Room 15 News
Room 15 News
October 2, 2007 Tara Garrison First Grade h687-9701 tgarrison@usd259.net
Language Arts
In reading, our theme is "Teamwork", which involves a variety of ways that people must work together—in sports, planting a garden, or doing special projects. Oral vocabulary to discuss: goal and accomplish. Comprehension skills: text structure and author’s purpose; words with final blends (nd, st, nk, and nt). In writing, we finished our paragraphs today about "Pet Tricks" and hung them in the hall for you to see. They turned out great--check it out! High frequency/sight words to memorize this week:
very help use now said
Math
Continued use of the Hundreds Chart; make October calendars; assessment over odd and even numbers and ordinal numbers.
Health
: We’ll be participating in lots of cooperative activities this week to build "teamwork" and to emphasize the benefits of working with others.
Deadline for Nutcracker Permission is Tomorrow!
This ballet performance in December will be such a wonderful experience. Be sure to fill out and return the brown envelope for your child, including your signature. Remember that if the admission fee is a problem for your family, just let us know and we’ll work it out. Ms. Hetherington and I hope all first graders will be able to attend!
Have you ever seen a "Cookie Walk"?
See that and much more at our Fall Festival on Saturday! And remember that families of students in K, 1st, and 2nd grades are asked to send cookies by the dozen on Friday, for the "Cookie Walk".I hope you will consider joining the fun on Saturday! It’s always a great time, and you’re welcome to bring friends and family, too! I regret having to miss it this year, as I’ll be going out of town for my son’s baseball game.
Please return "September" reading calendars!
MORE ON BACK →
*IMPORTANT EVENTS COMING SOON:
College Hill Fall Festival, Saturday, Oct. 6
Picture Day, Thursday, Oct. 11
No School, Oct. 12 & 15
Parent Teacher Conferences, Oct. 17-19
Halloween Parties & Parade, 3:15 p.m., Oct. 31
Graded Work is being sent home today. Please note that this was the first time students took the Weekly Reading Assessment from our reading curriculum on their own. It proved very difficult for some, and resulted in lots of anxiety. You might reassure your child and just encourage them to do their best—it should go better this week! We’ll discuss all of this at conferences, but in the meantime, don’t hesitate to call with any concerns.
Room 15 News
September 25, 2007 Tara Garrison First Grade h687-9701 tgarrison@usd259.net
Language Arts
In reading, our theme is "Pet Tricks"; sequencing events in a story; and words with beginning blends (br, tr, cr, dr, and gr). We’re enjoying a variety of literature about animals, including a chapter book read- aloud, Puppy Sister. In writing, we’re working on writing a whole paragraph about one topic!
Math
Using the Hundreds Chart -–Which numbers are missing? What patterns do you notice? Students should practice counting out loud to 100, and also reading and ordering numbers to 100.
Science
: Animals and their habitats. What do they need to survive? (Shelter, food, water, and space) Animals cannot live in places where their needs cannot be met. How do we care for our pets so they can be safe and happy?
Attendance
: The past few days, our class has had all 18 students here on time, and here all day! Hooray!MORE ON BACK →
Nutcracker Ballet
: The entire first grade will be attending the Nutcracker on December 13. But the deadline is NEXT WEEK! If the admission fee is a problem for your family, please let us know and we’ll work something out. We must have permission for parents by Oct. 3!SNACKS:
We are still needing daily snacks. Remember that we can’t serve items with peanuts or citrus. Thanks!*IMPORTANT EVENTS COMING SOON:
College Hill Fall Festival, Saturday, Oct. 6
Picture Day, Thursday, Oct. 11 (See packet enclosed)
Parent Teacher Conferences
will be here before we know it! I have enclosed a form with information about your appointment. It is important that we find a good time to meet, so don’t hesitate to let me know if your time or day won’t work. We’ll find one that will! Thanks!Room 15 News
September 19, 2007 Tara Garrison First Grade h687-9701 tgarrison@usd259.net
Language Arts
In reading, our theme is "Growing Up"; sequencing events in a story; and word families with short i (ick, ack, and ag ). In writing, we’re talking about what makes a good sentence! We will also be doing more formal handwriting instruction, following a directive from the district.
Math
Continued work with Building Number Sense; introduction of ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, etc.); making different combinations in story problems; and review of patterns.
HOMEWORK BOXES
: I hope your student’s "Tool Kit for Learning" made it home safely! Your family will need to designate a specific, safe place (out of reach of young brothers and sisters) to store this box for use throughout the school year. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to provide extra ones if something does happen to it, but maybe you could substitute a plastic container with lid. As I mentioned last week, I would prefer that an adult prepare the materials, so that they are neat and complete! You should have already received "number cards" and directions for "Compare" and "Double Compare" last Friday. See the box below for information about word building activities! I recommend setting aside 8-10 minutes each weekday evening for one of the following activities:Math
Word Building
Listening to
Science:
Mrs. Garza, our W.S.U. student teacher will begin teaching a unit about animals that live in a pond.
