September 9-13

Writing Workshop:
This week in Writer'w Workshop we continue learning to add more details to our writings. We will spend time generating and sketching ideas of what to write about. We will also be setting up our Writer's Workshop Folders and learning what to do with a piece when we are not finished.

Reading Workshop:

This week in our reading workshop time we will model and practice correct Read-to-Self expectations for the classroom.  We will think about what this time looks like, feels like, and sounds like and make an anchor chart together in class.  We will practice the expectations this week starting off with just a few minutes and building our reading stamina all the way to 10 minutes.  We will also think about and record in our Reader’s Response journals what kinds of books we love to read and why we enjoy them.  We will end the week with writing our reading goals for first grade! 

Math:

 This week in Math we will be focusing on place value.  We've been working on grouping items such as cubes and beans.  We discuss how many groups of 10 and how many items are leftover.  We will work with manipulatives to solve problems.  This year the math department for RRISD purchased Math Racks for each first grade classroom.  We will begin exploring our Math Racks and learning how to use these tools.

Science:

 In Science we will explore and discuss what scientists do. The students will be introduced to science journals and discuss the importance of recording scientific observations. We will learn science safety; how to ask questions about science; make predictions; record observations and data about investigations; and explain our thinking about what we have learned.

The 7 Habits:

Habit #2:  Begin with the end in mind

Reminders:

*PE will be on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Please wear tennis shoes those days!

*Please send a healthy snack with your child every day.

*Library will be on Tuesdays.  Please send books back by this day!

Important Dates:

September 9:  Parent Orientation @ 6:30

September 25:  Early Release @ 12:45

September 25:  Skate Night @ 6:30

October 10:  Spirit Night @ Catfish Parlour @ 5:00

October 14:  Student Holiday

October 18:  Hoot Family Picnic @ 6:00

October 30:  Early Release @ 12:45

September 2-6

September 2:  No School!  I hope everyone had a nice 3 day weekend :)

Writing Workshop:

In this session of Writing Workshop, we will be learning what the expectations are for Writing Workshop, and how to use the supplies. Once we model the process of choosing a topic, sketching it, and then writing about it, the students will choose their own topics, sketch, and write.

Reading Workshop:

This week we will launch our reading workshop procedures and the students will learn that one of the most important things to do to become a better reader is to read good-fit books.  We will learn how to look for good-fit books in five ways using the acronym I PICK.  They will learn:  “I” choose my book, “P”urpose-Why do I want to read it? “I”nterest-Does it interest me? “C”omprehend-Am I understanding what I am reading? “K”now-I know most of the words.  I encourage you to use this same dialogue with your child at home to help them choose good-fit books for independent reading at home.  Once we grasp how to choose a good-fit book, we will start our lesson with three ways to read a book.  It takes time to establish reading workshop procedures, but after we build a solid foundation, it pays off all year long! J

Math:

This year in Math we will learn many new concepts and develop new skills.  The state of Texas revised the TEKS for the 2014-2015 school year.  As a proactive school district RRISD instituted a conversion year.  This year we will teach the current TEKS and the "new/revised" TEKS.  Many things are new and/or different.  For our first unit we will be exploring Place Value.  The objectives for this unit include 1) composing and decomposing numbers up to 120, 2) Generating numbers from 0 up to 120, 3)Representing, comparing and ordering numbers to 100 using symbols (<, >, =), 4) Using Place Value to compare whole numbers up to 120 (i.e. 23 has 2 groups of ten and 3 ones).  Please review your child's work as it comes home in their folder.  The students also use their Math Notebooks on a daily basis.  As we establish routines we will begin sending home the Math Notebook periodically for parents to review. 

Social Studies:

This week, we will be discussing rules and laws at school, home and in our community.  What is the difference between a rule and a law?  Why do we need rules and laws?  We will also talk about positive and negative consequences.

The 7 Habits:

Habit #1:  Be Proactive-  Being proactive means that you are a responsible person.  You are in charge of your actions and your moods, and you take responsibility for your choices.  We read stories about being proactive last week.  This week, we will reinforce being proactive in the classroom, at home, and in our community.  Please talk with your child about what they can do to be a proactive member of your family.  Thanks!

April 1-5, 2013

Writing Workshop:

In Writer’s Workshop we will continue working on our independent research projects.  The students choose a subject, a book and researched on the computer during our computer lab time.  They will be recording their learning on a folder with sections.  We will share our projects when they are finished.

