January 7th - Newsletter Updates

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Wed. January 9th—NWEA Testing—Reading

-Mon. January 14th—DIBELS Testing

-Wed. January 16th—NWEA Testing—Math

-Mon. January 21st—Delayed Start

JANUARY ASSESSMENTS: 

We will be going to the computer lab over the next couple of weeks to complete our NWEA computer-based assessment which monitors student growth in both Reading & Math.  Students will also be screened using DIBELS (letters, sounds, segmenting, & blending) to monitor their progress in Reading.  Please make sure your child is well rested and encourage to always do their best at school. Later this month we will begin assessing many skills in Reading, Writing, & Math for Report Cards, which will come home in February. 

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES:

This week we will continue to study Motion, as we investigate steep and shallow ramps.  We will read several stories related to Winter, snow, and discover the unique features of snowflakes.

MATH: 

This week we will learn about capacity, practice counting by 10’s, and play Top it with numbers 1-20.  We will also explore numbers 1-100 using a Number Grid and the Counting Board App as we look for number patterns.

WRITING: 

This week we will wrap up our pattern book titled I Can which has a twist at the end.  We will also complete a  journal about playing outside in the snow using adjectives in our sentences. We will work together to draw a Snowman using rhyming words and then the students will create their own Punctuation Snowman and write about it.

READING: 

This week our class will be reading about how a community changes their environment—such as by building roads, playgrounds, and community gardens—to improve it. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing:

· Vocabulary—community & improve—take a walk or drive around your community. Point out ways that the community is working hard to improve.

· Sightwords—review—We have introduced 15 sightwords so far this year; please practice reading and writing these first 15.

· Category Words—position words—Play Simon Says using position words such as up, down, over, under, front, back, between, etc.

· Phonics—Review Letters Ii, Nn, Cc, Oo, & Dd—give your child some words to sound out and write that have these letters at the beginning, middle, or end of the word—pot, lid, not, dip, etc.

· Comprehension—Key details in sequence—Read a short story to your child. Then ask them to retell the story in order using the words first, then, next, & last.

· Beanie Baby Strategies—This week we will introduce a new comprehension strategy— Digger Dog—who reminds us t o dig for the ’big idea,’ the most important details, and the author’s purpose in the texts that we read.

· Reading Milestones—This week we will begin shopping for ‘good-fit’ books to add to our book boxes and soon the students will be begin bringing Reading Folders home with books to read as well.  It is so exciting to see the students take off in their reading!

Please be sure to return your December Book-it Calendar 

and your child’s blanket for rest time. :)