News and Notes
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
May 21, 2017
Notes:
5/22 - 1st Grade Pond Musical, 9:30 am, MPR
5/26 - Science Extravaganza Field Trip *ALL STUDENTS 9:05 LATE START*
5/29 - No School
6/2 - Last day, Field Day, Minimum Day
No Homework for 5/19-5/26!
Class website found here.
News:
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - We used mentor texts, Leo, the Lightning Bug and A Frog Thing for reading this week. We discussed author’s purpose, character development and motivation, and the contrasts and comparisons of both books (by the same author). We had an insightful discussion, and students really were able to dig deep, talking about the lesson the author wanted us to learn and how we can connect it to our own lives. They responded to these stories in their reader’s journal. Students also read from Scholastic News and we discussed main idea/details and the text features found within the article.
Writing - Students reviewed and practiced using the main concepts of writing opinion pieces such as writing across pages while stating your opinion clearly, providing three reasons AND examples and restating your opinion at the end. We completed a whole group piece together and later in the week, students completed an opinion writing assessment on their own.
Math - We lessons 13-16 in Module 6 last week. Students began learning how to regroup two digit numbers using quick tens and ones and the standard algorithm.
Science - The pond habitat is officially done and we move onto oceans for the last two weeks.
That’s it for now, but please let me know if you have any questions! I look forward to seeing you at the performance tomorrow morning! Have a great week!
Classroom News and Notes
May 21, 2017
Notes:
5/22 - 1st Grade Pond Musical, 9:30 am, MPR
5/26 - Science Extravaganza Field Trip *ALL STUDENTS 9:05 LATE START*
5/29 - No School
6/2 - Last day, Field Day, Minimum Day
No Homework for 5/19-5/26!
Class website found here.
News:
- Thank you to everyone who was able to attend Open House! What a great time your children had showing off their work and their classroom. I am so pleased with the progress they’ve made this year and cannot believe it’s almost time to say goodbye! Thank you for your support!
- The 1st grade musical is tomorrow on Monday, May 22nd at 9:30 in the MPR. Please look at the email I sent from Mrs. Robertson regarding the performance.
- We have another field trip Friday, May 26th going to the Science Extravaganza at Amador High School from 12:30-2:30 where students will get to do hands-on science experiments.
- I only sent home a spelling review packet on Friday for optional practice. You do not have to send it back in, but if you’d like your child to review patterns and words, feel free to use it.
- If you have extra paper grocery bags at home, will you send them in? I would like to start sending home papers and projects and have found those work best!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - We used mentor texts, Leo, the Lightning Bug and A Frog Thing for reading this week. We discussed author’s purpose, character development and motivation, and the contrasts and comparisons of both books (by the same author). We had an insightful discussion, and students really were able to dig deep, talking about the lesson the author wanted us to learn and how we can connect it to our own lives. They responded to these stories in their reader’s journal. Students also read from Scholastic News and we discussed main idea/details and the text features found within the article.
Writing - Students reviewed and practiced using the main concepts of writing opinion pieces such as writing across pages while stating your opinion clearly, providing three reasons AND examples and restating your opinion at the end. We completed a whole group piece together and later in the week, students completed an opinion writing assessment on their own.
Math - We lessons 13-16 in Module 6 last week. Students began learning how to regroup two digit numbers using quick tens and ones and the standard algorithm.
Science - The pond habitat is officially done and we move onto oceans for the last two weeks.
That’s it for now, but please let me know if you have any questions! I look forward to seeing you at the performance tomorrow morning! Have a great week!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
May 12, 2017
Notes:
5/18 - Open House, 6:30-7:30 pm
5/19 - Minimum Day
5/22 - 1st Grade Pond Musical, 9:30 am
5/26 - Science Extravaganza Field Trip at Amador H.S. *ALL STUDENTS LATE START*
5/29 - No School
6/2 - Last day, Field Day, Minimum Day
Homework for 5/12-5/19 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
WOW! It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve done the news and notes and I appreciate your patience! I had the most wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week last week (especially coming back from such a horrible week before that!!). It was a wonderful way to come back to school--feeling the love and support from all of you and your sweet children. Thank you for the delicious breakfasts, beautiful flowers, heartfelt notes and the gift cards that were sent into me. I feel truly special and spoiled! It is my privilege to be your child’s teacher and be connected to all of you.
