Monday, January 21, 2013

Weekly News

Important Information
*Check out the new photos and videos on our class blog! mrsandersonshuskies.blogspot.com
*We’d like to welcome Ms. Kerri Wilkinson to 1st grade!  She just completed her education degree and is working with 1st grade in reading and math.  We are so excited to have her!
*On Wednesday, January 30th, we will be celebrating the 100th day of school!  Children are encouraged to dress like they are 100 years old.  For example, I am sprinkling powder in my hair so it looks gray and putting it in a bun, borrowing my grandma’s cane, and wearing a very dated dress.  Be creative and have fun!!
*You may notice that your child is bringing home his/her book from reading group more than one day.  Now that we are getting into higher level books, we are spending more time reading and responding to them.  Please do not allow your child to read further than we read in group…it’s really important that we are all on the same page when we meet, discuss, and experience the text.
*We are in need of indoor recess toys.  The toys are stored in plastic drawers and used by 4 children at a time.  If you come across anything that you think we could use (like cars, transformers, Legos, My Little Ponies, Squinkies, etc.) that you’d like to get rid of, please send them our way.  Thank you!
*We are in the midst of reading Matilda.  Stay tuned for information regarding our upcoming Movie Night featuring…you guessed it – Matilda!!!
*Thank you for your patience with math flashcards.  Nan has been dealing with some health concerns and hasn’t been able to come to school to assess these on a regular basis.  She is on her way to recovery and hopes to be back soon.  For now, keep studying the facts you have and feel free to make new sets of cards for your child as you see fit.


Important Dates
January 21st – No school
January 30th – Early Release; 100th Day!

What are we learning?
Word Work
Our new 1st grade word wall words are: small, far, black.  We are reviewing these kindergarten words:  will, them, did.  We are also studying long and short e.
Reading and Writing
We are continuing our study of story elements and zooming in on the lesson learned using realistic fiction.
Science
We are continuing our study of electricity.  This week, we will build our own series or parallel circuit and explain our thinking behind creating it and we will learn how the sun is a source of energy.
Math
We will continue to explore strategies for solving subtraction problems including counting up and back.  We are also figuring out unknown numbers in an equation.

Related Arts
Art all week