Spelling Week of April 1

1. born
2. corn
3. cork
4. fork
5. horn
6. pork
7. barn
8. art
9. nothing
10. thought

Challenge
1. born
2. fort
3. thorn
4. sport
5. fork
6. stork
7. thought
8. nothing
9. early
10. along

Week of March 25

Upcoming Events:

JApril 1 Snow Make-up Day

J April 10 2 hr. Early Out

JApril 15 Family Literacy Night at 6:30 at West Elementary

 

Notes:

JMonday we finished Iowa Assessments.  I am proud of this class and how hard each students worked. J

J We are running out of glue sticks.  Please send more so we can make it till the end of the school year.  Thank you!

JOur word work this week involve all kinds of painting.  One painting is with watercolors, another is with sponge letters, and the last is with puff paint.  Students are also able use the Smart Board during word work.

JWe have started a new fundraiser.  Profits earned from this will be set aside for technology improvements: laptops, smart boards, etc.

JWednesday we will go on our field trip to Sugar Shack in Algona.  Please make sure students bring tennis shoes and boots as we will be walking on trails.  We will be eating at the Chrome Restaurant for lunch and returning to school around 2:30.

 

Things to Work on:

J Spelling Contract (It is important to practice spelling words each night.   This allows the words that we are learning to carry over from the short term memory to the long term memory and be able to apply these words in their writing.)

 

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week in reading we are working on words with ar.  Students sorted their spelling words and then were able to practice writing them in sentences.

Math: This week we worked on making change for one dollar as well as adding two digit addition problems with a missing addend.  We have completed this unit and will start a new unit next week.

Science/ Social Studies: We finished our unit on motion and started a new unit on weather.  Mrs. Patton from Palo Alto County Conservation Board came and introduced our new unit by talking about stars and a few other weather related topics

Week of March 18

Upcoming Events:

J March 28 1 hr. early out

JMarch 29 No School

JApril 1 Snow Make-up Day

Notes:

JSnow make-up day from Monday will be May 29, Wednesday after Memorial Day.

JWe did not have a spelling test this week due to a shortened week.  We will start back with spelling next week.

J We are running low on dry erase markers.  If you are able to purchase us some more that would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you for those that have already come in but we are still in need of more.

JOn Monday we missed one day of Iowa Assessments so we will continue our testing on Monday.  Students are really working hard!

Things to Work on:

J Retelling books (beginning, middle, end)

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week we did not have a reading unit.  We used our time to have reading groups and Daily 5.  Our routine was very different this week due to Iowa Assessments.  We also read the book The Easter Egg by Jan Brett. We decorated our own Easter eggs on construction paper and then described them in our writing.

Math: We have not had a lot of math time this week.  In the little time that we did have we continued practicing two digit addition with story problems.

Science/ Social Studies: We did not get to our plans from last week due to conferences and the late start.  Therefore, our objectives are the same as last week: This week we have learned about simple machines.  We were able to go out to our playground and look for examples of ramps, pulleys, and levers.  We also talked about magnets and what makes an item magnetic.

Week of March 12

Upcoming Events:

J March 18-22 Iowa Assessments

J March 28 1 hr. early out

JMarch 29 No School

JApril 1 Snow Make-up Day

Notes:

JIowa Assessments are planned for the week of March 18.  Please help your child get to bed at a good time so they can receive a good night’s sleep.  We also encourage that your child eats a nutritious breakfast.  Our goal is 145 which is the National Percentile Ranking in reading and math.  We will take tests throughout the week.

JSnow make-up day from Monday will be May 28, Tuesday after Memorial Day.

JWe did not have a spelling test this week due to a shortened week.  We will not do spelling next week either due to Iowa Assessments.

J We are running low on dry erase markers.  If you are able to purchase us some more that would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance!

JThank you to all the parents and students that came to conferences!

Things to Work on:

J Writing No Excuse words correctly

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week we did not have spelling or work on any specific features.  We used our reading time to review past features.  We played a game like bingo called Spello with our old spelling words.  This week we also were able to take some practice Iowa Assessments for students to get used to the format.

Math: This week we started two digit addition with regrouping.  This can be a very tricky skill to learn.  This is a skill that is introduced in first grade and mastered in second grade.  A newsletter showing how it is taught was sent home on Tuesday.

Science/ Social Studies: This week we have learned about simple machines.  We were able to go out to our playground and look for examples of ramps, pulleys, and levers.  We also talked about magnets and what makes an item magnetic.

Spelling week of March 11

1. cart
2. art
3. barn
4. yarn
5. arm
6. harm
7. right
8. by
9. better
10. children

Challenge
1. chart
2. barn
3. charm
4. smart
5. yarn
6. harm
7. better
8. children
9. round
10. bright

Week of March 4

Upcoming Events:

JMarch 12 and 14 Conferences (4-7:30) (These will be student led so please bring your child)

JMarch 15 No School

J March 18-22 Iowa Assessments

J March 28 1 hr. early out

JMarch 29 No School

Notes:

JIowa Assessments are planned for the week of March 18.  Please help your child get to bed at a good time so they can receive a good night’s sleep.  We also encourage that your child eats a nutritious breakfast.  Our goal is 145 which is the National Percentile Ranking in reading and math.  We will take tests throughout the week.

JAs we are putting our portfolios together for conferences I have noticed how well our writing has grown this year.  Students are listening to their sounds when writing, writing with correct punctuation, and using complete sentences.

Things to Work on:

J Reading AR books

JOnce we completed a week of spelling words you may still continue working on these words at home to help them remember the correct spelling patterns.

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week we read a Frog and Toad story called The Kite.  Frog and Toad books are good beginning chapter books for first graders.  While we read the book we worked on visualizing what was happening in the story.  We also focused on what the problem was in the story and how the problem was solved, the solution.  Our words this week focused on –ight and –ind sounds.

Math: This week we started a new math unit focusing on money.  We will be learning how to make money amounts with the fewest coins as well as adding money amounts from story problems.

Science/ Social Studies: This week we finished our unit on past and present by comparing transportation and technology.  We started a new science unit on motion and energy.

Spelling Word Week of March 4

1. find
2. kind
3. night
4. right
5. by
6. my
7. low
8. boat
9. never
10. heard

Challenge
1. grind
2. night
3. dry
4. bright
5. why
6. never
7. heard
8. shout
9. ball
10. should

Week of Feb. 25

Upcoming Events:

JMarch 12 and 14 Conferences (4-7:30)

JMarch 15 No School

J March 18-22 Iowa Assessments

J March 28 1 hr. early out

JMarch 29 No School

Notes:

J This week we had Mrs. Casey in our room for Read Across America Day. We also had The Cat in the Hat, Thing 1, and Thing 2 to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday.

J Mrs. Patton from Palo Alto County Conservation Board came and talked to us about tools and other items that were used in the past and how they have changed. 

JOur 5^th snow day from last Friday will be made up on April 1, please mark your calendars!

JIowa Assessments are planned for the week of March 18

JAll papers that go with the spelling contracts can be turned in on Fridays.

J Conferences this quarter will be student led so please bring your child with you so they can show you all that they have learned.

Things to Work on:

J Counting money with pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week we read the story Olivia and talked about what makes this story a fantasy story instead of a reality story.  Our spelling words this week focused on the long o sound that is made by oa and ow. 

Math: This week we have spent time focusing on time to the hour and half hour.  We have also reviewed counting quarters.  Some of our math time this week was spent assessing for report cards.

Science/ Social Studies: Our new social studies unit comparing past and present has been very fun for students. On Monday we made old time shingles and hammered in square nails.  This week we also compared communities of the past and present.