The Bacher Blog For parents of students in Room 16 Tuesday, September 3, 2013 Fundations: This week we are beginning Unit 1, which is more of a review unit of 1st grade. It reviews closed syllables and digraphs. Despite the fact it is review, your child needs to practice these words. I promise that the lists get harder as we go farther into the year, especially when I introduce the other 5 syllable types and additional spelling options come into play. We will also be reviewing Level 1 trick words. Please make sure your child is completing his/her Fundations packet and studying the study guide words a little each night! Important Announcements: Be sure to look at the back of this paper for the Homework Log Thursday, September 5 is the Open House 6:30- 7:30pm. Hope to see you there! Book Fair is September 5th and 12th! Hope you can make it! Note about a mistake in my procedures! The morning bell rings at 7:45. Your child will be marked tardy if he/she is not in the classroom by then. Consider joining PTA! Join up forms were sent home last week. If you are interested in being a room parent, you MUST be a PTA member. Poetry: This year, we will spend a lot of time with poetry to address reading fluency. I partner with Mrs. Headley and her class for a presentation every other week. This week, I'll be introducing the poetry notebook and how poetry works. You'll be seeing a poem come home with your child for homework to practice reading. Everyday Math We have begun Chapter 1 in Everyday Math. This chapter focuses on number sense and using math tools. We will explore number sequences and patterns, calendars, clocks, and money. We will also learn about Math Boxes and practice skills with a variety of math games. A big tool we use A LOT in 2nd grade is our Number Grid. We use this to talk about adding and subtracting by 1s, 10s, and 100s...the basis of place value. You'll notice an emphasis places on addition and subtraction of basic facts and extended math problems this year. I am sending home basic fact practice for the first few weeks. Your child should be able to complete 100 + facts in 5 minutes by the end of the year. Homework: Reading Log: “Friendship's Rulel” – read every night Math Log: Mon. – no school Tues. – +0 wksht Wed. – +1 wksht Thurs. – +2 wksht Fri. – clock wksht Fundations packet: U1 packet due Friday, 9/131/13 The Daily 5/CAFÉ time/Reading: In this first part of the year, I spend a lot of time introducing the Daily 5 (Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Word Work, and Work on Writing). Currently, we are focusing on Read to Self. I've discovered that some of your children had Daily 5 in their classrooms last year, but not all of them did. Basically, we've talked about what Read to Self looks like, and we've begun to “build stamina”. This means I send them off with books to read for 3-4 minutes, and each day we build our amount of Read to Self time. Eventually, the time will be long enough that I can begin to conference one-on-one with each student. At the same time, we'll be spending a lot of time talking about ways to read a book and I PICK (or Just Right) books. As this week continues, I hope to introduce an author study on Peggy Rathmann, with a focus on Officer Buckle and Gloria (a class book). Science/Social Studies: We're starting to talk about the fact that science doesn't just involve experiments. We've talked about taking surveys, tally marks, and bar graphs...a few ways scientists present information Recommended Website: www.spellingcity.com This is a GREAT site for your child to practice Level 1 trick words. Click on “Find A List”. Search zip codes (44057), and click on Red Bird Elementary. Then click on my name (Sheri Bacher) to access the Level 1 trick word lists that I have created. Your child can take practice tests, make handwriting sheets, and play word games. They have fun while they spell!!! 1