This is a short week. It will be packed with learning, of course. hee hee

SEND In Your VALENTINES

As you can see, we are ready for your child’s Valentine. Please send in your child’s valentines on Monday.

• Monday, February 13 – Pizza Monday 1$
• Tuesday, February 14 – Valentine’s Day – We will open our valentines. Yay! We will also have some games.
• Wednesday, February 15 – LATE START 9:55 is the first bell
• Thursday, February 16 – PTA & Principal Meeting at 9:30
• Friday, February 17 – No School for students (professional development for teachers)
• Monday, February 20 – No School – Presidents Day
• Tuesday, February 21through Friday, February 24 – BOOK FAIR

ELA

We are learning about story elements in Unit 6 of our benchmark. The story elements include the characters, the setting (where they are), the problem, and the solution. Also, we are learning how to retell a story in order. This is a really good thing to start asking your first grader, after they read a book to you. You can apply it to watching a movie. You can even ask about your child’s day the same way.

Reading – Small group reading instruction is taught and levels of difficulty. I do not share this with first graders, because I want them to focus on their success and not their levels. To you, as a parent, I am sharing that the books increase in difficulty by having more words and variations of words. Your child should be at levels 10-11 at this point. Our goal is a level 16 by the end of first grade so that they are reading for second grade. We have some HUGE success stories in our classroom. I have some students that read their group books every night and they have jumped up in their book level.

So…please, please look for the book bag. Just have your first grader read their books to you or a big brother/sister, or grandparent. Any older person, who can help them learn to monitor their reading with accuracy. (Accuracy means that they read the words correctly and fix them when they don’t.)

Writing – We will finish our informational writing about a Geer Park friend. Then we are a writing assessment for informational writing in which your child will apply what they learned.

Spelling has the ay and ai vowel patterns

• stay
• gray
• spray
• pail
• wail
• mail
• grain
• rain
• brown
• work
• year
• live

MATH

We finished our Module 2 assessment on Friday. I did not bring them home to grade because it is going to be a busy weekend and I cannot send them home until the other first grade classes take the assessment. We are going to practice using base ten blocks on Monday and Tuesday. Then we will start Module 3 on Wednesday. It is about measurement and comparing the sizes.

SCIENCE

We are finishing up learning about 4 of the 8 phases of the Moon by completing a project with Oreos. Moon Facts: The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth. It takes 27.3 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth. The Moon is the 5th largest moon in our solar system. We only ever see one side of the Moon. We never see the far side. The Moon reflects light from the Sun. The Earth gently spins on its axis because of the gravitational relationship between the Moon and the Earth. If we didn’t have the Moon, the Earth would wobble.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We started learning about land and water, specifically what the Earth looks like from space or even an airplane.

Thank you for your support. Have a great weekend and week to come.

Mrs. Korte

Which Team Do You Want to Win?

The Super Bowl is on Sunday with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. Mrs. Faraj would like your first grader to show their support for they the team that they want to win. So…wear green for the Philadelphia Eagles and wear red for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tomorrow is Popcorn Friday – 1$ for a bag of popcorn

This is a mid-week message.

Tomorrow is Count Day! It is crucial that we have everyone at school tomorrow. It determines the funding for our school by the State of Michigan.

Tomorrow is Pajama Day! Your child is welcome to come in their pajamas, bring a soft stuffed animal, and a blanket. We are going to get comfy while we learn. We will be buddying up with our other first grade friends for an activity at the end of the day.

Tomorrow is the 100th Day of School Celebration! We will have a couple activities, in our classroom, to celebrate 100 Days of Learning together. Geer Park will also have some raffles throughout the day.

Yep..these cold temperatures are taking a toll on our first grade kids. Their bodies REALLY need some unstructured play time outside. I have exercise time in the classroom for brain breaks, but most of the kids are flailing their arms and flopping on the ground. They just really want to move. I promise that I am trying.

A funny moment this week was on Thursday. Thursday, February 2 is the silly tradition of Groundhog Day. If it is cloudy and the groundhog doesn’t see its shadow, it will start to warm up early. If it is sunny and the groundhog sees their shadow, then we will have 6 more weeks of cold temperatures. This, of course, is all fictional. The truth is that we had less than .1% of sunshine in January 2023, but on February 2 there wasn’t a cloud to be seen. It was very sunny. So when the kids learned that if the groundhog sees their shadow and we will have 6 more weeks of cold, winter weather. One of the students said, “Oh come on!” I couldn’t help laughing. I had to look down at my lap because that student expressed what we are all feeling.

