MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Jan.26 th – Snowman project is due Jan. 31 st - Feb. 5 th – Catholic Schools Week! This is going to be a fun-filled week. More information will be sent home shortly. Always make sure to check our school website for additional news and events. Thank you! Have a wonderful week! First Grade News January 25 th – 29 th 2016 Design and write about a snowman. You can find an additional copy attached to the newsletter from week 18. Written responses should be detailed and edited by an adult. Students will share their snowman and will read their writing piece aloud to their classmates this week. We can’t wait to see your brrr…illiant work! Be creative and have fun! Frosty’s Favorite First Grade Friends We are collecting Boxtops and Campbell’s soup labels. Let’s see if we can be the winning class! Happy Birthday Alexandra! We hope you had a great day! Best wishes! Please review the dress code policy online. Make sure that your child is adhering to all of the standards. Note that sweatpants are to be worn for gym class. If you have any questions on the dress code policy, please contact the office. Thank you. Now that cold weather is upon us, please make sure to label your child’s coat, hat, and gloves Fueling the body for focused learning! We are so pleased with the healthy snacks and nutritious lunches students are brining to school. Reviewing your child’s classroom assignments is an excellent way to monitor growth, and it provides additional reinforcement. Save assignments for a period of time to ensure the content has been mastered. “Snow” Much Fun! We hope that everyone is enjoying the snow. Please stay warm and safe. Let’s pray for those who are being negatively affected by this storm. Bravo First Grade Friends! Everyone did an outstanding job during our prayer service. We are so incredibly proud of your hard work! Way to go!!! We would like to thank everyone who was able to attend this special event.

Daily Reading Practice Daily reading should consist of fluency practice, sight word practice, and free-choice reading. Break these into separate times to prevent them from feeling time consuming to your child. Fluency Practice – Repeated Readings (5 minutes a night) Echo or choral read poems, songs or short stories together to model expression and fluency. Sight Words (5 minutes a night) Don’t forget to practice the Dolch sight word booklet on a regular basis. Five minutes of daily sight word practice can make a big difference! Also, please have your child practice reading the weekly words that are attached to our spelling list. These words are in conjunction with our weekly phonics/spelling skills. Reading these words will help your child apply our phonics skills. Free Choice Reading (a minimum of 10 minutes a night) Allow your child to select a book at their reading level to read aloud to you. When time allows, read to your child. This will inspire them and help them grow as readers. Have a book talk. Ask your child questions about what they are reading independently and/or aloud to you. This will help you to monitor their comprehension. This Week’s Curriculum Notes Phonics – Final ng and nk. This week, we will explore words ending in ng and nk. Please practice the sight word list that is on the reverse side of your child’s spelling list. This was sent home on Thursday. Reading & Spelling - This week, we will be reading, Ruby in Her Own Time. The reading skills that we will be focusing on are plot and summarizing. Ask your child to summarize what they read each evening. Our spelling words are generated from this story. Our spelling test will be on Friday. Grammar & Writing – This week during our grammar lessons, we will review contractions, homophones, antonyms and synonyms, compound words, and identifying nouns within a sentence. Students will have a test on these concepts this week. During our writing workshop time, students will write about their fun in the snow! Math – Chapter Five, Place Value We will continue with Chapter Five. Our focus will be on place value to 100. Please review how to correctly read and write numbers and number words. Continue to practice adding and subtracting. We will have a follow-up assessment this week to monitor progress. Attached are some slides to help your child review how to read and spell numbers. Religion – We will complete and have an assessment on Chapter Five, Jesus Teaches Us About Love. We will also begin Chapter Six, The Church Year. See the attached Chapter Five study guide. Science & Social Studies – All about winter weather, animals, and activities.

Wintertime is a great time to cuddle up with a good book and cup of hot cocoa. "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Friendly Reminder Students will have a grammar and math test this week. Grammar Test Please review the following concepts: 1. Nouns – identify plural nouns and nouns within a sentence. 2. Compound words 3. Contractions 4. Synonyms and antonyms 5. Homophones Addition and Subtraction Math Test We will revisit addition and subtraction to monitor student progress with these important math concepts. Please continue to practice addition and subtraction facts on a regular basis. Suggestions: Create or purchase flash cards to help your child memorize their facts. Start by memorizing double addition facts (3+3, 5+5, 7+7, etc.). Replay math games that have been sent home. Encourage your child to continue to use the dot method of addition and subtraction.

