are tossed, the middle score will be their ORF. These results will be sent to you when we get the report.

Our sound for next week will be /e/ as in engine and Ed. We will be learning about elephant facts and their habitats.

Word wall words for the week are: make, when, red, do, take, into, ten, went

We will be learning Rule 13, adjectives. We will learn that adjectives describe nouns. They are words that tell the size, shape, color, how it feels, smells, tastes…well you get the picture. I love this rule because it will help the children’s writing become much more interesting with the use of these words.

We are going to continue our DOL as we have in the past this week.  However next week we will change up the format a little. The children will copy the DOL as usual on Monday and Wednesday and on Tuesday and Thursday we will complete a Morning Message together.  On Friday the children will still be required to copy their DOL from Monday and Wednesday and turn it in for a daily grade.  This will all begin next week.

We will finish Chapter 8 tomorrow and most likely test on it on Wednesday. Just remember to look for the review/extra practice page to come home the night before the test. We’ll start on Chapter 13 Thursday, so math homework will be from  Chapter 13. As usual the Chapter Review sheet will come home the night before the test. Please, please continue to practice Math Facts in a Flash at home, so they’ll be ready to test at school.

January 23 – Nancy’s Italian Ice. (labeled please)

January 27 – Box Tops

February 2 – Group Pictures

February 7 - PTA @ 6:00

Let me know if you have questions or concerns.

Have a Happy Week!

Hugs to all my sweet firsties!!

Super Special Snowchildren!

End of the First Semester!

Wow, it’s hard to believe that the first semester is coming to an end this Friday! That means 18 more weeks of first grade. We have a lot more to learn to get ready for second grade!

New sound for the week is /wh/ as in whale. We’ll be reading, learning, and writing about whales this week.

Word wall words are: what and we

Also please make sure your child is reading each night.  I would like to see everyone taking at least 3 AR tests a week.  Let me know if you have any questions.

We will continue to review pronouns again this week, along with ALL the rules covered up until now. I always encourage and remind the children to apply these rules in their writing throughout the day. Capital letters at the beginning of the sentence, and all special names and places and punctuation marks at the end of sentences.

We will also cover Rule 15, contractions and practice with a game during literacy center.

We will begin Chapter 8 in math, subtraction facts, so you can help your child with that chapter in their math practice workbook at home. We are still using the Neo’s for math facts in a flash practice. Be sure to practice at home so that when they get to school they are ready to take the test. My goal is for everyone to take at least 1 math facts test everyday.

 

Have a great week! Hugs!

Happy New Year!

We had an amazing time in room 123 last week.  I was too excited to see all my sweet firsties on Wednesday morning. From the stories, drawings, talks, and such I think it is safe to say everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Well we are back in the saddle again and moving quite quickly.  We will complete the 2nd nine week grading period a week from Friday.  Be sure you are using your STI at home information to stay up on your child’s grades.  If you still do not have your username you can stop by the front office and they will give it to you.

Many, many thanks to all of you who sent in new supplies for your sweet little one to use.  New crayons, glue sticks, pencils, wet wipes, etc.  If you have not done so, please feel free to send those in as soon as you get a chance.

Did you get to read your child’s Writing Portfolio they brought home last week?  I hope you sat down with him/her and listened to them tell you all about it.  They were beside themselves when I told them they could take them home…….forever!  We started our 2nd semester Writing Portfolios, I would keep it in a safe place so when you get the next one you can see the growth and difference.  You will be amazed at what your little one has learned in first grade!

Read Well Unit 17, /ar/ as in Artic Animals

We will spend this week studying animals that live in the artic.  We will focus on three:  walrus, polar bear, and the penguin.

New Word Wall Words:  are & ask   We will have a comprehensive word wall test toward the end of the week.  The children should be able to read all word wall words introduced this year by sight.  No sounding out.

We will also be creating some Mental Images this week in our poetry journals.  It will be fun to see the different images that the children create based on their prior knowledge.

             

We will continue to work in Chapter 12 number patterns.  We will probably complete Chapter 12 on Wednesday or Thursday.  Watch for the practice page to come home.  We will test the following day.  Then we will move on to Chapter 8 Subtraction Practice.

In Language we will introduce two new rules, numbers 11 &15 on their DOL Language Rules sheet located in your child’s binder. 

Rule 11 – Some words take the place of names. (pronouns)

Rule 15 – A contraction is a short way to write two words.

We will be using these rules in our centers and our DOL throughout the week.  It is a very good idea to go over your child’s DOL each night AND the dictation of sounds and words that is located on the same page.

Tomorrow, Monday is Nancy’s Ice Day.  Send 1.00 if your child would like to order ice. PLEASE  LABEL ALL MONEY SEPERATELY!!!!!

Book orders came home Friday. Return money by Wednesday if interested. If you order on-line our code is GQY4J.

No school on Monday, January 16 in honor of the birthdays of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert E. Lee .

We are doing super in Room 123.  Thank you for sharing your most precious little one with me! I love coming to school each day and seeing their most precious faces and teaching them all I can.  I hope you and your family have a wonderful 2012 and that it is filled with love, learning, and time together as a family.

2012 Hugs!!

Merry Christmas!!

                                

I hope everyone is having a wonderful break! We have been busy baking, wrapping, looking at Christmas lights and seeing friends we don’t get to see often enough.  Speaking of friends, I hope you enjoy these pictures of our fun December in Room 123.  Sorry I haven’t posted these earlier.  I miss my sweet firsties and can only imagine their excitement as Christmas Day is very close!!  I can’t wait to hear all the details from each little first grade friend!

December was certainly a wonderful time in our classroom! I am so blessed to get to spend each day with these precious children! I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful 2012!

Christmas Hugs to all my sweet friends!!