There are several events coming up in the next couple weeks to make sure you don’t miss. On February 14th, our Valentine Party will be at 11:30. The following day, February 15th, will be an early release day at 11:00. This will be the day set aside for parent conferences. Please look in the next few days for a confirmation of the time you have been given. February 21st is a school holiday.

This next week will be more of the same in math. We will continue with skip counting and identifying number patterns. These will be applied in our problem solving. We will continue working with compound words and begin identifying and sorting plurals and singular nouns. Reading groups will resume again since testing is finally over and our unit on penguins will continue in science and roll over into math.

January 31st will be our 100th day of school.  Your child will be bringing home an activity to do and send back on Friday. This activity will be shared on Monday, the 100th day. Also, be aware that our party mom is beginning to organize our Valentine Party. I’m sure everyone will be willing to help with whatever they can. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please contact Amy Ormes to lend your help.

That’s it for now. I hope you all have a great week!

Mrs. Benson

Well, we are off to a great start in our new year! This past week was very busy with introductions of lots of new concepts. In our word work this week the students identified nouns and used adjectives to describe them. We will continue using nouns and adjectives in the coming weeks, but will add action verbs.

We have continued our reading groups and raised levels of their take-home readers. Some students also can no longer check out books that are too easy. Always make sure your child is getting their reading homework done each day.

We had a spelling test this past Friday and now there are 50 words the students are held accountable for in their writing.  A list of these will be sent home on Monday. We will not have new spelling words this week but will continue the following week.

This past week in science, we discussed the change in seasons and Winter. Next week we will be reading and discussing the impact of Martin Luther King Jr. in social studies. Remember we are out of school on Monday the 17th in observance of this day.

And last but not least, in math, time is the topic. It will continue through this next week. We use analog time as well as digital time to the hour and half-hour. Practice this at home whenever you can to help your child understand and apply this concept to everyday life.

Thanks for everything and try to stay warm this week!

Mrs. Benson

It’s time to start  counting the days down; and there’re not very many left! Because this is basically a short week, having two short days, there’s a lot to get in. We will be really focused on our new spelling words the students brought home last week. We will use these in our writing as well. In reading, the focus will be on following story structure and the important story elements.

Last week and this week, our entire first grade began a study of Christmas’s Around the World. Our class focused on Holland while each other class had a different country. This week the students will travel to the other classes to learn about their country’s Christmas and participate in an enrichment project for each. This has been a very exciting study for them.

Things to remember: School lets out at 11:00 on Thursday and Friday. Our Christmas party is Friday at 9:00 in our classroom. Gifts for the gift exchange are due this Tuesday.  Please if you have any questions email or call the school.

Thanks for everything,

Mrs. Benson

December is one of the busiest times of the year. We have lots of things to fit in before the end of the semester. AND… unfortunately, this is that time of year that the students are the least focused. Please continue to remind your child to always be a CHAMP and always WORK DURING WORK TIMES. I know there are lots of things that are distracting during the holiday season, but school must go on. Thank you for your support in this matter.

This coming week we will continue our study of adjectives through our book/author study of Audrey and Don Wood.  Discovering adjectives in our reading will develop the use of them in their writing. This past week I tested everyone to determine their new reading levels. This week we will continue our guided reading groups at these new levels.

In the upcoming weeks in math the relationship between addition and subtraction will continue with fact families and using the number line.

Continue to look and go over Monday’s graded papers and notes.

Mrs. Benson

What a great week! Thanks to all of you for coming out for our “Night Before Thanksgiving” readers theater. I think it turned out great and the children LOVE to see your faces looking back at them when they are showing what all they have learned. Before the readers theater, we as a class, had our Thanksgiving feast. This is a special lunch that first grade only does each year. The kids really enjoyed it.

Of course this week is a short one, but we will be practicing some of the skills learned through various Thanksgiving activities. We also have a math assessment and will receive new spelling words on Monday. Look for these new words to come home on the yellow writing paper.

Remember, we will have early release on Tuesday, at 11:00. Lunch will be at 10:10…if you can call that lunch! I’ll see all the kids back in class on the next Monday, November 29th. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I ask that you remember the Armed Forces as you give thanks and I will remember each and every one of your children as I give mine. Thank you for everything!

Mrs. Benson

Our Readers Theater, “T’was the Night Before Thanksgiving” will be this Thursday at 12:45 in our classroom. The students have been working hard on their parts and practicing reading slowly with expression. This reading is especially helpful with fluency.

We have begun making our own books now in Writers Workshop through process writing. The students are putting the steps of this to work making their stories into published works.

1. Plan

2.Write

3.Revise/Edit

4.Conference

5.Publish

We continue addition and subtraction in math by using the strategy of counting up/back and using a number line. These strategies are very helpful in helping the students move away from using counters; however, counters are always available.

We will continue studying the traditions and customs of Thanksgiving past and comparing it to those of Thanksgiving present. The students’ timelines were wonderful. Thanks you for your support in this activity.

Hope to see you all at our Readers Theater.

Mrs. Benson

This past Friday marked the end of our 2nd six weeks. Once again, I can’t believe time has gone by so quickly. This past week the students were assessed again in reading and math. We concluded our study of graphing, but remember it will always cycle back around. As a reminder, please always check your child’s graded papers every Monday. There may be papers that will need to be redone for a better grade. We will continue to work on alphabetical order with more words but still just by the first letter. In writing we will begin making books this week to show more ways to publish. In social studies we are learning some important American symbols and their meaning. Along with this, we are applying what we learn to a timeline of our past, present, and future.

There are some upcoming events that I want you to be aware of. Each child has a timeline due this Wednesday the 10th and we will have a SHORT readers theater for parents to come to see on November 18th. A note will be sent home this week with details.  We are still collecting canned goods until November 12th so please send as many as you can to help.

Thanks again to all of you that came and met with me for the parent conferences. Communication is essential for all of us to work toward a productive year. Please always feel free to call or email with your questions or concerns. Look for report cards to come home this Thursday and send them back on Friday, signed.

Mrs. Benson