April News

April News

April 1st - Reading Month/Penny Drive Celebration
First grade won the penny drive!  Our prize is to watch a movie in the gym as a grade level.  We will be watching Toy Story 3 on Friday morning in our pajamas.  Your child may wear his/her pajamas to school that day, bring their favorite stuffed animal and bring their favorite beach towel to sit on during the movie showing:)  We will also be receiving pop and chips in the afternoon as a cummulation prize for reading month.  The pop and chips will both be Michigan made going with our Michigan Road Trip theme!

April 4th - 8th - Sprink Break :)

April 11th - MSU Butterfly Gardens
We will be leaving school around 11:30am to head to MSU to visit the butterfly Gardens.  All parents are welcome to join us there, however there is not enough room on the bus for all of us:)  We plan on arriving there around 12:15, eating lunch outside weather permitting and then visiting the gardens from 1:00-2:00pm.  We must leave by 2:00pm to get back to Hutchings on time.  Your child must pack a sack lunch this day as we will not be at school to eat lunch! We will be returning to Hutchings no later than 3:15pm and your child will be able to ride the bus home from school.  If you have not yet turned in your child's permission slip and money, please do so by this Friday or your child will not be able to attend the field trip with the class. Thank you!

April 12th - Fine Arst Festival (1st, 3rd, 5th grades)
Your child will need to arrive to school betwee 5:30-5:45pm.  We are the first performance and will start promptly at 6:00pm.  Please do not be late as it will be hard to get your child up on stage once the program has begun:)

April 22nd - Good Friday (No School) :)

I think that is it for now....more to come for the end of the year:)   Ms. Benear

MARCH FAMILY PROJECT

Roadtrip Through Michigan

Get out your maps of Michigan because we are on our way to learn

about different places in our wonderful state!

As a family…work together and find facts about a specific city in our super state. 

Please help your child find 3 interesting facts about the city they choose.  The facts should be child friendly (i.e.…Kalamazoo has a car museum or Ann Arbor has a cool bike trail).  Your child will then present the facts he or she found to the class using a poster, real life pictures, or any other prop to help relay these interesting facts to the class.

The best part is…you get to choose your city! 

Below are the students, their presentation date and their chosen cities:)

Jason B. – Sault Ste. Marie (March 22)

Abby – Frankenmuth (March 22)

Hannah – Charlevoix (March 22)

Alaina – Traverse City (March 25)

Justin – Cheboygan (March 22)

Aiden – Fenton (March 23)

Dylan – Detroit (March 23)

Andrew G. – Lansing (March 23)

Raleigh – Whitmore Lake (March 25)

Gabbey – Grayling (March 22)

Lilly – Lake Leelanau (March 23)

Elayna – Leroy (March 25)

Jason N. – Ann Arbor (March 22)

Liam O. – Lake City (March 25)

Bryant – Novi (March 25)

Ella – Houghton (March 22)

Nolan – Milford (March 23)

Sara – Mackinaw City (March 23)

Kendall – Grand Haven (March 25)

Liam T. – Ludington (March 25)

Stephen – Dearborn (March 23)

Lindsay – Cadillac (March 23)

Brevin - Holland (March 22)

March Family Project Rubric

Below is the rubric I will use to grade your child on his or her Michigan city report!

Child’s name: __________________________

_____ I told the class the name of my city.  It was ______________.

____  I told the class 3 child friendly facts about my city.

_____ I looked at the audience when I was speaking.

_____ I spoke clearly and slowly.

_____I used props, pictures or illustrations to make the information

          more interesting.

____/5

Comments: ________________________________________________

If you have any questions....please don't hesitate to ask:)

Ms. Benear :)

  

MARCH IS READING MONTH

March is Reading Month

Every March our school celebrates reading month!  This is always a big deal with all of the students as they try to read as much as they can and get cool prizes along the way! Our theme this year is "A Reading Road Trip Through Michigan!"  Your child was send home a sheet of slips to record their reading as well as a calendar of all the fun activities for the month!  Please help your child record his/her times on the blue slips....they cross off one Michigan symbol for every 15 minutes they read.  When one whole slip is complete, please send it back with your child to school!  Your child will then be entered to win prizes!  This year, there are individual, classroom and school prizes for reading. Also, every Wednesday is "Headlight Reading" day when the students may bring in their flashlights for silent reading time...they love this!  Every Friday will be a spirit day when your child may dress up according to the theme that day!! All information came home in a packet last week.  Please let me know if you have any questions....and please encourage your child to read as much as possible this month!!!

