Pizza Hut Book It

Pizza Hut offers a program called Book It. This is a reading program that rewards students with a free pizza each month for meeting their monthly reading goal. Starting in October, I would like for parents to begin signing off on a reading log each night to document your child's nightly reading. This form will be located in your child's homework folder. Please do not take the form out of your child's homework folder. I will take the forms out at the end of each month and reward your child with his/her free pizza coupon if he/she met the monthly goal. I have explained to the students that they do not have to read a different book each night. They are welcome to read the same book 2 or 3 times to help strengthen their fluency and comprehension skills. It is not necessary for you to write the title of the book down on the reading log. Please do initial the reading log each night when your child completes his or her reading assignment. Each student should read for a minimum of ten minutes and retell story elements to an adult. Story elements include: character descrition, setting, events in sequential order, problem, solution, connection. Please refer to the list of fiction and non fiction questions that was sent home previously. Thank you and please let me know if you have any questions.

Field Trip Permission Form and Money

Field Trip Reminders:

The cost of riding the bus and attending both field trips will be a total of $18.00. We are collecting money on the following dates: September 20th, 21st, 26th, 27th, and 28th. We will also collect money on October 3rd, 4th, 5th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. Please send either exact change, or a check made out to Banks Road Elementary School as soon as possible (we cannot make any change!). In addition, you may also pay online at http://osp.osmsinc.com/wakenc

Tuesday, November 29th: Mrs. Bishop, Mrs. Glasgow, and Mrs. Sinnott in house science field trip with High Touch High Tech

Friday, May 25th: Ms. Bethel, Mrs. Bishop, and Mrs. Sinnott to Poe Health Center

Apple Day

Our class will be participating in apple centers on Friday, Sept. 30th. We are currently in need of the following items:
-apple stickers
-apples (red, yellow, green)
-apple cider

*Thank you in advance for any items that you are willing to donate for these fun learning centers!

Banks Road Team Time

On Tuesday, October 4, 2011 we will begin a school-wide Team Time. This intense, focused instructional time will be used to provide support for every student through remediation or enrichment activities based on students' needs. Team Time will take place from 9:20-9:50 on
Tuesdays, Wednesday's, and Thursday's each week. Our new lunch time will be from 12:15-12:45 starting Oct. 4th.

Homework for the Month of October

Homework for the Week of October 3rd

Sight Words

List A: got, had, her, his, mom

List B: right, same, show, small, thing

*Each night (Monday-Thursday) students should complete the following:

-read for at least 10 minutes and retell major events to an adult

-practice your sight words by completing one suggested activity each night

-complete math worksheet in homework folder

Homework for the Week of October 10th

Sight Words

List A: now, put, am, as, by

List B: again, another, because, change, different

*Each night (Monday-Thursday) students should complete the following:

-read for at least 10 minutes and retell major events to an adult

-practice your sight words by completing one suggested activity each night

-complete math worksheet in homework folder

Homework for the Week of October 17th

Sight Words

List A: cat, dad, has, how, or

List B: does, even, hand, kind, large

*Each night (Monday-Thursday) students should complete the following:

-read for at least 10 minutes and retell major events to an adult

-practice your sight words by completing one suggested activity each night

-complete math worksheet in homework folder

Homework for the Week of Sept. 26th

Homework for the Week of Sept. 26th

Sight Words

List A: be, day, did, dog, eat

List B: give, great, live, much, name

*Each night (Monday-Thursday) students should complete the following:

-read for at least 10 minutes and retell major events to an adult

-practice your sight words by completing one suggested activity each night

-complete math worksheet in homework folder

Field Trips

Our field trips for the year have been planned and scheduled. The first will be an in-house field trip with a company called High Touch High Tech. This is a group of scientists that will be coming to our classroom and will be conducting hands-on experiments with pebbles, sand and silt. The second field trip will be to Poe Health Center in the spring to learn about healthy tooth habits. More information will be coming home soon!

Picture Retake Day

Picture retake day is scheduled for Tuesday, September 27th. If you would like for your child to have a retake, please let me know (please send a note in your child's daily folder or send me an email). I have received order forms for retakes but I do not have enough forms to send home with every student. I'll be glad to send home an order form with your child if needed. Thank you!

Additional Problem Solving Activities (optional)

Show your work. Explain with pictures, words, or numbers.

Problem #1
Our class is working on a program to present to the school. Half the children will stand, half will sit. How can we arrange the children?

