Week of Monday, January 9th, 2017
Dear Parents,
Happy (late) New Year! Last week was a lot of review and catching up, so I didn’t send a note. I hope you had a great break--I got a lot of positive energy from the students last week!
I would like to remind you to send in appropriate outer wear. We will be going outside every day if it’s above nine degrees. It’s also important to have shoes here so they aren’t dragging in all the snow and mud from the playground for everyone to sit in!
In literacy we’re starting a unit on nonfiction reading and writing. Non fiction is also known as informational text. We’re starting a unit on penguins that will be part of our math and literacy, as well as some science thrown into the mix. I have lots of informational books on penguins, and they will be the vehicle for learning about nonfiction features.
We are also going to focus on measurement in this unit. We’ll be using inches, feet, and yards and comparing heights.
We have only 5 sight words this week. We will have an assessment next Friday on this week’s and next week’s words.
The sight words this week are:
sit she then say his
This week we are also looking at words that end with _ank, _ink, _onk, and _unk. Some examples are:
bank thank crank tank think rink sink wink pink honk junk hunk chunk bunk dunk skunk sunk punk
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test!
Thank you!
Dear Parents,
Happy (late) New Year! Last week was a lot of review and catching up, so I didn’t send a note. I hope you had a great break--I got a lot of positive energy from the students last week!
I would like to remind you to send in appropriate outer wear. We will be going outside every day if it’s above nine degrees. It’s also important to have shoes here so they aren’t dragging in all the snow and mud from the playground for everyone to sit in!
In literacy we’re starting a unit on nonfiction reading and writing. Non fiction is also known as informational text. We’re starting a unit on penguins that will be part of our math and literacy, as well as some science thrown into the mix. I have lots of informational books on penguins, and they will be the vehicle for learning about nonfiction features.
We are also going to focus on measurement in this unit. We’ll be using inches, feet, and yards and comparing heights.
We have only 5 sight words this week. We will have an assessment next Friday on this week’s and next week’s words.
The sight words this week are:
sit she then say his
This week we are also looking at words that end with _ank, _ink, _onk, and _unk. Some examples are:
bank thank crank tank think rink sink wink pink honk junk hunk chunk bunk dunk skunk sunk punk
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test!
Thank you!
Week of Monday, December 19th, 2016
Dear Parents,
I would like to remind you that we will be making gingerbread houses tomorrow. All candy donations will be welcome!! Also, I am asking for donations of rolls of gift wrap, if you have any. I have some, but another roll or two, or even a partial roll will be gratefully accepted! Don’t ask why, it’s a secret! J
We have 5 sight new sight words this week. We will have an assessment Thursday on this week’s and last week’s words.
The sight words this week are:
put read ran sat run
This week we are also adding ‘s’ to words that we have already practiced, those with bonus letters and glued sounds. Some examples are:
pans cuffs bells walls cans hams shells fans fills calls lamps camps clams
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test!
Thank you!
Dear Parents,
I would like to remind you that we will be making gingerbread houses tomorrow. All candy donations will be welcome!! Also, I am asking for donations of rolls of gift wrap, if you have any. I have some, but another roll or two, or even a partial roll will be gratefully accepted! Don’t ask why, it’s a secret! J
We have 5 sight new sight words this week. We will have an assessment Thursday on this week’s and last week’s words.
The sight words this week are:
put read ran sat run
This week we are also adding ‘s’ to words that we have already practiced, those with bonus letters and glued sounds. Some examples are:
pans cuffs bells walls cans hams shells fans fills calls lamps camps clams
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test!
Thank you!
Week of Monday, December 5th, 2016
Dear Parents,
It’s hard to believe it’s already December! The snow has arrived, and I would like to remind families to send in a full battery of outdoor gear on these snowy days. We will go outside every day if it’s above zero. It’s also a good idea to send a change of clothing, or at least socks, as the snow has a way of creeping into boots and inside of coats!