Religion Chapter Five Study Guide This is a discussion tool. The below points summarize the chapter. Please talk out possible answers to the questions below. Thank you! Commandments – Laws or rules given to us by God. These laws help us to live as God wants us to. Jesus taught us the Great Commandment. Many people followed Jesus. They wanted Jesus to help them feel better, teach them to pray, tell them the good news about God’s love, and tell them how to live a better life. Jesus made everyone feel special. Question: How do you make people feel special? Jesus taught us to love God, ourselves, and others. We show God our love in the following ways: 1. We do what God wants us to do. 2. We go to mass on Sunday. 3. We pray to God every day. 4. We make the sign of the cross with respect. Question: What are other ways you can show your love for God? Jesus taught us that all people are our neighbors. Jesus told us the story of the good Samaritan. Question: How can you be a good neighbor in your school or community?

Math is “snow” much fun! Math Project Estimating Quantities Developing Number Sense In conjunction with Chapter Five, Place Value, I would like to have some fun with estimating. I am looking for some help with this. If time allows, please use a clear jar or container and fill it with an item. For example: dried pasta, goldfish, mini-marshmallows, cotton balls, Legos, etc. Make sure to use something that is the same size and shape. Complete the card below and seal it in an envelope and send it in with your container. Feel free to do this activity with your child. However, please make sure that your child keeps the actual amount a secret. We will be estimating the actual amount in class. The deadline for this activity is February 5 th. This is completely optional. Thank you for your time and support. Excellent Estimating Item : ________________ Actual amount: __________________

Spelling Words Final ng, nk bring wing trunk rink pinkblank bankrang sangsunk High-Frequency Words: everysure Challenge Words: swingsdrank thinkshrunk Word to READ ever sure were enough every any own Reading & Spelling – Next week, we will be reading, Ruby in Her Own Time. The reading skills that we will be focusing on are plot and summarizing. Our spelling focus will be on final ng and nk words. Our spelling test will be on Friday. Please practice the sight words on the reverse side. Thank you.

pink think spring slink thing king sing wink ring blink shrink string bring wing trunk rink blank rang bank sang sunk drank bunk junk bang thank fang bank rank yank sling cling brink swing drink stink Sight Word Review Below is a list of sight words in conjunction with this week’s spelling focus. Please practice this list when time allows throughout the week.

Story Connection: Please select one of these questions to discuss with your child each evening. Take a picture walk through the story. Look at the pictures before reading the story to predict what may happen. Setting - Where does the story take place? Who is/are the main character(s) of the book? What was the problem and/or solution of the story? Draw conclusions – How do you think the story may end? What was the main idea of the story? What was your favorite part? Why? Compare and contrast characters, other stories, etc. What type of genre? How do you know? Visualize – What mental pictures do you make as you are reading? Write down 2-3 words that were challenging to read and add these to your sight word list to practice each evening. Rate the book. Tell why you liked or did not like the story. Text–Self connection – this story reminds me of… A time when I… A person I know… A book I read… List the sequence of events Summarize the story Monitoring Comprehension Below are the story connections that we are currently working on. Please find time to have a book talk with your child on a regular basis. As your child becomes an independent reader, it is important to discuss with them what they are reading. This will enable you to monitor their comprehension and help them with book selections.

10 ten 20 twenty 30 thirty 40 forty 50 fifty 60 sixty 70 seventy 80 eighty 90 ninety 100 one hundred Math Review Below are charts to help your child read and write numbers one 2 two 3 three 4 four 5 five 6 six 7 seven 8 eight 9 nine 10 ten 11 eleven 12 twelve 13 thirteen 14 fourteen 15 fifteen 16 sixteen 17 seventeen 18 eighteen 19 nineteen Place Value Review 75 seven tens, five ones 32 three tens, two ones 18 one ten, eight ones 60 six tens, zero ones Enrichment suggestion: Practice reading and writing numbers together. See next slide

Practice reading and writing numbers Examples: 75 seventy-five 43 forty-three 98 ninety-eight 23 twenty-three 71 seventy-one 33 thirty-three 84 eighty-four 59 fifty-nine 60 sixty 15 fifteen 100 one hundred