Week of October 17-21

Dear Parents,                                                                                   

            We had another wonderful week of school!  All students are getting used to classroom routines and are eager to learn.  We began our unit of Shadows  in science and were able to draw some great diagrams of the different shadows as the sun moves throughout the day.  We are eager to share with you what we have learned! 

Below is a look at the week ahead:

Reading:  We are continuing to work in our reading groups and centers.  Each student is beginning to work in centers independently and is able to complete the tasks at hand.  We will continue to work on being flexible and use more than one reading strategy when reading.   We will also move into monitoring as we read - looking through the “challenging” word/s and looking at the pictures and thinking about what makes sense.  We will begin talking about reading fluently, touch upon what being “fluent” means, and model being a fluent reader. 

Word Work/Handwriting:  We will begin the “Handwriting Without Tears” program.  We will be talking about what good writers look like including posture, position of paper when writing, and pencil grip.  By the end of next week we will begin formation of numbers, complete fun formation activities, and sing some songs to help us remember where we start our letters and numbers.

Writing:  Students have been working very hard on personalizing their writing folders and materials as well as understanding and demonstrating what good writers do.  Next week we will create a list of topics to write about; learn how to appropriately choose paper that will help us write, practice writing our names, and review how to write the date. 

Math:  Students have enjoyed the start of our Geometry unit as they have been making designs with pattern blocks, completing pattern block fill-ins, and playing games that reinforce the main characteristics of each shape.  Students will begin learning new ways to use pattern blocks to create more detailed designs, begin making their own shape posters, and begin describing triangles and quadrilaterals.

Science:  We have been working very hard creating diagrams and experimenting with flashlights to see how the sun moves throughout the day and the different shadows that are created.  Next week we will use what we know about the sun and shadows to begin talking about the changes between day and night.  We will briefly talk about the differences between day and night along with the sun’s position.  A video from Discovery Education will be used to help introduce the topic. 

Reminder: Due to conferences next week, we will have half-session days Wednesday, October 19, through Friday, October 21.  We look forward to seeing all of you next week!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

~ Your First Grade Teachers: Miss. Field and Mrs. McIntire J