Week 28 - March 29, 2019

March Service Project

Thank you for all of your support in donating books. They will be going to a school in Flint, MI. We really appreciate your generosity in helping us to help others!

Deerfield 1st graders

Curriculum

Reading:
When we return from the break, the students will wrap up our unit on Character series books.  Students have been finding patterns across the texts and looking at how characters change in the stories.

Book Baggies:
Please help the students remember to bring their book baggies every Friday.  I would like them to have an opportunity to read different books.

Writing:
When we return we will continue to work on our personal narratives.  Students have learned to include dialogue, show not tell and transitions in their writing.  When we return we will learn to add ellipses, write good leads and to write good endings.

Math:
Students learned to use different subtraction strategies this week.  They learned to use base 10 blocks, hundreds charts, place value knowledge and unmarked number lines as strategies when subtracting.  

IXL Skills - Use these activities as you wish to help your child with the skills we will be working on throughout this third trimester.

Science/Social Studies:
This week the students planted wheat.  They also learned about the different parts of a plant and their purpose.  When we return from break, we will continue to look at the parts of a plant and then begin thinking and learning about animals.  

Purposeful Play
Please see the Purposeful Play tab on the blog to learn more about our weekly Play Time and donation items we could use for it!

Homework

• Read every night (you can read with your child, listen to them read or read to them - all of it helps).  Then talk about the book - who are the characters, what happened, why did it happen, make connections, what's the main idea, why did the author write the book, how did the author give you information, what features did the author use to help you as a reader
• Work on a math skill  
• counting forwards and backwards within 120 (and skip counting)
• adding and subtracting to 20 - play a board game for this
• telling time (What are the hands on the clock? How is a clock set up?)
• identify and count coins
• measuring - length and volume -  have your child cook with you to practice this
• talk about shapes - 2D and 3D - find items around your house, etc.) 

Specials Schedule

Monday: P.E. (Wear tennis shoes)
Tuesday: Art (Bring an Art shirt labeled with your child's name)
Wednesday: Music
Thursday: Media/Library
Friday: Rotates (See the back of your child's OWL folder (everyday folder) for a schedule.)

Important Dates

April 1-5: Spring Break

April 19: No School

May 3: Family Fun Night at Paradise Park (6-9pm)

May 8: Bike to School Day

May 17: Celebration of Learning (schedule to come later)

May 22: Art Festival

May 27: No School (Memorial Day)

Week 27 - March 22, 2019

March Service Project

Dear families,

As a first grade team, we are in charge of our March service project. The students decided that they are passionate about reading books!  They have found that books can help them find their passions. This passion sparked an idea! What if we collect and donate books that will inspire others to find their voices/passions?  

For the month of March, we are collecting new or gently used books to donate to schools less fortunate than us.  Students can bring the books geared toward Kindergarten through 5th graders to school and drop them in bins in their wings.  

Please help us change the world!!

Deerfield 1st graders

Curriculum

Reading:
Students continued to grow as readers this week as they listened to Frog and Toad stories and discussed patterns in the characters' traits and the author's writing.  They are really getting good at talking about books and digging in to why and how the author does different things.  Next week, we will continue this and begin discussing lessons that the characters learn from each other and then what lessons we, as readers, can learn from the characters.

Book Baggies:
Please help the students remember to bring their book baggies every Friday.  I would like them to have an opportunity to read different books.

Writing:
Students continued to draft their personal narratives this week.  They learned to show not tell in their writing which adds more detail to their stories.  Next week, we will work on adding transitions and dialogue to our writing.

Math:
This week, we learned about 2D shapes.  We learned about defining and non-defining attributes of shapes and how to identify different shapes.  Next week, we will focus on subtraction strategies.

IXL Skills - Use these activities as you wish to help your child with the skills we will be working on throughout this third trimester.

Science/Social Studies:
This week we began our unit on plants and animals.  The students planted some seeds that we will be observing and learning about what plants and animals need to survive.  Next week, we will plant some more plants and then explore the parts of a plant and what their purpose.

Purposeful Play
Please see the Purposeful Play tab on the blog to learn more about our weekly Play Time and donation items we could use for it!

Homework

• Read every night (you can read with your child, listen to them read or read to them - all of it helps).  Then talk about the book - who are the characters, what happened, why did it happen, make connections, what's the main idea, why did the author write the book, how did the author give you information, what features did the author use to help you as a reader
• Work on a math skill  
• counting forwards and backwards within 120 (and skip counting)
• adding and subtracting to 20 - play a board game for this
• telling time (What are the hands on the clock? How is a clock set up?)
• identify and count coins
• measuring - length and volume -  have your child cook with you to practice this
• talk about shapes - 2D and 3D - find items around your house, etc.) 

Specials Schedule

Monday: P.E. (Wear tennis shoes)
Tuesday: Art (Bring an Art shirt labeled with your child's name)
Wednesday: Music
Thursday: Media/Library
Friday: Rotates (See the back of your child's OWL folder (everyday folder) for a schedule.)

