March 31, 2018
Dear First Grade Families,
I really thought we were going to make it through the end of the school year. I am so sorry that I am not able to stay to the end. I do not know how the class will be structured after spring break, but I have confidence in the teachers and I know they will provide a strong finish for the year. I will provide lesson plans and materials and I hope the transition goes smoothly.
I will provide the latest progress report with their tests from the past two weeks. My grade book was mostly up-to-date but I didn't get to enter last week's grades before losing access. However, I will give those grades to the next teacher to enter. Your kids rocked yesterday's ELA test!
I have seen such growth in your children over the year in every aspect. Many of them could read just a few words, and now they are reading fluently, many well above grade level. Their number sense and math skills have grown exponentially. They are enthusiastic readers, mathematicians, scientists, writers, and scholars. They have matured emotionally and have shown great character growth. It has been an honor and privilege to be their teacher this year. I will miss them tremendously.
I regret that I was not able to accomplish everything I wanted to before year end. I had just told the class we would start to rehearse our play after spring break! I was looking forward to Camp Read, our solar system unit, Mother's day, Open House, etc. However, I need to be grateful for the time we did have together. We accomplished so much and I have so many wonderful memories of our learning together.
Thank you again for your support throughout the year. You are raising truly wonderful human beings. I hope our paths cross in the future. I would love to hear about your child's successes.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Chandler
update week of March 26-30
Our reading this week is Henry and Mudge and Mrs. Hopper’s House, (realistic fiction and poetry). The question of the week is: What treasures can we share with our neighbors? Our phonics focus will be vowel digraphs oo as in moon, and suffixes –ly, -ful.
We are learning about geometry in math, which will take us past spring break. Looking ahead, we will learn about fractions, then we will start preparing for second grade math! . In science we are finishing up our study of light & sound. Relating to sun and energy, we made solar ovens and made s’mores!
Update from week of March 19th
We had a great week! We did not catch a leprechaun, but he did visit and enjoyed the challenge of our traps. He left behind a pot of gold for everyone. We finished Topic 14-Data, and rocked our test. We are now enjoying geometry. This past week our ELA story was Peter’s Chair. (realistic fiction), and Peter’s Baby Sister . Our phonics focus was vowel digraphs ue, ew, and ui, and compound words. We are still learning about Light and Sound in science.
Our class filled the marble jar halfway to the Ice Cream Party level! Mrs. Link graciously offered to treat us, and she and her daughter Natalie served delicious ice cream sundaes on Thursday afternoon.
Week of March 12
Dear First Grade Families,
Our reading this week is A Southern Ranch (expository text), and On the Way to a Ranch (procedural text). The question of the week is: Why do we treasure special places? Our phonics focus will be vowel digraphs ie, and igh, and consonant patterns kn, wr. We are starting our next math topic: Data.
Tuesday will be our 120th day of school! We will also celebrate Albert Einstein’s birthday and Pi Day on March 14th. Pi day will be geared toward first grade, and the emphasis will be on circles and a celebration of math!
In science, we are continuing our study of Sound and Light. During STEAM, we will work as teams on engineering a leprechaun trap. I will supply gold coins, paper, etc. Your child may bring in a box or other supplies they would like.
Since I will be teaching World Language for the next couple weeks, we will continue to work on Rosetta Stone, but I will also supplement with basic information in different languages: Spanish, German, Latin, and French. The emphasis will be on connecting these languages to the English language, since English has so many words or roots that are derived from other languages.
Please check your child’s folder today. It contains some student work as well as a progress report with recent tests. Please sign the progress report and return (with tests attached please.) Especially since we weren’t able to meet for conferences last week, it is important that you view their work and tests so you know how they are doing. Also sent home today is your child’s recent MAP test report. Keep in mind that we are looking for growth, and ideally they should meet their projected goal.
Also in folders are Scholastic catalogs, as well as information about the upcoming book fair. Last week you should have received fliers for upcoming enrichment classes. Lots of exciting things happening around here!
Please send in your child’s sight word book on Friday. Remember, the prize for each completed sight word book is a $5 (or less) Scholastic book!
