Week of May 14 -18

Dear Parents,

We are well into the month of May and we are plenty busy!

                                           

A few reminders for the rest of the month of May:

·         Friday, May 11 is a half session day; students are dismissed at 1:20.

·         K-3 Music concert will be held in the gym at 11:00 on May 14. 

·         Grade 1 and 2 Trip to White Memorial will be on May 15.

·         Grades 4-6 Music concert will be held in the gym at 2:30 on May 22.

·         May Sharing Assembly will be on Thursday, May 24 at 9:15 in the gym.

·         No school May 28 in honor of Memorial Day.

           

Here is a look at next week:

Reading: Students have been enjoying our Fairy Tale discussions!  We have learned what makes a story a Fairy Tale, shared some of our favorites, and even started collected ideas for our own Fairy Tale.  Next week, we will continue to discuss and share Fairy Tales.  We will continue to examine the different elements of Fairy Tales such as “Once upon a time…”, magical powers, good vs. evil, and characters in threes and tie in reading strategies and concepts as much as possible for practice.  We have been exploring several books and websites to help us learn about Fairy Tales and to listen to ones we’ve never heard before!

Word Work/Handwriting: Our Buddy Study has been going very well!  Students are beginning to participate in the routines independently.  Students have created their own spelling lists and are learning their words through a variety of activities.  Students also have been bringing home their list of words to share and practice at home.  This week all of our words have the “bossy ‘r’” or an “r-controlled” vowel.  For example, ‘for’, ‘arm’, ‘art’, ‘farm’, ‘born’, and ‘torn’ are just a few of the words that students were able to choose from and practice.  Next week, we will begin our week by testing our knowledge of the first set of words and then moving into our third list.  For the third list, students will be learning words that have consonants with two sounds or “blends”.  First we will learn about words with consonant blends and then create a list of words together as a group which students can choose their spelling words from.  Gaining independence through this learning process is highly desired. 

Writing:  We have started our new writing unit and students are thrilled to collaborate with one another during this time.  We have reviewed and discussed the theme of our new unit; non-fiction science writing, as well as some science topic to explore.  Students have chosen a partner and have generated a “top three” list of ideas that they would like to research.   From each of their “top three” list, one topic was selected for each group to research.  This will ensure a variety of topics among the groups.  Students have also started thinking about the type of technology tool that they would like to use for their final project displays.  Next week, students will begin researching their topics with the use of the classroom and library tools. 

Math: Students have been doing a wonderful job adding and subtracting larger numbers!  Students are using the tools and manipulative that work for them, such as number lines, 100 charts, and connecting cubes.  Next week, we will begin our last math unit; Unit 9 3-D Shapes.  Students will begin by describing and comparing 2-D and 3-D shapes.  We will explore 3-D vocabulary and attributes and compare shapes, sizes, and orientations of objects.  We will also identify the characteristics of 3-D shapes by touch.  This will be a very fun and hands-on unit that students will really enjoy!  

Social Studies:  In the beginning of the week, we will transition to science as we get ready for our field trip to White Memorial!  Students will make predictions and reflections based on the field trip and what they learn!  Later in the week, as we explore careers during this time, we will have a few guests come in to speak with the classes about their careers!  Students will be able to generate questions for the guests beforehand and will learn about each career, what skills are needed, and how they help the community. 

Have a wonderful week!

~Your first grade teachers: Miss Field and Mrs. McIntire