THANK YOU

Just wanted to say thanks for all you do for your child and our school:) Our carnival basket "Howell Pride" turned out great and raised some money that will be put directly back into our classroom!  The February president reports were outstanding:)  Thanks for helping your child with their props and with memorizing their four first grade fun friendly facts about their president!  I was very impressed:)

February Family Project

February Family Project

What better way to celebrate President’s Day than a Family Project? Your child is going to have a chance to teach the class about a president, but they need YOUR HELP. They will be teaching each other on February 23rd, 24th, or 25th (see below for day).

Please help your child learn about his or her president. He or she will have to find four facts about his or her president. Be sure to help him or her find four facts that are interesting to them. They may find it more interesting as to what kind of pets the president had rather than a war that was fought.

For the presentation he or she may dress up as the president and tell four facts, sing a song about the president with four facts, draw a picture about the president including four facts, make a book about their president with four facts, or be as creative as possible to teach the class four facts about their president. Attached is a rubric to help you! I will be filling out the rubric after each presentation!

Here are a few websites to help children learn about his or her president…
• http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/PeoplePlaces/Georgewashingtonicecream
• http://pbskids.org/wayback/prez/secrets/index.html
• http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/uspresidents.htm
If you need any other assistance or have any questions, please let me know.

The children last year had a great time learning some interesting facts about all of the presidents! Some of their favorite facts were about pets, nicknames, and other facts first graders find interesting. Have a great time with this!

Thank you in advance! Ms. Benear :)



I will be scoring the presentations with this rubric:

Name_______________________________________

1. ___The name of the president was clearly stated.
The president was __________________________

2. ___Used a strong speaking voice.

3. ___Looked at the audience while speaking.

4. ___Used props, pictures, or illustrations to make the
information more interesting.

5. ___Taught four first grade friendly facts about their president.

Comments:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


___/5

HOWELL PRIDE

HOWELL PRIDE

Our carnival basket theme this year is "Howell Pride!"  We thought it would be nice to support our town and have a basket that shows where we are from:)  For those of you who do not know, every classroom compiles a basket (theme of their choice) to be raffled off the night of the carnival.  All the money collected for each basket goes straight back into the classroom that made the basket.  Tickets are $1 a piece and the winning ticket pulled gets to take the basket home!  So please help us out by donating anything to do with Howell Pride!  And don't forget to put some tickets in our basket the night of the carnival:)  We are also in need of someone to donate the basket/item to house all the Howell gear we collect, so let me know if you are interested or if you find something fun that will work!

Any questions, please ask!  Ms. Benear :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy New Year 2011...Wow!

Just wanted to touch base and let you know about a few things.

1. Don't forget about the family project for January...the HOW TO project due Friday, January 14th! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

2. We will begin our Rebecca Sitton Spelling program this week. Your child will have 5-6 words to work on each week. We will be working on these words during school hours too! I will write the new words on the blog every Monday as well as send the list home with your child. An explanation of the Sitton spelling program will be coming home today as well:)  Please be sure to help your child study and learn these words at home!

3. Please send an extra bag to school with your child to hold outdoor clothes if needed...the children are having a hard time fitting everything in their backpack. I had one parent ask if it was ok to leave extra snow pants and shoes at school so her child did not have to bring them home each day...YES!!! If you have extras your child may leave them in his or her locker!

4. Writing folders are coming home today!  Please have your child read through his/her writing pieces with you and together decided on the best/favorite piece to bring back to school to publish!  Please talk with your child about their writing, we have been working on using a bold beginning and an excellent ending.  Your child's pieces should show improvement in spelling, punctuation, ideas and organization at this point!  They are doing great:)

5. I will begin January testing next week (week of January 10th) so be expecting reading books to come home that are new and have not been practiced in class as they normally are!