Important Dates

March 23: Report Cards go live on MiStar

March 30: Henry Ford Meet Up (OPTIONAL)

April 1-5: Spring Break

April 19: No School

Week 26 - March 15, 2019

March Service Project

Dear families,

As a first grade team, we are in charge of our March service project. The students decided that they are passionate about reading books!  They have found that books can help them find their passions. This passion sparked an idea! What if we collect and donate books that will inspire others to find their voices/passions?  

For the month of March, we are collecting new or gently used books to donate to schools less fortunate than us.  Students can bring the books geared toward Kindergarten through 5th graders to school and drop them in bins in their wings.  

Please help us change the world!!

Deerfield 1st graders

Curriculum

Reading:
This week we read some Little Critter books to begin discussing character series books.  The students enjoyed the books and began noticing patterns in the character's traits, behaviors and the author's writing/illustrations.  Next week, we will continue looking for these patterns in Frog and Toad books.  We will also notice how the characters interact, what they might learn from each other, and what we can learn from them.

Book Baggies:
Please help the students remember to bring their book baggies every Friday.  I would like them to have an opportunity to read different books.

Writing:
We began our personal narrative unit on author's craft.  The students began planning and drafting personal narrative stories.  Next week, we will work on elaborating our stories by using different techniques such as "show not tell" and including transitional words or phrases. 

Math:
Next week, the students will be learning about 2D shapes.  We will learn to identify them, their attributes and ways to describe them.

IXL Skills - Use these activities as you wish to help your child with the skills we will be working on throughout this third trimester.

Science/Social Studies:
Students learned about the ways schools are different in the past from today.  Next week, we will begin our unit on plants and animals.  The students will be planting different items.

Purposeful Play
Please see the Purposeful Play tab on the blog to learn more about our weekly Play Time and donation items we could use for it!

Homework

• Read every night (you can read with your child, listen to them read or read to them - all of it helps).  Then talk about the book - who are the characters, what happened, why did it happen, make connections, what's the main idea, why did the author write the book, how did the author give you information, what features did the author use to help you as a reader
• Work on a math skill  
• counting forwards and backwards within 120 (and skip counting)
• adding and subtracting to 20 - play a board game for this
• telling time (What are the hands on the clock? How is a clock set up?)
• identify and count coins
• measuring - length and volume -  have your child cook with you to practice this
• talk about shapes - 2D and 3D - find items around your house, etc.) 

Specials Schedule

Monday: P.E. (Wear tennis shoes)
Tuesday: Art (Bring an Art shirt labeled with your child's name)
Wednesday: Music
Thursday: Media/Library
Friday: Rotates (See the back of your child's OWL folder (everyday folder) for a schedule.)

Important Dates

March 23: Report Cards go live on MiStar

March 30: Henry Ford Meet Up (OPTIONAL)

April 1-5: Spring Break

April 19: No School

Week 25 - March 8, 2019

March Service Project

Dear families,

As a first grade team, we are in charge of our March service project. The students decided that they are passionate about reading books!  They have found that books can help them find their passions. This passion sparked an idea! What if we collect and donate books that will inspire others to find their voices/passions?  

For the month of March, we are collecting new or gently used books to donate to schools less fortunate than us.  Students can bring the books geared toward Kindergarten through 5th graders to school and drop them in bins in their wings.  

Please help us change the world!!

Deerfield 1st graders

Curriculum

Reading:
Next week, we will begin a new reading unit.  Students will continue to identify character traits in books but they will focus on looking at characters in series books.  They will learn to look for patterns in how the characters act, begin predicting and visualizing what might happen based on those patterns, and look at how characters' feelings change throughout the book.

Book Baggies:
Please help the students remember to bring their book baggies every Friday.  I would like them to have an opportunity to read different books.

Writing:
We wrapped up our unit on opinion writing.  Next week, we will go back to writing personal narratives.  In this unit, we really focus on the elaboration and craft when writing a personal narrative.  We hope students begin to include those extra details that help their stories come alive. 

Math:
In math the students have been learning to add numbers within 100 using different tools.  We've learned to use hundreds charts, base 10 blocks and place value knowledge to help us solve problems.  We also reviewed finding missing addends, minuends and subtrahends.  Our next unit focuses more on subtraction and identifying 2D shapes and their attributes.

IXL Skills - Use these activities as you wish to help your child with the skills we will be working on throughout this second trimester.

Science/Social Studies:
This week we have been reading books about schools in the past and schools today.  We've been discussing how things have changed and what things have stayed the same.  Students have seemed very interested in how different schools were long ago.  They would probably really enjoy hearing about how your schooling might have been the same or different!  Next week, we will continue to discuss how things have changed over time.

