This week in First grade...

October 28-November 1, 2013

Pumpkin Carving with Dad's is 

 Thursday, October 31st at 1:30pm

Math:  This week we will wrap up our unit on Data and Graphing!  Candy math has been so much fun!  Come by and see our class graph!  We learned to sort large amounts of items, collect data using a tally chart, display our data in an organized way and answer questions about our data. 

Next week we will begin our unit on Addition Strategies.  We will teach the students strategies for math facts using a research based philosophy written by an Australian company, Origo.  In RRISD we believe students learn best by using thinking strategies instead of memorizing procedures for computations.  According to James Burnett, Calvin Irons and Allan Turton, the authors of The Book of Facts: Addition, “Research shows that the most effective way for students to learn the basic facts is to arrange the facts into clusters.  Each cluster is based on a thinking strategy that students can use to help them learn all of facts in that cluster (Fuston, 2003; Thornton, 1990).”  We begin our unit by teaching cluster facts that “count on 1” so students master the concept and develop a deeper understanding and thinking strategy.  Students who master the concepts of “count on” strategies will be given enrichment opportunities to develop their thinking further and apply their knowledge to problem solving situations.

Reading Workshop:  This week in Reading Workshop we will focus on different reading strategies surrounded around a "pumpkin".  We will read different books about pumpkins and work do a sequencing, retelling with beginning, middle and end, and writing a different ending to a story!  This is a fun unit!   
     This week we will have self-selected reading.  Have your child read 10-15 minutes each night from a book of their choice.  Record it on the reading log that came home in the Tuesday folder.  There will not be comprehension homework this week!  Enjoy reading with your child and building the love of life-long reading!

Writing Workshop:  As we are are learning about pumpkins this week and becoming more aware of different types of non-fiction writing, we will be practicing writing non-fiction while using sequencing words. We are learning that good writers make sure to write their information on correct order and that sequencing words help us do just that by organizing our thoughts and words in logical order from beginning to end. 

Science:  This week in science we will learn about energy.  Energy is the ability to work. We will learn that Light, heat, and sound are three forms of energy. We will discuss how these forms of energy are important and useful in everyday life. We will also explore how common everyday objects produce light, heat, or sound energy.

Habit #4:  Think Win-Win. 

Reminders:

*Please remember to send a healthy snack every day.  Snack time is @ 9:30am.

*Make sure your child wears tennis shoes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

*Library day is Friday.

*Please remember to send back your child’s orange folder every day.

Dates to remember:

October 30:  Early Release Day

November 2:  Harvest Festival

November 13:  Family Skate Night

November 27-29:  Thanksgiving Holidays

December 4:  Early Release Day

December 5:  Family Art Night

December 9-13:  Book Fair

December 23:  Winter Break Begins