Hopefully, this does not hold to be true and we can start to get outside. Also, if you can let them run around for a bit too, that will help. Thanks for being my partner during this time.

A letter went home yesterday. We will have just some fun time together on Tuesday, February 14th. The kids really do have a fun time handing out their Valentines and opening them. You can get them at Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, Aldi, etc.

When your child is ready to bring their Valentines to school, even if it is this Monday, please send them. I can keep them in a safe spot until we are ready.

Remember this is for friendship. We have 20 students. Your child must do one for each child out of friendship.

• Monday, February 6 – Pizza Monday – 1$
• Tuesday, February 7th – Geer Park will start to sell Friendship grams for 1$ each. They will be delivered to a student that is in another class. Please have their first and last name and their grade so that the PTA can send them to the correct students.
• Wednesday, February 8 – COUNT DAY! Please, please we need all first graders here on this day and they need to be on time. Our funding from the State of Michigan depends on it.
• Friday, February 10 – Popcorn Friday – 1$

ELA

Reading Watch for your child’s book bag. Most of the kids are on target with their reading progress. Please have your child read each day.

Writing We are writing our final “guided” informational piece. This one is about another student in the classroom.

Spelling Please have your child do their spelling homework. I am checking on Friday for all 4. The words for Week 17 are:

• these
• theme
• mute
• flute
• cute
• tube
• cube
• rude
• house
• long
• off
• small

MATH we are finishing up Module 2 this week. We will be using base ten blocks to help us understand place value. Our End of Module 2 assessment will be on Friday. Next week we will begin measurement in Module 3. It is a very short Module

SCIENCE We started learning about the Moon. It is our only natural satellite. There are man-made satellites that orbit the Earth. The moon is made of rock and metals like the Earth. The moon reflects the light from the Sun. Only the stars can make their own light and heat. The Moon seems to change shape as it orbits the Earth. These are called phases of the Moon. We will only learn about 4 of the 8 phases. I will mention that the crescent is important to many cultures though. Cultural awareness is important for everyone.

SOCIAL STUDIES We will differentiate between landforms and bodies of water this week.

Thank you for your constant support. Please send finished valentine’s cards as soon as possible. Have a great weekend and week. Mrs. Korte

February is a short month. February also tends to be the doldrums of education. The students lose their “September optimism” for a fresh start. They come back in January, after winter break, realizing that we are right where we left off but more, because of testing. In Michigan, it is cold and grey outside and the kids are ready for the sunshine and warmth that comes with spring.

To counter this, I have switched seats. Our science is more hands-on engineering and exploration. We are also learning on an individual level with access to IXL. IXL is adaptive questions that meet the child where they are at. They can work on skill practice which is a combination of math, reading, and grammar. I can also have your child work on specific learning goals linked to their NWEA.

Also, our Benchmark Unit 5 is about technology. The third week was specifically about writing to someone via email. I’m going to teach the students how to message me using Schoology. I will also teach them how to read to me by recording a video and sending the video. During the hybrid learning of 2020/2021 my students and I communicated back and forth with messages as well as lots and lots of videos.

Hopefully, this will perk up our February routines. My goal is to motivate and spark a passion for learning.

Dearborn Public Schools: Student Portal

If your child has access to a tablet or a computer device, then please have them spend some time on IXL, Zearn, and Raz-Kids. Here is a hyperlink to get you started. It would be good to make a bookmark of it for your first grader.

http://dearbornschools.org

Clever will take your child to IXL. (Geer Park paid for our access.)

Schoology will take your child to Zearn (this matches our math) and RAZ-KIDS. (I paid for our access to RAZ-KIDS.) Your child should read a bit on RAZ-KIDS every day. It has reading and comprehension built in and it will level up when your child has completed all the books (listen, read, and quiz) at their current level.

• Monday, January 30 – Pizza Monday – $1 a slice
• Tuesday, January 31 – Krispy Kreme Donut Delivery – These were pre-ordered last week.
• Wednesday, February 1 – Parent Education Meeting at 9:30 (Your child will get a free popcorn ticket with your attendance. They love their free popcorn.)

