Monday, April 6, 2015

April 6-10, 2015

READING and WRITING
Our first graders did a fantastic job researching facts and information about chicks.  I can tell you that they are all becoming research experts! This week we will move on to independent research about animals.  On Tuesday, each student chose an animal book from the three animal groups of birds, fish and mammals.  We have kept the library books in our classroom and this week students are going to do independent research about their animal's body parts, habitat, food, movement, life cycle and any other interesting facts.  The students are going to conduct a book research as well as an on-line research on Pebble-Go.
MATH
This week we will apply our problem solving strategies to solve a variety of math word problem involving time, money, addition and subtraction.  In first grade we emphasize on showing the steps in solving the problem.  These steps involve reading the problem carefully, underlining important data and information, drawing picture and show any strategy that they have learned such as number line, addition and subtraction strategies to solve the problem.  Showing the steps in an organized form allow the students to understand the problem better and be able to think more thoroughly. 

SCIENCE
This week in science we are taking our knowledge of animals, their habitats and interdependency of living things and using it to take a closer look at our neighborhood and animals that live in our community.  We will start a project that focuses on how deer impact our community.

HABIT #4: Think Win-Win: I balance the courage of getting what I want with consideration of others.
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 and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:
April 10:  Family Fun Night
April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!
May 1:  Field Day
May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center
May 11-15:  Book Fair
May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night
May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast
May 25:  No School, Memorial Day

June 5:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party
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Sunday, March 29, 2015

March 30-April 3, 2015

Thank you so much for all of you who came and ran with us at Shamrock 'n Roll Run.  The children had so much fun seeing their parents/grandparents.  Thank you!

Reminder:  The 4th and 5th graders will be STAAR testing Monday and Tuesday.  Parent volunteers and visitors are highly discouraged on these days.  Thanks!

CONGRATULATIONS to Theresa Bell!  She is the winner of the Family Dinner Night raffle for our class! 

READING and WRITING
We will continue our research on chicks.  The children are very excited since we now have a few hatching eggs in our incubators and we are expecting them to hatch in less than three weeks! We are recording the facts that we learn and also jot down our "wonder" questions.  The "wonder" questions will encourage us to do more research and find out more.  So far, we have been learning about the body parts of chicks, and their life cycle.  This week we will delve more into this and find out about how does a chick grow inside an egg, where chicks live and what they eat.

MATH
We will continue working on telling time to the hour and this week we will focus on telling time to half-hour.  We will look at both analog and digital clocks and learn that time is shown differently on each of these clocks.  The short hand in the analog clock points to the "hour" and the long hand points to the "minute".  In digital clock time is shown by digits.  The digit before the two dots shows the hour and the digits after two dots show the minute.   

SCIENCES
This week in science we will focus on living things and their offspring. We will learn that the offspring usually resemble their parents, although they are often called differently.   We have been learning about the inter-dependency of living things in their ecosystem for the past couple of weeks. This week we will move on to simple food chains.  We will learn how the plants are the producers, and can make their own food but the other living things either depend on each other or the plants for food.  

HABIT #3:  Put First things First-  I spend my time on things that are important.  I set priorities.
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 and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:
March 30:  Ms. Smith out
April 2:  Science Night
April 3:  No School
April 10:  Family Fun Night
April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!
May 1:  Field Day
May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center
May 11-15:  Book Fair
May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night
May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast
May 25:  No School, Memorial Day
June 5:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party


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Tuesday, March 24, 2015

March 23-27, 2015

Welcome Back! I hope everyone had a relaxing spring break and ready to start the last 11 weeks of school.  Can you believe there are only 11 more weeks of school left?  That is only 51 days!  How time flies...

Homework this week:  Read for 15 minutes/night & IXL Math

SOME NEW EXCITEMENTS IN FIRST GRADE:
It is that time of the year! Each first grade class will be hosting close to a dozen of hatching eggs.  Our incubators are up and running.  We are expecting our hatching eggs to arrive this afternoon.  We will then put the eggs in the incubators and patiently wait for 21 days for our eggs to hatch.  This is a part of the animal unit and our first graders will get to observe the life cycle of birds first hand right in our classroom! It will be an exciting time for all of us! 

