1. MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 5/8 Mother’s Day Moms - I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing day! Thank you for all that you do! Enjoy your special day! 5/26 May Procession at 9am 5/30 Memorial Day- No School 6/3 Field Day 6/10 Grandparents Day Always make sure to check our school website for additional news and upcoming events. Spring into a good book! Read Every Day! First Grade News May 9 th -13 th 2016 We had a blast at the Adventure Aquarium on Wednesday. A special thank you to all of the parents who attended this field trip. I appreciate your time and support. I encourage you to continue to learn about animals in nature. Friendly Reminder... Now that warmer weather is here, please remember to pack a water bottle daily. Healthy foods and hydration help to maintain focus in the classroom. Friendly Reminder… Please fill out your May reading log each evening. Your child should be reading for at least 15 minutes 5 days per week. Building reading stamina and fluency are important skills for second grade. Reading logs are included as an assessment in your child’s reading grade. Happy Mother’s Day! Your child has been working extremely hard on many wonderful gifts for you during our recent rainy day recesses. We’ve enjoyed this additional craft time and hope you love your homemade gifts. Additional Wet Ones wipes are needed. Students use these child friendly wipes to clean their desk on a regular basis. Thank you.

2. This Week’s Curriculum Notes Math – We will continue to dive into more advanced addition and subtraction. Create flash cards and review the dot method of adding and subtracting with your child. A number line or a hundreds chart are also visual supports to help your child with adding and subtracting. Please practice double addition facts. These facts need to be memorized in order to efficiently solve more complex problems. Reading – Last week, we enjoyed exploring more nonfiction literature to learn more about animals we saw at the aquarium. We also enjoyed exploring the Henry and Mudge series and Annie and Snowball series written by Cynthia Rylant. I encourage you to continue to read these series at home. Also, check out the Mr. Putter and Tabby series which is also written by Cynthia Rylant This week, we will be reading Tippy-Toe Chick, Go! from our reading textbook. Students will have a reading and spelling test this Friday. Comprehension Skill: Character, Setting and Plot. Comprehension Strategy: Story Structure. Phonics & Spelling – Diphthong ow/ou and syllables c+le This week’s spelling and sight words are attached. Feel free to print these lists to get a jump start on studying. I will send home a hard copy on Monday. Please continue to reread Decodable Readers, poems, and sight words that have been sent home. Reviewing these will help build fluency and reading confidence. Grammar & Writing – This week we will respond to a variety of spring journal prompts. We will also respond to reading comprehension questions. Religion - We will read and discuss Chapter Sixteen, We Celebrate the Sacraments. We’re having a ball learning! Beach balls are an excellent way to get outside and make learning fun. Purchase a beach ball and write math facts or sight words on each stripe. Go outside and toss the ball to one another, reading the facts/words your hands land on. We’re having a ball in first grade! Enjoy Springtime Read, Relax and Have Fun Outdoors!

3. Spelling Words Test date: Friday, May 13 th Diphthong ow/ou and Syllables c+le how cow town clown down frown now crowd brown growl High-Frequency Words: eyes never Challenge Words: middle tumble puddle turtle Words to READ along behind toward eyes never pulling

4. Sight Words May 6 th -13 th Have your child read this week’s list of sight words to you frequently throughout the week. Review previous lists to monitor retention of these words. Thank you. crowd vow clown frown down chow town growl drowse browse gown bow vs. know mow tow blow crow grow glow show slow low stow bow cattle sample paddle saddle candle settle crinkle babble juggle riddle purple little