I think that is it for now....thanks for a great 2010:)  Looking forward to all the leaps we are going to take together in 2011!  Please continue to encourage and support your child at home, they are doing great in class and I am so proud of each and every one of them:)

Welcome back!  Ms. Benear

January Family Project

First Grade Family Project

Each month we will be sending home instructions on a project your child will need your help with. These family projects will coincide with a grade level content expectation (GLCE) that we are working on at the time. Please help your child prepare to present his or her project to the class. Thank you so much in advance for taking the time to do these projects with your child. These projects help connect home to school.

January
The project for the month of January is a HOW TO project.

 

Be sure to use the attached packet to help you complete this project.

A HARD COPY HAS ALREADY BEEN SENT HOME

1. Please help your child brainstorm and list activities you can do together as a family. (ex. Make a sandwich, play a game, brush your teeth)
2. Choose one of the activities and decide what items you need to perform the activity. (peanut butter, jelly, bread, knife, plate, etc.)
3. After you have collected what you need, do the activity with your child. While engaged in the activity, be sure to talk about what you did FIRST, NEXT, THEN and LAST.
4. When you have finished the chosen activity please have your child draw a picture and write a sentence for each step of the activity. Be sure to begin step one with FIRST, step two with NEXT, step three with THEN, and step four with LAST.
5. Please return this family project by Friday, January 14th

Thanks so much!  Ms. Benear :)

Polar Express Party

All Aboard the Polar Express

Our Polar Express celebration will be
Wednesday, December 22nd from 10:00 – 11:30 am 
Please let me know if you will be able to join us and help or if you are able to bake train sugar cookies!

We need your help to make sure this party is a great one. Please let me know if you are able to come in and help. The party will be from 10:00 – 11:30. The children will board the Polar Express…get a ticket (punched by a parent)…sit on the train and listen to the story. When we are finished with the story, the children will go to various centers around the room (headed by parents). They will have hot cocoa, decorate train cookies and make some Polar Express crafts. It will be an exciting morning. That afternoon we will watch the movie and compare it to the book!

Here is a list of the items needed for the Polar Express party.  Please send in the item that has your child's name next to it by Monday, December 20th!  If you are unable to get that particular item, please let me know as soon as possible.

Thank you so much!  Ms. Benear:)

1 package of bells - Jason B.
1 container of vanilla icing - Abby, Hannah, Alaina
1 container of oats - Justin
Holiday candy sprinkles - Aiden
Christmas colored ribbon - Dylan, Andrew G., Stephen
1 pack of Christmas bulbs (plastic that hang on a tree) - Raleigh, Gabbey, Lilly
Christmas colored yarn - Elayna
Food coloring - Jason N.
1 bag of marshmallows - Liam O.
1 package of Christmas colored beads - Bryant, Ella, Nolan, Sara
1 package of bells - Kendall
25 plastic spoons - Liam T.
25 paper plates - Andrew T.
1 package cocoa cups with lids - Lindsay, Brevin

Family Turkey Project

Family Turkey Project

Dear Families,
Please work with your child and make a turkey to present to the class any way you desire. Use anything you have around the house to make the turkey!

Discuss what materials might be suitable to use to make your turkey, decide how to attach materials, etc. Talk with your child about this project and work together to create it.
Please send the turkey to school with your child by Friday, November 19th!

Each child will have a chance to show the class their turkey and tell them…
1. What materials were used?
2. Who helped them?
3. How they made the turkey?
4. What is their favorite part of their turkey?

This is an exciting project for the children. I am looking forward to seeing some “VERY FINE TURKEYS”!

Have some family fun with this one…anything goes!
Thanks, Ms. Benear

Reading Groups

This week I will NOT be meeting with reading groups. Instead I will be individually testing the children on reading and DOLCH words. I will let you know how they do by sending home a letter telling you if they are reading at, below or above the expected level at this time. They should be reading at a level 4 at this time.

Though I will not be meeting with groups, I will be sending home a new book or homework sheet each night. Please be sure to read the book with your child and remember we did not read it together, so it may be a little more difficult.

1. Have them do a picture walk...tell you what is happening in the story by looking at the pictures.
2. Point out any words that may be tricky for them or show them the pattern in the book.
3. Then read the book together or have your child read to you.
4. While reading remind your child to use the strategies I have taught them to figure out the word. Please use the bookmarks located in their reading bags!