This week in math I’m giving an assessment on Unit 1 of Eureka. This is going to tell us just what they did and did not understand about numbers to 10, basic addition and subtraction, and word problems. Knowing when to add and when to subtract can be very confusing at this level. Unit 2 is about adding to ten and using ten to help us solve equations.
Again, we have only 5 sight words this week. We will have an assessment this Friday on last week’s words and this week’s words.
The sight words this week are:
or man jump eat if
This week we are also looking at adding ‘s’ to a word to make it plural. Sometimes it sounds like a ‘z’, so this can be tricky! Some examples are:
bags quits nets dogs pens cups lips mops tugs beds zaps runs bugs naps dads moms
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test!
Thank you for all you do!
Dear Parents,
It’s hard to believe it’s already December! The snow has arrived, and I would like to remind families to send in a full battery of outdoor gear on these snowy days. We will go outside every day if it’s above zero. It’s also a good idea to send a change of clothing, or at least socks, as the snow has a way of creeping into boots and inside of coats!
This week in math I’m giving an assessment on Unit 1 of Eureka. This is going to tell us just what they did and did not understand about numbers to 10, basic addition and subtraction, and word problems. Knowing when to add and when to subtract can be very confusing at this level. Unit 2 is about adding to ten and using ten to help us solve equations.
Again, we have only 5 sight words this week. We will have an assessment this Friday on last week’s words and this week’s words.
The sight words this week are:
or man jump eat if
This week we are also looking at adding ‘s’ to a word to make it plural. Sometimes it sounds like a ‘z’, so this can be tricky! Some examples are:
bags quits nets dogs pens cups lips mops tugs beds zaps runs bugs naps dads moms
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test!
Thank you for all you do!
eek of Monday, November 28th, 2016
Dear Parents,
It was wonderful meeting with so many of you at conferences last week! I always gain a little depth of understanding after talking with you all individually.
In writing we have practiced tapping words out, looking at the picture, and most recently, skipping and re-reading. This is skipping the unknown word and seeing what would make sense in that spot.
In math we are continuing with subtraction to solve for a missing addend.
Again, we have only 5 sight words this week. We will not have an assessment on these until next Friday.
The sight words this week are:
this too was went will
The new phonemic feature this week is called glued sounds. These are basically ‘m’ or ‘n’ controlled vowels. Some examples are:
fan can man am Sam Dan jam ran van stand
land sand lamp camp clam plan slam
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test!
Thank you for all you do!
Nancy
Dear Parents,
It was wonderful meeting with so many of you at conferences last week! I always gain a little depth of understanding after talking with you all individually.
In writing we have practiced tapping words out, looking at the picture, and most recently, skipping and re-reading. This is skipping the unknown word and seeing what would make sense in that spot.
In math we are continuing with subtraction to solve for a missing addend.
Again, we have only 5 sight words this week. We will not have an assessment on these until next Friday.
The sight words this week are:
this too was went will
The new phonemic feature this week is called glued sounds. These are basically ‘m’ or ‘n’ controlled vowels. Some examples are:
fan can man am Sam Dan jam ran van stand
land sand lamp camp clam plan slam
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test!
Thank you for all you do!
Nancy
Week of Monday, November 14th, 2016
Dear Parents,
Some of the decoding strategies we are practicing right now are tapping out words, looking at pictures, and skipping and rereading. (An example of this would be if a sentence had a word they don’t know, to leave out the word and read the rest of the sentence. “Lulu had a m______ look on her face.” What would make sense there that starts with ‘m’? Try your word and see if it makes sense in that sentence.
In math we are starting to use subtraction to solve for a missing addend.
This week we only have five sight words. We have been looking at ten each week as they were considered kindergarten review words. Now we’re getting five sight words and five Fundations words. Fundations is the name of the spelling program we are using. We focus on one phonemic feature each week.
The sight words are:
look her him play they
We are still practicing words that have bonus letters. All the Fundations words will end with a double ‘f’, double ‘l’, double ‘s’, or double ‘z’. Some examples are:
off cuff puff will fill fall hall bell yell call tall fell hiss fuss mess toss kiss buzz fizz
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test!
Thank you for all you do!
