September 2-5, 2014

Hi friends!  I hope everyone has had a restful, long weekend!  I love the fact that we are starting off the new year with 2 4 day weeks.  I think it will help, not only the students, but parents and teachers as well, to have an easier transition.

Writing Workshop:
This week in Writing Workshop, we will begin talking about what this time in our classroom should look like and sound like.  We will cover expectations for this time, and discuss the proper way to use our writing tools.  We will also talk about how authors talk about their ideas with other authors before writing a story.  

Reading Workshop:
In Reading Workshop, we will begin to set up expectations for Read to Self time.  This is time that your student will have every day to read quietly to themselves.  We have talked already about 3 different ways to read a book (read the pictures, read the words, or retell the story), so even if they aren't fluent readers yet, they have the knowledge to do this even at home.  We will start out at 10 minute incraments for Read to Self, and by the end of the year, the students will be reading independently for up to 25 minutes!  That sounds like a lot, but they can do it!

Social Studies:
We have already discussed what a community and a citizen are.  This week, we will talk about the difference between rules and laws.  We will talk about why we need rules and laws, and we will also think about positive and negative consequences.  All of this will lead us into learning about the leaders in our school, community, state, and nation.

Math:
This week, we will use Math Racks to help us begin to visualize numbers using groups of 5 and 10 as benchmarks.  We will work on recognizing and building numbers up to 20 using these benchmarks.  We will talk about how using this strategy can be useful and more efficient than counting one by one.

Habit #1:  Be Proactive
I am a responsible person.  I am in charge of myself.  I choose my actions, attitudes, and moods.

Reminders:
*Specials- A Group:  PE on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
               B Group:  PE on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
**Wear tennis shoes for sure on these days!!!!
*Library- Tuesday 11-11:30
*Send orange folders back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

Dates to Remember:
September 8:  Open House 6:30-7:00