October 2-6, 2017

Today was the first day of our Caraway Academies, and we all had so much fun!  We will be doing Academies every Friday morning (7:55-8:55) for the next 7 weeks.  Please talk with your child about what they did in their Academy.  Trust me, they are excited to share!

Conferences are coming up soon!  I sent out a google doc with a sign-up sheet last week.  Many of you have already signed up.  Thank you!  If you have not signed up yet, please make sure to check out the times available so we can meet to discuss your kiddo!

Here is the link to the sign-up sheet.  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mzf3FItc4h6iogh1-Adsuk54BRiNMDpaXMDtSRvzl1o/edit

1^st Grade T-Shirts:  This year, we will be ordering grade level t-shirts for everyone to wear on special days (field trips, field day).  The order form along with your payment needs to be returned to school by this Friday, October 6.  Sorry for the late notice, but we have been waiting for confirmation from the district to place the order.  I will attach the order form in email, and I will send a hard copy home in the Tuesday folder.

Picture Day:  School pictures will be taken on Wednesday, October 11.

Reminders: 

Monday (9/25):  Daily folders come home.  Remember to send them back every day! Homework bags will come home.

Tuesday (9/26): Tuesday folders will come home

Wednesday (9/27): Library Lesson ONLY. No Check out.

Thursday (9/28):

Friday (9/29):  Caraway Academies- 7:55 am.  Homework bag due back!

This week in Writing Workshop...

We will continue working on our small moment stories.  We will discuss how writers narrow their topic down to make our stories more interesting.  We will continue to think about how we can organize our stories so that it makes sense to the reader by using a beginning, middle and end.  Students will begin using capitalization at the beginning of a sentence and when using the pronoun 'I'.  Students will also begin to recognize when they should use end punctuation.  In science and social studies, we will record facts and observations in our various notebooks. On Friday, we will reflect on our time in our Academy and then write about it.

This week in Math...

We will continue learning how to solve addition problems using the count on strategy.  We will apply the count on strategy in problem solving situations.  We will work with many different math tools to help us, such as a number track, a hundred chart, manipulatives and pictures. The students will create their own math story problem!

You can help your child at home by having them practice counting on and counting backward from a given number.  Practice skip counting by 2's.  Let your child use household objects to build numbers up to 20.  A very important part of math in 1st Grade is learning to justify how a problem is solved.  Ask them to explain how they got to their answer and how they know it is correct.

This week in Reading Workshop...

We will continue thinking about different elements of fiction.  We will discuss the plot, setting and characters in a fiction story.  The students will learn that making connections to themselves, other texts, and events in the world around them can help them to understand the story better.  We will continue to respond orally during partner reading, and will continue to build stamina during independent reading time.  We will be meeting in small groups to discuss various reading strategies to increase accuracy, comprehension and fluency.

You can help your child at home by having them read to you or to themselves for 10-15 minutes per night and by reading to them.  This can be a very rewarding part of yours and your child's day.  Ask them to recall events from the story and to talk about the characters' feelings and actions.  Work on the 1st Grade sight word list.  You can find this list in the daily folder.  

This week in Social Studies...

 We will finish up our unit about Texas!  We will read legends and other fiction books to help us learn about the different state symbols, such as the Bluebonnet, state flag, state pledge, Mockingbird and the Alamo.  We have all really been enjoying the fun fiction books that are about Texas.  We are having fun and learning about the Texas symbols at the same time!

This week in Science...

We will finish up our unit about Changes from Heat. We will reflect on the changes that we witnessed in our experiments.  We will observe chocolate as heat is applied, and then we will record our observations in our science notebook.  The students will continue to think like a scientist by asking questions, making predictions, and conducting age appropriate experiments in the classroom.  

We will also do a growth mind-set lesson.  In this lesson the students will recognize that even though we might not all be awesome at something, if we put forth effort and keep trying, we will get there!

Technology…

The students are really loving the technology time we are getting in the classroom.  I do have a request though!  If every student could bring in a set of headphones to keep in the classroom, it would help out so much. It gets pretty loud when we all have the sound on.  Please make sure the headphones are not the small ear buds.  They do not properly fit in the kiddos’ ears and they fall out frequently causing a lot of frustration for the kiddo.  Please send the headphones to school with your child by next Monday (Oct. 9).  Thank you so much!  

