We are in the last two weeks of the quarter. Time has certainly gone by quickly. As we approach the end of the quarter there are several things to put on the calendar.
September 30th: Half Day-Students will be dismissed at 12:00. No lunch will be served but please pack a snack. Scholars will have a recess period to eat their snacks. This will help them stay focused throughout the day. Water Bottles: Please make sure scholars are still bringing water bottles to school. Some scholars have not been bringing them and I do let them go to the water fountain but having their own personal water bottle allows them more opportunities to get hydrated throughout the day. October 5th: Singapore math night. This is a parents only event. October 6th: Last day of the quarter. This is also our last day of school before Fall Break. We do not have school on Friday the 7th Spalding: We have now learned 1-61 of our phonograms. Please practice these phonograms at home. Pay careful attention to the ones your scholar is struggling with and have not mastered yet. Another great way to practice is to say the the phonogram sounds and have your scholar practice writing them. I am noticing that when scholars see a card they are able to identify the sound but the transition from hearing the sound and writing it down correctly is where some connections are being lost. Try doing this with 5 or 6 phonograms a night for homework Math: This week we continue to work on methods of subtraction. I also sent home a small information packet in each homework folder. This packet has one page titled: "Methods of Addition" and one page titled "Methods of Subtraction." It gives a brief overview of concepts taught in class. These information pages can be kept at home and used as a resource when checking over your child's homework. This week we will have a chapter 4 unit test on subtraction. We we be spending the entire math block on Thursday and part of Friday to review. Have a wonderful week!
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Wow! There is only a three weeks left of the 1st quarter! In just a few short weeks our first graders have learned so much. We have learned lessons from Aesop's Fables. We have learned how to be brave and courageous like Issun Boshi and Tom Thumb. We have learned that it is always safer to obey and follow the instructions of our parents, unlike the characters in Little Red Riding Hood and Lon Po Po. Our first grade scholars have learned 56 phonograms so far we and continue to learn the rules of spelling through our Spalding lessons. Handwriting, punctuation, spelling, and spacing are improving every day. We continue to discuss the the definition of noun and also determine the difference between a proper noun and a common noun. Every day I hear at least one student say, "OHHHHHHHH! Now I get it!" VIRTUE CARDS AND CONSEQUENCES: There is a zip lock baggie inside the front cover of each agenda. Scholars are now responsible for taking them home to show their parents everyday. The time it took to get them stapled to the log was taking away precious class time. This way they are also building responsibility by making sure they come home. Continue those conversations about the expectations within the classroom and get excited for them when they receive those green virtue cards. Please make sure your child brings his/her agenda back to school every day. READING: We have been administering the benchmark assessment Fountas and Pinnell to begin to level the reading of our scholars. We have been individually assessing each student. Once we have our data recorded we will begin to design groups that focus on the needs of our readers. This week we continue to read our second piece of literature, Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel. We have several activities planned to focus on literary elements and will have a weekly quiz at the end of each chapter. Once we finish our book we will celebrate the completion by having a literature themed classroom party. Keep an eye out in your email for a signup genius to volunteer time, supplies, and/or treats. MATH: Practice math facts with your scholars. Our goal is for scholars to have math facts memorized. This is a skill that takes building and only comes through practice and time. So far we have sent home two sets of flash cards. Those should be cut out and used for practice. If you already have flash cards feel free to use them as long they are being used on a regular basis. MATH WORKBOOKS: To eliminate any confusion or workbooks not being taken home, I am having ALL scholars take home their math workbook. The workbook may have been finished during Lyceum but for organization purposes I am requiring scholars to bring them home and back to school on homework nights even if they are finished. Refer to the homework log for the page numbers that should be completed and check their work going over any problems they got wrong and guiding them in finding their mistake and correcting their answer. Please do just the assigned pages for that night. SPALDING CLINIC: Each week a Spalding homework packet is placed inside your child's red homework folder. The first page includes explanations of the rules and marking. Information will be added to that front pages as we continue to learn the rules during our Spalding block. This Wednesday, September 21, Archway Trivium East is hosting a Spalding night from 6:00 - 7:00 pm. This is a parents only event. I strongly encourage you to attend. Especially if you have questions or would like to know more about how to help your child at home. UPCOMING EVENTS: September 21: Spalding Clinic 6:00-7:00 PM September 23: Spirit Day (students, faculty, and staff) September 30: Half Day 12:00 Dismissal NO LUNCH but pleasE pack a snack for your scholar October 6: Last day of the first quarter October 7: No school Have a great week! Mrs. Spencer UPCOMING EVENTS:
