1. First Grade Newsletter November 16th -20th 2015 Mrs. McCarthy and Mrs
First Grade Newsletter November 16th -20th 2015 Mrs. McCarthy and Mrs. Frost
Gobble Up A Good Book!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Say Cheese…Nov. 20th is Picture Day  School uniform must be worn for fall pictures.
Nov. 24th – No School, Teacher In-Service.
Nov. 25th – Nov. 27th No School, Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 1st – November Reading Logs are due. Remember, our goal is 175 minutes of reading! You can do it!
Dec 2nd – Christmas Show
Dec. 11th – Report Cards
Please check our school website for additional news and events.
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.
Poetry Practice (5 minutes a night)
Echo or choral read poems together to model expression and fluency. This week, we will complete short a poems in class. Please have your child reread these poems to you. Also, be on the lookout…a Thanksgiving poetry folder will be sent home shortly.
Sight Words (5 minutes a night)
Don’t forget to practice the Dolch sight words 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. Get a jump start on your week…spelling lists are always given out on Friday.
Free Choice Reading (5-10 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.
We are so thankful for your support and dedication towards your child’s education. Please keep up the wonderful work at home. Thank you!
Falling For Addition
Please continue to practice the math flash cards that your child made in class. We will be adding fact families to our math rings next week!
A good nights sleep, hearty breakfast, and healthy lunch will help fuel the body for learning! Please do not pack candy/ sweet treats for snack time. Thank you. 

2. Curriculum Notes 10 – 3 = 7 10 - 7 3 Whole – part = part 10 – 3 = 7
Math: Students will continue to explore the concept of subtraction. We will practice a variety of strategies to solve subtraction problems.
Words to know: minus – the word/symbol that means to subtract difference – the number that remains after a quantity has been subtracted; the outcome of a subtraction sentence.
Subtraction Strategies: Remember…don’t drop your pencil! Continue to reinforce the dot math strategy with your child.
1. Count down. Use dots to count down if the part you are subtracting is less than 6.
Example:
Count Down
2. Count up. If the part you are subtracting is close to the whole, then, count up to find the difference. Make dots on the side of the problem to track the difference.
Count Up
Reading & Spelling: Focus: Long A (CVCe) Our focus this week is on long a. Our whole group story this week is, The Farmer in the Hat. We will discover the power of magic e this week as we begin to learn about long vowels.
Grammar and Writing: We will begin to learn about and identify nouns. Please continue to review correct number and letter formation at home.
Religion: We will begin to read and discuss Chapter Five together as a whole group. We will discuss how many people wanted to follow Jesus. We will also discuss that Jesus taught the Great Commandment and He taught us to love God, ourselves, and others.
Social Studies: All About Thanksgiving! We will discuss what life was like for the Pilgrims. We will also compare and contrast the first Thanksgiving to today’s Thanksgiving.
Science: We will continue our study of hibernation. We will explore which animals hibernate and why they do so. Each Friday afternoon, our Star Student will share an exciting science experiment with us.
Whole – part = part
10 – 3 = 7
10 – 3 = 7
(9,8,7) 10 - 7
(8,9,10) 3

3. Challenge Spelling Words
Long A (CVCe)
High-Frequency Words:
face make
made cage
age cake
safe late
take name
could old
Words to READ
1. could
2. be
3. old
4. paper
5. horse
Challenge Spelling Words
game
scrape
brave
pray
Please practice reading the words on the reverse side. Thank you!

4. face fade lace cage race made ate pace stage grade shade page late same plane wave base taste space
bake tape sale shape gate paste scrape base pave shape cake vase game cape fame whale tale grape rake
place rate trace make crate shade plate grace grate lace save drape wade skate fake frame date pale

5. Short A Long A mad made cap cape tap tape can cane pan pane at ate pal
Long A vs. Short A
Homework: Review the list of long and short a words below. Also, practice the sight words that are on the reverse side of your spelling words.
Name: ____________________
The Super Power of Magic e
Short A
Long A
mad
made
cap
cape
tap
tape
can
cane
pan
pane at
ate
pal
pale
fad
fade
rat
rate