September 25, 2009

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.

Student of the Week
Joey is the Student of the Week! He likes to play at the park. His favorite animal is a monkey and his favorite color is blue. When Joey grows up he wants to be a Teacher.

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

Reading Logs
Reading logs are due on October 1st. All the children who have read for 21 days in September will participate in a reading party. We will have lunch in our classroom and watch a movie.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
October 1st -School Pictures
October 2nd - Kids on the Block Assembly
October 12th – Columbus Day – No School
October 16h – Gym Night

September 18, 2009

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.

MATH
In math we are 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. Our math test will be on Tuesday.
Please remember to review math facts with your child.

Student of the Week
Berkay is the Student of the Week! He likes to play soccer. His favorite animal is a bat and his favorite color is red. When Berkay grows up he wants to be a Doctor.

Book Fair
Thank you to all the children who gave our class a gift certificate to purchase books. We will enjoy reading them! I appreciate your thoughtfulness! Thank you PTO for hosting this special event!

Magazine Drive
The Magazine Drive started on last Friday with a short assembly. Packets went home with the children. If you need more forms, you may pick them up in the office, or e-mail me and I’ll send them home with your child. The first collection day is on Tuesday, Sept. 22nd.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
October 1st -School Pictures
October 12th – Columbus Day – No School
October 16h – Gym Night

September 11, 2009

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 finished our chapter on adding numbers to 18. We reviewed the strategy adding three numbers and draw a picture to solve a story problem.
We started our next chapter on 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. Let me know when you can come to our class to be a guest reader during your child's week. They can also bring a “Show and Tell” item each day during their special week.

Stoplight
We are following the stoplight behavior program in our classroom. You will be notified if you child moves to the yellow or red light. The children who remain on green all week will participate in a special reward at the end of the week.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
September 22nd - Early Dismissal
September 17h_ Book Fair 6:30-8:00
October 12th – Columbus Day - No School

September 4, 2009

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.

MATH
In math we worked on adding numbers to 18. We reviewed the strategy adding doubles and doubles plus one, adding three numbers and using a function machine to add numbers following the rule. We will have our first math test on Wednesday, Sept. 9th. Please remember to review math facts with your child.

Happy Birthday!
September 3rd - Berkay

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Our library days are Tuesdays and Thursdays to check out books.
Curriculum Night is on September 9th at 7:00 pm (parents only).
September 17th is the Book Fair and Ice Cream Social from 6:30-8:00.
September 22nd is Early Dismissal we will have school until 12:00.