Dec. 12-16, 2016

Specials
(Refer to your flipbook for a reference of what each day is)

Monday - 5

Tuesday - 6

Wednesday - 1

Thursday - 2

Friday - nonrotation day

Upcoming Events & Reminders
Homework needs to come back in the blue folder every day.
December 15 - Winter Music Program 1:30 and 6:30
HOLIDAY MARKET!!
December 16 - Nonrotation day for Specials and PJ DAY!!!
December 19-30 WINTER BREAK!!!
January 2 - First day to return after break

Spelling List

NO SPELLING TEST THIS WEEK!!!!

Kid-Friendly Objectives
I can write to tell how to do something.
I can read, write, and identify words with the ai/ay spelling patterns.
I can correctly identify and use plural nouns by adding -es.
I can ask and answer questions about a nonfiction text.
I can compare two digit numbers using >, <, or =.

Helpful Links (Click for Descriptions!)
Movie Permission Slip for December 16
Holidays Around the World Sign Up

Week in Review
The holiday gift shop was open all last week! The  kids had so much fun shopping for their families :)

 Globetrot Scott continued sending us souvenirs to help us learn about traditions around the world. The kids were cracking up about the tradition of sending secret notes in napkins in Italy.

And in Italy, they have a Christmas Witch!

 We learned that Boxing Day is a tradition in the Netherlands. Can you believe Globetrot Scott sent us a gift wrapped 293479238479 times so we could have our own Boxing Day? When we finally opened it, it was FROZEN!!! We'll be watching it in our jimmies on Friday :)

We also received this book from Sweden where they have a Christmas gnome.

We made our own gnomes but crazy ol' me left my camera at home that day :(. 

 In math, we had so much fun learning about place value. We know that the first digit tells us the number of tens and the second digit tells us how many ones.

 We practiced building it, drawing the base 10, AND telling it in expanded form (24 is 20 + 4).

 AND...we finally finished our How To books. The kids were so excited that they begged for the opportunity to read their books to the Kindergarteners. We'll be sharing our books with one of the Kindergarten classes this week. They can't wait! :)

I apologize for the lack of photographs this week. Hopefully I won't be leaving my camera at home this week!

Here's to a FABULOUS last week before winter break! Stay warm!

December 5-9, 2016

Specials
(Refer to your flipbook for a reference of what each day is)

Monday - 6

Tuesday - 1

Wednesday - 2

Thursday - 3

Friday - 4

Upcoming Events & Reminders
Homework needs to come back in the blue folder every day.
December 1-9 MAP Testing (all grades) We will assess on December 2nd and the 8th.
December 5 - 9 PTA Holiday Store
*Insert our date*
December 9th - PTA Winter Dance 6-8pm
December 15 - Winter Music Program 1:30 and 6:30
December 16 - Nonrotation day for Specials
December 19-30 WINTER BREAK!!!
January 2 - First day to return after break

Spelling List

Your student will know which list he/she is on.

LIST A (Green and Yellow Reading Groups)

Tail

Main

Bait

Paid

Mail

drain

waist

LIST B (Orange and Blue Reading Groups)

Train

Braid

Snail

Drain

Waist

afraid

sprain

Kid-Friendly Objectives
I can write to tell how to do something.
I can read, write, and identify words with the ai/ay spelling patterns.
I can correctly identify and use plural nouns by adding -es.
I can ask and answer questions about a nonfiction text.
I can describe a two-digit number as a group of tens and a number of ones.

Helpful Links (Click for Descriptions!)
Movie Permission Slip for December 16
Holidays Around the World Sign Up
**Please contact me if you are interested in volunteering to help out with our Holiday Market on December 15 from 9:45-10:45

Week in Review
This week, we were introduced to my friend Globetrot Scott. Globe trot Scott travels all over the world during the Holiday season and he sends us care packages to let us learn about the countries he visits. So far, he has visited France and Germany!

Our package ends up in silly places sometimes. :)
While he was in France, we learned that "Joyeux Noel" means "Merry Christmas" in French. We also listened to Santa Claus' friend, Pere Noel, tell us about traditions in France around the holidays.

And...can you believe it...he sent us YULE LOGS to eat?! The kids were so excited about it that I didn't even have a chance to take pictures of them enjoying the treat because I nearly got knocked down once the package was opened!

He also traveled to Germany this week. In Germany, they use Advent Calendars. He sent us this COOL Advent Calendar and an Advent Challenge to go with it.

 The Advent Challenge reminds us to be kind, caring, and considerate to others during the holiday season (and all year long). Each day, we work hard to earn our Advent Calendar rewards. The first one he stuck in there? a DANCE PARTY!!!

We also read this neat story that Globetrot Scott mailed us, Cobweb Christmas.

We had lots of fun making predictions about the package before we finally opened it. :)

It tells the story of how tinsel came to be a popular decoration in Germany. Can you believe they hang spider ornaments on their trees?!

We also continued working on our How To pieces. This week, we finally chose our topic for our How To Book! This was, of course, after a few more mini lessons on how to make how to pieces effective. The most entertaining? The one where I required students to give directions on drawing a cat...without telling their partner they were drawing a cat.

