Notes for Parents:
- For our realistic fiction writing unit, our final project will be creating a series boxed set. We would greatly appreciate the donation of cereal boxes for this project! Please send in any empty cereal boxes with your child between Monday, April 26th and Friday, May 7th.
- Scholastic Book Club orders are due Thursday, April 29th.
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to NORA for taking great care of the Earth!
First Grade Family Time – Here are our winners from this week!
Earth Day – On Friday we celebrated Earth Day! We did a virtual visit with our adopted cow, Daisy, made “dirt,” watched The Lorax, and made a craft.
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – This week students created their very own character that they will use for their realistic fiction series! They used a character web to describe what the character looks like, where he/she lives, and what kind of trouble he/she could run into! Students began writing book one of their series. I was blown away by their creativity! For this unit, our final project will be creating a series boxed set. We would greatly appreciate the donation of cereal boxes for this project over the next two weeks!
Word Study – We began a new bend of our unit and learned all about capital letters this week. First graders learned that we need capital letters at the start of a sentence, the start of the name of a person or place, the start and end of a letter, the word I, and starts of dates.
Reading– We are wrapping up our unit on Getting to Know our Characters. The week readers worked to retell- identifying the beginning, middle and end of what they read. We also focused on finding our stories’ problems and solutions. This was a great connection to writing and helped to give us ideas for the stories we are writing.
Math- We completed our first quiz of the unit which you should have seen come home earlier this week! We also began learning how to compare within a story with the help of comparison bars. These are very similar to math mountains, but instead of trying to figure out a total we are comparing to see who has more/less and how many more/fewer. We will be taking our test for this unit next week.
Social-Emotional– We started a new Social-Emotional Unit this week- Respect and Anti-Bullying. The unit kicked off with a story about Little Penguin encountering a bully and learning to handle the situation.
Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, April 26
- Tuesday, April 27
- Wednesday, April 28
- Thursday, April 29
- Friday, April 30
Notes for Parents:
- Please continue to read with your child for 20 minutes, 5 times a week!
- If you are interested in donating an item for our Earth Day celebration, you can sign up here.
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to ADALYN for always including others and making everyone feel like they belong!
First Grade Family Time – Here are our Family Time award winners from this week!
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – This week we began our new writing unit, From Scenes to Series! We will be learning how to write well-elaborated realistic fiction stories throughout this unit. Our class worked together this week to develop a character and we began a shared writing together. You can support your writer at home by asking your child about the character, what the character’s problem is, and how the problem is solved.
Word Study – We took a special look at our snap words this week, and we studied some of the words that may be extra tricky. We sometimes make bloopers with these words because the spelling doesn’t necessarily match the sounds in the word. (ex: might doesn’t sound like “m-ig-h-t”). We also got a special delivery from Rasheed that helped us build big compound words with some of our snap words, such as “something” and “anywhere.”
Reading – We are still in our unit about Getting to Know our Characters. This ties in well with our new writing unit as we can take the stories we are reading and imagine a new story for the character. This week we used all we know to solve tricky words. We kept practicing and didn’t give up when the words got hard. We used the pictures in our stories to help us better understand our story. We also worked on our retell skills, highlighting the characters, setting, and story events.
Math – We began Unit 6 this week which covers comparisons and data. The kiddos learned some new vocabulary that will help them throughout this unit. We focused a lot on sorting different items and comparing the data to figure out which groups had the most/more or fewest/fewer.
Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, April 19
- Tuesday, April 20
- Wednesday, April 21
- Thursday, April 22
- Friday, April 23
- MUSIC
- Early Release
- Earth Day Celebration
Notes for Parents:
- Friday journals were NOT sent home before spring break… we will pick these back up when we come back!
- A new word list was NOT sent home this week. The next list will come home the Monday we return from spring break!
CELEBRATIONS:
Spring Fling – To celebrate spring, first grade had spring fling! Students played bingo, drew a peep, did spring yoga, and more.