Be sure to send the pink/green bag back each day with your child as he or she will turn in the book they read with you and get a new one. Please be sure to check the bookmark in your child's reading bag to make sure you have the correct book and know the objective if it is stated!

Thanks so much!  Ms. Benear:)

November News

November News

Ms. Benear's First Grade



Pumpkin Science: This Friday from 2:45 - 3:30pm we will be investigating pumpkins. Please let me know if you are available to help with this project at that time.  I will also need six medium/large pumpkins donated.

50's Day: November 15th is the 50th day of school. Because EVERYONE celebrates the 100th day of school...I thought it would be fun to celebrate the 50th day by dressing in 50's garb, bowling in the classroom and having a sock hop, skip and a jump! This is not a party, but I encourage you to help your child dress up!

Family Turkey Project: This project is for the entire family. Your "homework" is to create a turkey out of anything you can find around the house. We have had balloon turkeys, leaf turkeys, huge pretzel bin turkeys, clay turkeys, hand print turkeys, edible turkeys, etc. Brainstorm with the entire family and come up with a clever turkey. Please send it to school with your child on Friday, November 19th. The children will be presenting their turkeys to the class. They should be able to tell what materials they used, who helped, how they made their turkey. Don't worry...more detailed info coming your way!



What You Need To Know About Your First Grader

Your First Grader
From: PBSParents.com

The Basics
First grade marks an important milestone for young children who finally feel like part of a "big" school. They may eat in the cafeteria for the first time or play outside during recess without the direct supervision of their own teacher, experiences that help first graders feel more independent. First graders now have to use the social skills they developed in preschool and kindergarten in more mature ways. But the true magic of first grade happens as children develop the ability to understand what letters and numbers really mean. When they’re ready, they’ll be able to "crack the code" and read words.

Language & Literacy
First grade is traditionally thought of as the level where children learn to read. Not all children become fluent readers by the end of the first grade, but most take their first solid steps toward fluid reading. Their reading material varies from simple rhymes, to classroom news, to patterned stories and beginner non-fiction books. By the end of the year, most are reading grade-level chapter books and some are reading at even more advanced levels. First graders love true stories of long ago, even though their sense of time isn’t well developed. Some good historical books include The Man Who Walked Between Two Towers by Mordicai Gerstein, My Brother Martin by Christine King, and The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles.

First-grade teachers help children listen for sounds in words, write the sounds they hear, and discover parts of written language, like the –at in cat that they can then use to figure out the words hat, mat, and sat.

Writing, like reading, takes a variety of forms in the first-grade classroom. Children "invent" their spellings as they work out their understandings of written language. Writing activities include journal writing, writing creative stories, or documenting their work in other subject areas. Teachers frequently ask children to sound out the words they write to introduce the sounds that letters make.

Math
First graders begin to grasp more abstract mathematical concepts. Children are introduced to time, money, and the meaning of numbers greater than those they can count. Because first graders still learn best by working with physical objects, teachers give children materials to use during math lessons such as number cubes, pattern blocks, and color rods.
First graders start to do simple addition and subtraction problems. They learn to count by 2s, 5s, and 10s, which will help them later when doing math equations. They also work with 2- and 3-dimensional geometric shapes.


Science
Teachers encourage first graders to find their own answers to questions about the natural world, and to learn to find patterns in that world. They may be introduced to concepts that require them to understand more than they can explore concretely, such as living things being made up of small parts. Common science explorations include water and weather, the parts of the human body, and identifying characteristics of plants and animals. Children may also experiment with motion and with how pushing and pulling affects an object.


Social Studies
First-grade social studies is framed by the concrete world of family, school, and neighborhood. First graders can tell the difference between events that happen in the past, present, and future, although they are not ready to match real meanings to different time intervals. Events that happened 20 years ago and 100 years ago are all part of the same "past" time period to a first grader, unless they’re related to things that children are familiar with, like "That was when your grandmother was a baby."
Socially, first graders are much more independent and responsible for their own actions than they were in kindergarten. Therefore, knowing how to follow rules and take care of themselves becomes important. Becoming self-sufficient enough to navigate through a school’s routine (like finding the classroom or bathroom by themselves) is an important part of first grade.

