Room 7
January 25, 2008
Friday’s Message:
What A Wonderful Class
Hats off to Christian, Mari, and Olivia for speaking at the Oratorical today! Christian wrote his speech and titled it “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream.” Mari and Olivia recited the poem “Follower of the North Star” by Sanchez. We’re proud of the three of you for standing tall and speaking out!!!
In the spirit of the Oratorical, our class did a choral presentation, “What a Wonderful World.” The kids were terrific!
Star Student
***Boris Tonsky*** was the star this week. Next week ***David Schneidinger***
is the star student.
Luncheon for Joaquin Miller Staff
First grade families hosted a luncheon for the staff this week. A personal thanks to you. Several families from our class brought soup, salad, breads, and desserts for us. It was delicious and enjoyed by all!
End of the First Semester
We’re halfway through the school year. I’ve had conferences with all families. If at any time you would like another conference, please feel free to contact me and/or send a note with your child. I’ll call you to set up/ confirm a meeting time.
READING
Read and record in your Reading Log.
WRITING
It is a wonderful world. What is wonderful to you? Write a half dozen (or more) things you think are wonderful and tell why. Write complete sentences. Remember to start with a capital letter and end with punctuation.
MATH
We started identifying coins and their value this week. They’ve had lots of practice counting by fives, tens, and ones; we just tied it in with money. Give your child a pile of assorted coins. Make sure there is a minimum of 20 nickels, ten dimes, and a bunch of pennies. Have your child sort the coins, then count the nickels by 5’s, the dimes by 10’s, and the number of pennies you have by 1’s.
Then do a combination of differing amounts of coins:
-nickels with pennies
We did this with 5 and 1 pound weights,
and tally marks.
-dimes with pennies
We do this daily with the number of days we’re in school.
-dimes and nickels
-dimes, nickels, and pennies
We will continue counting money next week.
Get practice at home.
Write to 100 by 1’s, 5’s and 10’s. Form numerals from the top. Check for directionality of numerals. This writing portion needs to be turned in.
Keep the coins at home. Just practice counting the mixture of coins with your child as needed. (I also introduced quarters this week. If your child is ready for it, certainly encourage him/her to use quarters.)
FLASHING SUBTRACTION FACTS
Using index cards (3 x 5) or paper, have your child make subtraction flash cards. Start by having your child write two different subtraction number sentences that begin with 5 (each on separate index card).
for example: 5 - 3 = 2
then, 5 - 4 = 1
Then continue writing two subtraction number sentences that begin with 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. After writing the number sentence, cover any one of the numerals. In class students cut a piece of paper and taped it over a numeral. Make sure your child writes his/her name on each card. Then practice for the missing/covered numeral.