Week of November 11

Happy Friday Owl Families!

Parent-teacher conferences were held on Monday and Tuesday.  I really appreciate those that took the time out of their busy schedules and came in.  THANK YOU!

We held our first reader's theater last week, with our story of the week Space Pup.  The video is below.  We talked about the fluency and expression of the readers.  We were all impressed by the great job they did!

In math we finished up our unit 3 tests.  You will see those come home today.  The first graders did well on it!  Monday we will start unit 4.  Unit 4 will be about place value and numbers to 100.  In this unit the students begin by counting tens: 10, 20, 30, 40, and so on.  They just a 10 x 10 grid to help them "see" the relationship between the tens digit in a decade number and the number of tens it has. (See picture below).

Soon they will link 2-digit numbers to tens and extra ones.  They will learn that a 2-digit number, such as 46, is made up of tens and ones, such as 40 and 6.  Then they will use what they know about adding 1-digit numbers to add 2-digit numbers. (3+4=7, so 30+40=70).

Finally they will learn to regroup and count on to find a total.  See picture below for example.

Right now, your owl friend may enjoy counting by tens for you.  They may also enjoy using household items to make groups of ten and extra ones, and then telling you the total number.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Vos

Halloween, Pizza Party and Conferences

Hi Owl Families!

Last week, we celebrated Halloween with our party.  A big THANK YOU goes out to those that helped bring in supplies and those that helped run the stations--it was a huge success!  Enjoy the pictures below from the party.

We have a pizza party scheduled for Thursday, November 7.  That is TOMORROW!  There will be a drink provided as well.

Conferences are next week Monday and Tuesday.  You will receive your child’s report card at your conference.  First Grade is a HUGE year of growth for your child and I have already seen a LOT of growth in a lot of children from where they started the school year.  Please note that First Grade is a continuum of learning in that we start with very foundational skills and build on them to achieve mastery by June. So, with that said, seeing a lot of 2’s or “still developing” areas on your child’s report card is completely normal, especially in the area of writing.  Please arrive at your scheduled time and know that we only have a short 20 minutes to discuss your child.  

There is a video attached to a link below that helps explain the movement towards the Common Core State Standards.  It's a good way to understand what your child is working through at school and why school is more than just reading, writing and math.

Video Link