Understanding an Abstract World
First graders move slowly from a world of play into a world of symbols and concepts (with a lot of backtracking along the way). This doesn’t mean that play is not still important, but it does mean that learning in first grade becomes more organized and routine-based, with a lot of room for children’s explorations.


The First Steps
To get a handle on the way your first grader’s brain is developing, think back to her first baby steps. Your child was probably a master crawler before taking those initial wobbly steps. First graders take those same baby steps away from the familiar information that they are comfortable with into a bigger, abstract world that is more difficult to understand. During those early toddling days, your child probably reverted to crawling in order to get somewhere quickly. Similarly, your child will still be more comfortable gaining knowledge through exploration and play. A first grader’s brain is just beginning to grasp a few concepts at the same time, and then to make connections between those concepts.
You can see this in a first grader’s writing. Children use "invented spelling" by writing in ways that make sense to them. They use what they know about sound and spelling relationships to get their ideas onto the page. They haven’t mastered all the letter sounds or spelling rules that they need to be fluent writers, but they’re willing to use what they know to work out the puzzle of written language.


Learning From Mistakes
First graders learn by doing and by making mistakes. These mistakes can be frustrating, so they need positive reminders of the many ways that they are powerful learners.
Until now, most of their learning and growth have been part of a natural progression that took place in the comfortable worlds of play and home. They may have worked hard to learn how to slide down the fire pole in the playground, but no one gave them a grade on how well they did, or how long it took them to accomplish the task.
In first grade, children begin to acquire skills in areas they may not be completely comfortable in — and they may be graded on them. First graders are asked to work with more difficult material and may feel like they are struggling for the first time in their lives. These new situations can sometimes lead normally confident children to feel unsure about their abilities. Previously, they have been "masters" at whatever they did. But now they may feel pressure to learn to read and to grasp more complicated math and science concepts. Therefore, first graders need to be surrounded with excitement and encouragement, and given examples of how we learn from mistakes.


Learn the Lingo

What’s Invented Spelling?
When children use invented spelling, they invent spellings that make sense to them as they learn the relationship between letters and sounds. The more exposure they have to reading and writing, the more these inventions come to resemble proper spellings. Teachers generally expect to see correct spellings appear gradually. By the third grade, teachers will usually look for correct spelling in a student's book reports, projects and other work.

Why do teachers read aloud to young children?
"Teachers read aloud to young children regularly for good reasons:
· Children learn to enjoy stories and appreciate language;
· they learn new words and their meanings;
· their experiences are stretched with new information;
· perhaps most important, they become book fiends — eager to read on their own."

Nancy Roser, Ed.D. Professor of Education, University of Texas at Austin. Author, Helping Your Child Become a Reader

Benear's Breaking News

Week of October 11th

Math Test: Friday, October 15th


Please review with your child the following concepts to be sure they are ready for Friday's math test:
-how to count and read tally marks
-how to count and add together nickels and pennies to get a total
-how to draw the hour and minute hand to the nearest hour
-how to add and subtract numbers up to 10
-how to count by 2s and 5s using a number line

Reading Strategies
Your child will be learning new reading strategies this week during guided reading time.  The strategies are listed below, but can also be found on a bookmark inside your child's reading bookbag as soon as we learn them all.  These are strategies for your child when they come to a word they don't know.  Please feel free to look these over and also utilize with your child at home:) We will be learning one new strategy each day during guided reading for the next seven days!!!


Eagle Eye - Look at the pictures for clues to help figure out the word
Lips the Fish - Get your lips ready.  Say the first few sounds of the word out loud, read to the end of the sentence and then say the sounds again.
Stretchy Snake - Stretch it out.  Stretch the words out slowly and then put them back together again to say the word.
Chunky Monkey - Chunk the word. Look for a chunk or word part you might know.
Skippy Frog - Skip it, skip it. Skip the word, read to the end of the sentence and then hop back and read it, read it.
Tryin Lion - Try it again.  Try to reread the sentence and then try a word that might make sense.
Helpin Hippo - Ask for help!  After you have tried all of the other strategies, ask for help!

