Book Buddy Bags

BOOK BUDDY BAGS: the book included in your child’s bag is chosen based on your child’s instructional level, which was determined from the mClass beginning of year assessments. While your child may be able to read all of the words, it is important that your child is able to recall many details (both fiction and non-fiction) and answer both explicit and implicit questions about the text. Your child should also be able to read fluently and with expression. In addition, all students should also focus on reading and responding in written format. I encourage all students to read the book several times throughout the week and then retell the story with many details in sequential order to an adult. After retelling orally, please have your child practice writing the events/details. Please remind your child that sentences should start with capitals and end with punctuation.

Spirit Week

Spirit Week is scheduled for September 6-13.  There will also be a Coin Drive going on during Spirit Week, so bring in any loose change.  The overall class that raises the most money will win a Pizza Party.  The winner of each Track will have a Popcorn Party.  All money raised will go into the Grade Level Fund and used towards field trips, magazine subscriptions, classroom supplies, etc.

Friday (9-6) - Spirit Day (wear Banks Rd shirt or blue/green)

Monday (9-9) - Hat Day (any type of hat)

Tuesday (9-10) - Dress to Impress Day (how good can you look?)

Wednesday (9-11) - Patriot Day (wear red/white/blue)

Thursday (9-12) - Wacky Tacky Day (how crazy can you dress?)

Friday (9-13) - Spirit Day (wear Banks Rd shirt or blue/green)

Volunteers Welcome

Classroom volunteers are starting this week.  I have already communicated with several volunteers about their assigned day and time to come into the classroom.  If you are interested in volunteering and we have not arranged a day/time, please send me an email.  All volunteers must have been approved by the county.  

Thank you!  

Curriculum Focus

In math we have been working on finding the partners and the total, by counting up all of our circles from our circle drawing and then writing an additional equation. We talked about how the equal sign goes in the equation to show that the addition number sentence is true. So for example 7+2=9, would be a true addition sentence, since 7 plus 2, does equal 9. 8+1=10, would be not equal, since 8 plus 1 equals 9. We also worked on the counting on strategy. This is where we get the bigger number in our head and count on the lower number. For example if we have the problem 6+2, we could get 6 in our head and add two more to it, giving us 6: 7 and 8. This is a much easier and quicker strategy than using the counting all strategy where we count every number, like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and then adding two more 7 and 8.

In Letterland, we worked on three more word families this week: -am, -an, and –ack. –am and –an are glued sounds and they only make 1 sound. Have your child show you how to tap out the word “can.” It has three letters, but we only tap out two sounds. It would be /c/ and then /an/. –ack is also special because the /ck/ only makes one sound as well. For the word “back”, it would be /b/, /a/, and then /ck/. Our tricky words last week were: and, like, and I. These words will be added to the word wall since they cannot be tapped out. Once we have gone over the words, they are expected to spell these words correctly in their writing and be able to read them.

In Daily 5, students are continuing to build their "stamina" with read to self, read to someone, work on writing, and word work.

In writing, we have started writing conferences. As students are writing, I will come around and conference with students one at a time or I may use this time to work with a small group of students on a specific skill. I will tell them something they are doing great with and something they need to continue to work on.

Last week in Social Studies, we learned about community helpers. We found that these people, teachers, fire fighters, police officers, mailmen, doctors, nurses, and trash men are all important people in each community. Be sure to ask "what do you want to be when you grow up" and have them explain why.  

Box Tops

FYI-We are collecting box tops and we would love to be the winning class for collecting the most box tops in our school. Please begin saving box tops and feel free to turn them in anyday. We will collect box tops throughout this school year. Thank you to those who have already sent in box tops!

Friday Folders

FYI: Friday folders are not being sent home today-August 16th. We will send Friday folders home next Friday-August 23rd. More than likely, Friday folders will be sent home only twice a month depending on how many papers we have to send home. Thanks and have a great weekend!

Curriculum Focus

In math, we have been working on odd and even numbers. We have also been working on finding equal partners for even numbers. For example, 8 can have equal partners because it can have the partners of 4 and 4. But 7 and 9 cannot have equal partners. We have also been working on finding 1 more, 2 more, 1 less, and 2 less than a number between 0 and 20. In Daily 5, we began building our stamina for read to self and work on writing. We made an “I-chart” for each of these rotations and have talked about what the expectations are for students and for the teacher during this time. We started with 3 minutes for each of these rotations and have built our stamina up to 10 minutes so far. Our overall goal is to be able to work independently for 20 minutes. In writing, we have been focusing on stretching out words and writing down the sounds they hear. This is a great tool to use for homework too. As the year goes on, we will learn more about phonemic rules and our spelling will improve, but this is a great tool to always use. The last thing I want a student to do is stay stuck on a word. We started a phonics based program called “Letterland”. This week we are focusing on the letters a, b, c, d, f, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, and t. We learned the “character” that goes with each letter and the motion for each letter. Ask your child about these letters and their characters name and their motion. In Social Studies, we are learning about our community. We are focusing on the 3 different types of communities (rural, urban, and suburban). Be sure to ask your child what type of community they live in? What type of community they would like to live in and why?

Mrs. Bishop Absent

I will be attending training and out of the classroom all day on Tuesday, August 13th and Wednesday, August 21st. The students will have a substitute. Please email me with any questions that arise on either of these two days. Thank you! jbishop@wcpss.net

Ident-i-kid

Ident-i-kid will be here to photograph students for Ident-i-kid cards on Track 4 this Friday, August 9th. Flyers should have gone home in your child's daily folder. If you are interested in participating in Ident-i-kid program, please return the application with your payment.