Odds and Ends

As we come to the end of our 4th week (its going by so fast!), I wanted to answer some of the questions that were asked on this week's Home-School Sharing section of our grade level newsletter.

Word Work
Our word work program is in full swing!  We are continuing to add words to our word wall, and take part in the Spelling Challenge on Fridays.  Please remember that the words/spelling patterns that come home will increase in difficulty as the year progresses, so if your child can read AND write these words fluently, please do not worry about practicing these at home.  Words Their Way sorts this week included short vowels, long vowels, beginning/ending consonants and blends, depending on your child's group.  Other than practicing the Spelling Challenge words, there is no Word Work homework at this time.

Math Placement
Math class placement forms were sent home yesterday.  After getting to know your student as a mathematician and carefully assessing their current skill levels, the first grade teachers worked as a team with our Instructional Specialist, Mrs. Moss, to determine the best math class for your children.  The official math units will begin on Monday.  Please look for further math correspondence to come home next week from your child's math teacher.

Respect Circle
Our grade level morning meeting happen every Friday and include character education, team building and group tasks/activities.  This past week we have focused on taking turns talking and raising our hands when we would like to speak.  This upcoming week we are working on conflict resolution by using "I feel...when you..." statements, as well as learning the difference between tattling and reporting.  We are defining reporting as letting an adult now if someone is or is going to be hurt, id something is going to to broken, or if there is something dangerous happening.  If this is not the case, we are encouraging to children to use their new conflict resolution skills to talk it out first before asking for teacher assistance.

Reading Levels
Our district testing window opens on Monday.  During readers workshop, I will be reading and assessing all of the children to find both their independent and instructional levels.  This will help to form guided reading groups based on similar skills.  This should be completed in the next few weeks.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask.  I am happy to help answer them for you.  Have a great weekend!