Mrs. Jansen's First Grade Class
Weekly Newsletter: August 31, 2015
KEYSOR PRIDE
We are Respectful, Responsible and Safe.
Further Learning Opportunities About Each Other, Our Room and Our School!
Thank you again to all of our families who joined us for our Parent Information evening on Tuesday. During the evening, many items were shared including aspects of our classroom day, instructional units to come and opportunities for furthering your child's daily learning at home. As we move this week into our new month together, several items will be coming home to support these experiences, including: September Homework Calendar, Monthly Reading Log and further home communications. Additionally, thank you in advance for supporting your child's collection of their 'five beautiful things.' The children's bags that are being brought in this week, will further enhance our classroom learning lessons each day.
Special Classes/Activities Schedule:
Monday, Aug. 31st: D Day - Library with Mrs. Ems; Dav Pilkey Author Visit; "What is Beautiful?" project bags due
Tuesday, Sept. 1st: E Day - Art with Mrs. Lang
Wednesday, Sept. 2nd: A Day - P.E. with Mr. Widaman; GREEN Intake Conference request sheets are due
Thursday, Sept. 3rd: B Day - Music with Dr. St. Clair
Friday, Sept. 4th: C Day - Wellness with Mrs. Ehrlich; First Friday Reading (8:25 - 8:55 a.m., in our classroom)
Tuesday, Sept. 1st: E Day - Art with Mrs. Lang
Wednesday, Sept. 2nd: A Day - P.E. with Mr. Widaman; GREEN Intake Conference request sheets are due
Thursday, Sept. 3rd: B Day - Music with Dr. St. Clair
Friday, Sept. 4th: C Day - Wellness with Mrs. Ehrlich; First Friday Reading (8:25 - 8:55 a.m., in our classroom)
Writer's Workshop
As the children continue in their Writer's Workshop this week, they will be building their independence in writing. This work continues in their writing folders, as they will be adding to their individual writing journals. Further sentence writing will be explored, including labeling illustrations.
Reading to Someone
Last week provided our first experiences with our 5th Grade Buddies in Mrs. Hoffmann's class. The children spent time together in getting to know you activities, including creating their own "Our Buddies" poster and then moving into reading time together. This second part of the time spent reading, enabled for each of our friends to either read books to or with their buddies.
Text - to -Self Connections
As we continue this week in our Reader's Workshop, the children will be experiencing partner conversations in making 'Text-to-Self' connections with the stories shared, including Jamie Lee Curtis' When I Was Little. Within this story, we will provide opportunities for the children to share stories about their lives from when they were 'little' ;).
Sound and Sight Word Practice: Short a & Four new First Grade sight words
Last week concluded our review studies with Kindergarten sight words. The children had a great time trying out the array of vocabulary development lessons shared, including learning how to write their words on 'sky, grass, ground' lines, stretching and squatting to spell out their sight words, and playing "Sparkle." This week, further vocabulary practice will occur through learning songs about the short a sound (i.e.: cat, mad, lap), creating rainbow words, and alphabetical ordering. Please be sure to take a look at their "Word Work" review sheet that is coming home in Monday's red folder.
Continuing in Number Work and Number Combinations
As we move into our third week together, children will be in further number sense experiences. These adventures will include discovering various quantities in mystery number bags, organizing & grouping items into sets, and demonstrating their addition knowledge through game and answer play. I will additionally be working one-on-one with the children to identify their number sense in counting and combining numbers.
What is Beautiful? Project
Continuing in our opportunities in building our classroom community, the children will be sharing their items that were identified as being beautiful or special to them, as brought in within their white lunch bags shared last week. We will work as a class family to organize these items into shared groups based upon the children's identified themes. Through this project, we are not only learning about each other interests but our passions as well. These conversations and sharing experiences are just one way in which our understanding towards one another and our world can be expressed.
Mrs. Traci Jansen
Email: traci.jansen@kirkwoodschools.org
Website: http://keysor.kirkwoodschools.org/pages/Keysor_Elementary/Classes/Jansen
Location: 725 N Geyer Rd, Kirkwood, MO, United States
Phone: 314-213-6120 (2164)
Twitter: @TraciJansen