Monday, February 27th

Spelling Words: me, see, feet, seat, mean, team, slow, road, our, over
Challenge Words: easel, thirteen, creature, league, underneath

Sight Words: dear, sky, mother, hurry, told, door, should

*We will be taking our spelling test on Thursday, March 1st!

Reading: Long /e/ Sound

We are working on all the different ways that spell long /e/. The five ways we are working with are: ea, ee, e, _ie_, and _y

Math: Solid Figures

We are learning all about solid figures. We look at what capabilities each figure has and it's make-up. The solid figures we are working with are: cube, pyramid, rectangular prism, cone, cylinder and sphere.

There will be math homework on Wednesday night. Please help your child complete and return to school on Thursday!

Conferences are Tuesday 4-8, Thursday 4-8 and Friday 8-4. See you all there!

*There is no school on Friday, March 2nd!

Monday, February 13th

Spelling Words: low, slow, grow, road, soap, boat, little, handle, carry, would

Challenge Words: swallow, scarecrow, stagecoach, oatmeal, approach

Sight Words: our, pretty, surprise, over, three, mouse

Reminder: Please send your child's Valentine Box to school on or before Tuesday the 14th.

Reading: This week we are working on the long /o/ sound. We are learning all of the different ways that long /o/ can show up in words that we read and write. The four ways we recognize long /o/ are:

o _ e (o with a magic e) -- words like bone, nose, chose...

ow -- words like snow, shadow, know...

oa -- words like boat, goat, road...

o (standing alone) -- words like go, no, so...

Math: This week we are working on addition facts to 12. Please help your child memorize their facts up to 12. A great way to do this is by using simple flashcards.

Thursday is the 100th Day of School. Please remember to send your 100 items to add to our classroom snack.

We will also be testing fluency. Students will read three different passages to me. Each passage is one that they have never seen before. We call this a "cold read." I will stop each student after one minute. I tally their mistakes and figure out how many correct words per minute they are reading. Your child will have a grade on the report card reflecting their fluency. The fluency rates for first grade are:

February - Winter: May - Spring:

47+ Words = P 75+ Words = P

23 - 46 Words = D 53 - 74 Words = D

22 Words or Less = B 52 Words or Less = B

Please keep collecting pledges for our Read-A-Thon. The Read-A-Thon is on Feb. 24th and all pledges should be turned in by that day.

Spelling Words: hand, handle, wig, wiggle, single, little, turn, girl, by, room
Challenge Words: whistle, popsicle, bicycle, muscle, castle

Sight Words: buy, carry, money, other, paint, paper, would

READING:
In reading this week we will be focusing on the syllable -le. Words like little, simple, wiggle and pickle all end in /le/. Please practice this with your child throughout the week.
The story we are reading is called, "Can Elephants Paint?". It is a true story! Talk to you child about the details in this story and ask them if elephants can really paint! They will surprise you with what they have learned.

Field Trip --
On Thursday, February 9th, we will be going on a field trip. The first graders are going to Stages Theater in Hopkins. We will be watching Llama, Llama Red Pajama. I will be contacting parents that are needed for chaperoning. Due to limited number of tickets, I will only be able to have 4 parents join us. Thank you for understanding.

Valentine Boxes:
Please remember to make your child's valentine box at home. You can send it to school as soon as it is finished. They are fun to have on display in the classroom. The kids are really admiring the already finished boxes. They are delightful!

F.Y.I = The Imagination Fair is Thursday, February 9th. Please come up and tour the wonderfully creative displays of our very own Shirley Hill's Students! They prove to be fantastic! Touring is open from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Monday, January 30

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

We will be skating on Wednesday in gym. Please send a helmet with your child. If your child has skates, please send them as well.

Field Trip: On Thursday, Feb. 9th we will be going on a field trip. We will be attending Lama, Lama Red Pajama at Stages theater in Hopkins. The children will each lunch at school and then load buses immediately after. I have contacted the parents chosen for chaperoning. Please understand that due to limited tickets, we are only allowed to bring 4 parents. I only chosen parents that have not been on a field trip with us as of yet. Thank you for you understanding.

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! We will be using a 100's chart to help us see patterns when skip counting. This is a very helpful tool for the kids.

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

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

Math

Keep working on Greater Than and Less Than. In class we use an alligator to eat the larger number. Have them show you how we turn the symbols into an alligator!

"Alligator, Alligator, which one will you eat?

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

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

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

We will be skating on Wednesday, January 25th and Wednesday, February 1st. Please make sure you send warm clothes for your skaters!

Tuesday, January 17

Spelling Words: far, farm, arm, art, part, park, chin, such, fly, watch
Challenge Words: jaguar, pardon, garden, cartoon, guitar

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

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"!

Comfy Clothes Day is Friday. Bring in a dollar and wear your pajamas all day long! All money earned goes directly to Camp Needlepoint! Help make a difference!

Math: There will be math homework tonight. Please help your child complete the blue sheet and return it to school on Wednesday. We will be testing chapter 10 math on Wednesday. Thank you!

Thursday, January 12th

Winter is really here. (well for this week:) Please make sure your child is coming to school with appropriate clothes for outside. Kids need to have have boots, snow pants, mittens, hats and anything else to keep them warm. It is no fun to be outside and be cold. Kids will not be allowed to stay in for lack of winter gear. If your child is missing something, please ask them to check lost and found. It is currently overflowing with warm winter items.

SKATING:
We will begin ice skating next week. 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!


REMINDER:
There is no school on Monday, January 16th.

Time Tests:

Starting next week, 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.

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, markers and crayons. If you would be willing to send in supplies for your child, it would be greatly appreciated!