Miscellaneous
*Remember to return Library Books on or before Fridays.
*If you haven’t sent snacks yet, please put us on your grocery list if you can.
Room 15 News
September 12, 2007 Tara Garrison First Grade h687-9701 tgarrison@usd259.net
Language Arts
In reading, our theme is "Ready, Set, Move!"; sequencing events in a story; and word families with short a (ap, ack, and ag ). In writing, we’re talking about what makes a good sentence! We will also be doing more formal handwriting instruction, following a directive from the district.
Math
Continued work with Building Number Sense; introduction of ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, etc.); making different combinations in story problems; and review of patterns.
HOMEWORK
: We are working on creating special boxes for homework materials, called "My Tool Kit for Learning". The boys and girls are choosing letters for their names, stickers, and also decorating the boxes with markers. I am hoping that the boxes will be ready to send home by tomorrow or Thursday! Your family will need to designate a specific, safe place to store your student’s box for use throughout the school year. Some of the materials are going to require parents’ preparation. The "number cards" for math lessons and "letter cards" for word building activities should be cut out by an adult and stored in baggies. Watch for these (along with directions) coming very soon!Science
Using our senses to name the properties of various objects!Miscellaneous
*Remember to return Library Books on or before Fridays.
*If you haven’t sent snacks yet, please put us on your grocery list if you can.
Room 15 News tgarrison@usd259.net
August 28, 2007 Tara Garrison First Grade
Language Arts
In reading, we’re working on rhyming words, beginning sounds in words, and discussing the beginning, middle, and end of stories read aloud. The students have enjoyed retelling The Three Little Pigs by acting it out, as well as using picture cards to help them remember The Tortoise and the Hare.
*Homework: Listen to your child retell the story with their cards!
In writing, we’re making webs to find topics of interest. Plus, we’re talking about using lower case letters, unless we have a very good reason to use a capital letter! (i.e. beginning of sentence, or at the beginning of a name.) We’ll begin DIBELS (literacy) testing tomorrow.
Math
We’re using the Building Number Sense book in our Investigations series. The activities include counting objects and learning to represent our work on paper. Reinforcement activities will be sent home next week!
Our class is really getting down to the business of learning!It is so important that every student is given the chance to
learn, which will require respect and self-control from every
boy and girl. Some of us are still having a hard time
focusing and with working with what we call "six inch voices".
But overall, behavior is improving, and we’ll continue to
practice procedures until they become automatic!
---Napkins are needed for snacktime.
---Posters are still being shared. Please let me know if you need another piece of poster board.
---Thanks for all of your support! I’ll be contacting many of you for special projects, and to
set up your times to volunteer.
Room 15 News tgarrison@usd259.net
August 21, 2007 Tara Garrison First Grade
Our school year is off to a great start! So far our focus has been getting to know one another and figuring out what to do, in other words: PROCEDURES! We are also busy taking informal assessments in Reading and Math this week. In Health, we’re discussing how to stay safe by following rules. We practiced our plans for fire and tornado drills, too.
SCHEDULES
: A general schedule for our class is enclosed. Remember that tennis shoes are needed to participate in P.E. on Mondays and Tuesdays. We have Music on Mondays and Wednesdays, Art on Wednesdays, and Library on Fridays. Although we don’t have a scheduled time in the Computer Lab, teachers may sign up for times, and our class will go sometime next week.SNACKS
: Since first graders go to lunch at 12:05, we’ll be having daily snacks at around 3:05 p.m. Our schedule is very tight, so snack time will have to be very simple and efficient! We appreciate all of the great snacks you have sent so far. If each family sends something about once every month, it should work out fairly. Due to food allergies, please do not send items with nuts, peanut butter, or citrus fruits. Thanks!
Contact Me!
Please don’t hesitate to give me a call, at home or school. You may also email me at tgarrison@usd259.net. If your family needs extra copies of packet information, please let me know so that we can keep everyone informed.
MISCELLANEOUS
--We’re busy sharing the students’ posters. Thanks for taking the time to help them! We’ll
continue to share a few each day this week and next week.
--We could use some plain white napkins for Snacktime. These are so much easier than the brown
ones from the paper towel dispenser.
--Please remember to return the pink forms that were sent home recently (either at Open House, or
with your student last week.)
--Don’t forget to sign the Tuesday Packet and send it back each week. Thank you!