This week’s Life Skill is Perseverance! We will think about all of the things we can accomplish if we just keep trying and never give up.  Our Tribe Circle will focus on how we have used perseverance throughout the week!

That's all for now! Have a great week!

Dates to Remember:

Oct 4th- International Bike and Walk to school Day

Oct 9th- No school for students -Parent Teacher conferences

Oct 10th- No school for students

Oct 19th- International Night

Oct 20th- Skate Night @ 6 pm

Oct 23-27^th- Red Ribbon Week

Nov 20-24^th- Thanksgiving Holiday

Dec. 15^th- Field Trip to the Thinkery (more info to come later!)

Dec 21^st- Last day of classes

Dec 22-Jan 8^th- Winter break

Jan 9^th- Students return to School

September 25-29, 2017

Thank you to everyone that let their child bring coins to school to contribute to our Coins for Classroom drive.  We collected over $1,000 to help teachers and students affected by Hurricane Harvey!  That is awesome!

Reminders: 

Monday (9/25):  Daily folders come home.  Remember to send them back every day!

Tuesday (9/26): Tuesday folders will come home

Wednesday (9/27): Library Check out

Thursday (9/28):

Friday (9/29):  Have a fun, safe weekend!

This week in Writing Workshop...

We will begin learning how to write a small moment story.  A small moment story is a tiny part of an experience that is written in detail.  We will discuss how writers narrow their topic down to make our stories more interesting.  We will continue to think about how we can organize our stories so that it makes sense to the reader by using a beginning, middle and end.  Students will begin using capitalization at the beginning of a sentence and when using the pronoun 'I'.  Students will also begin to recognize when they should use end punctuation.  In science and social studies, we will record facts and observations in our various notebooks.

This week in Math...

We will begin learning how to solve addition problems using the count on strategy.  The count on strategy involves counting on 1, 2, or 3 from a given number.  We will use different tools to help us count on, such as a number track, various counters, and dimes and pennies.  We will apply the count on strategy in problem solving situations.  In this unit, we will also use the commutative property.  For example, if 3+4=7, then 4+3=7 as well.

You can help your child at home by having them practice counting on and counting backward from a given number.  Practice skip counting by 2's.  Let your child use household objects to build numbers up to 20.  A very important part of math in 1st Grade is learning to justify how a problem is solved.  Ask them to explain how they got to their answer and how they know it is correct.

This week in Reading Workshop...

We will begin thinking about different elements of fiction.  We will think about what makes a story fiction.  We will discuss the plot, setting and characters in a fiction story.  The students will learn how to retell a story, and learn that making connections to themselves, other texts, and events in the world around them can help them to understand the story better.  We will continue to respond orally during partner reading, and will continue to build stamina during independent reading time.  We will be meeting in small groups to discuss various reading strategies to increase accuracy, comprehension and fluency.

You can help your child at home by having them read to you or to themselves for 10-15 minutes per night and by reading to them.  This can be a very rewarding part of yours and your child's day.  Ask them to recall events from the story and to talk about the characters' feelings and actions.  Work on the 1st Grade sight word list.  You can find this list in the daily folder.  

This week in Social Studies...

 We will be learning about our great state of Texas!  We will read legends and other fiction books to help us learn about the different state symbols, such as the Bluebonnet, state flag, state pledge, Mockingbird and the Alamo.  This is one of my favorite units, as I get to apply my strong Texas accent when reading!  So much fun!

This week in Science...

We will continue to learn about Changes from Heat. We will focus on the question, What happens to different materials when they are heated?  We will observe ice as heat is applied, and then we will record our observations in our science notebook.  The students will continue to think like a scientist by asking questions, making predictions, and conducting age appropriate experiments in the classroom.  

Technology…

This past Thursday, we had our first turn with the ipads!  The kids loved it!  We explored an app called Sock Puppets.  In this app, the students got to choose their sock puppet, create their background, and even record their voice.  It was so cool!  We will use different forms of technology over the course of the year to help us with our learning.  Our class is blessed to have access to an interactive white board.  The students will get to use this tool in all subject areas.  

