Mrs. Klan's First Grade

Happy October! I cannot believe we have almost been in school one month! Here are some important announcements:

Oct. 11: Zoo Field Trip (to the Detroit Zoo). The cost is six dollars for each child and chaperone. The permission slips are due this Friday. Let’s hope for good weather!

Operation School Bell was a HUGE success. Thanks to Mr. Awada, Mrs. Boussi, our wonderful support staff and teachers, and of course the volunteers at Operation School Bell. Each of our children carried a bag bigger than themselves filled with essentials and generous gifts home that day.

Book Bags: I very thoughtfully and purposefully choose books for each child to add to his/her reading collection (book bag). These books give students the opportunity to work on strategies ranging anywhere from basic word recognition to using known chunks (er,ing,) to solve words. If you ever have any questions about how to help your child with reading at home, please never hesitate to ask. I am committed to helping you help your child.

Science: We are learning that matter is everywhere and everything is made of matter. We are starting to look at properties of matter (size, shape, color, texture, etc). This week we plan to define and provide examples for the three types of matter: solids, liquids, and gases .

Social Studies: We are learning that rules provide order and safety. People with “power with authority” like police officers, principals, and presidents have the right to tell us what to do, but bullies do not. We are learning about what it takes to be a good citizen and contributing member of society.

Math: We will have a test this week. Here are the types of questions that they will be asked to answer: please click on the link below.

Math Pretest

Language: We are learning how to “flip the sound” in reading, which means they have to try saying the vowel each way (long and short) when they get stuck on a word. This week, we will learn that nouns are words that name a person, place, or thing. We will keep working on contractions (she’s won’t, doesn’t, isn’t, here’s, ).

Writing: We are continuing to work on personal narratives. This week, we will write one about a time that we were “sad.”

Have a great weekend, and please never hesitate to ask any questions or voice any concerns.

Hello Families!
Tonight’s homework involves graphing, which is a skill we work on DAILY. We talk about gathering information (data), recording it on a graph and then interpreting the graph by answering questions about the DATA or information on the graph. Students find these types of questions especially challenging:

If the graph shows the 8 kids chose chocolate ice cream and 5 kids chose vanilla ice cream. How many MORE kids chose chocolate?

I am teaching them to set up the following math sentence:

8-5= 3

You can practice this type of questioning at home. This will really help them.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Our homework tonight will involve skip counting by two and three. I encourage you to help your child use a number line. This helps them see the actual “jumps” or skips. Have a great evening and keep reading those books!!

Good Morning!
Tonight’s homework will ask children to count by fives (starting at a random number between 0-100) This is a skill they will definitely need all year and in the future. There are plenty of youtube videos that have songs to help them learn to count. We sing a lot of them in class. Just type :songs counting by fives in the search box. Here is an example of our homework:

Fill in the missing numbers. Then, tell if the number will fit that pattern:

15, 20, ____, _____, 35, ______, ______, ______

Will 75 fit this pattern?

Hi Families!

I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weekend.

Here are our plans for the week:

Reading: Please keep up the reading at home. We are all working on saying at least the beginning sound when we are stuck on words in reading. Encourage your child to check the picture, blend the sounds together, then try the word again. Continue to ask your child to list the characters, state the problem and solution in the story, and tell you the setting in the story. All of these elements will help him/her comprehend the story.

Rhyming: Many students find it challenging to identify rhyming words in a story poem. I encourage you to work on rhyming words at home. I will send activities home with students to help with this.

Writing: We are working on using the words: First, next, after that, and Finally when we write and tell stories. This week we will write a story about a time we were happy. One way to help your child with writing at home is to have him/her write about a book that he/she just read. We are working on beginning each sentence with a capital letter and ending with a period.

Science: We will be talking about how everything is made of matter. The three states of matter are liquids, solids, and gases. Look for real life examples of each of these at home and while you are out and about.

Social Studies: We are continuing to talk about what it means to be a good citizen, who makes the rules and laws, and being responsible.

