Septmeber 26, 2008

READING
Next week we will be reading two stories to compare fantasy and nonfiction. The fantasy story is about two hippos named George and Martha, Round and Round. The nonfiction story is from the magazine Ranger Rick called Hippos.
We will be working on the comprehension strategy of connecting and comparing. Phonics lessons will review the short vowels and concentrate on the long vowel a vccv pattern. Vocabulary words will be cross, observed, thoroughly, unmoved, herds, mammal, moisture, nostrils, relatives, moisture, sunscreen and wicked. High-frequency story words are bought, front, kitchen, until and roll. Our grammar lessons will review naming and action part of sentences.

MATH
In math we finished our chapter on subtraction. We have started a new chapter on place value. We will be counting, reading and writing numbers up to 100. We will identify the place value of each digit (ones, tens, hundreds). We will be comparing numbers. Remember to keep practicing the addition and subtraction flash cards at home.

Character Counts
The Character Counts pillar for the month of October is Responsibility. Have your child show spirit by wearing green every Friday in October. We will be discussing responsible behavior at school and at home.

Library
Due to scheduling for our RTI classes our library check out day changed from Tuesday to Mondays. We will still have library time with Mrs. Bouton on Thursdays.

Student of the Week
Sarah is the Student of the Week! She likes teddy bears, eating apples, watermelon and candy. Sarah wishes that she could have a baby bird. Her favorite color is pink. When Sarah grows up she wants to be a Mom.

Scholastic Books Order
If you would like to order books from Lucky Book Club, please fill out the form. Return it to school with a check made out to Scholastic Book Club. This needs to be returned to school by October 2nd.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
October 10th – Field Trip to Robert Crown
October 10th – Gym Night
October 13th – Columbus Day – No School

September 19, 2008

READING
Our story for next week will be Mrs. Brown Went to Town, by Wong Herbert Yee. This story is about a woman whose farm animal move into her house while she is away. They have a lot of fun.
We will be working on the comprehension strategies of predicting outcomes and connecting and comparing. Phonics lessons will include the long vowels a and i following a cvce pattern (consonant, vowel, consonant, silent e) Vocabulary words will be commotion, wearing, delivered, tire, feathers, releases. High-frequency story words are floor, letter, move, poor and word. Our grammar lessons will focus on verbs.
We will be starting our RTI reading groups on Monday. Please read the letter that is going home.

MATH
In math we began working on subtraction. We are working on fact families, counting back and using addition to solve subtraction problems. Next week we will finish our chapter on subtraction.
Please remember to review math facts with your child.

Student of the Week
Dave is the Student of the Week! He likes to play soccer. Dave wishes that he didn't have to clean up. His favorite color is pink. When Dave grows up he wants to be a Verizon Wireless worker.

Snack
Just a reminder that snack is to be a healthy snack. Fresh fruit, cheese, goldfish crackers, pretzels, and 100% juice are the choices for snack. Please remember this when packing snack for your child.

Stoplight
We are following the stoplight behavior program in our classroom. We have a chart in the front of our green folders telling you what your child's behavior was for the day. Please review this with your child.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
September 24th_ Book Fair 6:30-8:00
September 25th -School Pictures
October 10th – Gym Night
October 13th – Columbus Day – No School

September 12, 2008

READING
We have been working this past week on the writing process. We started out with topic selection, characters, problem and solution. Next we wrote our sloppy copy which was revised. We finished with our final story.
We concentrated on who the character is in a story and what the problem is and how it is resolved in the story.
Next week our story is Julius by Angela Johnson. We'll read about Maya's pig, Julius. Julius and Maya learn a lot from each other – Julius teaches Maya fun activities like trying on hats and dancing to jazz, and Maya teaches Julius how to be polite. The comprehension strategies will be fantasy/realism, rereading for understanding and drawing conclusions.
In spelling, we will be focusing on the short vowel sounds of e, o and u. The children will have a pre-test of the week's spelling words on Monday and study the missed words and challenge words during the week for a Friday test.

Curriculum Night
Thank you for attending Curriculum Night and signing up to help in the classroom. If you were unable to make it to Curriculum Night, I have sent home the information that was handed out that night.

MATH

In math we worked on adding numbers to 18. We reviewed the strategy adding three numbers and draw a picture to solve a story problem.
Next week we will work on subtraction facts and strategies. Please remember to review math facts with your child.

Student of the Week
We will be starting Student of the Week in our classroom. The children are chosen randomly to be our “Student of the Week”. When it is your child's turn please make sure you return the poster to us on Monday. On Friday of that week you can come in at 2:45 to read to our class. They can bring in something to share with the class any day during their special week.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
September 16th - Early Dismissal we will have school until 12:00.
September 24th_ Book Fair 6:30-8:00
September 25th -School Pictures

September 5, 2008

READING
We have been working this past week on reviewing consonant sounds, clusters, short vowels a and i and adding the endings -s, -ed and -ing to words. These skills are reinforced through classroom activities and practice book pages.
The comprehension strategies this week were predicting and inferring and summarizing. We concentrated on who the character is in a story and what the problem is and how it is resolved in the story.
Next week we will be following the five steps of the writing process to write a story. We will be choosing a topic, exploring and planning our story and organizing the details to include a beginning, middle and end. We will be concentrating on writing complete sentences and proofreading our story to make corrections and revisions.
In spelling, we will be focusing on the short vowel sounds of a, e, i, o and u. The children will have a pre-test of the week's spelling words on Monday and study the missed words and challenge words during the week for a Friday test.

Scholastic Book Order
If you want to order from the book order I sent home yesterday please return it to school by Thursday, September 11th. Checks should be made out to “Scholastic Book Club”.

MATH
In math we worked on adding numbers to 18. We reviewed the strategy adding doubles and doubles plus one.
Next week we will work on adding three numbers and using a function machine to add numbers following the rule. Please remember to review math facts with your child.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Our library days are Tuesdays and Fridays to check out books.

Curriculum Night is on September 10th at 7:00 pm (parents only).

September 16th is Early Dismissal we will have school until 12:00.

Picture Day is September 25th.