January 31, 2011

Spelling Words: her, fur, turn, bird, girl, first, quit, when, name, work

Challenge Words: circus, surprise, squirrel, thirsty, disturb

Sight Words: always, by, Cow's, join, nice, please, room

READING:

In reading this week we are working on er, ir, ur. Since they all have the same sound, it is very difficult for first graders to decipher between them. It takes memory and practice to recall which one we use for certain words.

Math:

We will be testing chapter 12 on Tuesday. Please help your child complete the math homework on Monday night.

This week in math we will be practicing the skill of counting on. This skill is important for us as first graders. It is time to leave "finger counting" behind.

Field Trip

On Thursday, February 10th, we will be going on a field trip. The first graders are going to Stages Theater in Hopkins. We will be watching If You Give A Moose A Muffin. I will be contacting parents that are needed for chaperoning. Due to limited number of tickets, I will only be able to have 3 parents join us. Thank you for understanding.

Thank you for giving like a RoCk StAr!

Our school pulled together and raised a lot of money for a wonderful cause. Below you can see

Morgan, Drew, Haakon, and Gabrielle's rocking outfits!

Please send empty shoeboxes to school for Valentine Boxes. We can use as many as you have to spare. Thanks!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Spelling Words: quit, quick, quiz, whiz, which, when, arm, part, house, put
Challenge Words: quarterback, question, quotation, quiet, earthquake

Sight Words: about, books, family, name, people, read, work, writing

READING:

In reading this week, we are working on "qu" and "wh". Please help your child with these very difficult sounds.

MATH:

In math we are working on skip counting. It is important for your child to be able to count by 2's, 5's and 10's. A great way to do this is to have them sort cereal pieces or coins in groups of 2's, 5's and 10's. Then have your child count them aloud!

Supplies Needed:
Now that we are half way through the year, we are getting extremely low on our supplies. The children are having a hard time finding scissors, glue sticks, pencils and crayons. If you would be willing to send in supplies for your child, it would be greatly appreciated!

On Wednesday, January 26th, we will be skiing in gym. Please make sure your child has all warm weather clothes needed to have a good time!

Wednesday night is Culvers Night! Please help support Shirley Hills by having dinner out!

Welcome Back!

Spelling Words: far, farm, arm, art, part, park, chin, such, fly, watch

Challenge Words: jaguar, pardon, garden, cartoon, guitar

Sight Words: feel, put, house, Mrs., say, loud, again, know

Reading

This week we are focusing on the "ar" sound. We like to say:

Bossy "R" Drives The CAR!

The "bossy r" takes over and you don't even hear the poor little "a"!

Math

Keep working on Greater Than and Less Than. In class we use an alligator to eat the larger number. The kids also like to turn our greater than and less than symbols into Pacman characters. Have them show you how!

"Alligator, Alligator, which one will you eat?

The biggest one, the greatest one, it will be so sweet!"

We will be skating for gym on Tuesday and Friday. Please dress warmly!

I am looking forward to another great week! We have been working so hard in first grade. Students were tested last week on their sight words from book 2. Students did a fantastic job. Keep practicing them each night!

Marvelous Monday 12-06-10

Spelling Words: chip, chin, inch, such, catch, match, wish, shop, saw, were

Challenge Words: chance, ostrich, chipmunk, orchard, sketch

Sight Words: air, fly, friends, grew, need, play, rain, watch

Math Homework: Tonight, there is a blue sheet of math homework. Please help your child complete this sheet and return it tomorrow. This is to help prepare them for tomorrow's math test on place value.

We will be starting to compare and order numbers. Please work with your child on understanding the "greater than" and "less than" symbols. In school we use an alligator to help us. He always eats the bigger number!

Pastries With Parents: Thursday, Januaray 13th @7:45 - 8:45a.m.

Reminder: NO SCHOOL - MONDAY

Our next skating day is on Wednesday, January 12th. Please remember to dress warmly and bring a helmet.

Reading: This week we are working on the "ch" and "tch" sounds. It is often difficult for children to recognize the difference between these two.

Fantastic Friday

Time Tests:

Starting today we are going to be taking time tests in math. We will do these tests twice a week. Each student is starting on adding with the rule of zero. The time tests are 30 problems each and the students have 2 minutes to complete the test. When students achieve 28 or more correct, they will move to the next level. To help your child succeed with time tests, please practice math facts through 10. Flash cards are the best way to help your child know their facts quickly.

I will send home the tests, only when your child has achieved a score of 28 or more. When you see the test come home, you will know they are moving to the next level. The students will be completing alternating addition and subtraction tests. I am looking forward to watching my first graders confidence grow when it comes to knowing their math facts.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Thoughtful Thursday

Thank you everyone for such a wonderful week! We have all been extremely caring and kind all week long. Mrs. Hagen has seen wonderful center work, fabulous reading and an amazing understanding of math concepts. I am very thankful for such a hard working group of first graders. Keep up the good work and next week will be just as super!

SKATING: We will begin ice skating tomorrow, Friday. Please send skates and helmets to school with your child. If your child does not have skates, there are plenty of pairs for borrowing. This is always a wonderful unit in gym. I look forward to joining the kids out on the ice a couple of times!

Happy New Year!

I want to welcome everyone back and wish you a happy 2011! I noticed a lot of kids were taller, looked older and a were acting more grown up. A lot can happen with the change of a year. This year will be filled with lots of reading, writing and math. I can't wait to see all the progress we have made!
Spelling Words: shop, shot, shut, rush, wish, fish, for, more, from, very

Challenge Words: shadow, sunshine, English, publish, shoelace

Sight Words: came, could, gold, happy, made, night, saw, were

This week we will be focusing on the "sh" sound. We are learning to listen for "sh" in the beginning, middle and end of words.

In math we are starting place value. We are using rods and cubes to help us better understand what a ten is and what a one is. Below is the chart we have used to demonstrate place value. Have your child show you how to place a number in the chart.

__1__ten __2__ones = 12