Here are our spelling words:
rod

2. sod

3. cod

4. drop

5. mop

6. top

7. up

8. look

9. is

10. go

Homework: In addition to a very quick math worksheet for homework, I will be sending home a math or reading activity. It will most likely be in a ziplock bag or plastic container. These are quick and fun activities that reinforce the skills we are working on in class. I hope you enjoy working on these with your child. Please take great care of thse materials. I spend lots of time and money making these for our children, so please make sure they are returned in great condition. Your child will not get one every night (FYI).

Thank you so much for your support!

Hi Families!

I hope you are all enjoying listening to your children read their new books to you. Please make sure that they are saying at the least the beginning sound, checking the picture, and rereading when they are stuck on a word.

Homework tomorrow will ask your child to know what numbers come before and after. Here is an example:

Before                                 After

3                   ____                5

_____            10                 _____

_____          17                  _____

We will also be looking at contractions in reading and writing. Here are a few common ones that they will be expected to know:

we are= we’re

is not= isn’t

they’ve= they have

can’t = can not

don’t= do not

won’t= will not

she’s= she is

wasn’t= was not

doesn’t= does not

didn’t = did not

I encourage you to make flashcards of these and others for your children. I also have contractions games that they may borrow. 🙂 Have a great night!

Hi Families!
Tonight’s homework will involve counting by twos. This is a very important skill and one that we will revisit all year. I encourage you to allow your child to view and sing songs that involve counting by twos, fives and tens. Below is an example of one that we sing in class.

Here are examples of what your child should be able to do after practicing.

2, 4, 6, 8, _____, 12, ____ 16

32, 34, _____, 38, _____, 42, 44, 46, ____, 50

Will 62 be part of this pattern? How do you know?

Hi Families!

Tonight’s homework asked children to circle the greater number and write numbers greater and less than. Please help your child complete this and practice making tally marks if you have time.

Always ask your child to read his or her books to you.

Tomorrow we will be talking about characters and setting (where the story takes place). These are story elements that are important for reading comprehension. Please have brief discussions about the characters and settings in the books that you and your child share. We have also been talking about the problem and solution in stories.

Enjoy this beautiful weather!!

Hello Families! It was so great to meet some of you at Open House. If we did not have the opportunity to meet, please stop in and say hello soon.
Here is what our week looks like:

We have Gym on Mondays, so please make sure your child is wearing appropriate clothes and gym shoes.

Reading: You will notice that your child will be receiving new books in his/her reading bag. Please read with your child each evening. Children learn to read by reading often, so I promise this will help him/her become a stronger reader.

Writing: We are writing personal narratives, which are true stories about ourselves. We are writing a beginning, middle, and end in our stories. Writing with your child in a journal at home would be so helpful. I encourage students to say sounds slowly and record the sounds they hear. It is fine if the word is not spelled correctly at this point. It is more important that they “stretch” or “blend” the sounds in order to write the words as accurately as possible.

Social Studies: We are talking about rules, fairness, and citizenship.

Science: We are learning about how scientists use their five senses (touch, smell, sight, sound, touch, and taste) to answer questions about the world around him/her.

Math: We are learning how to make tally marks to represent numbers, read simple graphs, determine the number that is greater, and fill in the missing number. Example: 7, ____, 9. I always encourage parents to talk about math concepts at home as well, because this solidifies their understandings of the math concepts we learn about. I have PLENTY of math games and would be happy to send them home with students. I only ask that your child takes special care of the games and returns them in great condition.

Spelling: Here are the words for this week:

1. kid

2. hid

3. rid

4. pig

5. wig

6. big

7. it

8. in

9. said

10. for

Homework: I am noticing that many students did not complete their homework this week. I understand that the routine for first grade is all very new, so let’s help them stay organized and become more responsible. Please check your child’s folder each evening for homework and important notes.

Once again, I thank all of you for being invested in your children. I want to work side by side with you to help them have a successful year socially and academically. If you ever have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.