Thanks again for your support to your children and our school. Special thanks to our volunteers! Have a great week!
~ Mrs. Chandler
Final field trip information:
Winter Concert:
Wow, your kids did amazing! I am so proud of their performance, and I'm sure you are as well. They looked so adorable all dressed up. Thank you parents, for getting them there on time and looking so good! Not only were your kids great onstage, but offstage as well. Having to stay relatively quiet for an hour and a half was tough but they did it. (I don't think any of us knew it would be such a long concert! Next year, I will bring backstage activities!) For having our first winter concert, it went very well. The venue was perfect. I hope you enjoyed it!
Reading, Writing, ELA:
Social Studies: winter holidays
Math: Topic 7: counting and number patterns to 120
Science/STEAM: gingerbread science, animal & plant communities
Have a great week!
What we are learning in first grade:
Math: we are learning all about addition. We are learning about different ways to add numbers to arrive at a sum. You can help your child's math skills. Just count with your child. Discuss odd and even numbers. Notice math problems or make them up. Ask: if I have 4 kittens/pokemon cards/lego blocks (name your child's favorite object), and add 3 more, how many will I have altogether? Encourage them to use their fingers or objects if they need to - that is developmentally appropriate for them, and necessary to develop their number sense. Point out that we start with 4, then add on: 5, 6, 7, 8.
To develop their algebra skills, ask: if we have 7 total, and started off with 4, how many did we add?
Science: we are learning all about the scientific process and how scientists investigate. Last week we did two experiments which I encourage you to repeat at home with your child, for fun, and to see what they are learning!
Experiment 1: start with a bowl of water. Sprinkle some pepper on top (I used tea because I didn't have pepper on hand). Dip a finger in the water, and notice how nothing happens. Then, put a little bit of dish soap on your finger and dip in in the water. The pepper is repelled by the soap and zooms to the side. (We discussed how hand-washing with soap chases away germs!).
Experiment 2: start with a bowl of milk. Add a couple drops of food coloring. Dip a toothpick or q-tip in the milk and notice how nothing happens. Then dip the toothpick in soap, and then dip it in the milk. Notice how the milk/food coloring moves dramatically! Repeat again and again until the color is all mixed. It's like magic! See more here: https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/milk-color-explosion/
We will be repeating the milk experiment again, and we will follow the scientific method of changing just one variable. In this case, we will be changing the amount of milk fat: skim, 2%, whole. We will observe and record our data. Due to the short week, we will probably do this next week.
Social Studies: we are learning about rules and being a part of a community. Ask your child what being a "bucket filler" means. We are also learning about "growth mindset" and how making mistakes can help us learn.
Writing: today we wrote about what we need to be successful in first grade, and we did a backpack craft to go along with it. We recently interviewed a friend and wrote their responses. We wrote about our first week in school, how to be a bucket filler, what we did this summer, etc. We are doing a great job with writing upper and lower case letters, putting space between words, and writing a complete sentence with punctuation.
Reading: we are working on building our stamina with independent reading.
We will start on sight word work soon. Students can "level up" as their knowledge of their sight words and phrases progresses. You will see more of this next week! Spelling starts next week too.
Dear First Grade Families,
Can I just tell you how much I adore your children!?! They are so sweet! I can tell they are very bright and inquisitive learners.
We had a busy first day in first grade! Here's a snapshot: we had a morning meeting, calendar, made nameplates, read books, counted/sang/danced to 100, practiced "freezing" with freeze dance, read more books, compared kindergarten to first grade, reviewed some rules and procedures, went to PE and World Language, had morning recess, lunch, & afternoon recess, and we ran out of time to do all the activities! We also did a "Find a Friend" activity where they had to find a classmate that had different-colored eyes than them, someone who has a brother or sister at our school, someone who likes pizza, someone who rode a bike this summer, someone who can curl their tongue, etc. It was fun but somewhat challenging, and we had to break it up into three parts.
I hope you saw your child's folder in their backpack. I sent home a letter from me, a parent survey, a world language worksheet (Ms. Cook requests that it be brought back by Friday), and information about some of the after school enrichment activities. Please check their "rocket" folder daily for any papers, and homework. Don't worry, we won't have homework right away!
