For the week of 10/30/2017

What We’re Learning This Week:

Reading:  This week we will be reading a fiction story called “It’s Moving Day.”  We will focus on asking and answering questions about the key details in this text. We will also compare the book to “Animals Building Homes” and identify similarities and differences between two texts on the same topic.  

Your child will continue to come home with a guided reading book to read in their “book in a bag.”  Please remember to practice reading your child’s book-in-a-bag  with them.  Ask them comprehension questions, such as, “Who are the characters?” and “Tell me what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of this story.”  If we work on certain comprehension activities, you will find these activities in the folder that is in your child’s book in a bag.  **As a reminder, it depends on the schedule when I meet with guided reading groups each day.  I am not able to meet with every group every day.  If your child brings home the same book, he/she may reread that book, read a different book, or read on raz-kids. 

Writing: Students have begun a new opinion writing unit.  First, they will learn to review a collection and make choices about which item in that collection is the best, writing defenses for those judgments.  Second, the students will learn how to write a review about anything, such as toys, restaurants, video games, movies, etc.  Finally, the students will learn to write about book reviews.  They will summarize, evaluate, judge, and defend their judgments. This week we will continue writing opinions about topics, and we will continue to learn how to support our opinion by writing detailed reasons. I will continue to conference with students and reinforce the application of what we are learning.

 

Grammar: We will continue to review capitals and end marks as we continue editing lessons in writing workshop.  Remember your sentence checker (a sentence must include): capital letters, spaces, brave spelling, makes sense, and end marks!  We will also learn how to use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs.

Word Study/Spelling: 

Read and Write Words: your, can, said, there, use

Short vowel word families will be our focus for this quarter.  Word families share the same vowels/patterns and rhyme.

Feature/Pattern of the week:  Consonant Blends – sp, sk, sm     

Ex: spot, spin, skunk, sky, small, smell 

Math: Our math lessons each day will include computational fluency, fact fluency, and core math instruction focused on the first grade common core math standards. Computational fluency will help the students to use the most effective and efficient strategies.  Fact Fluency is working with both addition and subtraction facts within 10.  Our end-of-the-year goal is to have students complete 22 addition facts in one minute and 22 subtraction facts in one minute.  Our core lessons will include hands-on math activities and games that support the common core.   We will continue to work on fractions- halves and fourths.  We will also work on story problems and building numbers focusing on part-part-whole.

2nd grading period Science and Social Studies:
Science: Habitats
Social Studies: Economics – we will learn about needs and wants.

Homework: Continue working on homework log for the month. We will send home a new homework log for November next week. Thank you for your home support!

Extras:

-Please make sure you are sending your child with a peanut-free snack!

-Report cards were sent home on October 27^th .  Please keep the report card and return the signed envelope. 

- No school for students on Tuesday, November, 7.  It is professional development day for teachers.