Text Talk

Book: Mole's Hill

Vocabulary Words:

burst

gathered

quivered

strolled

compromise

obstacle


Please encourage your child to use these new words in their writing and speaking this week!  They absolutley love using "big kid" words.  We learn them every Wednesday and Thursday of each week:)

Poem of the Week

In 1492,

In 1492,

Columbus sailed across the sea,

In 1492.

For 70 days he sailed,

For 70 days he sailed,

Columbus sailed across the sea,

For 70 days he sailed.

He came to a new land,

He came to a new land,

Columbus sailed across the sea,

And came to a new land.

Exploring he did go,

Exploring he did go,

Columbus sailed across the sea,

Exploring he did go.

He sailed back home to Spain,

He sailed back home to Spain,

Columbus sailed across the sea,

Then sailed back home to Spain.


**We are focusing on the -ail word family this week to coincide with our poem of the week:)

I think that is it for now.....more to come!!!!! :)

Hutchings Hurricane Hustle

Reminder:  Last day to turn in donations for the Hutchings Hurricane Hustle is Monday, October 18th.  The all school hustle will be on Friday, October 22nd.  We will all be walking from our school to Latson Rd. and back.  Our class is currently in 2nd place overall and we would love to be in 1st place after Monday.  Last year, we won our Bounce House Party for being the class to turn in the most donations....so keep it up:)  The students are very excited about this!!

Thanks for all of your support!
Ms. Benear

Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)

Just an FYI.....

Parents who wish to be on the PTO email list (to receive PTO newsletter and information) should contact Cathy Shields at hutchingsptoinfo@sbcglobal.net.  Also, parents can view PTO information through Facebook (search “Hutchings Elementary”).

Mystery Items Needed

I am setting up some literacy bins where the children will have a chance to read and write while practicing "real world" activities such as grocery shopping, bank, etc. To get these bins set up I need many interesting items. Please look around the house and see if you have any of the items below. If you wish to donate an item to the class simply send it to school with your child! THANK YOU so much in advance for your help:)

Bank Box Items Needed...
play money, lock box, deposit slips, purses, wallets, pads of paper

Construction Box Items Needed...
tape measures, hard hats, blueprints, small hammers, levels, tool aprons,small screw drivers, scraps of wood, pads of paper

Florest Box Items Needed...
Plastic or Silk flowers, green stem wrap, plastic vases, gift cards, tissue paper, small baskets, pieces of plastic foam

Grocery Store Box Items Needed...Plastic fruits and veggies, small empty food containers, small grocery bags, play money, cash register, plastic foam meat trays with pictures of meat glued on them and covered with plastic wrap, box of coupons, purses, used gift cards for credit cards, newspaper grocery ads

Hospital Box Items Needed...
Adhesive bandages, cotton balls, stethoscopes, gauze, face masks, white jackets, doctor's bag (kit), prescription note pad

Office Box Items Needed...Paper clips, paper, cool pens, envelopes, old laptop computer, note pads, sticky notes, telephone

Restaurant Box Items Needed...
Tablecloths, cloth napkins, menus, flower vases and plastic flowers, silverware, plastic plates, plastic glasses, trays, water pitchers, notepad

Post Office Box Items Needed...
Small mailbox, envelopes (lots of different sizes), fake stamps, small boxes, packing materials, notepad

Any other items you think may work well in the above boxes...please feel free to send them in:)

Also....I am in need of some Beanie Babies to teach reading strategies!  Beanie Babies (or any small stuffed toy) needed...
hippo
snake
frog
lion
fish
eagle
monkey

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF YOUR DONATIONS....THEY ARE MUCH APPRECIATED!!!

Howell Highlanders Love To Volunteer

If you are planning on volunteering in our classroom at any time throughout the year as a parent helper, a mystery reader, during a holiday party or on a class field trip you need to fill out the proper paperwork in the office.  You must fill out a criminal history file search authorization packet.  These forms are good for two years, so if you have filled one out for Hutchings before, but it was longer than two years ago, we need you to fill it out again.  If you filled one out last year, you should be good to go for the year.  I know this may be a pain, however, I think we would all agree that it keeps all of our children safe here at school.  So I think it is well worth your time:)  If you would like me to send home a form for you to fill out, just send me an email and I will be sure to get you one.  Just send it back to school with your child and I will take care of it from there!  Thanks so much for keeping us all safe!!!