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – To wrap up our persuasive writing unit, students got to choose their favorite persuasive letter to send to someone! If your child wrote to you, feel free to write back to them.
Word Study – We focused on learning tricks to remember how to spell snap words this week. One trick is an acronym for ‘family,’ “Father And Mother I Love You.” Another trick is using our hands to make the word ‘bed.’
Reading– While we got to know our characters better this week we looked for clues to make our acting just right, imagined new endings to stories, and thought about the audience we were reading to. It has been a great March is Reading Month. We enjoyed celebrating with your children and can’t believe all the growth they have shown.
Math- This week we took our Unit 5 test! It was a tricky unit for our kiddos with a lot of different skills mixed in. Please take some time to look over the questions to gain a better idea of where your child is at. Keep practicing tens and ones at home! After break, we will be starting Unit 6: Comparisons and Data.
Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, April 12
- Tuesday, April 13
- Wednesday, April 14
- Thursday, April 15
- Friday, April 16
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to ADRIAN for always seeing challenges as opportunities to grow!
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – This week, students practiced editing their persuasive letters. We practiced rereading and asking ourselves, “Does it make sense?”, correcting our capital letters and punctuation, using the word wall to spell snap words correctly, and stretching out the sounds in tricky words.
Word Study – Students learned that the /er/ sound in the middle of words is usually made by ir or ur. One strategy to figure out which one is correct is to try writing it both ways to see which one looks right. We also studied some different spellings of the /air/ sound: are, ere, air, and ear.
Reading – This week while getting to know our characters we- imagined what characters might say by using the pictures, worked to smooth out our voices, and tried putting ourselves in the character’s shoes.
Math – We used a 100 grid to help us add and subtract groups of ten. Then, we practiced adding groups of ten to any 2-digit number using a variety of strategies such as 10-stick drawings, math mountains, and mental math. Next week we will take our test for this unit!
Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, March 29
- Tuesday, March 30
- Wednesday, March 31
- Thursday, April 1
- ART
- Wear your pajamas for comfy reading!
- Friday, April 2
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to GABE for always having a positive mindset and seeing the good in everything!
First Grade Family Time – Here are our Family Time award winners from this week!
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – This week we continued our persuasive letter writing unit. Students began writing their own letters asking for more homework, new books for our classroom library, and more!
Word Study – We started learning about bloopers we might make while writing tricky words. Bloopers are actually GREAT for us, because we learn from our mistakes! We also started learning about bossy R and the way it changes vowel sounds (ar, er, ir, or, ur).
Reading– In reading as we worked on continuing to get to know our characters we paid close attention to the end, worked to use all the pages of the story, matched our voices and body gestures to the feelings while we read, and thought about what was happening while we were reading.
Math- We continued working with story problems, and we focused on how the unknown number can vary from problem to problem. They were also introduced to problems with three addends (partners). This is a tricky skill that we will continue to build on! Please take some time to look over the first quiz from this unit that came home in your child’s folder this week.
Social-Emotional– This week for conflict resolution we learned about ways to solve a problem. One strategy we tried was using “I feel..” statements.
Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, March 22
- ART
- Wear crazy socks for Rock Your Socks to celebrate World Down Syndrome Awareness Day!
- Tuesday, March 23
- Wednesday, March 24
- Thursday, March 25
- Friday, March 26
- ART
- Library
- “Hoedown” wear jeans day! You can even add a belt or boots if you’d like.
Notes for Parents:
- Please continue to read with your child for 20 minutes each night. For March is Reading Month, students who read for 20 minutes, 5 times a week (100 minutes total) will be entered into a book raffle and will also get to pick out a new desk pet each Monday!
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to XANDER for always caring about his classmates!
First Grade Family Time – Here are our Family Time award winners from this week!
