This week in First grade...

Friday was the first day of our Caraway Academies and we all had so much fun!  We will be doing Academies every Friday morning (7:55-8:55) for the next 7 weeks.  Please talk with your child about what they did in their Academy.  Trust me, they are excited to share!

I am also excited to tell you that we found a Long Term sub! Her name is Rebecca Jackson! Mrs. Jackson has a lot of experience teaching small children and she has a heart of gold! She was able to come in and meet the students on Friday while she was teaching in another classroom on campus. In the next few weeks Mrs. Jackson and I will plan an Ice Cream Social/Meet up at Amy's Ice Cream on 183.  The tentative date for that is Sunday, October 22nd. This will be a time for you to come meet her and get to know her! 

Thank you for finding a time and signing up for a Parent/Teacher Conference.  During our conference we will discuss your child's current performance then we will write goals together to help your child succeed in First grade! The sign up is on Bloomz! Let me know if you didn't get the previous email with directions for signing up for Bloomz.

Reminders: 

Monday (9/25):  Daily folders come home.  Remember to send them back every day! Reading Homework bags will come home.

Tuesday (9/26): Tuesday folders will come home

Wednesday (9/27): No Library This week. 

Thursday (9/28):

Friday (9/29):  Caraway Academies- 7:55 am.  Homework bag due back!

This week in Writing Workshop...

We will continue working on our small moment stories.  We will discuss how writers narrow their topic to make our stories more interesting.  We will continue to think about how we can organize our stories so that it makes sense to the reader by using a beginning, middle and end.  Students will begin using capitalization at the beginning of a sentence and when using the pronoun 'I'.  Students will also begin to recognize when they should use end punctuation.  In science and social studies, we will record facts and observations in our various notebooks. On Friday, we will reflect on our time in our Academy and then write about it.

This week in Math...

We will continue learning how to solve addition problems using the count on strategy.  We will apply the count on strategy in problem solving situations.  We will work with many different math tools to help us, such as a number track, a hundred chart, manipulatives and pictures. The students will create their own math story problem!

You can help your child at home by having them practice counting on and counting backward from a given number.  Practice skip counting by 2's.  Let your child use household objects to build numbers up to 20.  A very important part of math in 1st Grade is learning to justify how a problem is solved.  Ask them to explain how they got to their answer and how they know it is correct.

This week in Reading Workshop...

We will continue thinking about different elements of fiction.  We will discuss the plot, setting and characters in a fiction story.  The students will learn that making connections to themselves, other texts, and events in the world around them can help them to understand the story better.  We will continue to respond orally during partner reading, and will continue to build stamina during independent reading time.  We will be meeting in small groups to discuss various reading strategies to increase accuracy, comprehension and fluency.

You can help your child at home by having them read to you or to themselves for 10-15 minutes per night and by reading to them.  This can be a very rewarding part of yours and your child's day.  Ask them to recall events from the story and to talk about the characters' feelings and actions.  Work on the 1st Grade sight word list.  You can find this list in the daily folder.  

This week in Social Studies...

 We will finish up our unit about Texas!  We will read legends and other fiction books to help us learn about the different state symbols, such as the Bluebonnet, state flag, state pledge, Mockingbird and the Alamo.  We have all really been enjoying the fun fiction books that are about Texas.  We are having fun and learning about the Texas symbols at the same time!

This week in Science...

We will finish up our unit about Changes from Heat. We will reflect on the changes that we witnessed in our experiments.  We will observe chocolate as heat is applied, and then we will record our observations in our science notebook.  The students will continue to think like a scientist by asking questions, making predictions, and conducting age appropriate experiments in the classroom.  

We will also do a growth mind-set lesson.  In this lesson the students will recognize that even though we might not all be awesome at something, if we put forth effort and keep trying, we will get there!

Technology…

The students are really loving the technology time we are getting in the classroom.  I do have a request though!  If every student could bring in a set of headphones to keep in the classroom, it would help out so much. It gets pretty loud when we all have the sound on.  Please make sure the headphones are not the small ear buds.  They do not properly fit in the kiddos’ ears and they fall out frequently causing a lot of frustration for the kiddo.  Please send the headphones to school with your child by next Wednesday (Oct. 11).  Thank you so much!  