I noticed that two lunchboxes were left behind, so we'll make sure they make it home tomorrow.
Chromebooks: we had hoped that our IT support would be able to install the app we will need for MAP testing. He wasn't able to do it today, and we don't need Chromebooks for world language until Monday, so please don't bring Chromebooks for the rest of the week. If you are unable to provide a Chromebook for your child, please let me know. I have a couple class loaners that can be used in class, but we are unable to send them home.
Lunch: if you are using the school lunch system, please note that it doesn't start until Monday, September 11, and that you must order a week in advance. Please refer to the email that was sent out by the office for more information.
Thank you for sending in supplies! I truly appreciate it. It will help our classroom run smoothly!
If you are wondering what we will be doing tomorrow:
Drawing a self-portrait, writing about what we did over the summer, working on whiteboards (kids LOVE this), working on increasing our reading stamina, we will play a math skip-counting game, review rules, etc. We will also read a few books, including the Fill Your Bucket book, then an activity. We will also start making a "Our first week in First Grade" booklet over the next couple days. I will be introducing more games and materials over time and after the students get used to routines. Lots of fun stuff coming up!
I will send home a couple Scholastic books catalogs tomorrow. Ordering books is completely optional.
Please let me know if you have any questions about anything.
I am looking forward to seeing your little darlings tomorrow! Have a good evening.
Sincerely,
Julia Chandler
Dear First Grade Families,
I really thought we were going to make it through the end of the school year. I am so sorry that I am not able to stay to the end. I do not know how the class will be structured after spring break, but I have confidence in the teachers and I know they will provide a strong finish for the year. I will provide lesson plans and materials and I hope the transition goes smoothly.
I will provide the latest progress report with their tests from the past two weeks. My grade book was mostly up-to-date but I didn't get to enter last week's grades before losing access. However, I will give those grades to the next teacher to enter. Your kids rocked yesterday's ELA test!
I have seen such growth in your children over the year in every aspect. Many of them could read just a few words, and now they are reading fluently, many well above grade level. Their number sense and math skills have grown exponentially. They are enthusiastic readers, mathematicians, scientists, writers, and scholars. They have matured emotionally and have shown great character growth. It has been an honor and privilege to be their teacher this year. I will miss them tremendously.
I regret that I was not able to accomplish everything I wanted to before year end. I had just told the class we would start to rehearse our play after spring break! I was looking forward to Camp Read, our solar system unit, Mother's day, Open House, etc. However, I need to be grateful for the time we did have together. We accomplished so much and I have so many wonderful memories of our learning together.
Thank you again for your support throughout the year. You are raising truly wonderful human beings. I hope our paths cross in the future. I would love to hear about your child's successes.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Chandler
update week of March 26-30
Our reading this week is Henry and Mudge and Mrs. Hopper’s House, (realistic fiction and poetry). The question of the week is: What treasures can we share with our neighbors? Our phonics focus will be vowel digraphs oo as in moon, and suffixes –ly, -ful.
We are learning about geometry in math, which will take us past spring break. Looking ahead, we will learn about fractions, then we will start preparing for second grade math! . In science we are finishing up our study of light & sound. Relating to sun and energy, we made solar ovens and made s’mores!
Update from week of March 19th
We had a great week! We did not catch a leprechaun, but he did visit and enjoyed the challenge of our traps. He left behind a pot of gold for everyone. We finished Topic 14-Data, and rocked our test. We are now enjoying geometry. This past week our ELA story was Peter’s Chair. (realistic fiction), and Peter’s Baby Sister . Our phonics focus was vowel digraphs ue, ew, and ui, and compound words. We are still learning about Light and Sound in science.
Our class filled the marble jar halfway to the Ice Cream Party level! Mrs. Link graciously offered to treat us, and she and her daughter Natalie served delicious ice cream sundaes on Thursday afternoon.