Problem #2
Bill is at the zoo. He sees 14 legs. How many storks? He sees 4 giraffes. How many legs? Then he sees 8 legs, how many elephants? If he sees 6 zebras, how many legs?

Homework for the Week of September 19th

Sight Words
List A: she, so, too, was, an
List B: also, around, before, every, follow

*Students should read for a minimum of ten minutes each night
*Students should choose a spelling activity to complete each night

Monday-Complete math page 49 (students only need to cut out the nickel strip if they need it to help them complete the activity)

Tuesday-Complete math page 50

Wednesday-Complete math page 51

Thursday-Complete math page 52

Friday-No homework-have a great weekend!

In literacy, we have been learning how to read and write CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words. For the next 2-3 weeks we will be focusing on words with diagraphs (ex. wh, ch, sh, th, ck). We also continue to focus on retelling stories that we read. This is a concept that we will focus on throughout the school year. We focus on retelling stories read both in small and large group. I sent home a copy of the questions for you to focus on at home as your child reads. Retelling stories is a skill that all first grade students need a lot of practice and repetition with. I suggest focusing on one component of the retell each week. For example, this week you may want to focus only on making connections. Next week you may want to focus on retelling the events in sequential order.

In math, we have been focusing on math vocabulary. I am starting to see many of the students use big words such as visualize and vertical/horizontal. We have been focusing on problem solving that involves addition and fair shares. This week we will begin to focus on problem solving with subtraction. While many of the students are able to add and subtract single digit numbers, it is important that they are able to apply this skill in word problems.

In social studies, we are focusing on citizenship and in science we are learning about rocks. The students really enjoyed working as scientists and experimenting with the rocks last week!

Thank you for all that you are doing at home to support your child’s learning!

Scholastic Books for October

I will be sending home a Scholastic Books order form in your child's Friday folder this coming Friday. If you would like to purchase Scholastic Books for your child, please send in the exact amount (checks made payable to Scholastic Book Clubs) by Monday, Sept. 26th. Thank you!

More Problem Solving (optional activites) for the week of September 12th

Problem #1

Show your work. Explain with pictures, words, or numbers. Faye has 2 nickels and 15 pennies. Her brother has lots of nickels and dimes. Faye trades equal value for different coins. What could she have traded? She trades once more with her mother. What do you think she has
now?

Problem #2

Show your work. Explain with pictures, words, or numbers. This morning you got out your
socks and sneakers. You had a pair of blue sneakers and a pair of black sneakers. You had a pair of red socks and a pair of green socks. What different ways could you have worn them?

Homework for the week of September 12th

*Students should choose a spelling activity to complete each night (see the suggested activities in your child's homework folder)
*Spelling homework does not need to be returned to school.
*All students should be reading each night for a minimum of ten minutes. Please look in your child's Friday folder for a list of questions to ask when your child reads at home. I suggest focusing on one of the questions each week. For example, ask your child to tell you the setting (when and where) every night for a week. The following week you may want to focus on having your child make a connection to the main topic each night. Retelling the events in sequential order with details requires lots of practice. We focus on this in class a lot but this is definitely a concept that all first grade students need to practice at home. Thank you in advance for working with your child on these skills!

List A: we, no, not, out, up
List B: also, around, before, every, follow

Monday
-Read for at least 10 minutes
-Complete math page 35
-Choose a spelling activity to complete

Tuesday
-Read for at least 10 minutes
-Complete math page 36
-Choose a different spelling activity to complete

Wednesday
-Read for at least 10 minutes
-Complete math page 47
-Choose a different spelling activity to complete

Thursday
-Read for at least 10 minutes
-Complete math page 48
-Choose a different spelling activity to complete

Friday
-No homework, have a great weekend!

Questions to ask when reading

As your child reads stories at home each evening, please focus on the following with your child:
-character descriptions
-setting (when and where)
-main topic (what is the book mostly about?)
-events in sequential order with many details (this can be a challenging concept for many first grade students) Students can look back in the book to help them retell the events.
-making a connection to the main topic (What does the book remind you of?) In class we have been talking about making connections to things we have seen or done in real life. We have also discussed how connections can be something we have seen on tv or read about in another book.
-problem and solution (if applicable to the book)

Box Tops

FYI
Our school is collecting box tops again throughout this school year. We have already had several students turn in box tops and thank you! One parent wanted to share with you all that now through Sept. 6th, you will get 20 bonus box tops when you buy any 5 participating General Mills Products using your MVP card. Please consider sending in box tops throughout this year and help us possibly be the class that turns in the most! Thank you!