Archive of ‘Class News’ category

Week 9 Highlights

Notes for Parents:

CELEBRATIONS:

Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to ELLIOTT for always believing in himself and trying new things!

OUR LEARNING:

Reading– We wrapped up our first unit 1 reading and reflected by making construction hats to show that readers “build” good habits! This week we read 4 different versions of the three little pigs and voted on our favorite! We practiced our 5-finger retells and worked on comparing and contrasting the books.

Writing – Students finished publishing their small moment stories and we wrapped up our unit by celebrating! I am SO PROUD of these students, they wrote some amazing small moment stories!

Math – We began solving subtraction equations this week using circle drawings. The number of circles represents the total, a line crosses out the number being taken away (followed by a break apart stick), and the number of circles not crossed out tells us our answer! See the example below for a visual.

Word Study – We spend this week reviewing blends and digraphs! We did lots of picture sorts and games to review.

Upcoming Dates:

Week 8 Highlights

Notes for Parents:

  • Please note that this Friday, October 23rd, will be an early release day. There will also be NO SCHOOL on Monday, October 26th.
  • Our Fall Celebration will take place on Friday, October 30th! Please see the document below for more information and a supply sign-up. [embeddoc url=”https://emilykuiper.edublogs.org/files/2020/10/2020-Fall-Celebration-1.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

CELEBRATIONS:

Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to Evan for always choosing kind words.

First Grade Family Time – Here are our “award-winning” first-graders from today’s family time.

Mystery Reader – Ryleigh’s grandma surprised our class as a mystery reader this week!

Walkathon – First grade was the top-earning grade level for the walkathon! We celebrated with an extra recess and popsicles this week.

OUR LEARNING:

Reading– This week we focused on partner reading! We learned that partners can give book introductions. We also learned that partners do not tell one another what tricky words say, instead, they can cheer one another on and remind one another of good habits to solve tricky words!

Writing – Students chose their favorite small moment story to publish! This week we began revising and editing these stories using a checklist. Next week they will finish publishing and will share their stories with their classmates.

Math – We learned a new addition strategy this week, counting on with hands. Students reach out and “grab” the bigger partner, then use their fingers to count on the small partner. 

Word Study – We went on a snap word hunt and found as many snap words as we could in a read-aloud. At the end of the week, we watched a special message from Rasheed and received diplomas for graduating from our first unit of word study!

 

Upcoming Dates:

  • Monday, October 19
    • MUSIC
  • Tuesday, October 20
    • PE
  • Wednesday, October 21
    • ART
  • Thursday, October 22
    • STEAM
  • Friday, October 23
    • STEAM
    • Early Release
  • Monday, October 26
    • NO SCHOOL
  • Wednesday, October 28
    • Fall Celebration Supplies Due!
  • Friday, October 30
    • Fall Celebration

Week 7 Highlights

Notes for Parents:

  • Please be sure to send back your child’s baggie books every day so your child can swap out his/her book! 
  • Friday journals were sent home on Friday! Please write back to your child and send the journal back to school on Monday. Students will get a chance to read these in school on Monday!
  • Pumpkin book characters are due Monday, October 12th!
  • This year’s Turkey Trot will be virtual! Here is more information for you: [embeddoc url=”https://emilykuiper.edublogs.org/files/2020/10/Turkey-Trot-Flyer-2020-FINAL.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

CELEBRATIONS:

Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to Emerson for always being herself!

First Grade Family Time – Here are our “award-winning” first-graders from today’s family time.

Mystery Reader – Mrs. Kuiper’s husband surprised our class as a mystery reader this week!

Star Prize – We met our goal of 10 stars again and celebrated on Friday with “dress fancy” day! The kids looked so beautiful and handsome!

OUR LEARNING:

Reading– We learned more strategies to solve tricky words! We can use meaning, do a double check, and try reading words with different vowel sounds.

Writing – We began studying the book Night of the Veggie Monster to learn some new craft moves. This week we learned about writing with ellipses and exact actions.

Math – We began our second unit all about addition and subtraction strategies. This week we practiced using circle drawings to write and solve equations.

