Week of 9/9

Dear Room 4 Parents,

It was a short and fun week!  The students have adjusted well to the routines of first grade.  I appreciate all of your support with the morning routine.  I can tell the students are proud of themselves for going up to the playground independently!  

Fall will occur on September 23rd so we will be incorporating fall activities into our schedule these next few weeks.  We will discuss the harvesting of apples and the changes that occur in the fall.  I can't wait!

Math:  In this first module, students are working towards fluency with addition and subtraction of numbers to 10 and presented with opportunities to start COUNTING ON from the bigger number and NOT counting ALL which leads students to decomposing and composing addends and total amounts. You can support this learning at home by reviewing the math worksheets your children bring home.  You can also make up your own addition/subtraction stories and have your child solve it.  Ask them, "Can you explain your answer?" or " Can you show me how you solved it by using a math strategy?".  Flashcards are another fun way to increase fluency in addition and subtraction at home too! Remember, first graders are working towards COUNTING ON from the bigger number so when they see the equation 5+3=? they would say 5 and then add 3 more on from 5. 

Reading:  Reading Workshop has started and we will continue working in Unit One learning about the many strategies readers use when they read. The students now have their own book bag filled with books at their level from our leveled library. They will shop each week for new books to read independently in an area of their choice building stamina to independently read for longer periods of time. Students met their reading partner this week and they'll continue to learn different ways they can help each other learn and grow in reading.


Writing: We will continue our narrative unit of Writers' Workshop. The students have learned how small moment writers gather ideas by thinking of strong emotions and  special moments in their lives. The class is doing a fabulous job writing!  The writing process will take about six weeks so you'll see their published book and drafts around then!  We read "Diary of a Worm" and "Diary of a Spider" to get the students excited about writing in their weekend "diary".  We will start this on Monday.  Help your child remember a few things about his/her weekend.


Handwriting: We will continue learning how to write all the lowercase letters. Students are learning when to use a capital letter, at the beginning of a sentence and when writing a proper noun. Daily handwriting practice at home is important as your child is just learning how to write the letters the magic c way and the stick way.


Word Wall Words:    not     too    her

Growth Mindset:  We focused on mindful listening and how different noises make us feel a certain way especially loud ones.  We did some mindful listening with our "sitting like a frog" meditation music.  We are working on being mindful of others during work time by keeping our voices low.  We also had a class meeting about standing up for others when there is a problem and having a growth mindset that we CAN do something to help solve problems.  Next week,  we will work on mindful eating!

Library: We visit the library on Tuesdays.  Please have your child bring their library book to school on or before Tuesday so they can check out another book.  If you think your child has lost their library book, please contact Kelli Lowe in the library.

Take home folders: Please take time to go over your child's work daily and help him remember to bring his empty folder back to school each day.


A big THANK YOU goes out to Karli Grigsby (Gabrielle's mother) and Adriana Rodoni (Joseph's mother) for volunteering to be our Room Parents.  Yay!  THANK YOU!

Needed supplies:
nonfiction books (new or used)
baby wipes


Important Dates:
Parent Alliance Meeting: Thurs, 9/12
Run For Rio: Sun, 9/15
Picture Day: Fri, 9/20
Movie Night: Fri, 9/20
Harvest Festival: Fri, 10/11


Enjoy the warm weather!
Mrs. Christensen

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