17-23 January 2011
***SPECIAL BULLETIN***
We'll have our spelling test on Friday morning. Spelling Folders will be sent home today! You'll find the word lists inside, of course! Make sure you read the weekly post below.
Here are the words: Skills- -nk, -ng
1. bring
2. trunk
3. pink
4. bank
5. sang
6. wing
7. wink
8. blank
9. rang
10. sunk
HFW
11. every
12. sure
Another 'short' week with the commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and plenty of fog in the a.m.! We hope we're able to continue in our learning ventures, even though our time has been limited. This week we're reading the selection "RUBY IN HER OWN TIME". It's a story about a little duck who's growing up and changing each day. The skills associated with this story are:
Genre: Animal Fantasy
Comprehension Skill: Plot
Comprehension Strategy: Summarize
Study Skill: Glossary
Spelling/Phonics: -ng, -nk, & compound words
Language/Vocabulary: Synonyms
Grammar: Verbs that end in 's'
Writing: Making a List
We are also taking our 40 question Unit 2 Benchmark, which covers all of the six stories and the skills from the Communities unit. I am encouraging students to take their time, and if needed, re-read the question before selecting answers. Test-taking strategies are important for 1st graders, also!
We are completing our Geometry Unit and our mid-year & interval assessments to measure growth and skill competencies in : Concepts for addition, subtraction, fact families, ordinal numbers, number order, and number sense, skip counting, place value (tens & ones), word problems and problem solving. These specific skills include many of our Math Comprehensive School Improvement goals in math reasoning, number relationships concerned with problem solving. Please have your child continue their work on IXL math, where these skills are specifically addressed by using the DODEA Standards. Many students are not using this easy accessible tool on-line for extra practice. It can make such a difference.
Continuing to use the homework web-sites is imperative as we move into the latter half of first grade. Homework completion does make a difference with classroom performance. I know that internet access can be a concern, but when you're on line and everything's working take advantage of the links on this site.
I have the Reader's Response journals at school and am reading their entries. The goal is to respond to books read at home or reflect and write about experiences they've had throughout the week. Your assistance is appreciated. I've opened many and enjoyed reading their writing entries. I've also opened a few with very little effort or entries. Please begin to use this as a tool to help your student further increase practice in writing and to prepare for 2nd grade.
Dont forget about the Samson's Classroom web-site, as well. Our spelling words of the week (which are very difficult for the students!) can be reviewed and practice using this site. Each list is available every week and extra practice always helps with these skills. The sight words are also available for reading and spelling practice on this sight.
I am testing the 100 sight words from the original list I sent home at the beginning of the year. Please review these at home.
Report Cards will be completed by Friday, 28th of January, on teacher workday. You will have a better picture of how your child is performing in school, once these are sent home the following week.
Stay warm, help your child get their homework completed daily and LISTEN to them read for accuracy in decoding words and making things sound right, look right and make sense.
Mrs. Petty