Nancy
Dear Parents,
Some of the decoding strategies we are practicing right now are tapping out words, looking at pictures, and skipping and rereading. (An example of this would be if a sentence had a word they don’t know, to leave out the word and read the rest of the sentence. “Lulu had a m______ look on her face.” What would make sense there that starts with ‘m’? Try your word and see if it makes sense in that sentence.
In math we are starting to use subtraction to solve for a missing addend.
This week we only have five sight words. We have been looking at ten each week as they were considered kindergarten review words. Now we’re getting five sight words and five Fundations words. Fundations is the name of the spelling program we are using. We focus on one phonemic feature each week.
The sight words are:
look her him play they
We are still practicing words that have bonus letters. All the Fundations words will end with a double ‘f’, double ‘l’, double ‘s’, or double ‘z’. Some examples are:
off cuff puff will fill fall hall bell yell call tall fell hiss fuss mess toss kiss buzz fizz
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test!
Thank you for all you do!
Nancy
Week of Monday, October 24th, 2016
Dear Parents,
As you may have heard by now, Mrs. Coss was in our classroom today as our sub so I could administer the literacy assessment to each child. This is a one on one test that finds your child’s ability to decode words and retell a story, as well as a fluency check.
In math we’re working with missing addend word problems. Some children are finding this very difficult. We’re practicing counting on, or trying to turn the equation into a subtraction sentence to help find the solution.
The spelling words this week are words that end with digraphs. Besides ‘sh’, ‘th’, and ‘ch’ that they practiced last week, we have added ‘ck’. I’m trying to challenge your child while still keeping the words doable for first graders! Your child’s words this week are:
push block splash shock which
church branch track wreck breath
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test! For most first graders, this is the firs time they have had to study and remember words. Last week may have been a bit of a shock for you or your child, but that is simply how they will learn the process. I certainly didn’t record the grades, but for most of them it was a lesson learned, and they should do better this week. The words will come home on Monday every week.
Thank you for all you do!
Nancy
Dear Parents,
As you may have heard by now, Mrs. Coss was in our classroom today as our sub so I could administer the literacy assessment to each child. This is a one on one test that finds your child’s ability to decode words and retell a story, as well as a fluency check.
In math we’re working with missing addend word problems. Some children are finding this very difficult. We’re practicing counting on, or trying to turn the equation into a subtraction sentence to help find the solution.
The spelling words this week are words that end with digraphs. Besides ‘sh’, ‘th’, and ‘ch’ that they practiced last week, we have added ‘ck’. I’m trying to challenge your child while still keeping the words doable for first graders! Your child’s words this week are:
push block splash shock which
church branch track wreck breath
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test! For most first graders, this is the firs time they have had to study and remember words. Last week may have been a bit of a shock for you or your child, but that is simply how they will learn the process. I certainly didn’t record the grades, but for most of them it was a lesson learned, and they should do better this week. The words will come home on Monday every week.
Thank you for all you do!
Nancy
Week of Monday, October 17, 2016
Dear Parents,
We are so lucky to live here! Vermont is such a magical place in the fall, and Shelburne Farms is amazing all year long. We had such an enjoyable day on Friday. I hope you heard about some of the highlights!
In math we are starting to work with missing addend numbers, mostly in word problems. There are several ways to solve these, and hopefully your child will find a way that works for them.
We are starting to get Guided Reading groups off the ground. This Thursday I will be starting the fall literacy assessments to more closely pinpoint your child’s exact reading level.
The sight words are the same as last week:
check shark third where charm
shore those whale shirt cheat
We are also practicing words that have a digraph at the beginning and a short vowel sound.
ship shop shot shut shin chip chin chop chug chop whip when whim then them that thin this
Thank you for any practice you do at home!
Nancy
Dear Parents,
We are so lucky to live here! Vermont is such a magical place in the fall, and Shelburne Farms is amazing all year long. We had such an enjoyable day on Friday. I hope you heard about some of the highlights!
In math we are starting to work with missing addend numbers, mostly in word problems. There are several ways to solve these, and hopefully your child will find a way that works for them.