We pre-wrote our stories by Drawing the steps we want to elaborate on for our final piece.

This was an opportunity for us to learn the power of being specific with our language.

In Language, we worked on Plural Nouns. We looooove doing the motions for adding the s to the end. Next week, we will learn about adding ES to the end. 

Here's to another great week!!

November 28 - Dec. 2

Specials
(Refer to your flipbook for a reference of what each day is)

Monday - 1

Tuesday - 2

Wednesday - 3

Thursday - 4

Friday - 5

Upcoming Events & Reminders
Homework needs to come back in the blue folder every day.
December 4 - PTA 5K
December 1-9 MAP Testing (all grades) We will assess on December 2nd and the 8th.
December 9th - PTA Winter Dance 6-8pm
December 15 - Winter Music Program 1:30 and 6:30
December 16 - Nonrotation day for Specials
December 19-30 WINTER BREAK!!!

Spelling List

Your student will know which list he/she is on.

LIST A (Green and Yellow Reading Groups)

Gate

Lake

Wave

Lace

Fame

shade

chase

 

LIST B (Orange and Blue Reading Groups)

Shade

Chase

Grape

Frame

Brake

*quake

*whale

 

Kid-Friendly Objectives
I can write to tell how to do something.
I can use transition words in my writing.
I can read, write, and identify words with the a_e pattern.
I can correctly identify and use plural nouns. 
I can ask and answer questions about a nonfiction text.
I can solve subtraction word problems within 10.

Week in Review
No pictures from the past week. No worries - you will see many of them on the end of year video! :)

November 14-18, 2016

Specials
(Refer to your flipbook for a reference of what each day is)

Monday - 1

Tuesday - 2

Wednesday - 3

Thursday - 4

Friday - 5

Upcoming Events & Reminders
Homework needs to come back in the blue folder every day.

November 17 - 1st Grade Thanksgiving Lunch 10:50-11:15. You are invited to join us in class at 10:30.
November 18 - 1st Grading Period Student Recognitions 10am in gym. I have sent e-mails informing you if your child is receiving an award this 9 weeks. :) 
November 23-25 Thanksgiving Break NO SCHOOL
December 4 - PTA 5K
December 9th - PTA Winter Dance 6-8pm

Spelling List

Your student will know which list he/she is on.

LIST A (Green and Yellow Reading Groups)

cane

kite

robe

hate

ride

tape

cube

LIST B (Orange and Blue Reading Groups)

quite

bathe

spine

plane

grade

Jane

slate

Kid-Friendly Objectives
I can write to tell how to do something.
I can use transition words in my writing.
I can read, write, and identify words with silent e.
I can correctly identify and use possessive nouns. 
I can tell the main idea of a nonfiction text.
I can relate addition to subtraction in fact families.

Week in Review
Hi everyone! I hope you've had a restful weekend. :) I am always so excited for the weekend to arrive but even more excited to spend another week with your first graders. Here is a glance at what we did this past week.

In our third writing unit, we are exploring How-To Writing. The kids helped me list types of things they might expect to see in a how-to piece (those are the orange items on the list below). 
To introduce this type of writing, I shared a simple recipe with the class.

They helped me identify the title (what the piece is going to teach me), the materials (and maybe what else would be important to use), and the steps/directions.

Of course, their engagement went THROUGH THE ROOF when they realized Mrs. Carney actually brought the ingredients!

We looked over the materials list again and double checked that we were ready to go.

The best part was having your first graders tell me the steps for making the trail mix.

So, so, so yummy.

The next day, we brainstormed a list of all of the things we know how to do. We are going to use this list throughout the whole unit to guide us in choosing topics as we learn more and more about the how-to process.

Here are some of our very first tries - just wait until you watch the transformation by the end of the unit!

"I can teach you how to flip."

"I can show you how to feed my fish. First get the food. Add three drops."

"I can teach you how to read a chapter book."

"I can teach you how to make a castle. It's so much fun! First you need to get blocks. Number two..."

"I can teach you how to do the monkey bars. You swing your arms."

The best part? I DIDN'T EVEN TELL THEM HOW TO DO A HOW-TO WRITING. We brainstormed our list and I released them to write, mostly so I could know what more I needed to teach them. My GOODNESS you have some amazing thinkers. Would you believe that almost every single kiddo started their piece with "I am going to teach you..." or "I can teach you how..." It was the coolest thing to see.

Throughout this unit, your author will learn to:

-add transition words

-"zoom in" (Think: how to do math vs. how to solve a subtraction problem)

-sequence their writing

-stretch out the steps

-identify materials needed

I am SO excited to see what they do. :)

In Language, we began to explore Possessive Nouns.

We had fun labeling our things!

We had a welcomed break in the week by walking over to LCA for Seussical the Musical! We were all very amazed by all of the fun things to look at while waiting to go inside.

 To end the week, we had fun practicing subtraction with...COOKIE CRISP!!!

(Some of us got a little distracted by the "Who Stole the Cookies" song...but that's okay :-P )

I hope you have a FABULOUS week!