READING and WRITING
This week we will start another unit on Research. Our focus will be on chicks. We will determine what we want to learn from a source and stretch our thinking. Readers wonder more as they learn and read more. We will learn how we can go to different sources such as books, reliable internet sources, or asking adults to find out the answers to our questions. In Writing we will continue to record our new findings and learning and put it into a book where others can read it and learn from our research.
MATH
This week we will have a review on some of the concepts that we learned before.  We will review the coins (pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters), and their values and attributes.  We will also review time to the hour and half-hour.  

SCIENCES
We will continue learning about living and non-living, ecosystem and the inter-dependency of animals and plants in their ecosystem.  This week we will focus on birds, their external characteristics and how these characteristics determine where the birds live, what they eat and how they move.  We will also learn about the life cycle and the interdependency of birds and other animals and plants in their ecosystem.



HABIT #3:  Put First things First-  I spend my time on things that are important.  I set priorities.
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 and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:
March 25:  Eggs get here!
March 27:  Shamrock &Roll @ 9:40-10:30
March 30:  Ms. Smith out
April 2:  Science Night
April 3:  No School
April 10:  Family Fun Night
April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!
May 1:  Field Day
May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center
May 11-15:  Book Fair
May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night
May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast
May 25:  No School, Memorial Day
June 5:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party



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Monday, March 2, 2015

March 2-6, 2015

FAMILY DINNER NIGHT
Family Dinner Night is on Saturday, March 7th at Canyon Vista Middle School. This event is one of the biggest fundraising events that our devoted PTA organizes every year. Please consider coming by to have fun and show your support.  Most importantly come and see who is the lucky teacher that is going to kiss a pig! This year the five nominees are: Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Bailey, Mr. Cook, Mrs. Schultze and our librarians (Mrs. Letendre and Mrs. Hendrickson).  Good luck Teachers!
READING
This week we will work on a few comprehension strategies that help us to understand the stories better.  We will work on visualizing a story and making a mental picture in our mind.  As we read the author's description about how the characters look, their actions and the setting of the story, we will try to picture them in our mind so we can have a better understanding of the story.  Authors often use sensory language such as words describing the sound, look, smell, taste or feel of something.  Sensory words help the readers to create a better picture in their mind as they read the stories.  We will also work on re-reading the parts of the story that we didn't understand. If we are confused about a part or couldn't make sense of it, we need to go back and re-read again.

WRITING
We will continue writing our stories that could be part true and part not real and based on our imagination.  The children are having so much fun with these stories! As we are writing our stories, we will keep in mind to revise and edit as we go.  We will add to parts of our stories that need more details and take off the parts that are repeated and not needed.  We will also watch for capital letters at the beginning of the sentences, correct punctuation and sentence structure and spelling the first grade sight words correctly.
MATH
This week in math we will spiral back to subtraction and reinforce count on strategies.  Children are encouraged to use a variety of strategies to solve subtraction problems.  In first grade we want to make sure that they have a wide range of strategies to choose from.  Count on strategies are basically "think addition" strategies in subtraction problems.  We will apply our subtraction strategies to solve math problems.

SCIENCES
This week in science we will learn about living and non-living, ecosystem and the inter-dependency of animals and plants in their ecosystem.  We will learn about the external characteristics of animals and how these external characteristics such as body parts and body coverings determine what the animals eat, how they move and where they live. 