Word Study:

Green:  p, l, and pl blend (pig, lamp, plus)

Blue:  ag, eg, og, ug word families (tag, leg, dog, bug)

Red:  short -o vs. long -o (CVCe)  (sock, bone)

Reading Workshop:

In Reading Workshop we will continue our unit on Research!  We will learn about synthesizing.  When we synthesize, we put all of our thinking, our connections, our questions, and our references together to make sense of the whole story, we construct meaning.  As we learn we will be reading many different books to practice this skill together, with partners and independently.

Math:

In math we will continue our unit on Fractions!  We will connect our learning to real life situations through problem solving.  The students will be presented with a situation such as, if you and 4 friends want to share a pizza with 10 slices how many slices does each person get. 

Science:

In Science this week we will begin our unit on Animals.  We will learn about Animal Characteristics and Adaptations as we examine each animal group in depth.  We will make a sketch of an animal from each group in our Science Notebooks.  We will label it’s body parts and discuss their functions.  We will record facts about each animal group in our notebooks.  We will be learning about animals for two weeks!

VERY IMPORTANT!

Ms. Stevens started her total teach this past Monday and will continue through April 5.  I have been in and out of the classroom throughout the day, and helping when needed.  We do sit down and discuss plans every day, and she is doing a wonderful job.  

I have been seeing some behavior that I am not very proud of though.  Please talk with your child and remind them that respectful behavior is still expected.  They should still be following my expectations even though Ms. Stevens is the one teaching.  She is here to learn and become more comfortable in a classroom setting, but it makes her job very difficult when there are students in the class being disruptive and disrespectful just because I am not the one teaching.  This behavior is unacceptable.  

Thank you!

EXCITING NEWS!

We are expecting baby chicks on April 10^th.   We have held the eggs up to a flashlight, and we can see the baby chicks developing inside the egg!  Very cool!   If you are interested in giving some of these babies a home please let me know!

Parents, 

You can order books for your children online!  Just go to www.scholastic.com and enter our Class Activation Code, which is HL96Y.  When you order books for your child, I get to order free books for our classroom!

<3, Ms. Smith

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:

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

April 10:  Chicks should begin hatching!

April 11-12:  Talent Show tryouts

April 12:  Family Fun Night

April 16:  Family Spirit Night

April 19:  Field trip to Elgin Farm

                   Ms. Stevens' last day :(

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!!

May 17:  Career Day

May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast

May 31:  Students' last day

March 25-29

Writing Workshop:

In Writer’s Workshop we will practice recording our learning as we finish our whole class Research book.  We will begin working on our independent research project.  Each student will choose a topic, a book and record their learning in their Research folder!

Word Study:

Green:  sc, sn, sw blends (score, snow, swim)

Blue:  ad, ed, ab, ob word families (sad, bed, crab, cob)

Red:  short i vs. long i (CVCe) (hike, drive, rich, fish)

Reading Workshop:

In Reading Workshop we will continue our unit on Research!  We will learn about paraphrasing and synthesizing information.  We will review taking notes as we read our research books.  We will write notes on sticky notes and then synthesize that information and write it in or own words.  The end product will be written during Writer’s Workshop.

Math:

In math we will begin our unit on Fractions!  We will discuss and examine whole shapes and things as well as half shapes and things.  We will learn to write a fraction and describe objects using fractions.

Science:

In Science this week we will begin our unit on Chickens!  We will learn about a chicken’s life cycle, the development of an egg, adaptations of a chicken, what they eat, habitat and species of chickens.  We will read information to help us learn about the new additions to our classroom!

VERY IMPORTANT!

Ms. Stevens started her total teach this past Monday and will continue through April 5.  I have been in and out of the classroom throughout the day, and helping when needed.  We do sit down and discuss plans every day, and she is doing a wonderful job.  

I have been seeing some behavior that I am not very proud of though.  Please talk with your child and remind them that respectful behavior is still expected.  They should still be following my expectations even though Ms. Stevens is the one teaching.  She is here to learn and become more comfortable in a classroom setting, but it makes her job very difficult when there are students in the class being disruptive and disrespectful just because I am not the one teaching.  This behavior is unacceptable.  

Thank you!

EXCITING NEWS!

The eggs are safely in the incubators!  We are expecting baby chicks on April 10^th.  If you are interested in giving some of these babies a home please let me know!

Parents, 

You can order books for your children online!  Just go to www.scholastic.com and enter our Class Activation Code, which is HL96Y.  When you order books for your child, I get to order free books for our classroom!

<3, Ms. Smith

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 29:  No School/Bad weather day #2

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

April 10:  Chicks should begin hatching!

April 11-12:  Talent Show tryouts

April 12:  Family Fun Night

April 16:  Family Spirit Night

April 19:  Field trip to Elgin Farm

                   Ms. Stevens' last day :(

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!!

May 17:  Career Day

May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast

May 31:  Students' last day

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