Week of March 12
Dear First Grade Families,
Our reading this week is A Southern Ranch (expository text), and On the Way to a Ranch (procedural text). The question of the week is: Why do we treasure special places? Our phonics focus will be vowel digraphs ie, and igh, and consonant patterns kn, wr. We are starting our next math topic: Data.
Tuesday will be our 120th day of school! We will also celebrate Albert Einstein’s birthday and Pi Day on March 14th. Pi day will be geared toward first grade, and the emphasis will be on circles and a celebration of math!
In science, we are continuing our study of Sound and Light. During STEAM, we will work as teams on engineering a leprechaun trap. I will supply gold coins, paper, etc. Your child may bring in a box or other supplies they would like.
Since I will be teaching World Language for the next couple weeks, we will continue to work on Rosetta Stone, but I will also supplement with basic information in different languages: Spanish, German, Latin, and French. The emphasis will be on connecting these languages to the English language, since English has so many words or roots that are derived from other languages.
Please check your child’s folder today. It contains some student work as well as a progress report with recent tests. Please sign the progress report and return (with tests attached please.) Especially since we weren’t able to meet for conferences last week, it is important that you view their work and tests so you know how they are doing. Also sent home today is your child’s recent MAP test report. Keep in mind that we are looking for growth, and ideally they should meet their projected goal.
Also in folders are Scholastic catalogs, as well as information about the upcoming book fair. Last week you should have received fliers for upcoming enrichment classes. Lots of exciting things happening around here!
Please send in your child’s sight word book on Friday. Remember, the prize for each completed sight word book is a $5 (or less) Scholastic book!
Thanks again for your support to your children and our school. Special thanks to our volunteers! Have a great week!
~ Mrs. Chandler
Final field trip information:
- Uniforms are required. Please label jackets or sweaters. Please make sure you child knows they will have to carry their jacket if they bring one. (they can tie it around their waist)
- Please send in a lunch in a disposable bag, with a disposable water bottle, and a snack. Please label all these things with your child's name. Students will have their snack when we arrive at Discovery Cube. Our program starts promptly at 9:15 and ends 2 1/2 hours later, so students will not be able to eat during that time. Please make sure your child eats a good breakfast, and brings a healthy snack and lunch, so that they have enough energy for a fun day!
- Please do not send any money or valuables.
- Backpacks are not required. Please leave chromebooks at home. You do not have to send anything tomorrow except their lunch.
- I will post pictures on ClassDojo throughout the field trip.
Winter Concert:
Wow, your kids did amazing! I am so proud of their performance, and I'm sure you are as well. They looked so adorable all dressed up. Thank you parents, for getting them there on time and looking so good! Not only were your kids great onstage, but offstage as well. Having to stay relatively quiet for an hour and a half was tough but they did it. (I don't think any of us knew it would be such a long concert! Next year, I will bring backstage activities!) For having our first winter concert, it went very well. The venue was perfect. I hope you enjoyed it!
Reading, Writing, ELA:
- Weekly theme question: How are plant and animal communities important to each other?
- Phonics: long u: u_e, long e e_e ; inflected ending -ed
- Spelling words: huge, June, rule, tube, use, cube, cute, flute, rude, mule
- High frequency words: around, find, food, grow, under*, water* *spelling words
- Grammar: proper nouns
- Reading skill: identify author’s purpose; strategy: use background knowledge
Social Studies: winter holidays
Math: Topic 7: counting and number patterns to 120
Science/STEAM: gingerbread science, animal & plant communities
Have a great week!
What we are learning in first grade:
Math: we are learning all about addition. We are learning about different ways to add numbers to arrive at a sum. You can help your child's math skills. Just count with your child. Discuss odd and even numbers. Notice math problems or make them up. Ask: if I have 4 kittens/pokemon cards/lego blocks (name your child's favorite object), and add 3 more, how many will I have altogether? Encourage them to use their fingers or objects if they need to - that is developmentally appropriate for them, and necessary to develop their number sense. Point out that we start with 4, then add on: 5, 6, 7, 8.
To develop their algebra skills, ask: if we have 7 total, and started off with 4, how many did we add?