Word Study – We learned more snap words this week and practiced them with an activity called “dribble, dribble, shoot.” Students dribbled the letters like a basketball to spell the snap words and then shot the word like they were trying to make a basket.

Upcoming Dates:

  • Monday, October 12
    • STEAM
  • Tuesday, October 13
    • MUSIC
  • Wednesday, October 14
    • PE
  • Thursday, October 15
    • ART
  • Friday, October 16
    • STEAM
    • Library

Week 6 Highlights

Notes for Parents:

  • Please be sure to send back your child’s baggie books every day so your child can swap out his/her book! 
  • Friday journals were sent home on Friday! Please write back to your child and send the journal back to school on Monday. Students will get a chance to read these in school on Monday!
  • Pumpkin book characters are due Monday, October 12th!
  • This year’s Turkey Trot will be virtual! Here is more information for you: [embeddoc url=”https://emilykuiper.edublogs.org/files/2020/10/Turkey-Trot-Flyer-2020-FINAL.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

CELEBRATIONS:

Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to Madeline for always cheering others up and sharing her smile!

First Grade Family Time – Here are our “award-winning” first-graders from today’s family time.

Mystery Reader – Elaina’s mom surprised our class as a mystery reader this week!

OUR LEARNING:

Reading– We are learning strategies for reading tricky words! Students can look at pictures or break the word into chunks.

Writing – We learned how to bring our stories to life! We can make characters move, talk, think, and feel in our stories. 

Math – We took our first unit assessment this week and our first graders did an AMAZING job! I was so impressed. 

Word Study – Our special word study buddy, Rasheed, brought us lots of snap words this week! We studied them closely and practiced reading, studying, spelling, writing, and using them in sentences. Snap words are words that first graders know in a snap, just like popcorn words in kindergarten!

Upcoming Dates:

  • Monday, October 5
    • ART
  • Tuesday, October 1
    • STEAM
  • Wednesday, October 2
    • MUSIC
  • Thursday, October 3
    • PE
    • Jet’s Pizza Night
  • Friday, October 4
    • ART
    • Library

Week 5 Highlights

Notes for Parents:

  • Thank you SO much for all of your support of our school walkathon! All of the money raised will go towards books, classroom supplies, technology upgrades, field trips, and more! Here are some pictures from our fun day!

 

  • Interested in being a Zoom mystery reader in our classroom this year? We would love your help! Follow this link to see available slots and to sign-up. Please provide 5 “clues” about yourself in the comments section.
  • Please remember to help your child read and return his or her baggie book to school EVERY day! This will help them continue to grow as readers.
  • Towels were sent home to be washed on Friday! Please return them to school next week.

CELEBRATIONS:

Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to ARIYA for always trying!

Mystery Reader – Reagan’s dad surprised our class as a mystery reader this week!

OUR LEARNING:

Reading –  This week, we learned the importance of setting goals, reading smoothly, and scooping up words! We also started our new book shopping routine this week. Each week, students get to pick out 11 new books to keep in their book box (4 “just right” books, 3 non-fiction books, and 4 series books). On Friday, we brought our Poetry Binders outside to practice reading fluently and vowel sounds.

Writing – We continued our small moment storytelling this week by writing a shared writing story together! Students worked together to write a story about the first time we met our class mascot, Rasheed. We focused on starting our sentences with capital letters, using finger spaces between words, and adding details.

Math – This week we wrapped up our Unit 1 by learning about the partners of 9 and 10. We will spend next week reviewing and taking our first math test!

Word Study –  This week Rasheed taught us all about short vowels and blend in words. We looked closely at some of our classmates’ names to learn more.

