Weeks of October 24th & 31st

 Dear First Grade Families,

Sorry I missed last week's update; it's been a busy couple of weeks! I cannot believe that it's already November.  October is always a month full of excitement for first graders as they get ready for Halloween.  There has been a lot of extra energy and we've had a lot of talks about first time listening and transitioning from one activity to the next.  We have been practicing our quiet signal (ringing the bell or chime) and putting a hand up in the air.  We are working on following multi-step directions and being able to work independently in centers.  We are now doing centers for math, reading, and "power block."  It's a lot to remember, but I know they can do it! It is a great time for students to practice skills and for me to work with students 1:1 or in small groups.  

This week in Fundations..

-We have been practicing digraphs - ch, sh, th, wh, and ck.  Digraphs are when two consonants are next to each other and make a new sound.  For example, "sh" like ship.  We have been reading and spelling words with digraphs.  This week we learned the "rule" for when to use "ck."  We learned that ck is at the end of a word, not at the beginning.  It follows a short vowel in a one-syllable word.  Some words we practiced reading and writing are:  lock, duck, chick, and sock.  When we read words, we "tap them out" with our "elbows up."  Ask your child to tap out the word "sock."  It gets three taps /s/ /o/ /k/ (ck is one sound!)

-We have been continuing our phonemic awareness lessons.  Students are working on listening to three words and repeating the two words that rhyme or the one word that does not rhyme.  We are also listening to words and determining the beginning/ending sounds.  We are also blending sounds to make words.  All of this work supports students reading and writing! 

This week in Math...

-We have continued addition and subtraction strategies.  We practiced solving "number stories" using pictures, words, and number sentences.

-We also learned about "part-part-total."  This will support "missing addends" (i.e., 1+__=8) and "missing subtrahends" (__-2=10).

This week in Science..

-We learned about nocturnal animals.  We learned that some animals sleep during the day and are awake at night.  They are called "nocturnal animals."  Animals that are awake during the day and sleep at night are "diurnal."

Next week is a short week...

-We have early release on Wednesday, November 9th.

-No school for students on Thursday, November 10th. 

-No school for students and teachers on Friday, November 11th (Veterans Day).

Your student brought home a "Honor a Veteran" paper in their red folder.  If you have a Veteran in your life, feel free to send it back in.  It will be displayed on a bulletin board in the hallway by the cafeteria.

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks in no particular order. Enjoy!