This week’s Life Skill is Common Sense! We will think about how we can use good judgment throughout each day.  We will discuss different scenarios and talk about how we would apply common sense when making choices.  Our Tribe Circle will focus on how we have used common sense throughout the week!

That's all for now! Have a great week!

Dates to Remember:

Oct 4th- International Bike and Walk to school Day

Oct 9th- No school for students -Parent Teacher conferences

Oct 10th- No school for students

Oct 19th- International Night

Oct 20th- Skate Night @ 6 pm

Oct 23-27^th- Red Ribbon Week

Nov 20-24^th- Thanksgiving Holiday

Dec. 15^th- Field Trip to the Thinkery (more info to come later!)

Dec 21^st- Last day of classes

Dec 22-Jan 8^th- Winter break

Jan 9^th- Students return to School

September 18-22, 2017

Wow! Can you believe last week was our first "full" week of school! It was busy so I'm sure your children were exhausted!  Now that we are fully involved in learning remember your children are working hard at school every day! According to WebMD children 6-7 years old need between 10-11 hours of sleep.  So, if they are waking up at 6:30am bedtime needs to be around 7:30pm. This will help your child be refreshed and ready to learn each day! 

Reminders: 

Monday (9/18): Daily folders started coming home.  Return every morning!

Tuesday (9/19): Tuesday folders will come home

Wednesday (9/20): No Library this week

Thursday (9/21): Riata Round Up @ 5:30pm 

Friday (9/22):

This week in Writing Workshop...

We will begin learning about the writing process.  The process involves planning a story, sketching our ideas, writing words to match.  We already know that a writer's work is never done.  When we think we are done we can go back to reread our story as we add to the words and add to the pictures.  We will begin the discussion on publishing our pieces as well.  It's going to be an exciting week for our young writers.

This week in Math...

We will continue learning about the tens and ones place in a number.  We will also work toward becoming more comfortable with Problem Solving.  We will learn the routines we use as problem solvers so we can become more independent and use the strategies we learn to solve problems. 

We will include practice with comparing and ordering numbers this week as well.  We will wrap up our week with data collection and learning about Picture and Bar Graphs.

This week in Reading Workshop...

We will begin thinking about what readers do as they read.  We will practice getting our minds ready for reading, taking a walk through the pictures and activating our prior knowledge.  All of these strategies will help our young readers comprehend the stories they read and form a deeper love of reading! 

This week in Social Studies...

We will continue our PBL project, Coins for Classrooms.  This is when we will get into the "meat" of the project.  We will discuss the reasons why we help others and how we can help.  We will research and learn about hurricanes, coins and helping others.  We will continue to collect coins in the mornings.  If your child can help please sign them up! If they come to the classroom in the morning I can get them situated at our collection point.  

This week in Science...

We will begin unit 3 in Science this week.  We will learn about Changes from Heat. We will focus on the question, What happens to different materials when they are heated?  We will observe what happens to crayons when they are heated.  We will also observe what happens to drink mix (kool-aid) when we remove heat by putting them in the freezer.  This will be an edible experiment.  Please let me know if you would prefer that your child not eat the homemade Popsicle. 

Technology…

This past Thursday, we had our first turn with the ipads!  The kids loved it!  We explored an app called Sock Puppets.  In this app, the students got to choose their sock puppet, create their background, and even record their voice.  It was so cool!  We will use different forms of technology over the course of the year to help us with our learning.

This week’s Life Skill is Caring! We will think about how we care for others through mutual respect and active listening! Our Tribe Circle will focus on how we have cared for others this week!

That's all for now! Have a great week!

Dates to Remember:

Sept 21^st- Riata Round-Up @ 5:30 pm

Oct 4th- International Bike and Walk to school Day

Oct 9th- No school for students -Parent Teacher conferences

Oct 10th- No school for students

Oct 19th- International Night

Oct 20th- Skate Night @ 6 pm

Oct 23-27^th- Red Ribbon Week

Nov 20-24^th- Thanksgiving Holiday

Dec 21^st- Last day of classes

Dec 22-Jan 8^th- Winter break

Jan 9^th- Students return to School

September 11-20, 2017

This will be our 4th week of First grade! I can hardly believe it!  We've been working so hard on following our 4 agreements and learning to be a cooperative group of students. 