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – We began our Persuasive Writing unit this week! Our class worked together to write a letter to Mr. Waldie asking for one-to-one computers for our classroom. We practiced using a greeting, topic sentence, three reasons, a mini moment, conclusion, and closing in our letter.
Word Study – We added /aw/, /au/, and /igh/ to our vowel teams chart. Then we wrapped up Unit 4- Word Builders by building Vowel Town. The kids had a lot of fun with this! Help your child hunt for these sounds when s/he is reading!
Reading– We are starting a new fiction reading unit this week. This unit is all about getting to know the characters in our books. We practiced taking a sneak peek to get to know the characters, worked on looking for important characters, and worked to understand our character’s feelings by looking at facial expressions, body language, and gestures.
Math- This week we started Unit 5. We worked on solving story problems with unknown partners using teen numbers and reminded students of the make-a-ten strategy. We focused on using whatever strategy best helps them solve these problems- math mountains, scooping and counting up (or down), and/or making a ten.
Social-Emotional– We are starting a new unit. This unit is all about conflict resolution. We will start with a story- Little Penguin’s Big Fight.
Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, March 15
- Tuesday, March 16
- Wednesday, March 17
- Thursday, March 18
- Friday, March 19
- PE
- Library
- “Wild about Words” – wear a shirt with words on it
Notes for Parents:
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to AMIN for his hard work and love for reading!
First Grade Family Time – Here are our Family Time award winners from this week!
Pizza Ranch Retell – Our class had a blast at our pizza parlor on Friday. Students practiced reading books making retell sandwiches. They looked just like chefs in their aprons and chef hats! At the end of the day we celebrated with some yummy pizza.
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – We ended our Review Unit this week with one final book review and spent this week publishing our best one. We sent home all of our review writing to go over with you during parent-teacher conferences.
Word Study – This week we learned about the vowel teams oi and oy which make the same sound but look different. We also learned about the vowel teams ew and ue.
Reading– We wrapped up Unit 3 this week. We have learned so many tools for understanding our books. Our last focus was on sounding like a “Reading Star.” We are also so excited for all our special March is Reading Month events. We encourage you to find fun ways to read with your child at home to “mix it up” this month. Read to a stuffy, flashlight read, FaceTime a relative to read them a story, find something fun to help beat the end of winter blues!
Math- This week we took our Unit 4 test. Tests were sent home and we will review them with you at parent-teacher Conferences.
Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, March 8
- MUSIC
- Parent Teacher Conferences
- Book Fair Preview
- Tuesday, March 9
- Wednesday, March 10
- Thursday, March 11
- Friday, March 12
- MUSIC
- Library
- Dress like a cowboy/cowgirl – wear flannel or plaid
Notes for Parents:
- March is Reading Month will begin next week! Please continue to fill out your student’s reading log each time you read together. Students who read 20 minutes each night (100 minutes a week) will be entered into a book raffle.
- Thank you so much for everyone who signed up to donate an item for our classroom pizza parlor next Friday! Please remember to send $1 in an envelope labeled “Mrs. Kuiper” in your child’s blue folder by next Friday, March 5th.
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to HARRISON for always seeing each day as a fresh start and an opportunity to grow!
First Grade Family Time – Here are our Family Time award winners from this week!
Star Prize – Our class earned another 10 star prize this week and celebrated with a pajama day on Friday!
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – We began our final bend, book reviews! Students picked their favorite books and started writing convincing book reviews.
Word Study – We learned about the two sounds that the vowel team ‘oo’ can make. Sometimes it says /oo/ as in ‘school’ and other times it says /oo/ as in ‘book.’ Our class mascot, Rasheed, returned from his construction adventures this week. The students were so excited to see him again.
Reading– We tried making movies in our minds as a strategy to help us think about what is happening in the book. Focusing on who’s talking in our book, we looked at dialogue. We made sure we were reading the best words and getting the job done quickly.