This week’s Life Skill is Perseverance! We will think about all of the things we can accomplish if we just keep trying and never give up.  Our Tribe Circle will focus on how we have used perseverance throughout the week!

That's all for now! Have a great week!

Dates to Remember:

Oct 4th- International Bike and Walk to school Day

Oct 9th- No school for students -Parent Teacher conferences

Oct 10th- No school for students

Oct 11th- Picture Day

Oct 19th- International Night

Oct 20th- Skate Night @ 6 pm

Oct 23-27^th- Red Ribbon Week

This week in First grade...

Thank you to everyone that helped their child bring coins to school to contribute to our Coins for Classroom drive.  We collected over $1,600 to help teachers and students affected by Hurricane Harvey!  That is awesome!

Reminders: 

Monday (9/25):  Daily folders come home.  Remember to send them back every day!

Tuesday (9/26): Tuesday folders will come home. Please unload and return on Wednesday.

Wednesday (9/27): Library check-out

Thursday (9/28):

Friday (9/29):  Have a fun, safe weekend!

This week in Writing Workshop...

We will begin learning how to write a small moment story.  A small moment story is a tiny part of an experience that is written in detail.  We will discuss how writers narrow their topic down to make our stories more interesting.  We will continue to think about how we can organize our stories so that it makes sense to the reader by using a beginning, middle and end.  Students will begin using capitalization at the beginning of a sentence and when using the pronoun 'I'.  Students will also begin to recognize when they should use end punctuation.  In science and social studies, we will record facts and observations in our various notebooks.

This week in Math...

We will begin learning how to solve addition problems using the count on strategy.  The count on strategy involves counting on 1, 2, or 3 from a given number.  We will use different tools to help us count on, such as a number track, various counters, and dimes and pennies.  We will apply the count on strategy in problem solving situations.  In this unit, we will also use the commutative property.  For example, if 3+4=7, then 4+3=7 as well.

You can help your child at home by having them practice counting on and counting backward from a given number.  Practice skip counting by 2's.  Let your child use household objects to build numbers up to 20.  A very important part of math in 1st Grade is learning to justify how a problem is solved.  Ask them to explain how they got to their answer and how they know it is correct.

This week in Reading Workshop...

We will begin thinking about different elements of fiction.  We will think about what makes a story fiction.  We will discuss the plot, setting and characters in a fiction story.  The students will learn how to retell a story, and learn that making connections to themselves, other texts, and events in the world around them can help them to understand the story better.  We will continue to respond orally during partner reading, and will continue to build stamina during independent reading time.  We will be meeting in small groups to discuss various reading strategies to increase accuracy, comprehension and fluency.

You can help your child at home by having them read to you or to themselves for 10-15 minutes per night and by reading to them.  This can be a very rewarding part of yours and your child's day.  Ask them to recall events from the story and to talk about the characters' feelings and actions.  Work on the 1st Grade sight word list.  You can find this list in the daily folder.  

This week in Social Studies...

 We will be learning about our great state of Texas!  We will read legends and other fiction books to help us learn about the different state symbols, such as the Bluebonnet, state flag, state pledge, Mockingbird and the Alamo.  This is one of my favorite units, as I get to apply my strong Texas accent when reading!  So much fun!

This week in Science...

We will continue to learn about Changes from Heat. We will focus on the question, What happens to different materials when they are heated?  We will observe ice as heat is applied, and then we will record our observations in our science notebook.  The students will continue to think like a scientist by asking questions, making predictions, and conducting age appropriate experiments in the classroom.  

Technology…

This past Thursday, we had our first turn with the laptops!  We will use the laptops to access Google Classroom and do fun activities! We learned how to find activities on the student page of the Caraway Website this time!

This week’s Life Skill is Common Sense! We will think about how we can use good judgement throughout each day.  We will discuss different scenarios and talk about how we would apply common sense when making choices.  Our Tribe Circle will focus on how we have used common sense throughout the week!

That's all for now! Have a great week!

Dates to Remember:

Oct 4th- International Bike and Walk to school Day

Oct 9th- No school for students -Parent Teacher conferences

Oct 10th- No school for students

Oct 19th- International Night

Oct 20th- Skate Night @ 6 pm

Oct 23-27^th- Red Ribbon Week

Nov 20-24^th- Thanksgiving Holiday

Dec 21^st- Last day of classes

Dec 22-Jan 8^th- Winter break

Jan 9^th- Students return to School

This week in First grade...