Purposeful Play
Please see the Purposeful Play tab on the blog to learn more about our weekly Play Time and donation items we could use for it!

Homework

• Read every night (you can read with your child, listen to them read or read to them - all of it helps).  Then talk about the book - who are the characters, what happened, why did it happen, make connections, what's the main idea, why did the author write the book, how did the author give you information, what features did the author use to help you as a reader
• Work on a math skill  
• counting forwards and backwards within 120 (and skip counting)
• adding and subtracting to 20 - play a board game for this
• telling time (What are the hands on the clock? How is a clock set up?)
• identify and count coins
• measuring - length and volume -  have your child cook with you to practice this
• talk about shapes - 2D and 3D - find items around your house, etc.) 

Specials Schedule

Monday: P.E. (Wear tennis shoes)
Tuesday: Art (Bring an Art shirt labeled with your child's name)
Wednesday: Music
Thursday: Media/Library
Friday: Rotates (See the back of your child's OWL folder (everyday folder) for a schedule.)

Important Dates

March 8-15: Book Fair in the Library

March 13: Sharpen the Saw Day: 1/2 Day of School - 12:30 dismissal (Please sign your child up for one activity for each session. There is also a volunteer sign up in case you are interested in volunteering.)

STUDENT SIGN-UP - SESSION 1: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d4ea8ae2ba7f58-sharpen3

STUDENT SIGN-UP - SESSION 2: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d4ea8ae2ba7f58-sharpen4

PARENT VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d4ea8ae2ba7f58-sharpen5

March 14: Spring Conferences (I have contacted families who I will be meeting with. Not all families will have a conference.)
March 23: Report Cards go live on MiStar
March 30: Henry Ford Meet Up (OPTIONAL)

Week 24 - March 1, 2019

Curriculum

Reading:
Students have been LOVING our reading lately.  They have been so curious and engaged when it comes to learning about people from our history.  We are continuing to read our Brad Meltzer biographies as a way to learn about the past as well as identify character traits using what people do, say and think.

Book Baggies:
Please help the students remember to bring their book baggies every Friday.  I would like them to have an opportunity to read different books.

Writing:
The students have also seemed to really begin enjoying writing.  They are writing opinion writings on anything they choose.  Some of them have even begun to write about the people we've read about in our reading time.  They are doing a nice job of planning out their writing, drafting it and then using a checklist to ensure that they have included all of the necessary items for an opinion writing.

Math:
In math the students practiced adding 2 digit and 1 digit numbers.  We talked about several strategies to help us do this such as using a number line, hundreds chart, counting on, using base 10 blocks or even a tens frame.  We also worked on adding multiples of ten (ie. 24 +30).  Again, students discussed and used different strategies in order to help them be successful.  Next week, we will continue to work on these skills as well as work on adding within 100.  We will learn to use different tools to help us do that such as hundreds charts, place value knowledge, base 10 blocks, etc.

IXL Skills - Use these activities as you wish to help your child with the skills we will be working on throughout this first trimester.

Science/Social Studies:
We wrapped up our unit on light and sound this week.  Next week, we will explore more about the past and how it is different from today in terms of transportation, schools, etc.

Purposeful Play
Please see the Purposeful Play tab on the blog to learn more about our weekly Play Time and donation items we could use for it!

Homework

• Read every night (you can read with your child, listen to them read or read to them - all of it helps).  Then talk about the book - who are the characters, what happened, why did it happen, make connections, what's the main idea, why did the author write the book, how did the author give you information, what features did the author use to help you as a reader
• Work on a math skill  
• counting forwards and backwards within 120 (and skip counting)
• adding and subtracting to 20 - play a board game for this
• telling time (What are the hands on the clock? How is a clock set up?)
• identify and count coins
• measuring - length and volume -  have your child cook with you to practice this
• talk about shapes - 2D and 3D - find items around your house, etc.) 

Specials Schedule

Monday: P.E. (Wear tennis shoes)
Tuesday: Art (Bring an Art shirt labeled with your child's name)
Wednesday: Music
Thursday: Media/Library
Friday: Rotates (See the back of your child's OWL folder (everyday folder) for a schedule.)

Important Dates

March 7: Frog and Toad: First Grade Concert (3:00pm)

March 8-15: Book Fair in the Library
March 13: Sharpen the Saw Day: 1/2 Day of School - 12:30 dismissal (Please sign your child up for one activity for each session. There is also a volunteer sign up in case you are interested in volunteering.)

STUDENT SIGN-UP - SESSION 1: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d4ea8ae2ba7f58-sharpen3

STUDENT SIGN-UP - SESSION 2: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d4ea8ae2ba7f58-sharpen4

PARENT VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d4ea8ae2ba7f58-sharpen5

March 14: Spring Conferences (I have contacted families who I will be meeting with. Not all families will have a conference.)
March 23: Report Cards go live on MiStar
March 30: Henry Ford Meet Up (OPTIONAL)