Thursday September 15-Yogurtini Fundraiser Wednesday September 21-Spalding Clinic for parents Friday September 23-Spirit Day Friday September 30-Half Day Dismissal-NO LUNCHES LYCEUM I wanted to let everyone know of some recent changes we have made for Lyceum. I will be pulling small groups of students who need extra support in math, Spalding, or reading. As I am working with these students, Mrs. Scott will be monitoring and supporting the other students who will be working on unfinished classwork and their math homework assignments. I can not guarantee that all homework will be completed, but many students will have a good start with support, if they are not in my tutoring group. For students who need the extra support, they will have to complete all their assignments at home. SPALDING We will have 30 words this week. Please dictate the 10 words on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with markings. Thursday dictate all 30 words with no markings. Test on FRIDAY! Phonograms 1-54 should be practiced every night. If your student has memorized all the sounds of each phonogram, switch up the practice. You say the phonogram sound and have the student write down which phonogram you have said. Some students are struggling with written dictation and this is a good way to practice at home. MATH In math this week we will continue working on methods of addition (counting on, using easier equations to solve harder ones, number bonds, etc.) We will have our Chapter 3 Addition math test on Thursday. We will be spending the entire math block on Wednesday and half of the math block on Thursday to review. Please continue to practice the basic addition math facts at home. If you have flashcards spend 5 minutes quizzing your child. Periodically we will also be sending home printed papers that can be cut into flashcards. I have had several parents ask me where you can find flash cards. I have seen them at Dollar Tree and in the dollar bins at Target. I have also made some myself using index cards. SCIENCE This week in science we will be focusing on chemistry. We are discussing the question, "What is Chemistry?" and using the scientific method to conduct chemistry experiments. READING / LITERATURE On Tuesday we will begin reading our literature book Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel. We will be reading from this book every day as well as participating in discussions and doing activities related to the book. If your child does not yet have this book at school, please make sure he/she has it no later than Wednesday. Please continue to have your child practice the poem recitation of "Work" by M. A. Stodart. WRITING / GRAMMAR We continue to work on identifying common and proper nouns, parts of a sentence, and proper letter formation. On of our student's definition of chemistry: "It is mixing things up. Water and sand make mud. If you don't know what happens you try it out." Have a wonderful week. - Mrs. Spencer Hi. I hope everyone had a wonderful three day weekend! OUR TIME WITH WRITING AND GRAMMAR We usually have our writing and grammar block first thing in the morning. I know. Grammar and writing can sound boring, but it is actually one of my favorite subjects! During that block of time I read passages from classic books. We get to have discussions about those passages while simultaneously learning about common nouns, proper nouns, and the parts of a sentence. The students then get to write about the passages we discussed. Sometimes the writing involves copy work of a specific sentence. Sometimes we create our own sentences based on our favorite parts of our discussions. While writing we always focus on conventions (capital letters, end marks, spacing between words) as well as handwriting quality (correct letter formation, letters starting at the top line or mid-point and ending at the baseline.) I love watching as my students' handwriting and sentence structure improve throughout the year. Just in the the last two weeks I have seen many little improvements. There are several ways you can help your child in these areas. When writing, encourage your child to make the correct letter formations, start at the top line or mid-point and end at the baseline. When reading ask specific details about the story and encourage your child to answer in complete sentences. When looking at words or walking through a store have your child identify common nouns and proper nouns. IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT MATH HOMEWORK Your child will be bringing the math workbook home every day. The homework log in the red folder will tell which page(s) must be completed. Only do the pages that are assigned for that specific day. There may be days when your child is able to do part of/ complete the math homework during lyceum. I strongly encourage you to look over the problems or pages even if they have been completed. We do use our workbook in class almost everyday so please make sure your child brings his/her math workbook back to school every day. Math workbooks will not be sent home on Friday unless a student is absent and has make-up work. AGENDAS Starting today, the students' agendas will also be sent home every day. There is a zip lock sandwich bag stapled on the inside front cover. At the end of each day, students will place any virtue cards they received inside the zip lock bag. Please take the virtue cards out of the bag and encourage your child to share with you why they received their card(s). Your child must bring his/her agenda back to school each day. Agendas will be sent home on Fridays with the blue Friday folders. JUPITER It has come to my attention that some parents may not be receiving the messages sent through Jupiter. After I post this blog I am going to send a message out with the blog link. When you receive the message, please click on the reply button and let me know you received it. By clicking reply, this also allows you to set up a Jupiter account. Thank you so much for you help. PICTURE DAY Picture day is this Friday, September 9. Photo packets were sent home in the homework folders last week. Students must wear their school uniform on picture day. WEEK AT A GLANCE: Math: Addition equations, methods of solving addition equations (number bonds, counting on, number stories) Reading: Comparing the folk tale Lon Po Po and Red Riding Hood Spalding: Please see the homework packet in the red folder for this week's words Writing/Grammar: Sentence structure (capital letters and end marks), common nouns, proper nouns Science: Introduction to the scientific method, what is science, what scientists do SPALDING CLINIC: Spalding night is September 21 from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Spalding as well as ways to help your child with the Spalding homework. Have an amazing week! - Mrs. Spencer |
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May 2022
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