September 18-22

Wow! Can you believe last week was our first "full" week of school! It was busy so I'm sure your children were exhausted!  Now that we are fully involved in learning remember your children are working hard at school everyday! According to WebMD children 6-7 years old need between 10-11 hours of sleep.  So, if they are waking up at 6:30am bedtime needs to be around 7:30pm. This will help your child be refreshed and ready to learn each day!

Reminders:
Monday (9/18):
Tuesday (9/19): Tuesday folders will come home please sign (date and initial on the inside cover), unload and return them on Wednesday.
Wednesday (9/20): Library Lesson- children do not have to return books this week.
Thursday (9/21): Riata Round Up @ 5:30pm
Friday (9/22):

Looking forward:
October 4th- International Bike and Walk to school Day
October 9th- No school for students -Parent Teacher conferences
October 10th- No school for students
October 19th- International Night
October 20th- Skate Night

This week in Writing Workshop...
We will begin learning about the writing process.  The process involves planning a story, sketching our ideas, writing words to match.  We already know that a writer's work is never done.  When we think we are done we can go back to reread our story as we add to the words and add to the pictures.  We will begin the discussion on publishing our pieces as well.  It's going to be an exciting week for our young writers.

This week in Math...
We will continue with Problem Solving.  We will learn the routines we use as problem solvers so we can become more independent and use the strategies we learn to solve problems.

We will include practice with comparing and ordering numbers this week as well.  We will wrap up our week with data collection and learning about Picture and Bar Graphs.

This week in Word Work...
We have been learning word work procedures for the last two weeks.  We learned how to ninja cut a word sort, how to sort it into groups that are the same, how to sort in a different way and how to glue the sort into our notebook.  This week we will practice our routine more independently with a beginning sound sort.  This week I will begin the Words their Way assessment with the students in small groups.  This data will help me learn more about how your child phonetically spells words.

This week in Reading Workshop...
We will begin thinking about what readers do as they read.  We will practice getting our minds ready for reading, taking a walk through the pictures and activating our prior knowledge.  All of these strategies will help our young readers comprehend the stories they read and form a deeper love of reading!
I'm still looking for a few more parents to come in a read on a weekly basis.  This routine is the same as in Kindergarden.  If the times I listed on the sign up don't work for you I am more than happy to work out a new time! It would be wonderful to get 4 parents involved in reading with the kids weekly!

Here's the sign-up!

This week in Social Studies...
We will continue our PBL project, Coins for Classrooms.  This is when we will get into the "meat" of the project.  We will discuss the reasons why we help others and how we can help.  We will research and learn about hurricanes, coins and helping others.  We will continue to collect coins in the mornings.  If your child can help please sign them up! If they come to the classroom in the morning I can get them situated at our collection point.

Here's the link to Coins for Classrooms

This week in Science...
We will begin unit 3 in Science this week.  We will learn about Changes from Heat. We will focus on the question, What happens to different materials when they are heated?  We will observe what happens to crayons when they are heated.  We will also observe what happens to drink mix (kool-aid) when we remove heat by putting them in the freezer.  This will be an edible experiment.  Please let me know if you would prefer that your child not eat the homemade Popsicle.

Technology...
On Friday we had our first day with the iPads!  For the past two years I've had a class set of iPads in my classroom to ingrate technology into our learning everyday.  This year will be different for me but exciting for your children.  We will do many fun projects and learning activities with the iPads when we have them.  We started Friday with an App called My Story.  It's a great app that allows the children to write a story, illustrate it, record themselves reading it then share it with others.  We will be using this app during writing to create original pieces!

This weeks Life Skill is Caring! We will think about how we care for others through mutual respect and active listening! Our Appreciation Circle will focus on how we have cared for others this week!

Growth Mindset:
We will continue our thinking on how to help our brains grow healthy and strong! This week we will explore The Mysterious World of Neurons! We will dive into the anatomy of our brains!
Last week we watched Episode 3 of Class Dojo Growth Mindset.  Here's the link to Katie Discovers the Incredible Power of YET!

That's all for now! Have a great week!