Dates

February 18 - NO SCHOOL - Presidents Day
February 20 - 1st Grade Field Trip
February 20 - Board of Education Meeting - Central Middle (7pm)
February 21 - Elementary Summer School Registration Begins at 10am
February 21 - Parkway Science Fair Registration Deadline
February 21 - Talent Show Auditions (4:30-7:30pm)
February 22 - 5th Gr Field Trip
February 22 - Kids Heart Challenge Envelopes DUE
February 22 - Family BINGO Night in the Gym at 6:30 pm
February 25 - Read Across America / Dr. Seuss Week
February 25 - PTO Penny Wars Fundraiser BEGINS
February 26 - Dr. Seuss Night (6:15-7:45 pm)
February 26 - 1st Gr Dr. Seuss Concert (7:30-7:45pm)
February 27 - 2 Hour Late Start Day (School Starts at 11:05)
February 27 - 2nd Trimester Progress Reports Accessible Online
February 28 - Spirit of Excellence at UMSL (6:15pm)
March 1 - Parkway STEM Fest at Southwest Middle (4-8pm) AND
                Science Fair Project Viewing from 4-6pm
March 2 - Parkway STEM Fest at Southwest Middle (10am-4pm) AND
                Science Fair Project Viewing from 4-6pm

Math

This week we are beginning our Addition and Subtraction II unit. This unit focuses on adding a 2-digit number to a 1-digit or 2-digit number with the sum less than 100, and subtracting multiples of 10 less than 100.  Students will find answers using concrete models, drawings, properties of operations, the relationship between addition and subtraction, and strategies based on place value.  Written methods are related to strategies, with the expectation that students can explain the reasoning used.  We will really be focusing on this explaining skill and also in looking at the work and others and determining how efficiently they solved a problem. . This unit builds upon all the work we've done so far this year, and their foundational knowledge should support these more complex number situations.

Writing - New Unit - Writing Reviews

This unit aims to bring opinion writing to first-graders.  First-graders will learn to appreciate the power and purposes of writing. Students will learn the art of persuasion and the role their writing can play. The unit begins with teaching students that writing can give them a way to make and defend important decisions.  Eventually, children will use their skills at writing to make and defend judgments to write reviews of all sorts- restaurant reviews, movie reviews, book reviews. Our main focus will be book reviews.

Students will record their book reviews (think Reading Rainbow style) and to celebrate the class will view all the reviews!

Nikki Grimes

Our class is studying Ms. Nikki Grimes this month as a celebration of Black History Month. We are enjoying reading her works as well!

Calendar

February 11 - Six Flags "Read to Succeed" Forms DUE
February 11 - Talent Show Registration ENDS
February 11 - Project Parkway Mtg @North High (6:30 pm)
February 14 - End of 2nd Trimester
February 15 - NO SCHOOL - Records Day
February 18 - NO SCHOOL - Presidents Day
February 20 - 1st Grade Field Trip
February 20 - Board of Education Meeting - Central Middle (7pm)
February 21 - Elementary Summer School Registration Begins at 10am
February 21 - Parkway Science Fair Registration Deadline
February 21 - Talent Show Auditions (4:30-7:30pm)
February 22 - 5th Gr Field Trip
February 22 - Kids Heart Challenge Envelopes DUE
February 22 - Family BINGO Night in the Gym at 6:30 pm
February 25 - Read Across America / Dr. Seuss Week
February 25 - PTO Penny Wars Fundraiser BEGINS
February 26 - Dr. Seuss Night (6:15-7:45 pm)
February 26 - 1st Gr Dr. Seuss Concert

Habit #5 Refresh

All this month we will be doing review of habit #5. We will be doing many fun listening activities and some lessons to reinforce this! Look for a Habit #5 home connection coming home later this month!

Conference Sign Up

It's nearly that time again!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4fa5ae22a4fa7-spring2

What Are We Learning This Week?

Here's a quick look at what we are learning this week!

Writing: We continue to work on poetry! The students' notebooks are filling up with all different kinds of poems and they are having so much fun! This week we are working on color poems, 5 senses poems, comparison poems (learning about similies), and shape poems. We will begin publishing poems next week.... I'm thinking a class book of poems!

Math: Students continue to strengthen their understanding of place value and working with two-digit numbers. We are comparing numbers and using the symbols to describe greater than/less than/equal to (+  -  =). Students will use a number line this week as they work with comparing two-digit numbers. In addition, we are doing some subtraction review and some of us are working on more complex multi-step story problems.

Reading: We are still in our story elements unit. This week we are doing responses in our reading notebook. Students are filling out a variety of story maps but we are also analyzing characters and students are providing their opinion about stories and characters. Last week students created reading "wigs" and they are independently tracking them! They were SO excited to start this and are doing a great job tracking their progress!

----> What is a WIG? A WIG is a "wildly important goal"! Students have set a reading level goal based on their data and movement so far this year. Students have chosen 1 "lead measure" (what they need to do to meet the goal) and are tracking this daily in their leadership notebooks. The Lead Measures they chose from:
1. Practice Sight Words
2. Stay focused during reading time
3. Do something when finished (retell, reread, respond, etc.)
4. Find and define 5 new words in my vocabulary notebook
5. Personalized lead measure based on student's needs

Social Studies: Students continue to learn about American Symbols with Ms. Baum. They are working hard on creating their symbols books.