We are starting to get Guided Reading groups off the ground. This Thursday I will be starting the fall literacy assessments to more closely pinpoint your child’s exact reading level.
The sight words are the same as last week:
check shark third where charm
shore those whale shirt cheat
We are also practicing words that have a digraph at the beginning and a short vowel sound.
ship shop shot shut shin chip chin chop chug chop whip when whim then them that thin this
Thank you for any practice you do at home!
Nancy
Week of Monday, October 10, 2016
Dear Parents,
This is a bit of a short week. We have Wednesday off for the observance of Yom Kippur, then Friday is our field trip to Shelburne Farms. If you have not sent back your permission slip, please do so as soon as possible!
We are continuing to read with partners and trying to build stamina by reading more and more.
In math we’re doing missing addend problems.
We have had really bad luck with our monarch caterpillars. All but one have gone to the big milkweed patch in the sky. This last guy seems to be pretty healthy, so hopefully we’ll get to follow at least this one through the whole cycle!
We are also practicing words that begin with a digraph (sh, th, ch, and wh) and have a short vowel in them.
This week our sight words are:
so the to up we you
We are also practicing words that begin with a digraph (sh, th, ch, and wh) and have a short vowel in them. Some examples are:
ship shop shot shut shin chip chin chat chug chop whip when whim then them that thin
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test! We will not have a test this week, but will spend two weeks on this list.
Thank you for all you do!
Dear Parents,
This is a bit of a short week. We have Wednesday off for the observance of Yom Kippur, then Friday is our field trip to Shelburne Farms. If you have not sent back your permission slip, please do so as soon as possible!
We are continuing to read with partners and trying to build stamina by reading more and more.
In math we’re doing missing addend problems.
We have had really bad luck with our monarch caterpillars. All but one have gone to the big milkweed patch in the sky. This last guy seems to be pretty healthy, so hopefully we’ll get to follow at least this one through the whole cycle!
We are also practicing words that begin with a digraph (sh, th, ch, and wh) and have a short vowel in them.
This week our sight words are:
so the to up we you
We are also practicing words that begin with a digraph (sh, th, ch, and wh) and have a short vowel in them. Some examples are:
ship shop shot shut shin chip chin chat chug chop whip when whim then them that thin
Any practice you do at home will help them do better on their test! We will not have a test this week, but will spend two weeks on this list.
Thank you for all you do!
Week of Monday, October 03, 2016
Dear Parents,
It was my intention to send home a newsletter every Friday, but that really didn’t work for me. I will try for Mondays instead, and will send home a hard copy as well as posting it on my website.
We are working on perseverance in reading, keeping our stamina to read and reread our just right books. Reading is supposed to last for an hour, but we’re not developmentally quite there yet! But we are reading for about 40 minutes daily, either independently or with a partner.
In math we’re looking at different ways to make ten. It is important to be able to make and break numbers to be ready for our next math units.
In spelling we’re practicing C-V-C words, which are simply words that have a consonant, then a vowel, then a consonant. Some examples are:
had cab sat nap rag sad men vet fed leg sip fit bin not hop mom cup sub mud hug
This week’s sight words are a review of kindergarten words. They are: no he me and can do my see an like
We will have an assessment on these words this Friday. Any help you can give at home will really help them excel on the assessment. For now we’re doing K review words, but they will become more challenging as the year progresses!
Thank you!
Dear Parents,
It was my intention to send home a newsletter every Friday, but that really didn’t work for me. I will try for Mondays instead, and will send home a hard copy as well as posting it on my website.
We are working on perseverance in reading, keeping our stamina to read and reread our just right books. Reading is supposed to last for an hour, but we’re not developmentally quite there yet! But we are reading for about 40 minutes daily, either independently or with a partner.
In math we’re looking at different ways to make ten. It is important to be able to make and break numbers to be ready for our next math units.