First grade will begin our first Project Based Learning activity. We want to help the people effected by Hurricane Harvey. We are going to hold a Coin Drive.  We will need your help! Please find a time to sign up with your child to collect coins.  Our collections will take place before school starting at 7:15 am. 

I will share a sign-up sheet with you!

Reminders:

Monday 9/11:  

Tuesday 9/12: Tuesday folders will come home. 

Wednesday 9/13:

Thursday 9/14: Library Check-out.  Please remind your child to bring their library books.  We will check out every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month unless it's a holiday.  

Friday 9/15: 

This week in Reading Workshop...

We will learn all about Partner Reading (Read to Someone)! We will practice the right way to partner read.  We will talk about how partners plan when they read together.  We will discuss how partners learn to talk to each other about the books they are reading.  We will think about how partners have to cooperate and find ways to solve their problems when they read together.

This week we will be reading all about Symbols in our Community.  We will learn about symbols such as the American Flag, Liberty Bell and the Statue of Liberty.  We will discuss why these symbols are important to our country and their meanings.

This week in Writing Workshop...

We are building our stamina as writers! This week we will focus on writing in complete sentences so our stories make sense.  We will also discuss strategies to help us spell words we may not know how to spell.  We will think about how writers stretch out sounds and do their best to spell words that are hard! We will even discuss what to do when writers have "hard to draw ideas".  Writing is hard work so we have to take small steps! 

This week in Science...

We will continue to look at objects like scientists do! We will observe objects and describe their properties with our 5 senses.  We will discuss with our groups the properties that are the same and different. 

This week in Math...

We've been building our number sense and exploring teen numbers.  Now we are going to order numbers from greatest to least and least to greatest.  We are also going to compare numbers using words like "less than" and "greater than".  We will add symbols in a later unit.  We will learn how to solve problems like mathematicians in First grade!

The Life Skill of the week is...

Integrity: To act according to a sense of what's right and wrong. 

Have a great week!

Dates to Remember:

Coming Soon!

September 4-8, 2017

We had a great second week of First grade! We began learning all about our routines such as Read to Self, Word Work and Work on Writing (Writer's Workshop). All of this hard work made us feel so tired! We are happy that we had a three day weekend to recuperate!

Reminders:

Monday (9/4): No School- Labor Day

Tuesday (9/5): School begins at 7:40am!

                        Tuesday folders will come home! Please unload and return on Wednesday.

Wednesday (9/6): 

Thursday (9/7): Parent Orientation Night 

                          6:30pm-7:00pm K-2 orientation in classrooms

                          7:00pm-7:30pm PTA meeting- all invited Please sign up for a PTA membership! 

                                                                                                                                     Only $7.50!

                          7:30pm-8:00pm 3-5 Orientation

Friday (9/8): 

This week in Reading Workshop...

We will continue to build our stamina as readers as we read independently in our classroom.  As teachers we are completing beginning of the year assessments to share with you at conference time.  We will discuss Reading Conferences and how they work.  We will create expectations for this time and how we can be respectful of our classmates as they meet and discuss their reading with a teacher.  We will integrate our social studies skills during our Language art time.  This week we will focus on Citizens in our Community.  We will read and learn about our leaders such as our Principal, Mayor, Governor and President. We will discuss their jobs and how they are important to our community.

This week in Writing Workshop...

We will continue to build our writing stamina as we write stories about our experiences and continue to practice our writing routines.  We will learn that all writers think about their stories, sketch a picture then write words to match.  We will also practice stretching the sounds in words as we write them in our stories.  

This week in Science...

We will begin our first unit study of Investigating our Materials. We will remember how scientists record their thoughts and observations.  We will complete an experiment and record our finding in our science notebooks just like real scientists! We will also observe objects and discuss their physical properties.

This week in Math...

We will continue building number sense.  We will begin to count objects and group them in ways that make sense to us.  We will count with patterns to help us count things quickly.  We will think about how numbers are made (10 beans is 10 or 12 beans is 10+2) as we make sense of place value.  We will practice counting real life objects and grouping them.  We will also begin solving math problems and remind ourselves about how we show our thinking on paper!

Our Life Skill of the week is EFFORT.  We will discuss how we use effort everyday!

Have a great 4 day week!