March 18-22

Writing Workshop:

In Writer’s Workshop we will learn to record our learning as we make a whole class Research book.  We will take an idea, gather information about it and create an “All About” Book to share with others.

Reading Workshop:

In Reading Workshop we will begin our unit on Research!  We will learn about asking questions as we read to examine different subjects.  We will determine what we want to learn from a source and stretch our thinking!

Words Their Way:

Green group:  sp, sk, sm blends (smell, spoon, skunk)

Blue group:  an, un, in word families (man, run, grin)

Red group:  short a vs. long a (CVCe)  (mad, grass, make, name)

Math:

In math we will work on Problem Solving.  We will experiment with a variety of problems and strategies that we’ve learned throughout the year.  We will stretch our thinking and be able to show how our brain solves a problem.

Science:

In Science this week we will begin our unit on the Seasons.  We will examine our seasons and how seasons are different around the world.  We will think about what we’ve learned about the sun and discuss the reason why we have seasons.

What Habit are we learning about?

We are learning about Habit #5:  Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood

Thank you!

*Nam Nguyen

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

Dates to Remember:

March 21:  Class and Spring Pictures

                     Skate Night

March 29:  No School/Bad weather day #2

April 2-3:  No visitors on campus due to STAAR testing

April 11-12:  Talent Show tryouts

April 12:  Family Fun Night

April 16:  Family Spirit Night

April 19:  Field trip to Elgin Farm

April 22:  Earth Day!!

April 23-25:  No visitors on campus due to STAAR testing

April 25:  Talent show K-3

April 26:  Talent show 4-5

May 1:  Early Release day

May 3:  Field Day!!

              Ms. Stevens' last day :(

May 17:  Career Day

May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast

May 31:  Students' last day

February 11-15

Dear Parents,
This week, we are starting a new program in our classroom.  We are learning 7 Habits to help us at school, at home, and in our community.
This week we are practicing Habit #1:  Be Proactive (I am responsible.  I am in charge of my actions, attitude, and mood.)

Writing Workshop:

In Writer’s Workshop we will begin our Fairy Tale Writing!  We transfer our knowledge from what we’ve learned during Reading Workshop with the Elements of a Fairy Tale and we begin to write our own Fairy Tales.

Words Their Way:
Green:  h, sh, and ch Diagraphs
Blue:  bl, br, gr, and gl Blends
Red:  Long o and Short o vowel sounds

Reading Workshop:

In Reading Workshop we will continue our unit on Fairy Tales!  We’ve discussed the Elements of a Fairy Tale and how magic is a main theme in these stories.  We read a new Fairy Tale each day and practice our comprehension strategies during Reading Workshop. We will also investigate Fractured Fairy Tales.  We will read different fractured Fairy Tales and discuss how they are different or the same.

Math:

In math we will continue our learning of Subtraction facts. We will practice our facts, learn and apply new strategies and use our new skills to solve problems.

Social Studies:

In Social Studies we are learning about culture.  We will have mini celebrations all week.  On Monday we will observe Chinese New Year (Feb. 10) and help usher in the Year of the Snake.  On Tuesday we will learn about the traditions and history of Mardi Gras.  We will also learn about the history of Valentine’s Day as we celebrate it on Thursday.  We will wrap up our week with Chocolate Fever!!

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we will have “Chocolate Fever Day” on Thursday, February 14^th and Friday, February 15^th.  These days will be filled with all kinds of “chocolaty” activities.

On Thursday, we will read the story The Chocolate Touch.  In the story, everything the little boy touches turns to chocolate!  Our Valentine’s Day Party will be on Thursday, February 14^th  at 1:30pm-2:30pm.  The kids will make ice cream sundaes, and then open and read their valentines.  Parents and siblings are more than welcome to attend.

On Friday, your child can come to school in pajamas, with a stuffed animal and blanket.  Here’s the most important part…please draw brown spots all over your child’s face!  You can use eyeliner, washable markers, paint, etc….  We will have “chocolate fever” all day long and do lots of fun activities:  BINGO with M&M’s, writing about having chocolate fever, M&M graphing, estimating how many chocolate chips are in a cookie, etc…  It will be so much fun!

Thank you!
To everyone that has contributed to our treasure basket!