In spelling we’re practicing C-V-C words, which are simply words that have a consonant, then a vowel, then a consonant. Some examples are:
had cab sat nap rag sad men vet fed leg sip fit bin not hop mom cup sub mud hug
This week’s sight words are a review of kindergarten words. They are: no he me and can do my see an like
We will have an assessment on these words this Friday. Any help you can give at home will really help them excel on the assessment. For now we’re doing K review words, but they will become more challenging as the year progresses!
Thank you!
Week of Friday, September 23, 2016
Dear Parents,
I feel like our class is really making progress! Your children are learning the routines and expectations fairly well by now.
We are reading independently for about 15 minutes a day, then switching to partner reading. We will officially start our Guided Reading groups next week. Some groups will be reading in a group 5 days a week, some will be meeting fewer times than that, depending on need.
We will also start something on Monday called Reading Boost. This is an extra 30 minutes four times a week that we’ll work on literacy skills in small groups. These groups will be flexible and change throughout the year. Some of the children will go with a different adult, simply because of numbers. Your child may come home and say they read with Mrs. Ryan or Mr. Woods. They are two of our literacy specialists.
We will also have four Math Boost sessions a week. This is an extra 30 minutes of math on top of our scheduled hour of math instruction.
This is just a reminder to send in the Scholastic Book Orders if you wish. I will wait until Wednesday to send them in.
Thank you!
Nancy
Dear Parents,
I feel like our class is really making progress! Your children are learning the routines and expectations fairly well by now.
We are reading independently for about 15 minutes a day, then switching to partner reading. We will officially start our Guided Reading groups next week. Some groups will be reading in a group 5 days a week, some will be meeting fewer times than that, depending on need.
We will also start something on Monday called Reading Boost. This is an extra 30 minutes four times a week that we’ll work on literacy skills in small groups. These groups will be flexible and change throughout the year. Some of the children will go with a different adult, simply because of numbers. Your child may come home and say they read with Mrs. Ryan or Mr. Woods. They are two of our literacy specialists.
We will also have four Math Boost sessions a week. This is an extra 30 minutes of math on top of our scheduled hour of math instruction.
This is just a reminder to send in the Scholastic Book Orders if you wish. I will wait until Wednesday to send them in.
Thank you!
Nancy
Week of Tuesday, October 13th
Dear Parents, It was great meeting with so many of you last week! I always get such great insight about your children from you! The formal literacy assessments will begin today. I’ll be testing each child individually and finding exactly where they are reading independently. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to practice tackling tricky words. Homework bags are going home today. Please write questions in the composition book, and have your child write the response. We’re working on equations of numbers with the sum of 6, 7, 8, and 9, plus we’re adding 10 to larger numbers. RAZ Kids is a program that helps reinforce reading skills, and you can do it at home. Log on to the BSD website, and from there go to the Champlain Elementary page. Then click on Student Learning Links, and find RAZ Kids. Our password is nleon1. Your child can click on their own name and they’ll have books they can read. They listen to the book, read it, then answer questions about it. There are only five sight words this week. They are: be that done his they The Fundations words all end with ff, ll, ss, or zz. Some examples are: shell fill chill fall pull hall bell yell call will ball tall wall fell doll cuff puff off huff fuss mess toss kiss pass buzz jazz Bill Thank you for any practice you can do at home! Nancy Week of Tuesday, September 15th, 2015
Dear Parents, We are settling into our schedule very nicely. We are starting to remember rules and expectations, and are starting to show more respectful and responsible behaviors. It’s beginning to feel a lot like first grade! As was stated in yesterday’s note, we started having Reading Boost this week. It will make our schedule very tight. I send my attendance to the office at 8:10 and we get started with our day immediately after that. We will be starting with our Math Boost next week. This week’s sight words (more Kindergarten review words) are: see no day got the can you was and yes The extra words are words that begin with a digraph. Ask your child what a digraph is. They should know that it is one sound made by two letters, such as ‘sh’, ‘ch’, ‘th’, and ‘wh’. Some examples are: shop shin ship chip chin chat chug chop whip when then them that thin she Any practicing of these words that you can do at home will really help them on their Friday assessment. Thank you so much! Nancy |
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