Good evening to all of my 1st grade families! I apologize for not updating this much sooner, however I have had many technical issues. All remedied now, let's get down to business. . .
I will post weekly to keep you updated on events, spelling words, lessons we are presently covering, etc. This is an easy way for parents to check in if it is difficult for them to talk to students nightly, or call the teacher, or as opposed to keeping up with letters that are sent home in folders. As always though, please contact me with any questions or concerns regarding your child or the events of our classroom.
This is information for the week of October 24th-28th.
Spelling: home, hope, rose, woke, those, bone, hose, joke, rode, stone, all of which have a silent "e" at the end and a long "o" in the middle. It is great to always remind your child of this rule and ask if they can come up with other words that may follow this rule. There are two bonus words, there and together. We work with spelling words daily at school, please practice at home as well. One such way is to ask students to use the words in sentences, or to look their meanings up in a dictionary.
Reading: All students are on different reading stories depending on their levels. It is still imperative to study difficult words from their stories nightly, as well as read the story at lease twice. Allow the child to place post-it notes in various places around the house with the word/words they are having trouble with on the notes. The more they see the word, the sooner they will remember how to pronounce the word.
Each student has a Reading Homework Folder with either the Dolch word list, or short stories to practice word recognition and fluency. I cannot express how important this folder is to study. It has really helped so many children become better readers in the past. They also receive a treat when they can pass any section with me or my assistant at school.
I normally give a weekly Reading test on Friday of each week. This does not determine how well they are reading, but instead how well they comprehend the story that I cover with them as a whole class. This has gone very well so far. It will become even more important in the future for them to understand the sequence, setting, characters, main idea, and all of the other story elements. Along with this, they must understand word meanings. Encourage children to use a dictionary to look up words they may come upon that they do not understand. Be creative in helping your child learn new words, read fluently, and to enjoy reading. And it is still ok to read to your child. . . I enjoy when other people read interesting stories out loud also.Smile
Math: With math we just continue practice of everything they have learned up to this point, adding new material slowly. When kids do not practice math, they tend to forget the correct ways in which to do math. The following are things to always practice, and it is great when you can make it real-world and fun for them.
Time to the hour and half hour, 3-D and plane shapes (sphere/circle), addition, counting to 120 by 1s, 5s, and 10s, writing to 120, and knowing place value of one's and ten's place.
Writing: I have some students who have trouble writing neatly. If you are a parent of a student who does not write legibly, please work on this at home also. I never mind sending practice sheets home if you request them. Or you may have a child who is still struggling to put a complete sentence together (at this point I am wanting it to make sense, have a complete subject and predicate, and contain a noun and verb, capital letter at the beginning and punctuation at the end; ex. The dog ran down the hill.). Write a short story at home with your child and then they can share it with the class. There are many fun ways to practice at home.
Please do not feel that I expect you to do all of the things I have mentioned. I basically just wanted each parent to have some examples or ideas of ways they may help their child at home in each of the different areas.
Wednesday is our Pumpkin Patch field trip. If it should rain, we will reschedule for Monday or Tuesday of next week. We will leave school at noon on Wednesday, returning around 2:30. Please wear long pants, tennis shoes or boots, warm coat, hood and gloves. I do not thing it is suppose to be very warm, so let's be prepared.
Friday is our scheduled Halloween party. It will begin with a sing-a-long in the room at 1:30. Our class had the opportunity to vote on either a sing-a-long or to perform a play. . . they chose the sing-a-long. I honestly feel they chose the sing-a-long so they could all act the songs out together as opposed to speaking alone, and they wanted to wear their "own" costumes. Children should bring their costumes that day and change here at school. They really have enjoyed practicing, and that's what matters. I know we will enjoy Friday. All family is welcome to attend, we plan to have face painting, snacks and drinks, dancing, and more fun.
The trip to the zoo is on Friday, November 4th. We will leave that morning at 8:30, and return that afternoon prior to bus call. Please turn in all permission slips and money if you have not already. If you plan to attend the zoo with your child, you must have cash and pay at the same time we turn our money in to the zoo upon arrival to receive the discount. Adults pay the same as children, $11. It could also be cold that day, so please pat attention to the weather forecast and dress appropriately. I would appreciate a quick note or email telling me if you plan to attend with your child or not.
I think that about covers the important information I have. Thank you for your patience and support with your child. Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Ware