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

Dates to Remember:

February 14:  Valentine Party 

February 15:  Chocolate Fever Day (more info soon)

February 18:  No School/Bad weather day #1

March 2:  Family Dinner Night

March 6:  Early Release Day

March 11-15:  Spring Break

March 19:  Skate Night

March 29:  No School/Bad weather day #2

April 2-3:  No visitors on campus due to STAAR testing

April 12:  Family Fun Night

April 16:  Family Spirit Night

April 19:  Field trip to Elgin Farm

February 4-8

Writing Workshop:

In Writer’s Workshop we continue our learning about Small Moments.  We will discuss how to work with a partner, how to add detail to our story and how to shape our stories.  We will encourage our students to write about an experience and twist it to make their own Fairy Tales.

Words Their Way:

Green:  c, h, ch

Blue:  cr, cl, fr, fl

Red:  short i and long i vowel sounds

Reading Workshop:

In Reading Workshop we will begin our unit on Fairy Tales!  This a such a fun unit where we explore the genre and discuss the element of a Fairy Tale.  After our whole unit we will have a Fairy Tale Parade!

Math:

In math we will our unit on Subtraction.  We are learning strategies on how to solve subtraction problems and how to think about grouping problems.  We will learn about related facts such as 6-4=2 and 4+2=6.  We will discuss fact families and how the problems are related.  These skills will help your child build their math fact fluency.

Science:

In Science we will continue learning about Natural Resources.  This week our focus will be on Soil.  We will observe, describe and experience topsoil, sandy soil and clay.  We will record our observations in our Science Notebook.  We will hypothesize how water flows through each of these types of soils and how that can affect our environment.  We will also learn about the different types of landforms. 

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

Dates to Remember:

February 5:  1st Grade PE program @ 7:00

February 6:  Early Release Day

February 14:  Valentine Party 

February 15:  Chocolate Fever Day (more info soon)

February 18:  No School/Bad weather day #1

March 2:  Family Dinner Night

March 6:  Early Release Day

March 11-15:  Spring Break

March 19:  Skate Night

March 29:  No School/Bad weather day #2

April 2-3:  No visitors on campus due to STAAR testing

April 12:  Family Fun Night

April 16:  Family Spirit Night

April 19:  Field trip to Elgin Farm

January 22-25

Writing Workshop:

In Writer’s Workshop we continue our learning about Small Moments.  We will learn to shorten our prewriting as we draw across pages to sketching instead.  We will add details to our writing in words and sentences.  We will also thinking about extending our story beyond just a beginning, middle and end to telling a story across 5 fingers. 

Words Their Way:

Green:  ig, ip, ill word families

Blue:  p, l, pl blends

Red:  Contractions

Reading Workshop:

 In Reading Workshop we will learn about how Media Literacy communicates messages to us.  We will examine newspapers, magazines and advertisements.  We will read and think about the message the author is trying to send the reader.  At the end of our unit we will make our own advertisements!  Be looking in our hallways for our work!

Math:

In math we will continue our unit on Geometry.  We will focus on 3D shapes.  We will learn about the attributes of 3D shapes and what makes them special.  We will focus on vocabulary such as flat surfaces, vertex, and vertices. 

Science:

In Science we will begin our Earth Science unit on Natural Resources, Rocks and Minerals.  A note along with a baggie will be coming home for your child to bring back an artifact.  We will discuss characteristics of living versus non-living things.  We will discuss how natural resources are used and how we can help conserve them.

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

Dates to Remember:

January 31:  Science Fair

February 6:  Early Release Day

February 14:  Valentine Party 

February 18:  No School/Bad weather day #1

March 2:  Family Dinner Night

March 6:  Early Release Day

March 11-15:  Spring Break

March 19:  Skate Night

March 29:  No School/Bad weather day #2

January 14-18

Writing Workshop:
In Writer’s Workshop we will be learning about Small Moments.  We will read mentor texts such as Ezra Jack Keat’s The Snowy Day and discuss how authors take a small piece of time and write about it in detail.  We will focus on writing stories from our own experiences.  We will also be focusing on using and going through the entire writing process.  This is a very exciting time for the kiddos!