HABIT #2:  Begin with the End in Mind:  I plan ahead and set goals.  I always look for ways to be a good citizen.
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 and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:
March 7:  Family Dinner Night
March 11:  Early Release @ 12:45
March 16-20:  Spring Break
March 25:  Eggs get here!
April 2:  Science Night
April 3:  No School
April 10:  Family Fun Night
April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!
May 1:  Field Day
May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center
May 11-15:  Book Fair
May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night
May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast
May 25:  No School, Memorial Day

June 4:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party
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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

February 17-20, 2015

HOMEWORK FOR THIS WEEK
Since this week is a short week, I will not be sending homework home.  However, please encourage your child to read books from RAZ-kids and practice math concepts on IXL.  I sent an email with the links for both sites but I will see about putting them on the blog as well.
Here are the links you will need:
raz-kids.com/main/Login
https://www.ixl.com/signin/caraway
READING and WRITING
This week we will be using our research skills and learn about two important presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  We will ask open-ended questions and develop a plan for answering these questions.  Our plan includes exploring a variety of sources such as books, digital books, Pebble Go, and Brain pop Jr, recording the information we gather, and organizing our ideas and information in our writings.   
MATH
We will continue working on place value.  We will work on number lines or number track and locate and place numbers on a number line based on their value.  We will use the place value to compare whole numbers up to 99 using comparative language such is bigger than or less than. We will use symbols such as >, < or = to compare the numbers to 99. We will work on problem solving involving ordering the numbers from least to greatest or greatest to least.

SOCIAL STUDIES
This week we will learn about a few historical figures such as Alexander graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Garrett Morgan, and Richards Allen who influenced our nation by their individualism and inventiveness. We will learn about their inventions and the contributions that these important people made to our lives.

HABIT #1:  Be Proactive:  I am a responsible person.  I am in charge of me.  I choose my actions, attitude, and mood.
THANK YOU!
Claudia Aguilar for stuffing our Tuesday folders. 
To any parents that showed up to help set up for the Valentine’s day party!

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 and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:
February 27:  Jump Rope for Heart
March 7:  Family Dinner Night
March 11:  Early Release @ 12:45
March 16-20:  Spring Break
March 25:  Eggs get here!
April 2:  Science Night
April 3:  No School
April 10:  Family Fun Night
April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!
May 1:  Field Day
May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center
May 11-15:  Book Fair
May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night
May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast
May 25:  No School, Memorial Day

June 4:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party
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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

February 9-13, 2015

We have a couple of exciting events planned for this week.  We will be celebrating 101 day of school on Tuesday and Valentine's/Chocolate Fever Day on Friday.  The class list for valentine exchange was sent home in Tuesday Folders last week.  The kiddos can start passing out Valentines on Thursday.  

VALENTINE'S PARTY and CHOCOLATE FEVER DAY
Our Valentine's  Day Party will be on Friday from 1:15-2:15.  Friday is also Chocolate Fever day!  We will come to school in our pajamas and by the end of the day, we just might have Chocolate Fever, just like the main character in the book!  (I will have a brown make-up pencil to draw spots on your child’s face if it is ok.  I will also be bringing make-up remover wipes so the kiddos can wipe the spots off before leaving school.)
READING and WRITING
This week due to the special events, we have some fun reading and writing activities.  On the 101 day of school, we will imagine ourselves being 101 years old! We will write about how we think we will look like, do, or not do. I can't wait to see what the children will come up with. It should be lots of fun to read their writing. In relation to Valentine's Day, we will write an imaginative story about a time that we ate too much chocolate! We will also craft a sweet, heartwarming writing about "love".

MATH
This week we will go back and review "Place Value".  We will use concrete and pictorial models and compose and decompose numbers to 99 in more than one way as so many ten blocks and so many ones.  For instance, the number 45 can be shown with 4 ten blocks and 5 ones.  But it could also be represented as 3 ten blocks and 15 ones. We will use the place value to compare whole numbers up to 99 using comparative language such is bigger than or less than. We will use symbols such as >, < or = to compare the numbers to 99.

SCIENCES
Last week in science we learned about natural resources.  This week we will discuss how important natural resources are to us and why we need to conserve natural resources, reuse, recycle or reduce. The students will think about why it is important to conserve fresh water, recycle materials and not to pollute the environment.