Upcoming Dates:

  • Monday, September 28
    • PE
  • Tuesday, September 29
    • ART
  • Wednesday, September 30
  • Thursday, October 1
    • MUSIC
    • Picture Day
  • Friday, October 2
    • PE
    • Library

Week 4 Highlights

Notes for Parents:

  • Walkathon paperwork came home with your child last week. This is our ONLY fundraiser of the year, and it is HUGE for our PTC! Please return these fundraisers in your child’s blue folder before the Walkathon this Thursday, September 24. Our class is currently in THIRD PLACE… if we win, our class will get a pizza party!
  • Interested in being a Zoom mystery reader in our classroom this year? We would love your help! Follow this link to see available slots and to sign-up. Please provide 5 “clues” about yourself in the comments section.
  • If your child participates in a fall sport, please email me their schedule! I LOVE supporting our first graders outside of school, too. ❤️

CELEBRATIONS

Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to APRIL for always being a great listener!

First Grade Family Time – Here are our “award-winning” first-graders from today’s family time.

OUR LEARNING:

Reading– We are “building good reading habits” in first grade! This week, we learned the importance of taking a sneak peek at the beginning and doing something at the end of a book. We got our own special reading spots around the room and we got “milk and cookies” reading buddies.

Writing – We continued our small moment storytelling this week by writing our OWN stories! Students learned to plan and sketch before they begin writing. They also learned different strategies for spelling tricky words!

Math – We are becoming experts at number partners! For example, the partners of 6 are 1+5, 2+4, 3+3, etc. We have been using our workbooks to practice writing these partner equations for 6, 7, and 8.

Word Study –  We got our class mascot, Rasheed, this week! He has been teaching us about the letters and sounds in our names.

STAR Assessments – WHEW! We did it! Our first graders are required to take an online reading and math assessment at the start of the school year. We are ALL done!

Upcoming Dates:

  • Monday, September 21
    • MUSIC
    • Spirit Week: PJ Day
  • Tuesday, September 22
    • P.E.
    • Spirit Week: Silly Socks
  • Wednesday, September 23
    • ART
    • Spirit Week: Crazy Hair
  • Thursday, September 24
    • STEAM
    • Walkathon
    • Spirit Week: Hat Day
  • Friday, September 25
    • MUSIC
    • Library
    • Spirit Week: Maize & Blue Day
  • Wednesday, September 30

Week 3 Highlights

Notes for Parents:

  • Walkathon paperwork came home with your child on Friday. This is our ONLY fundraiser of the year, and it is HUGE for our PTC! Please return these fundraisers in your child’s blue folder before the Walkathon on September 24. 
  • Interested in being a Zoom mystery reader in our classroom this year? We would love your help! Follow this link to see available slots and to sign-up. 
  • If your child participates in a fall sport, please email me their schedule! I LOVE supporting our first graders outside of school, too. ❤️ 

CELEBRATIONS

Quote of the Week – Each week, our class learns about a new quote and spends the whole week trying to embody that quote. At the end of the week, Mrs. Kuiper awards a friend from our class who really shined with that quote’s energy from throughout the week. This week’s quote went to MASON for always being up for a challenge! 

First Grade Family Time – Every Friday, all of the first graders at Georgetown get together for a little assembly! At the assembly, we celebrate our learning, give awards for the quote of the week, along with awards for lost teeth, shoe-tying, & birthdays from the week. Here are our “award-winning” first graders from today’s family time. 

  

10 Star Reward – We did it! Our amazing class of first graders earned 10 stars! We celebrated by having pajama day today! ❤️

OUR LEARNING:

Reading– We learned about our Reader’s Workshop model of a mini-lesson, LOTS of time to read, and a share at the end. We also signed a Reader’s Workshop contract and discussed teacher and student jobs.

Writing – We began writing personal narratives this week! Students wrote about what they did over the summer, on the first day of school, and at recess

Math – This week’s math lessons focused on simple addition and subtraction from 0-10. We used our math workbooks for the first time, and we wrote lots of partner equations. 

Social & Emotional – We continued learning about our emotions this week and brainstormed a list of emotions that we can feel.

Word Study – We have been working on reviewing our letter names and sounds from kindergarten! 

Upcoming Dates:

  • Monday, September 14
    • MUSIC
  • Tuesday, September 17
    • P.E.
  • Wednesday, September 18
    • ART
  • Thursday, September 19S
    • STEAM
  • Friday, September 20
    • MUSIC
    • Early Release

Week 2 Highlights

Notes for Parents:

  • Please remember to send me a note or email if your child has a transportation change!
  • Please practice shoe-tying with your first grader! This is a BIG BIG help for us as we have lots of little shoes to tie each day. 

