Weekly Update

We will be starting this week's story on Tuesday.

Big Idea/Big Question (This is the theme of our unit in class.)	Question of the Week (This is the theme/question for this week’s instruction in class.)
Animals: How are people and animals important to one another?	Which wild animals live in our neighborhood?
Phonics Skills (These are the letters and sounds we are learning in class.)	Spelling Patterns and associated Words (These patterns connect to our phonics skills we are learning this week.)
Short e (ĕ) Initial consonant blends	Short e words: bed   jet   leg   men   net   red   sled   step   ten   wet
High Frequency Words (These reading words should be practiced and memorized.)	Story Words (These reading words are words from this week’s main selection.)
saw   small   tree   you	bird
Oral Vocabulary (Try using these words in your conversations at home.)	Handwriting Practice (Students can practice the writing of these letters in manuscript this week.)
habitat   hatch   survive   chirp  croak   moist	Ee Letter size

Fantastic First Graders!

We’ve had a busy week in first grade! Here are some highlights:

We had our first trip to the library and I was so proud of how well everyone behaved themselves! A note went home about our school library in the red folder. Our library day is Wednesday; each student is allowed to check out two books and both books must come back in order for them to check out new books.

We also had a docent from Red Butte Gardens come into our classroom to help us start our grow lab! The students loved it. :-) Our field trip to Red Butte Gardens is Monday! We will leave the school by 9:00am and return by 1:30pm. Please make sure your child brings a lunch from home unless you noted otherwise on the permission slip. Please, if possible, have your child wear a red t-shirt. No need to go buy one but that will greatly help us, as teachers out!

A note went home this week but just as a reminder on Tuesday October 2^nd at 2pm Mrs. Randazzo will be holding a meeting for 1-3^rd grade parents. She will talk about changes in the approach to teaching reading and spelling. Please try to attend if possible!

Finally, as a couple of reminders:

• Please check your child’s red folder daily

• Don’t forget to track daily and turn in Road To Success minutes every Monday

• Please make sure your child is eating breakfast every morning. Making the transition to staying at school all day and not eating until lunch can make for a long morning!

Thank you for your support and have a great weekend!

Day 1-5 Study Skills :-)

Big Idea/Big Question (This is the theme of our unit in class.)	Question of the Week (This is the theme/question for this week’s instruction in class.)
Animals: How are people and animals important to one another?	How do wild animals take care of their babies?
Phonics Skills (These are the letters and sounds we are learning in class.)	Spelling Patterns and associated Words (These patterns connect to our phonics skills we are learning this week.)
Inflected ending -s Inflected ending -ing	Ending –s; Review of short i and short a fit     fits    hit    hits    nap naps    sit    sits    win    wins
High Frequency Words (These reading words should be practiced and memorized.)	Story Words (These reading words are words from this week’s main selection.)
eat   four   five   her   this   too	animals    dinner   watch
Oral Vocabulary (Try using these words in your conversations at home.)	Handwriting Practice (Students can practice the writing of these letters in manuscript this week.)
observe   wild   parent   canopy   screech   million   reserve   native	Nn, Gg Letter Slant

Week of Sep. 17

We’ve had another great week in first grade!

Your child should have started bringing home a red folder. This is where I will send home class work as well as homework. Please check it every day and make sure it comes back to school every day. Thank you for your help in getting this routine set.

We’ve started attending the computer lab this week, finished the topic of greater than/less than in math and are moving onto week 3 of our reading program. This is what we will be covering this coming week:

Big Idea/Big Question (This is the theme of our unit in class.)	Question of the Week (This is the theme/question for this week’s instruction in class.)
Animals: How are people and animals important to one another?	How do animals help people?
Phonics Skills (These are the letters and sounds we are learning in class.)	Spelling Patterns and associated Words (These patterns connect to our phonics skills we are learning this week.)
Short o (ŏ) Plural -s Consonant s /z/	Short o words: got   hop   hot   lock   mom mop   ox   pop   pot    rock
High Frequency Words (These reading words should be practiced and memorized.)	Story Words (These reading words are words from this week’s main selection.)
blue   from   get   help   little  use	town
Oral Vocabulary (Try using these words in your conversations at home.)	Handwriting Practice (Students can practice the writing of these letters in manuscript this week.)
danger   enormous   past  powerful   present  produce   serve  snuggle transportation	Oo Left to right progression

This week we will also have a visit from Red Butte Gardens on Thursday in preparation for our science unit and our upcoming field trip (Sep. 24). Thank you to the many of you who volunteered to come with us. I have contacted those who will be attending the field trip with us. I had more volunteer than I can take but thank you again for being willing!

Your child should have brought home information on our school fundraiser (sally foster and the entertainment books). All the information is in the bag that was sent home; if you have questions please let me know. The PTA is also selling t-shirts this year. Here is some information from them:

This year Butler Elementary t-shirts are being offered for adults and children in three different designs. There are three  separate order forms (one for each design.) The order forms are located in the hall across from the office, right around the corner from the water fountains. The deadline to order is next Thursday, the 20th.  We would like to get the word out to all parents that the t-shirts are available and can be viewed by the front office. The t-shirts are $8, hoodies are $22 and bags are $5. All PTA members are offered the special of Buy a t-shirt and hoodie, get a bag free. If you have any

questions, please contact Stacie at stacieskelton@gmail.com

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns!

Have a Minute?

Below is a link to fabulous website full of sight words. These are words first graders should be able to read without having to sound them out. I found it most helpful to use the "by frequency and grade" list. These would make excellent flash cards to practice with wherever you are, whenever you have an extra minute.  Happy Reading!
http://www.mrsperkins.com/dolch.htm

First Grade Update!

We’ve had a great week in first grade! Below you will find a weekly outline of what we will be covering in language arts this week. Please use this for communication with your child about what they will be doing this week as well as additional practice.

Several papers went home today. Please look for work that has been done in class this week and review it with your child. Also note that our school wide reading program will start on Monday. It is called Road To Success and requires that first graders read 20 minutes a day, track their minutes and turn them in every Monday. I will record the minutes from the previous week and they will be entered in to win prizes!

Please continue to practice lunch numbers at home. It will make lunch much easier for all involved!

Finally, thank you to those of you who were able to make it to Back To School Night last night. It’s been great meeting the parents of these wonderful children! Have a great weekend! 

Big Idea/Big Question (This is the theme of our unit in class.)	Question of the Week (This is the theme/question for this week’s instruction in class.)
Animals: How are people and animals important to one another?	Who helps animals?
Phonics Skills (These are the letters and sounds we are learning in class.)	Spelling Patterns and associated Words (These patterns connect to our phonics skills we are learning this week.)
Short i  /Ĭ/ Consonant pattern x  /ks/	Short i words: did    fix    in    it    lip    mix pin    sit    six    wig
High Frequency Words (These reading words should be practiced and memorized.)	Story Words (These reading words are words from this week’s main selection.)
she    take   what   up	play
Oral Vocabulary (Try using these words in your conversations at home.)	Handwriting Practice (Students can practice the writing of these letters in manuscript this week.)
career   service     tool    sloppy scrub   exercise   comfort    search	Ii, Xx, Letter spacing