Valentine’s Day is Tuesday, February 14th. I will be having a small party in the classroom with a snack, Valentine’s Day bingo, and hand-out and open Valentines. If you would like to buy and work on Valentines with your first grader, please remember we have 20 kids. Out of kindness and friendship, your child should make a Valentine for each friend. Here is a list of names:

• Abdallah
• Cori
• Emanuel
• Elene
• Layan
• Afnan
• Miliah
• Hamzah
• Hesham
• Zayden
• Mohamad
• Lilian
• Mohamed
• Noah
• Jeremy
• Jamal
• Jayla
• Jebriel
• Abraham
• Abbas

ELA

Reading Groups – Small group instruction will start again on Monday. PLEASE, have your child read to you. Old books are for fluency and comprehension. (Your child should not have to sound out any words for an old book.) New books are to expand their reading vocabulary.

Writer’s Workshop – We will finish our informational writing about the Sun on Monday. The first grade team will decide if we are going to model one more or if we are going to assess their informational writing on Tuesday.

Spelling – I must say that last week was not the best way to start off our spelling grades. The students who completed all 4 spelling homework got a perfect or near-perfect score.

Week 16

• vine
• mine
• line
• life
• strife
• slice
• rice
• nice
• after
• her
• call
• large

Math

We are almost finished with Module 2. We have 4 lessons about number stories this week and a quiz on Friday, February 3rd. The picture and number sentences are crucial for understanding. Next week, we will break apart 2-digit numbers into 10s and ones and have a quiz on Friday, February 10th. The Module 2 final assessment will be on Monday, February 13.

Science

We learned that some stars have been named by scientists. Our star is named Sun. It is not the biggest star. It is not the hottest star. It is not the oldest star. The Sun is the closest star. The Sun is the center of our Solar System. The Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune revolve around the Sun because of its gravitational pull. It takes 365 days (one Earth year) to revolve around the Sun. Finally, we learned that it looks like the Sun is moving across the sky each day, but actually, the Earth is spinning on its axis. (One revolution is 24 hours which is 1 day.)

We will learn about how the seasons are caused by the Earth having a tilted axis and the revolution around the Sun. Then we will learn about the Moon. It is a satellite of the Earth.

Social Studies

To go with Science, we will learn about landforms and bodies of water on the Earth. There are many types of landforms, but we will learn about plains, hills, and mountains. The same can be said for bodies of water, but we will be learning about rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Due to time constraints, I might not be able to fit all of my goals this week, but I will try.

Have a great weekend and week.

Mrs. Korte

Reading Assessments are finished. Report cards are done. We are starting our 3rd week back after the new year, so homework will be Math Homework, Spelling Homework, and Reading Group books.

• Monday, January 23 – 1/2 day of School – The students will be released at 12:05
• Friday, January 27 – 2:15 is the Core Values Assembly: Honesty

The second quarter report cards are completed. The District will print them on either Monday or Tuesday. Then they will be sent to the school. I will send the report cards home as soon as I get them. Please remember…Exceeding first grade expectations is a 1. Meeting first grade expectations is a 2. (This is our goal.) Making progress with first grade expectations is a 3. A concern is a 4.

Yes, I did see a couple drops from a 1 to a 2 or from a 2 to a 3. Remember, it takes only a few off grades to drop your child’s average grade in the computer program. I did not give the grades. I simply entered your child’s scores into the program. Also, remember that first grade continues to get trickier as the year progresses. We are constantly learning new information.

Things to help your child improve:

• Have your child complete the math homework and send it back to school.
  • It is important that it is written neatly.
    • I notice the most errors on quizzes and summative assessments because their math picture is messy and children miss counts.
• Have your child complete the 4 spelling practice activities.
  • Printing is important. All of the students can write nicely when they are not rushing.
  • If you would like me to model how to have them practice at home. Just let me know.
• Reading Group Books
  • I will start to send book bags this week. It is crucial that your first grader read the books to you. Yes, they should read them over and over again to be fluent.
  • When they read to you, please sign the literacy card.

Geer Park is having a Krispy Kreme donut fundraiser for the school starting on Monday. I believe it is a dollar for each donut. So it would be 12$ for a dozen donuts. Your child would order in advance and there will be a delivery day.

When I get more information, I will forward it to you.

ELA

Reading – All of the reading assessments are complete. I will start up small group reading instruction this week. PLEASE have your child read their books every day. I will send the bag every day. The literacy card will only be in the bag on the day that your child has a reading group with me.

Writer’s Workshop – We just finished our informational writing about a job. We will continue with informational writing. Our goal is to pick up the pace.

Spelling – Ugh! This week is going to be tricky. The patterned words have a soft c and a soft g. A soft c makes an s sound. A soft g makes a j sound. Please start practicing now.