News From Room 1110

Parent Helpers

Parent Helpers will start in our classroom the week of October 18th:)  Parent helpers will assist our class with reading and writing small groups, math skills, getting classroom materials and supplies ready, putting student portfolios together, etc. I will be sending home a parent helper schedule very soon...it will be a generic month calendar that we will utilize for the entirety of the year.  Please let me know if you have any questions or do not see your name on the calendar and would like to volunteer!

Reading Groups

We shave tarted daily reading groups in class.  Your child will be meeting with me every day for reading instruction in a small group setting.  Each day your child will be receiving a new leveled book based on their current reading level.  Inside thier take-home reading bags will be their new reading book for the day, a blue GO MAP and a white bookmark.  The blue GO MAP is for you to use to ask your child questions about the book after they have read it to you.  They may not know all of the components of the GO MAP yet, but feel free to help them out with it at this time.  The white bookmark will list the book they should have for each day along with the reading objective we focused on during reading instruction. Please question your child on the reading objective of the day, to be sure they understood the concept.  More to follow.......

Text Talk

We have started Text Talk, a reading comprehension/vocabulary program.  Every Monday, we read a new book, stopping at each page and talking about the text and what is happening in the story.  We reread the story again every Tuesday.  Wednesday and Thursday we learn three new vocabulary words and practice using them in context.  On Friday, we take a practice quiz so the students can see which words they learned form the week.  I encourage the students to use the new vocabulary words in their writing and in their language.  I will work on posting the six vocabulary words each week so you can also encourage your child to use the words at home....the students are really excited about thier "big" words and love trying to use them!  It is such an amazing program and the students love it!

Ruby the Copycat

coincidence

loyal

bitter

murmured

recited

sensitive

Math

Our first math test went great:)  The students did a great job following along as I read the test to them and filling in their own answers!  You should be very proud of them!  We are currently on Unit 2 - The Everyday Uses of Numbers.  We are focusing on using number grids, learning our telephone numbers, labeling numbers with units (books, elephants, crayons, tally marks, $,etc), telling time to the hour, pennies and nickels, addition and subtraction number models and number stories. Our Unit 2 test will be Thursday, October 14th...the students should be prepared to count and write tally marks, count and add up a combination of nickels and pennies, draw the hour and minute hands on a clock, add and subtract 1 and 0 from a number and count by 2's and 5's.

Mystery Reader

We are still in need of mystery readers on Fridays.  Please email me if you would like to surprise our class and read to us!  It is at 12:45pm on Fridays and only takes about ten-fifteen minutes.  Please consider this as the students are loving trying to guess who the mystery reader of the week is:)

Writing Workshop Portfolios

We write everyday in class during writing workshop time.  This is where we practice our writing skills such as using spaces between our words, writing from left to right, starting each sentence with a capital and ending it with a punctuation mark, stretching out our words, etc.  The students keep all of thier writing pieces in their green writing folders at school.  Once a month, at the end of the month, the students will be bringing home their green writing folders and reading all of their writing pieces to you at home.  Together you will choose their "best well-written" piece and send back only that piece.  All the remanining writing samples are for you to keep at home.  We will then publish their best piece in class and keep for their 1st grade portfolio.  Please be sure to return your child's best writing piece inside their green writing folder to school the next day. Thanks for all of your help:)

Poem of the Week

Every week, we will have a new poem to learn in class.  We will also focus on a new word family that coincides with the poem of the week.  I will work on posting the poem of the week each week so you can encourage your child to practice the poem at home and teach you the words:)

Fire Safety Poem

Listen now, this is no joke,
Before a fire, there's always smoke,
If you smell it, go outside,
Never find a place to hide,
Stay down low and crawl away,
Fire trucks are on the way.

I think that it is for now....as always, stay tuned as there is always more to follow:)  Thanks again for all of the continuous support you provide your child at home.....education is all about making connections between school and home!  It sure does take a village to raise a child....I am thankful for all of you!