CELEBRATIONS

Star of the Day – We had three star students in our classroom this week. April, Mason, and Mahlek each shared an “All About Me” page and got to be the line leader for a day!

Quote of the Week – Each week, our class learns about a new quote and spends the whole week trying to embody that quote. At the end of the week, Mrs. Kuiper awards a friend from our class who really shined with that quote’s energy from throughout the week. This week’s quote went to ELAINA for being a kind friend! 

First Grade Family Time – Every Friday, all of the first graders at Georgetown get together for a little assembly! At the assembly, we celebrate our learning and birthdays from the week. We also give awards for the quote of the week, lost teeth, and shoe tying.

OUR LEARNING:

Word Study- We practiced snapping, clapping, and stomping the beats (syllables) in words and then blending the beats back together smoothly. We also played a game where we practiced changing the first sound (phoneme) in our classmates’ names!

Reading We started reader’s workshop this week by talking about how to be a “book buddy” instead of a “book bully” and practiced book shopping from our classroom library! Make sure to ask your child what books they picked to have in their book box this week. 

Math This week’s math lessons focused on number formation, making partners of 10, and skip counting by 2’s and 5’s.  

Social & Emotional We met Mr. Penguin, a stuffed penguin who will help us talk about our emotions throughout this school year!

Upcoming Dates:

  • Tuesday, September 8
    • MUSIC
  • Wednesday, September 9
    • PE
  • Thursday, September 10
    • ART
  • Friday, September 11
    • STEAM
    • Celebrate Elliott’s birthday!

Week 1 Highlights

WOW! What an amazing first week! These first graders are ROCKSTARS and have worked so hard this week. Check out what we’ve learned so far:

OUR LEARNING:

Morning Routine – We are practicing using our lockers, taking care of our blue folders, and starting our morning on the right foot. Here is a picture of your child’s morning routine here at school.

Soft Start – No one likes to get right to the hardest jobs when we arrive to work in the morning! It’s helpful for our students to ease into the school day, too, by relaxing when they arrive. “Soft Start” is a time when students can chat with their friends, do a calm activity, and prepare for the day in a non-stressful way. We got to practice lots of soft start choices this week: coloring, play-doh, whiteboards, and more.

Classroom Rules – We have four important rules in our first grade classroom. This week, we have been practicing what each rule looks like and sounds like! Following these expectations helps our classroom be a safer and more loving place where everyone can learn. Our classroom rules are follow directions quickly, raise your hand to speak, make smart choices, and be kind. Ask your child if he or she can show you the hand motions to go with each rule!

Scoreboard – Mrs. Kuiper loves playing games at school! Our class plays the scoreboard game every single day. Students want to earn “Speedy Wolf” points so they can race toward the finish line! But, we earn “Slow Turtle” points when we are not following classroom rules, because it slows down our classroom learning. At the end of the day, if our class earns more “Speedy Wolf” points, we get a STAR! 10 stars = a class reward.

Notes for Parents:

  • Please send in two snacks for your child each day. It works wonderfully if these snacks are in a spot in their backpack and not in their lunchbox; this saves first graders any confusion about what they should be eating for snacks and lunches! 🙂
  • Please practice shoe-tying with your first grader! This is a BIG BIG help for us as we have lots of little shoes to tie each day.

Upcoming Dates:

  • Monday, August 31 – PE
  • Tuesday, September 1 – ART
  • Wednesday, September 2 – STEAM
  • Thursday, September 3 – ART, 12:15 pm early release
  • NO SCHOOL Friday, September 4 – Monday, September 7
  • Tuesday, September 8 – MUSIC

Here are some more pictures from our FIRST week of FIRST grade!

Our First Day Together!

We had an AWESOME first day together full of meeting friends, eating snack on our towels, and learning a little about what we will do this year in first grade! Here are some pictures of us eating our snacks outside:

 

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