Words Their Way:
Green:  Short u word families (ut, un, ug)
Blue:  sc, sn, sw blends
Red:  Short a and ar vowel sounds

Reading Workshop:

In Reading Workshop we begin learning how to draw inferences.  We will practice inferring with objects and books.  We will use the clues on the cover of books and in the titles to draw a conclusion about the story.  We will do a special activity during the week!  Look for it in the hallways.

We will also read and study Historical Fiction.  We will read stories such as Apples to Oregon, which is a fiction story with real historical details.

Math:

In math we will begin our unit on Geometry.  This week we will focus on 2D shapes.  We will manipulate shapes, draw pictures and label the parts of each shape and solve problems involving shapes.  We will discuss the attributes of shapes and play “Guess that Shape”. 

Social Studies:

In Social Studies we will continue our unit on Citizens Who Shape our Community.  This week we will focus on contributors.  We will learn about the contributions of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.  We will make timelines to study their lives.  We will put important dates on our timelines to show their achievements.

Thank you! 

Ms. Stevens for all of your help.  You had a great first week!

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

Dates to Remember:

January 21:  MLK Day, No School

January 31:  Science Fair

February 6:  Early Release Day

February 14:  Valentine Party

January 7-11

Writing Workshop:

In Writer’s Workshop we will be writing Snow stories.  Students will have the choices to read a variety of fiction texts about snow and snow men and create their own story.  They can also choose to write a true story about an experience they had on a winter day.  Giving children the ability to choose their writing topic allows them to have creative freedom over their final product.  They will complete their story using the writing process.

Word Study:
Green:  eg, en, et word families
Blue:  sp, sm, sk blends
Red:  short o and or words (r controlled vowels)

Reading Workshop:

In Reading Workshop we begin our study of Biographies.  W will learn about what a biography is, what if contains and why it’s an important piece of literature.  We will read a variety of biographies and learn facts about famous people who’ve contributed to our community.  We will also be discussing how and what readers can think about during reading.

Math:

In math we will learn about time!  We will review telling time to the hour, then move on to telling time to the half hour.  We will tell time using analog and digital clocks.  We will make our own clocks to use during our unit and will color code the hands on the clock.  Please practice this skill at home using a clock with hands (analog) and a digital clock.  We will practice approximating time such as does it take about 1 minute or 1 hour to tie your shoes?  We will discuss activities that take about 1 minute, about 30 minutes and about 1 hour.

Social Studies:

In Social Studies our unit of study will be Citizens Who Shape our Community.  For the next two weeks we will examine inventors and contributors in our city, state and nation who’ve contributed to our community.  This week we will focus on inventors.  What is an inventor?  Who are some inventors you know of? How did they contribute to our community?  We will read about 3 different inventors and compare their accomplishments.

Thank you!

*EVERYONE for such a wonderful Holiday party and for the wonderful gifts.  They are all very appreciated!

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

Dates to Remember:

January 21:  MLK Day, No School

January 31:  Science Fair

February 6:  Early Release Day

February 14:  Valentine Party

December 10-14

Writing Workshop:

During Writer’s Workshop we will be writing facts about the holidays that we research.  We will record our learning in our Elf Around the World book.  We hope to gain an understanding of different traditions and cultural celebrations.

Reading Workshop:

In Reading Workshop we will be exploring holiday traditions from around the world.  This unit will correlate with our Social Studies unit on Culture.  We will learn about holidays in other countries as we travel around the world with our elf.

Math:

In math we will continue our unit on Patterns.  The students will create and extend patterns with pictures, numbers and concrete objects.  The students will learn about even and odd numbers and how they are a pattern.  They will also identify rules of patterns.  For example a shape pattern that is square, circle, square, circle is an ABAB pattern. 

Social Studies:

We will continue our unit on cultural celebrations this week with The Elf on the Shelf: Holidays around the World.  Our very own Elf has been busy traveling to different countries and reporting back to us what he learns about their holiday traditions.  We have been keeping track of his travels on the map and in our Elf file book.  Where will he go next?

Thank you!

*Simona Padurean

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

 Dates to Remember:

December 13:  Family Art Night

December 19:  Winter/Holiday party

December 20:  Polar Express Day

December 21-January 7:  Winter Break

We need BOX TOPS!  Please send any from home.  We are in 2nd place right now!