This week in First Grade...

February 21st – 24th

Monday, Presidents Day, is a school holiday.

Words Their Way:
Every Friday your child will take a spelling test. Please ask your child what color group he/she is on so you can work on the spelling words at home during the week. They will be on the same color group as last week in class.


Green Group: Sort by blends sp, sk, sm; small, spool, skate, smoke, spy, a, an, but, been, come
Blue Group: Sort by blends pr, dr, tr; dragon, drive, tree, pray, troll, a, an, but, been, come
Red Group: Sort by Short a vs. Long a; (CVC, CVCe, CVVC, CVV) stand, slave, they, tray, may, gray, gain, taste, aid, say, shape, past, pray


Reading Workshop:
This week we will be continuing with the non-fiction genre for reading workshop. We have learned about: listing the characteristics of non-fiction, and finding out what to do before, during and after reading non-fiction. This week, we will be checking out non-fiction books from the library and comparing them with our non-fiction chart that we’ve made in our classroom.

Writer’s Workshop…
Expository writing will continue as we write our own “All-About Books”. We have begun choosing a main subject and four big questions to go along with our main subject. We will continue organizing, writing rough drafts, revising, editing, and working on the final drafts of our books this week. Our goal is to have some books completed and published by the end of the week!

Math:
We have been working on building a strong foundation in the fundamentals of addition this week. Our next section of this unit will be using the “Doubles Strategy” to develop efficient mental computations as part of our logical, step-by-step approach to learning math. At home, please start memorizing the doubles: 1+1=2, 2+2=4….. 9+9=18

Science:
Our natural resources unit is a big hit with the students. We will continue journaling our observations, and exploring ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle our Earth’s natural resources. Rocks will also be compared and measured by size and weight.


Reminders:
*Every Tuesday is our library day. Please remind your child to turn in their library books.
Feb 20 No School Presidents' Day
Feb. 28 Spirit Night out at Catfish Parlour
March 3 Family Dinner Night in the Caraway Cafeteria
March 22 Talent Show for K-3
March 23 Talent Show for 4-5

Thank You:
To Stephanie C. for stuffing the folders this month!

Thank you also to Cary K., Gina J. and Lisa M. for planning a phenomenal Valentine's Day party! The students loved it! It was a huge hit!

Thank you from me for all of the yummy treats!!! My family and I enjoyed them all!!