January 6, 2014

Dear Parents of 1 Mc,

Happy New Year! I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season. It was fantastic to see students back at school for a quick half day last Thursday. Students were happy to reconnect with each other and their teachers, and I loved hearing about all of the fun times had by all over the break. It was nice to have the down time, and I am sure that everyone is happy to be back in a school routine! Please help your child by making sure that he/she comes to school well rested.

Share time: Having students share is a wonderful way to practice speaking and listening skills. Starting on Wednesday, students will be assigned a share day, when they are invited to bring in something to share with the class. It can be something special from home (something made, a photo of a visit, something collected, a CD with a favorite song, etc.) Shares will last approximately 10 minutes – 5 minutes to share and 5 minutes for questions and comments.

*** Here is the schedule for January/February (reverse alphabetical order).

Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday
1/6
Ms. McCormick / 1/7
Ms. Lewis / 1/8
William / 1/9
Sophia / 1/10
Sebastian
1/13
Sania / 1/14
Rachel / 1/15
Phoebe / 1/16
Kyle / 1/17
NO SCHOOL
1/20
NO SCHOOL / 1/21
Kaua / 1/22
Jason / 1/23
Jameson / 1/24
Jackson
1/27
Jack / 1/28
Isabella / 1/29
Colin / 1/30
Cayden / 1/31
Braeden
2/3
Amy / 2/4
Aedan

If a student misses his/her share day, then he/she may bring it in the next day.

These are some of the Common Core Standards practiced through these shares:

  • Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
  • Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
  • Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges.
  • Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.

Spelling: We will resume spelling lists this week. We are working on clusters with r. The words are trip, grab, crab, trap, drip, grin (and then for challenge crack and brown). There will be a dictation on Friday. Please practice these words with your child this week.

Writing this week:We will focus on introducing the topic in our writing. When learning a new writing skill, we practice writing as a whole group, while I model the skill. This will pertain to all types of writing: narrative (i.e. "Here are some things I did this weekend."), opinion (i.e. "Here are some reasons why I like (don't like) snow."), and informative (i.e. "These are two things I learned about fish in this story."). Introducing the topic helps students to organize their writing.

Reading this week: We will read stories about visiting places, such as museums and aquariums.

Math this week: We will start unit 3: unknown numbers in addition and subtraction. In first grade, students will model the addition or subtraction involving an unknown addend using circle drawings, math mountains, and equations. They will also use addition and subtraction within 10 to solve story problems. For homework, please read the word problem with and/or to your child.

Other reminders:

Outdoor clothing is important to help your child stay warm at recess. You may have your child leave an extra pair of sneakers in school for gym days (Monday and Tuesdays).

There is no school on Friday 1/17 and Monday 1/20 (Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday).

All my best,

Kate McCormick