HABIT #1:  Be Proactive:  I am a responsible person.  I am in charge of me.  I choose my actions, attitude, and mood.
THANK YOU!
Thank you all for coming to the First Grade P.E. performance.  The children did such a fantastic job! I am so proud of them!

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 and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:
February 12:  Spirit night @ Jason’s Deli 5-9pm
February 16:  No School, President’s Day
February 27:  Jump Rope for Heart
March 7:  Family Dinner Night
March 11:  Early Release @ 12:45
March 16-20:  Spring Break
March 25:  Eggs get here!
April 2:  Science Night
April 3:  No School
April 10:  Family Fun Night
April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!
May 1:  Field Day
May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center
May 11-15:  Book Fair
May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night
May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast
May 25:  No School, Memorial Day

June 4:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party
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Tuesday, February 3, 2015

February 2-6, 2015

PE PROGRAM
Please mark your calendar for Tuesday, February 3rd.  Our P.E coaches along with our fantastic first graders have planned a great performance for all of us!  Please be here at 6:15.  If possible, girls wear red shirts and boys wear white shirts.  All children must wear tennis shoes.  I hope to see you there!

VALENTINES PARTY
Our Valentines Party will be on Friday, February 13th (1:15-2:15).  Please check your child's Tuesday Folder for a class list and have your child make a small valentine for each classmate.  You may choose to buy these from stores or have your child make their own valentines. We have almost two weeks, so there should be plenty of time for the kiddos to write their classmates' names on their valentines. The students can start bringing their valentines to school starting the week of Feb 9th.

READING and WRITING
This week we will still continue our unit on research. As we ask questions about a topic and find out some information in books, magazines and internet, we realize that sometimes we come up with more questions.  We record things that we learn and questions that we still wonder about.  We are also learning about the importance of recording the information in our own words.  In other word we are learning how to paraphrase.  We will also learn what information are important.  Sometimes authors add some interesting facts, but not all are important for us to remember.
MATH
This week we will wrap up our unit on 2-D shapes. We have learned so much about different shapes such as squares, rectangles, triangles, trapezoids, circles, ovals diamonds and rhombuses.  We have learned about their attributes such as the number of straight sides, corners, curves and so on.  This week, we will learn about dividing our two-dimensional figures into two and four and decide whether or not the parts are equal or fair share.  We will use vocabularies such as equal parts, fair, not fair, same size pieces, half, fourth, fourths, quarters or a quarter of.

SCIENCES
This week we will learn about the natural world including rocks, soil and water.  We will learn about the physical properties of soil and sort different types of soil based on particle size, color and texture.  We will explore and discover about some useful products that we can make using rocks, soil, and water.

HABIT #1: Be Proactive:  I am a responsible person.  I am in charge of me.  I choose my actions, attitude, and mood.
THANK YOU!
Thank you for remembering to send your children to school with warm clothes and coats.  Sometimes, even on cold days, we will still go outside and run around just for 10 minutes.  The kiddos do well with inside recess most of the time, but there are days that they need to get outside and run out some of that energy!

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 and homework bags back every day.
*Send a healthy snack with your child every day.  We will eat snack at 10:30

DATES to REMEMBER:
February 3:  1st Grade PE Program
February 4:  Early Release @ 12:45
February 12:  Spirit night @ Jason’s Deli 5-9pm
February 16:  No School, President’s Day
February 27:  Jump Rope for Heart
March 7:  Family Dinner Night
March 11:  Early Release @ 12:45
March 16-20:  Spring Break
March 25:  Eggs get here!
April 2:  Science Night
April 3:  No School
April 10:  Family Fun Night
April 15:  Chicks start to hatch!!!!!!!
May 1:  Field Day
May 4-8:  Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7:  Field Trip to Austin Nature Center
May 11-15:  Book Fair
May 14:  Caraway Fine Arts Night
May 21:  Volunteer Breakfast
May 25:  No School, Memorial Day

June 4:  Last Day of School, End of the Year Party
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