This week

Lots of reminders for the week!

- It's conference week! Thank you for arriving on time for your appointment. This keeps us on track as many conferences are back to back.
- Wednesday is a late start : School begins at 11:05
- Screen Awareness Week: Send in screen-free slips as your child completes them
- Book Fair is going on this week in the library

Reading - Character Study

Last week we begin our next reading unit. We are transitioning from non-fiction back to fiction for a bit. During this unit we will learn how we can get to know the characters we read about. Comprehension and deeper thinking are key goals in our reading instruction now that students are efficient decoders.

Last week we talked about identifying physical and external character traits. This week we will discuss internal qualities and traits. Students will think about how a character acts, what they say, and what they do and then describe them using character traits such as: silly, serious, happy, curious, etc., etc.

EQ Update

Here are the essential questions we are currently work on in class!

Writing:
- Why do people compose expert books?
- How do people organize books so others can learn about topics?

Math:
- How does creating models help us make sense of problems?
- How can understanding place value help me solve problems?
- How can I communicate my math thinking?

Reading:

- How do readers get to know their characters well?

- What can readers learn from characters and their experiences?

Social Studies:

- What makes a good leader?

- What do symbols tell us about our country?

Writing - Expert Books

We are beginning our new unit - a non-fiction writing unit. During this unit students will ponder what they are an expert on and write a book about that topic. The second half of this unit students will write a "how to" book.


In Kindergarten, students used a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. In first grade, students will become more independent with writing about a topic of interest, while adding supporting details and adding a sense of closure.

 Students are selecting topics in which they already feel they are experts and therefore will not need to conduct research within this unit.  Later in the school year when students write Nonfiction Expert Books Based on a Mentor Text, students will conduct research to add to what they already know on a topic.

This week we are using graphic organizers to find areas the students feel they are experts in. We will plan for an expert book using a graphic organizer web and then a table of contents to organize our thoughts.

Week of 2/27

There is a lot going on next week! It is conference week - sign up for a time if you have not already, please. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4fa5ae22a4fa7-spring

It is also Read Across week - we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss' literature!

And... screen awareness week! Slips will go home Friday. :0)

Also... THE BOOK FAIR!

We will be very busy!

Read to Succeed

The six flags read to succeed forms need to be turned in no later than this Thursday the 16th! Students with 6 hours or more of reading get a free six flags ticket. Let me know if you need another form. Thanks!

Conference sign up

Here is the link to sign up for conferences. When you have a moment, book a time!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4fa5ae22a4fa7-spring

Six Flags Read to Succeed

Remember the Six Flags read to succeed forms are due by the end of the month! Children who complete 6 hours of reading get a free ticket to the park. Thanks!

Statue of Liberty

Today we took a virtual tour of the Statue of Liberty. The kids really enjoyed it, so I wanted to share the link with you!

https://www.nps.gov/featurecontent/stli/eTour.htm

This Week's Homework

Please take a look at the back page of this week's homework. There is a special assignment. Since it is black history month, we are taking some time as a class to research a famous African American. Please look over the directions and let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for your help with this fun project! :)

Reminder - Field Trip 2/16

Please remember our field trip to the Magic House is next Thursday, February 16th! We will leave right away after announcements in the morning and return a little after noon. Students will need a sack lunch because we will eat in the classroom as we get back to school. If you are joining us, I will have more specific information for you closer to time. Thanks :)

An Exciting Publication

Parents, a few months back Raghoodi's father, Dr. Kareem Azab came in to share with our scientists about his job as a scientist and explain his work in cancer research. Photos from his visit were published through Washington University. Check them out here!

https://www.facebook.com/WashingtonUniversityCMMN/
https://www.facebook.com/AzabLab/

What we are learning this week...

Here is the "snack size" version of our curriculum updates. I'm working hard on grading and writing progress reports, so here is a snapshot of what we are working on at school this week. :)

Writing:
-Blue book assessment : A piece of writing the students receive no conferences over or help with. I will use this as a data point (along with other samples) as I work on progress reports
-Verbs: Verbs are action words we can use to "unfreeze" our characters and make stories more exciting
-Using graphic organizers to plan for a story: Students will practice using a graphic organizer to plan for a fiction story.
-Focus is still working on a well-developed beginning, middle, and end

Math:
-Add 2 multiples of 10
-Use mental math to add tens to a 2-digit number
-Use a hundred chart to add tens and ones
-Use a number line to solve addition problems
-Continued work with story problem solving and explaining/justifying answers and analyzing others' work

Reading:
-Finding important facts in a non-fiction fact
-Identifying main idea/supporting details

Social Studies:
-Statue of Liberty
-White house
-Bald eagle
-President's Day

Valentine's Day Information

Tuesday, February 14th is Valentine's Day. While we will not be having a Valentine party, the students will be able to hand out/collect valentine cards if they choose. We will be creating bags here at school to collect the cards. I will be sending home a list of students' (first) names if your child would like to personally address his/her cards.

The Parkway Food Protocol does not allow for children to share food, give candy or other edible items to other students.  If a student brings a Valentine with candy attached to it, the child will place the Valentine/candy in the other children's Valentine bag.  The children's Valentine bags will be sent home (unopened) for parents to determine whether or not their child may receive the Valentine Candy.  We will not be able to allow the children open or eat the candy at school or on the bus.

Thanks for your help with this. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Word Work

This week our pattern is -ake and the challenge list is: bakery, earthquake, keepsake, handshake, rattlesnake, snowflakes

If your child is consistently getting 7/8 or 8/8 I would encourage you to work on the challenge list with them at home. Many of the words this week are compound words, which is something I am working with in reading groups.

If your child has missed multiple words on an assessment, it's a good idea to keep those chunks posted somewhere around the house and refer back to them from time to time. These spelling patterns transfer into reading and writing and becoming familiar with them really puts them at an advantage as they move into second grade next year!