Science: we are learning all about the scientific process and how scientists investigate. Last week we did two experiments which I encourage you to repeat at home with your child, for fun, and to see what they are learning!
Experiment 1: start with a bowl of water. Sprinkle some pepper on top (I used tea because I didn't have pepper on hand). Dip a finger in the water, and notice how nothing happens. Then, put a little bit of dish soap on your finger and dip in in the water. The pepper is repelled by the soap and zooms to the side. (We discussed how hand-washing with soap chases away germs!).
Experiment 2: start with a bowl of milk. Add a couple drops of food coloring. Dip a toothpick or q-tip in the milk and notice how nothing happens. Then dip the toothpick in soap, and then dip it in the milk. Notice how the milk/food coloring moves dramatically! Repeat again and again until the color is all mixed. It's like magic! See more here: https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/milk-color-explosion/
We will be repeating the milk experiment again, and we will follow the scientific method of changing just one variable. In this case, we will be changing the amount of milk fat: skim, 2%, whole. We will observe and record our data. Due to the short week, we will probably do this next week.
Social Studies: we are learning about rules and being a part of a community. Ask your child what being a "bucket filler" means. We are also learning about "growth mindset" and how making mistakes can help us learn.
Writing: today we wrote about what we need to be successful in first grade, and we did a backpack craft to go along with it. We recently interviewed a friend and wrote their responses. We wrote about our first week in school, how to be a bucket filler, what we did this summer, etc. We are doing a great job with writing upper and lower case letters, putting space between words, and writing a complete sentence with punctuation.
Reading: we are working on building our stamina with independent reading.
We will start on sight word work soon. Students can "level up" as their knowledge of their sight words and phrases progresses. You will see more of this next week! Spelling starts next week too.
Dear First Grade Families,
Can I just tell you how much I adore your children!?! They are so sweet! I can tell they are very bright and inquisitive learners.
We had a busy first day in first grade! Here's a snapshot: we had a morning meeting, calendar, made nameplates, read books, counted/sang/danced to 100, practiced "freezing" with freeze dance, read more books, compared kindergarten to first grade, reviewed some rules and procedures, went to PE and World Language, had morning recess, lunch, & afternoon recess, and we ran out of time to do all the activities! We also did a "Find a Friend" activity where they had to find a classmate that had different-colored eyes than them, someone who has a brother or sister at our school, someone who likes pizza, someone who rode a bike this summer, someone who can curl their tongue, etc. It was fun but somewhat challenging, and we had to break it up into three parts.
I hope you saw your child's folder in their backpack. I sent home a letter from me, a parent survey, a world language worksheet (Ms. Cook requests that it be brought back by Friday), and information about some of the after school enrichment activities. Please check their "rocket" folder daily for any papers, and homework. Don't worry, we won't have homework right away!
I noticed that two lunchboxes were left behind, so we'll make sure they make it home tomorrow.
Chromebooks: we had hoped that our IT support would be able to install the app we will need for MAP testing. He wasn't able to do it today, and we don't need Chromebooks for world language until Monday, so please don't bring Chromebooks for the rest of the week. If you are unable to provide a Chromebook for your child, please let me know. I have a couple class loaners that can be used in class, but we are unable to send them home.
Lunch: if you are using the school lunch system, please note that it doesn't start until Monday, September 11, and that you must order a week in advance. Please refer to the email that was sent out by the office for more information.
Thank you for sending in supplies! I truly appreciate it. It will help our classroom run smoothly!
If you are wondering what we will be doing tomorrow:
Drawing a self-portrait, writing about what we did over the summer, working on whiteboards (kids LOVE this), working on increasing our reading stamina, we will play a math skip-counting game, review rules, etc. We will also read a few books, including the Fill Your Bucket book, then an activity. We will also start making a "Our first week in First Grade" booklet over the next couple days. I will be introducing more games and materials over time and after the students get used to routines. Lots of fun stuff coming up!
I will send home a couple Scholastic books catalogs tomorrow. Ordering books is completely optional.
Please let me know if you have any questions about anything.
I am looking forward to seeing your little darlings tomorrow! Have a good evening.
Sincerely,
Julia Chandler
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