Math- We learned how to add a 2-digit + 1-digit number together (e.g. 49+7) by grabbing the bigger number and counting on the smaller partner. Next week we will be taking our Unit 4 test!
Black History Month- This week we learned about Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden. These female African American mathematicians worked as computers and helped put US astronauts on the moon.
Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, March 1
- Tuesday, March 2
- Wednesday, March 3
- ART
- Pizza Parlor supplies due
- Thursday, March 4
- Friday, March 5
- PE
- Fast Friday
- Wear a cowboy hat, bandana, or handkerchief
Notes for Parents:
- Friday journals were sent home yesterday. Please take a minute to write back to your child! Even a sentence or two will brighten your child’s week.
- Please have your child continue to practice zipping his/her coat and tying his/her shoes at home!
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to CELIA for always being brave and not being afraid of making mistakes!
First Grade Family Time – Here are our Family Time award winners from this week!
Star Prize – Our class earned another 10 star prize this week and celebrated with a GoNoodle dance party!
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – We learned more about writing reviews and practiced making comparisons, writing catchy introductions and conclusions, and editing our writing with peers. Next week we will begin our final bend, book reviews!
Word Study – We learned about the diphthongs ‘ou’ and ‘ow’ which can both make many different sounds.
Reading– We continue to be the boss of our reading. We used words we know, snap words, and tried different sounds to make sure we are sounding fluent and understanding our books.
Math- We completed our second math quiz for the unit! It was all about place value and being able to identify how many tens and ones there are based on a drawing. We also began comparing 2-digit numbers using <, >, or =.
Social Emotional– We LOVE that our focus this month is Kindness. This week we took it a step further and talked about spreading and seeing kindness throughout our school. Each student spread kindness by making a special card for somebody that they love!
Black History Month- This week we learned about Henry “Box” Brown, a brave man who mailed himself in a box to escape to freedom.
Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, February 22
- Tuesday, February 23
- Wednesday, February 24
- Thursday, February 25
- Friday, February 26
Notes for Parents:
- Friday journals were sent home yesterday. Please take a minute to write back to your child! Even a sentence or two will brighten your child’s week.
- Please have your child continue to practice zipping his/her coat and tying his/her shoes at home!
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to REAGAN for always doing her best and not worrying about other students’ choices.
First Grade Family Time – Here are our Family Time award winners from this week!
Mystery Reader – Addison’s mom surprised us as a mystery reader this week!
Valentine’s Party – Students played Valentine’s bingo, graphed their candy hearts by color, made a special Valentine’s craft, and did a Valentine’s directed drawing!
Star Prize – Our class earned their 10 star prize this week… Mrs. Kuiper came to PE with the class!
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – We continued learning how to convince our readers through persuasive writing! Students chose what they wanted to review this week. Games, movies, toys, restaurants, and vacations were among the many topics that students wrote reviews about.
Word Study – Rasheed is visiting construction sites in New York City to learn about how to be a word builder. We’ve been helping him use vowel teams to build some tricky words. This week, we learned about the vowel teams ai and ay, and we started making our own vowel team charts.
Reading– We started to think about our reading in terms of the whole book we are reading and not just the individual pages or pictures. We worked on keeping track of what’s happening in the book and using the story to problem solve. When reading a tricky word we thought about what words would fit in the story and also reminded ourselves to continue to slow down and break words into parts.
Math- We continued working on place value and drawing ten-sticks and circles to represent numbers. We place practiced comparing numbers using >, <, and =.
Social Emotional– This week we continued to talk about Kindness. We specifically focused on how we can be kind in our class.
Black History Month- This week we learned about Ruby Bridges and had some very important conversations about her bravery and courage.
Chinese New Year- We spent this week learning about the Chinese New Year. Students watched a few videos, read “How to Catch a Dragon,” learned how to write “good luck,” and made this special dragon display for our hallway!
Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, February 15
- Tuesday, February 16
- Wednesday, February 17
- Thursday, February 18
- Friday, February 19