• race
• face
• lace
• brace
• age
• page
• cage
• wage
• try
• give
• far
• too

MATH

We are going to be learning to apply a math drawing to solve lots and lots of number stories. I always read the number story, but your child can start to read them too. This is REALLY good practice. Your child must be able to make a math drawing, write a number sentence, and write a statement. We will also review the equal sign as meaning equivalent expressions.

SCIENCE

We will be learning about Earth and Space during science. We will look at patterns during the day and patterns at night. We will also learn about the Earth, Sun, Moon, and stars.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will be focusing on Science for a while, but when I return to Social Studies, we will be learning about geography.

Thank you for your support. Remember, if you need to contact me, please just write a note and send it in your child’s take home folder or email me at kortej@dearbornschools.org.

Mrs. Korte

January is going to be crazy. We are trying to get back into the swing of things by practicing routines, rules, and expectations. Several parents expressed concern that I didn’t send home the spelling words or homework last week. Again, per the newsletter, from last week, we are going slow to go fast. That includes me asking you for help.

As a parent, I know it is exhausting to get back into the school routine after a long break. So…last week, I only sent home the math homework. We did all of the spelling practice and homework in class to practice what I expect. The kids did really well on their spelling test too.

This week, I will send home the math and spelling homework. Finally, during our last full week of January, I will send home math, spelling, and reading homework.

I didn’t want to overwhelm you. We are in this together and I don’t want to lose you as my teaching partner. Thank you for your constant support and patience.

• Monday, January 16 – NO SCHOOL The observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, jr’s birthday. We learned about him and some of his teachings on Friday. I will continue this lesson on Tuesday.
• Thursday, January 19 – POPCORN SALE $1 per bag.
• Friday, January 20 – HALF DAY OF SCHOOL – morning only The afternoon I will be finishing and submitting all grades into the District Gradebook for the second report card. (This is the last day of the second quarter.)

ELA

• Reading – I will be finishing the Developmental Reading Assessment this week. Small group reading will resume next week.
• Writer’s Workshop – We are writing an informational piece about a specific job. Your child is learning to write facts about a topic. In this situation, we picked one job to teach our audience.
• Spelling
  • hope
  • rope
  • nope
  • noes
  • those
  • chose
  • spoke
  • joke
  • find
  • how
  • over
  • under

MATH

We are using a group of ten to help make subtraction easier. This week we will take 8 and 7 away from ten.

SCIENCE

During our ELA benchmark lessons, we are learning about technology and how it helps make our life easier.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We are finishing our unit on economics. So far, we have learned about:

• Families – A family can be different shapes and sizes.
• Needs and Wants – We NEED food, water, shelter, clothing, and love to survive. We want other things like special shoes, toys, cars, vacations, etc.
• Jobs – A job is work people do to earn money.
• Money – Money is used to get what we need and want.
• Goods – Goods are things certain jobs make or grow for people to buy.
• Service – Some jobs provide a service. A service is something that is done for you.
• Producer – Jobs that grow or make goods for you to buy or provide a service to you are called a producer.
• Consumer – A consumer is a person buying goods or paying for a service, like a haircut.

This week we will learn about trading. Trading can be used to consume goods and services too. For example, your first grader could mow the lawn to get you to buy them a toy. That is a trade. We will review that money is just a simple trade. You trade the store money for the toy.

My goal is to take the Unit 2 social studies test before Friday morning.

Thank you for your support. Have a great weekend.

Mrs. Korte

I hope you all had a wonderful winter break and a Happy New Year!

This will be brief. As an educator and a parent, I don’t think it is fair to jump back into school and immediately expect the same pace and rigor. We will go slow to go fast. I have missed your children. I am excited to see them.

FYI…the classroom might look slightly different because it flooded on December 24th. I will do my best to get things back to normal.

Please give your first grader lots of hugs and enjoy your evening together. Take the time to relax.

Mrs. Korte

Due to the weather predictions, we will have our spelling test tomorrow. I do not want to wait until January, if we have an issue with weather on Friday.
Also, it will be holiday wear tomorrow instead of fuzzy socks.

Tomorrow is “wear all white” day.

Spelling Booklets

Yes, I know the spelling booklets did not come home last Friday. I have lots of kids who still need to make up their Friday assessment. I am going to give the assessment this week and send them the Monday, after the winter break. Less for both of us to remember over the break.

Winter Celebration

I am planning our small Winter Celebration for Thursday afternoon. We will have a couple of crafts and I will be ordering some pizza for a snack.