Ms. Benear :)

Curriculum News

 

 

 

Math: Homelinks are coming home daily to review the concpets we are learning in class.  The only time you will not see a homelink is when we have a math test that day in class We have our first math test this Friday, September 24th going over writing the numbers 1-6, writing tally marks to desrcibe a number and continuing a counting pattern.  We have been playing lots of partner and group games during class to learn these concepts. Ask your child to teach you how to play "Monster Squeeze" or "Top-It"!  Please be sure to help your child remember to turn in their homework every day as they will earn a point on Powerschool for each turned in homelink.

Science: We have started our Weather Watchers unit that will take us through January.  We have been observing the weather using four of our five senses.  We've already had the opportunity to do our rain lesson and used a rain guage to measure the amount of rainfall on our first rain during school.  Please talk with your child daily about the weather to help them continue to be great weather watchers:)

Social Studies: We have been learning how to get along with others during our first social studies unit.  Ask your child to sing the "Getting Along With Others" song we have been practicing in class.  We get along with others by talking, listening, sharing and taking turns!

Handwriting: Just a reminder that we are using the HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS handwriting program. To get a better idea of what the children are learning you can go to their website... http://www.hwtears.com/. I will also be sending home a "cheat sheet" for you so you know the language we use here at school to write letters. The children should be writing their letters between the two bottom lines on their paper. We will be practicing at school not just writing the letters using the lines during handwriting time, but all of the time.

Spelling: Soon I will begin sending home individualized spelling words for each child in the class. At this time I will not be testing children on the same words as some children are more confident with spelling than others. I will send home your child's list each Monday along with ideas to help with spelling practice. The words I choose will come from your child's writing so they are words tailored to them and words that are important to them as individuals. Your child will have five words to practice. We are practicing here at school, but please practice at home also. I will post a list of spelling practice ideas here on the blog. The children have a blast and really learn their words! On Friday, I will ask the children to write down their words. If they have been practicing...they should be able to write each word on the line. If they are struggling to remember though, I will surely help them!

Reading: I will begin testing the children next week to find out where everyone is with reading. After that I will group the children according to reading level and meet with each group for 15 minutes each day. The children will have reading homework each night. Your child will bring home a reading bag with the book they are to read at home. Please be sure the read the book with your child and initial his or her chart to show that he/she read to you. Most of the time your child will have already read the book in class. Sometimes we will not have time to read the book before sending it home. Please be sure to read the books each night! The reading should take no more than 10 minutes. If it is taking too long or the child is struggling, please stop and send me a letter. I don't want homework time to be a terrible time, I want it to be a time where your child shows you what he or she has learned that day!  Reading groups will begin next Monday!

Writing: During writing time each day I will meet with a group of children to work on certain writing skills. I will periodically send home a paper telling you what we are working on. The children are really working hard during writing time. They are working on starting with a capital, ending with a period, leaving spaces between the words and utilizing both capital and lowercase letters. 

Oral Language: Each week the children will be participating in many different oral language activities. Together we will learn about the "Monster of the Week" on Monday. On Tuesday, the children will guess what is in the Mystery Bag. This bag may be sent home with a child, so if it is just put an small item into the bag and send it back to school. The item will be sent home that day! On Wednesday, the children will work together in small groups on listening skills. These groups are called Buzz Groups. On Thursday, the children will ask yes or no questions and a child will try to guess the picture on their HEADBAND without looking! On Friday, the children will work on Listening skills by participating in a listening activity. This sill be sent home each Friday!

The Daily Five: We have been working very hard on the Daily Five the first two weeks of school. The children have learned how to independent read and buddy read. We will begin learning how to listen to reading, work on writing and word works.  We will do the daily five every day in school to help increase reading comprehension and fluency among the students.  The students will have the opportunity to complete each part of the daily five every day while I will be pulling out reading groups to individualize reading instruction.

Text Talk: I have started a reading program that works on comprehension and vocabulary building.  Each week, I read a story to the class, stopping after each page and checking comprehension to teach the students how to "think" when they read.  I will then teach them 6 BIG WORDS that showed up in the story and the students try to use them in their reading, writing and speaking:)  Please be sure to ask your child about their new vocabulary words at home

 

That's it for now...but I will keep you posted on new curriculum updates we are working on in class:)  As always, thanks for sharing your child with me this school year.  We are off to a great start!!