Mrs. Klan's First Grade

Hello Families!
I hope you are all enjoying this weekend…even though it is rainy 🙂

Here are our plans for the week:

Reading: We went through all of our book bags and boxes on Friday to make sure that all of our books are a good fit for us (not too easy or hard). I will be meeting with your children regularly ( individually and in small groups) to introduce new books and reading strategies. Many of the students are working on blending the sounds when they come to words they do not know. This means to say sounds slowly, running them together until it sounds and looks right. I always encourage them to look at the picture for clues. We are also looking at parts of words. For example, the word fisherman has three parts that most of the students know: fish er man

I even allow them to cut these words apart (into pieces or chunks that they know).

Writing: We are going to write personal narratives about “A Time we Went to the Zoo” This week, we will try to recall and write about three events from a story about ourselves. We use these words to write our stories: First, Next, After that, and Finally.

Math: We are learning how to figure our one or two less than a given number: remember less than means to subtract and “more than” means to add. We are also learning to use and draw pictures to solve subtraction and addition word problems. Important vocabulary words include : sum, difference, minus, plus, addition, subtraction, more than, less than, number grid.

Science: We are sorting objects into three categories :solids, liquids, and gases. Also, we are learning that matter is all around us and we are able to tell the difference between different types of matter. Liquids pour and take the shape of their containers while solids do not change shape and do not flow or pour. Gases expand and cannot be seen.

Social Studies: We are taking our social studies test on the computer, which is taking a really long time 🙂 They are showing that they know that rules keep us safe, are fair, and provide order. Also, they must be able to tell the difference between people who have power with authority (the right to tell you to do something, like a teacher or principal) and those who do not (such as a bully).

Here are this week’s spelling words:
1. far

2. park

3. farm

4. car

5. are

6. star

7. come

8. blue

9. here

10. help

Hi Families!
Tonight’s homework is very similar to last night’s because many children found this challenging. I retaught the lesson today, so hopefully this will help clarify these concepts. Here is an example of what they are being asked to do.

Find 2 less than 15

Write a number sentence to show your thinking

Answer: 15-2=13

Find one more than 34

Write a number sentence to show your thinking

Answer: 34+1=35

Remember tomorrow is a half day. Dismissal is at 11:45

Please send in canned food if you are able. This will help us provide food for families in need. Thank you for your cooperation.

Dear Parents,

If you are an AOL email user, please be aware that you may not receive email notifications due to AOL policies. We are working to resolve this issue with AOL.

Thank you for your patience while we work with AOL to make sure you get classroom notifications from your teacher.

Sincerely,

Technology Department

Sorry to be posting so late. Tonight’s homework was a page asking students to find one less than a number. This was introduced today and seemed tricky for some of my students. I showed them how to use a number grid to find one less or two less or three less (etc.) of a number. I really want them to understand that less than means smaller than, which means to take away or subtract.

2 less than 8 means:

8-2=6

5 more than 13 means:
13+5= 18

Let’s keep working on this 🙂 Thanks for your help.

Good Morning, Families!
We go to the zoo today, so please do not forget to dress your child in appropriate clothes (jacket, pants, etc. ) Also, please pack him/her a bagged lunch (please no lunch pails or glass containers).

Tonight’s homework: We are working on writing addition problems to match the number of objects in a picture that we see. Their worksheet will ask them to do this for apples and oranges.

Let’s have a great day!

Happy Weekend, Families!
I hope you are all enjoying this gorgeous fall weather 🙂

Here are some important things that we are learning this week:

Reading: We are continuing to learn about parts of speech (nouns, verbs, and proper nouns). Friday, we learned that verbs are words that show action. While your child is reading his or her books, ask her/him to find the verbs in the sentence. This will help them understand how sentences work. Proper nouns name a specific person, place or thing. While you are out driving with your child, point out proper nouns such as “Kroger,” “Target,” “Greenland,” “Dearborn.” Knowing the different types of words will help them in their reading and writing. Please, Please, Please continue to read with your child EVERYDAY. It brings me great joy to see their progress and excitement about reading so far. They are doing great, and they need you (and me) to keep encouraging them and motivating them to keep reading.

Writing: We are still working on personal narratives (true stories about ourselves). This week we will work on a personal narrative about a time we were scared…YIKES!

Math: We are beginning to work on addition and subtraction, especially in story problems. It is important for them to learn when to add and when to take away. We will learn that the sum is the answer to an addition problem and the difference is the answer to a subtraction problem. Also, we will continue skip counting by twos, fives, and tens. There are plenty of songs on Youtube that can help with this. Reading graphs has been quite challenging for our first graders, especially when they are asked questions like “How many more red skittles were there than blue ones?” We will continue to work on this skill and I would appreciate any extra help you can give them at home. I will upload the pre-test for chapter 2 this week, as I think it helps you to see what their chapter test will look like.

Social Studies: We are continuing to learn about how to be a good citizen and providing examples of good citizenship. We will learn that some people have the right (power with authority) to make and enforce the rules. Those who do not follow the rules or expectations have consequences. For example, if someone is speeding, a police officer (enforcer) can give him a ticket (consequence). We always try to scale these concepts down to a relevant level for our children. For example, if a student is talking during a test, Mrs. Klan (enforcer) can give him a consequence (ask the student to flip his card.)

Science: We are learning that matter has three states: solids, liquids, and gases. Solids have a shape of their own and it is very hard to change their shape like books, blocks, markers. Liquids pour and take the shape of their containers like water, milk, and pop. Gases take the shape of whatever they are inside like balloons, inflatable tubes, and balls.

Here are our spelling words for the week. The pattern is short e.

1. red

2. bed

3. sled

4. men

5. then

6. when

7. not

8. one

9. my

10. me

Reminder: We go to the zoo on Tuesday. Please have your child dressed appropriately with a jacket, as it is colder in the morning. They must bring a disposable lunch, not one that they have to carry all day. Please do not send glass containers. Tomorrow is the last day to hand in their permission slips and money. Thank you for your time!!

Hello families!
The homework tonight asks students to add and find sums (answers). We are learning many different ways to add. We learned that the numbers that are added together are called addends.

Also, we are learning that nouns are people, places, or things. Today we learned that proper nouns are specific people, places ,or things. These nouns begin with capital letters. Some examples are:

1. Target
2. Kroger
3. Mrs. Klan
4. Michigan
5. Miller

Good morning, families,
Tonight’s homework will ask students which numbers fit the pattern for counting by fives and twos. Please help them by looking at a number grid. Notice all the numbers that end in 0 or 5 fit the counting by fives pattern and all the numbers that end in 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 fit the counting by twos pattern.

Have a beautiful day!

Good evening, Families!

Tonight’s homework is domino addition. They simply record how many dots are on the left side and add the dots on the right side for a total or SUM.

We are working on different ways or strategies to solve addition problems. We learned that the word SUM means the answer to an addition problem. Here are some strategies we talked about:
1. Using a drawing
2. Using our fingers
3. Counting up
4. Using a number line or grid
5. Just knowing the answer

Have a great evening!!

bug
rug
hug
sun
fun
run
we
little
down
see