Peek at the Week
Mrs. Bennett's First Grade Newsletter
From Mrs. Bennett
Our first week was a huge a success!!! This has to be one of the best first weeks I've ever had!!!
We have worked hard to learn expectations this week. From walking on the paw prints in the hallway to playground safety and cafeteria procedures, this class is on the right track for a great year. We have been practicing the different voice levels. Level 0 is no talking, Level 1 is a whisper voice, Level 2 is a conversation voice and Level 3 is a presentation voice. We graphed our colored play dough, our birthday months and more. We learned the difference between a vowel and a consonant and put our class names in ABC order. This is an amazing group of students. I really enjoyed getting to know them through the All About Me bags! They are so polite and kind. You've done a great job parents!!!
Reminders
* Please send in a family photo for our friends and family board sometime in the next week or two. It will be returned in May.
*We DO NOT have school on Labor Day!
*Remember to wear safe shoes to school since we go to PE everyday. Flip Flops, sandals, and boots are not safe in the gym or on the track.
*Please return the Panther folder everyday and take out any papers that come home. Most papers will come home on Monday but some may be sent on other days. Please initial the calendar each day. This helps me know that you have seen it. Remember, no news is good news.
*Homework will be sent home tomorrow (Friday) and is due next Thursday.
*Please call the office by 1:30 on regular days and 12:00 on early release days if your child has a change of transportation. You may also send me a note in the Panther folder.
*We are working on scheduling our first grade field trip to P-6 Farms in October or November. I will let you know as soon as the date is confirmed.
*All background checks for volunteers must be renewed yearly. Please complete this before our Fall Party (Oct. 31) and Field Trip. You can find the form on the PTO website.
pebblecreekpto.org
*I'm working on creating a SignUpGenius for parent conferences. I will be sending you a link soon.
FLYING IN FIRST GRADE!
Ready, Set....READ
Next week in Reader's Workshop, we will work on building stamina. We will compare reading to a runner and write down how long we can read individually without stopping on a running shoe. We will try to beat our record each day. We will also learn the three ways to read a book. Students will become familiar with the difference between a vowel and a consonant and CVC words(consonant vowel consonant).
Everyone is an Author!
In Writer's Workshop, we will work to become more independent writers. Students will learn that you have to build a story just like a carpenter. We made heart maps out of crayons and watercolors. It has things that are on our writer's hearts. Next week we will make a big 'I am..." page. We will place these in our Writer's Workshop folders so we never run out of ideas to write about!
Station Identification
I began introducing Literacy Station routines this week and we will add to that next week. We will start practicing the different stations that students will be doing until they get the hang of it. I will start running records and language arts assessments with each student during this time. The work they complete is independent work and is a good time to practice skills. If your child's work is not complete, please have them complete it at home and talk with them about using their time wisely.
Making Math Relevant
We are graphing everything! We have graphed our playdough colors, boys and girls, birthdays and so much more! We are learning why graphs are helpful tools to organize information. I told them to go home and ask how you use graphs at work. Our math fluency concept is subitizing. Subitizing means to instantly recognize a quantity without counting. It is one of the components of number sense that build a great foundation for future learning to occur.
I can flash cards with random dot patterns on them. The students can shout out the number represented by the dots on each card. Then I ask how they saw each number. For example, I flash a card with six dots on it. Some students may see 2 groups of 3, and they knew it was 6. Another may say 2 groups of 2 on each side and another group of 2 in the middle ( 2 + 2 + 2 = 6). Or 3 groups of 2 (2 on the top, 2 in the middle, and 2 on the bottom). All explanations with the same result of 6.
Good Citizenship includes Respect, Responsibility and Self-Control
Next week's topic in Social Studies is Citizenship. What does it mean to be a good citizen? We are going to find out through books, activities, and projects all this week. Students will be putting together their first lap book which will help them learn safety tips and what it means to show respect, responsibility and self-control. We base this unit around one of my favorite books, "Officer Buckle and Gloria."
Spelling
OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT***I will include 8 optional challenge words in this newsletter. Please let me know if your child will be participating. Students can decide to take the challenge test at any time during the year. The optional challenge tests will be every other Friday.
OPTIONAL CHALLENGE WORDS (TO BE TESTED ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017)
If your child is interested in learning how to spell science/social studies vocabulary, please study these words:
rules, laws, school, community, citizen, respect, responsibility, integrity