First Grade News September 8, 2014

Curriculum Highlights
Math Graphing,
Social Studies - Communities
Word Study - Short Vowel Review
Writing Workshop Strong writers use many strategies
Reading Workshop Choosing Books Comprehension and 5 Finger Rule



Reminders

After
Monday September 8 Individual Photos Free Dress
Thursday September 11 Class Photo Blue Uniform (PLEASE NOTE this is a PE Day,
so children will have to come in uniform for photos and bring their PE clothes to change
into)
Wednesday September 10 Early Release 11:30am. Please notify busing and homeroom
teacher if student will not go home by their usual transport.
Parent/ teacher conferences October 14
th
& 15
th
- no classes for students.
These days have been set aside especially to cater for conferences, as meeting during
the normal busy school week is not possible. Please plan to be available on these days
as a lot of preparation goes into planning between teachers and admin to ensure that
siblings are scheduled around the same time and support teachers such as EAL can be
in attendance too.


News From Ms. Tindalls Class

Some of you have been talking with your children about Writing Workshop. Thank you. Im
finding the students are very excited about writing and it is one of the things they are asking for
(along with, When is it lunch time?) they are also asking When is it writing time? Yippee!
Weve reached the first thing needed to become a successful writer realizing that you have
something worth saying. At home when your child is telling stories and personal narratives, make it
a point of saying, THAT would make a great story to write about. Lets see what the beginning,
middle and end is (or problem and solution). EG Today I was feeling sad. That sounds like the
beginning. I had a fight with my friend. That sounds like the problem. We talked about it and we
both said we were sorry. That sounds like the solution. We are friends again now. I hope he can
come to my house tomorrow. That sounds like a happy ending. We have studied the habits of a
good writer noting that one of the things they do is write about what is important to them. So please
take advantage of your childs many stories and let him/her know that they are worth recording.


In partnership, Ms. Tindall









Monday Reading: Talk about how your selection of Just Right books is progressing.
Are you taking home more Just Right books than before? Are there any patterns?
Are you often bringing books that are too easy or too hard? How do you know? What
will you do to keep improving with your book selections? Have you been using the
IPICK test at home?
Math: Whats your telephone number? Who should you call in an emergency? Children
should have memorized numbers to call and have procedures to follow when they need
help. Please review these with your child.
Tuesday Reading: How do you know you are Comprehending the book you are reading?
What do you do if you dont understand?
Math: What other numbers do you have memorized? Why are they important?
Compare telephone numbers. Do you notice any patterns? Whats the country code for
Malaysia? Your home country? Whats the area code? How about mobile phone
numbers?
Wednesday Reading: Can you retell the beginning, middle and end of the story you
read? How does this show comprehension?
Math: Play Guess the Missing Counters. Take 10 counters (coins, beans). One partner
looks away while the other partner hides some of the counters under a cup. The other
partner has to figure out how many counters are hiding under the cup by looking at
the counters outside the cup. EG if there are 4 visible counters, how many must be
under the cup? (Parents: the skill here is finding complements of 10)
Thursday Reading: Teach an adult the 5 finger rule for choosing books.
Math: Finding numbers that come before and after. From a deck of numbered cards
each player takes 5 cards. The rest of the cards are put in the middle face down. The
top card is turned over. Players take turns taking cards from their hand and putting
on top of the central card numbers that come before or after. If you cant go, you
must pick up a card from the central pile and the next person takes a turn. The first
person to lay down all of their cards is the winner.
Friday
Reading: Think about how youre going with finding different sources of books? Are
you relying just on the classroom or have you expanded your choices to the library,
book stores, on line, borrowing from friends?
Poem collection: Recite and sing poems and songs from your poem collection to family,
friends and neighbours. Put your finger on each word as you read. Return poem
collection to school on Monday.