Happy December!!
There is 1.5 weeks left before winter break. We will keep busy academically! Have a great week!
Reading-In addition to small group, guided reading, we do whole class reading. We are
currently in the fiction unit. We have discussed different genres. There is fantasy (didn’t
happen, impossible to happen), realistic fiction (didn’t happen, but could happen) and
traditional literature (folktales and fairytales). By sharing a mentor text (a story read to the
class), we are able to discuss stories more deeply and the teacher is able to model different
reading strategies. We expect children to be fully engaged in the learning and to participate in
the discussions. We frequently use the “turn and talk” technique. The teacher asks a question
or gives a discussion point. The children then turn to their neighbor and have a quick and quiet
discussion about the topic.
Skills that are introduced in this whole class format are then revisited and reinforced during our
daily Read to Self time. Each child has a book box filled with good fit books. They choose two
to take home each night (unless they get books from a reading teacher).
Math-We have been working on learning the parts of 10 and applying these parts to both
addition and subtraction. (ex. 10-8=2, 6+4=10, 10-5=5) We started telling time to the hour and
half hour. We will revisit time throughout the school year. Doubles facts (ex 5+5, 6+6, 7+7…) are
always a first grade favorite. Everyone in our class is a Dynamite Doubler That means everyone
knew all the double facts instantly! Way to go, class! Please continue to practice or the facts
will be forgotten. We will further develop our graphing skills by focusing on “how many more”
one category has compared to another. We will use our jumbo floor graph to compare the food
that children bring in for our SP collection. Our class is collecting canned fruits/veges, pasta,
and jelly, peanut butter, jelly.
Social Studies-We have begun our unit on Cultural Comparisons. Our hope is that children will
learn about other peoples’ traditions and customs. We keep reinforcing that just because
someone does something different, it doesn’t mean it is wrong. We are trying to build
acceptance of people’s differences. If you are interested in presenting a tradition or custom
from your ethnic background, please let us know.
Phonics-We are practicing long vowel sounds (silent magic e words-as in same, cake, bike) and
two vowels go walking (ai, oa, ea, ee,) Also, each Words Their Way group is working on the
reading and spelling that matches their sort.
Writing-We will go through the writing process again and write another personal narrative.
This time, the children will write about a time they got a boo boo. Your child brought home a
story planner last Friday. Please make sure the planner is returned by tomorrow, Wednesday
Dec. 9th. This will allow your child to get started on the writing right away.
PTO-The PTO would like us to remind you to watch for Box Tops on all types of items, not just
food. Every month there is a contest to see which class collects the most Box Tops and
Campbell’s labels. Don’t forget to save those items; the school earns several thousand dollars
each year.
Mrs. Tomczyk and Mrs. Weider
Due Friday:
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Weekly homework (It’s math and writing this week.)
WTW practice page
Spelling Test (5 sight words and 5 WTW words)