What We’re Learning Week of December 2nd :

Week of November 25th: 

***Due to the short week, there will be no new blog information posted the week of Nov. 25th.  We will read fiction and nonfiction Thanksgiving books and compare fiction and nonfiction books.  We will also review skills.  Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

What We’re Learning Week of December 2^nd :

Reading:  We will be reading a fiction story called “Jan’s New Home”.   We will focus on retelling the story including key details.  We will also focus on tracking a character’s feelings throughout the story.  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.”  **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: We will continue our writing unit on opinion writing. Students have learned how to write an opinion piece in which they introduce the topic or name of a book, state an opinion, supply detailed reasons for the opinion and provide a sense of closure. We have learned how to write a catchy introduction to state our opinion. We have also learned how to write good detailed reasons to defend our opinions. Finally, we have learned how to write a conclusion. We will continue to edit our writing to check for capital letters, punctuation, and spelling. I will also continue to conference with students and reinforce the application of what we are learning.

Word Study/Spelling:

-Letter Name- Consonants Blends: pl, sl, bl, fl (plan, slip, blue, flap)

-Read and Write Words: his, she, they

-Grammar: Personal and possessive pronouns continued

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 15 addition facts in one minute and 15 subtraction facts in one minute.  Our core lessons will include hands-on math activities and games that support the common core.   We will be continuing to work on identifying 2 and 3 digit numbers and number sequencing, starting at any number less than 120.  We will also introduce surveys and concept of collecting data.

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. Thank you for your continued home support!

Extras:

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

-Thanksgiving break: November 27^th – December 2^nd (back on the 3rd!)

- Holiday Shop- December 10th 

-Winter/Holiday Celebration- December 20th

- End of 2^nd grading period- December 20^th

-Winter Break from December 23^rd – January 5^th (back on the 6^th!)

What We’re Learning This Week: Week of November 18th

Reading:  We will be reading “Diary of a Worm” and other diary books to identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.  We will also ask and answer questions about key details in a text. 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.” **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. Thank you!

Writing: We will continue our opinion writing unit.  The students will learn how to write a review about anything, such as toys, restaurants, video games, movies, etc.  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.

Word Study/Spelling: 

-Letter Name- Consonants Blends: sc, sn, sw (scab, scan, snug, snap, swim, swam)

-Read and Write Words: down, into, looking

-Grammar: Personal and possessive pronouns  

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 15 addition facts in one minute and 15 subtraction facts in one minute.  Our core lessons will include hands-on math activities and games that support the common core.   We will be continuing to work on if both sides of a number sentence/equation are equal and how we can prove it.  We will also be working on identifying 2 and 3 digit numbers and number sequencing, starting at any number less than 120. 

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

Homework: Continue working on homework log for the month. Thank you for your continued home support!

Extras:

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

-Thanksgiving break: November 27^th – December 2^nd(back on the 3rd!)

-Winter/Holiday Celebration- December 20th

- End of 2^ndgrading period- December 20^th

-Winter Break from December 23^rd– January 5^th(back on the 6^th!)

Pajama and Stuffed Animal Day

What We’re Learning This Week: Week of November 11th

Reading: “Life in the Forest” (Non-Fiction Text)

We will focus on asking and answering questions about key details in a text.  We will also discuss why an author writes details to give information in a non-fiction text. We’ll also be continuing guided reading and center activities. Please continue to read and monitor the book-in-a bag coming home nightly.  As always, we’ll be reading poetry weekly for fluency and expression practice. 

Writing: Students will continue to learn how to write an opinion piece in which they introduce the topic or name of a book, state an opinion, supply detailed reasons for the opinion and provide a sense of closure. This week we will focus on writing good resasons and a conclusion for our opinion piece.  I will also continue to conference with students and reinforce the application of what we are learning.

Word Study/Spelling:

Letter Name: sp, sk, sm

(spun, skip, small)

Read and Write Words:   said, not, you, that

Phonics- Consonant Clusters and inflicted “ed” ending 

Grammar: singular and plural nouns with matching verbs.

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, and our goal is to have students complete 15 addition facts in one minute and 15 subtraction facts in one minute by the end of the year. Our core lessons will include hands-on math activities and games that support the common

core. We will continue to focus on place value by building and writing numbers.  We will also focus on story problems.  We will discuss part-part-whole as well as start-change-result and write expressions to represent story problems.

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

 Extras:

-Please continue to send in a nut free snack each day.

- Wednesday, Nov. 13- Donut Day- please return the RSVP slip if a special person plans on attending with your child.  If you need another form, let me know.

Happy Halloween!