Just a few reminders about important events:
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language -Students have been working on comparing and contrasting using two informational texts about butterflies and moths. We also read a mentor text called Fireflies! to dig into comprehension and story elements. Students used their reader’s notebooks to respond to our class read aloud book, focusing on visualization. Students also did some end of the year Language Arts assessments with me.
Writing - Students did a book review on their favorite book during writer’s workshop. They have also been working on various opinion writing pieces while I was gone.
Math - We finished up through lesson 12 in Module 6 last week and did some end of the year math assessments as well.
Science - We are finishing up any remaining work associated with the pond in writing, art and centers.
Oral Presentations - Most students did their oral presentations on a pond animal on Friday and they did a great job! I will be displaying all the projects at open house, so you will get to see for yourselves all the creative ways students presented their information. There were 7 students who did not do the oral presentation, so given the crazy couple of weeks we’ve had, I told those students they could make up their presentation on Tuesday. The directions for it are on my website.
If you have any questions at all, please let me know! Have a wonderful evening and Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers!
Classroom News and Notes
May 12, 2017
Notes:
5/18 - Open House, 6:30-7:30 pm
5/19 - Minimum Day
5/22 - 1st Grade Pond Musical, 9:30 am
5/26 - Science Extravaganza Field Trip at Amador H.S. *ALL STUDENTS LATE START*
5/29 - No School
6/2 - Last day, Field Day, Minimum Day
Homework for 5/12-5/19 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
WOW! It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve done the news and notes and I appreciate your patience! I had the most wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week last week (especially coming back from such a horrible week before that!!). It was a wonderful way to come back to school--feeling the love and support from all of you and your sweet children. Thank you for the delicious breakfasts, beautiful flowers, heartfelt notes and the gift cards that were sent into me. I feel truly special and spoiled! It is my privilege to be your child’s teacher and be connected to all of you.
Just a few reminders about important events:
- Open House is on Thursday this week! Please come see what your child has been working on lately--they are so excited to show you! It’s from 6:30-7:30.
- The 1st grade musical is on Monday, May 22nd at 9:30 in the MPR. Again, your children have been practicing to make this performance super special for you. Please have your child wear blues and greens that day, if possible.
- We have another field trip Friday, May 26th going to the Science Extravaganza at Amador High School from 12:30-2:30 where students will get to do hands-on science experiments. I have enough drivers, but there are still a few students who have not sent back their permission slips yet. Please send it in if you haven’t yet!
- This is our last week of homework! I did not have a chance to correct the pretests on Friday, so I will have those sent home on Monday so students can study the correct list.
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language -Students have been working on comparing and contrasting using two informational texts about butterflies and moths. We also read a mentor text called Fireflies! to dig into comprehension and story elements. Students used their reader’s notebooks to respond to our class read aloud book, focusing on visualization. Students also did some end of the year Language Arts assessments with me.
Writing - Students did a book review on their favorite book during writer’s workshop. They have also been working on various opinion writing pieces while I was gone.
Math - We finished up through lesson 12 in Module 6 last week and did some end of the year math assessments as well.
Science - We are finishing up any remaining work associated with the pond in writing, art and centers.
Oral Presentations - Most students did their oral presentations on a pond animal on Friday and they did a great job! I will be displaying all the projects at open house, so you will get to see for yourselves all the creative ways students presented their information. There were 7 students who did not do the oral presentation, so given the crazy couple of weeks we’ve had, I told those students they could make up their presentation on Tuesday. The directions for it are on my website.
If you have any questions at all, please let me know! Have a wonderful evening and Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
April 23, 2017
Notes:
4/28 - Family Fun Night
5/10 - Bike to School Day
5/18 - Open House, 6:30-7:30 pm
5/19 - Minimum Day
5/22 - 1st Grade Pond Musical, 9:30 am
5/26 - Science Extravaganza Field Trip at Amador H.S.
5/29 - No School
6/2 - Last day, Field Day, Minimum Day
Homework for 4/21-4/24 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
We had a fantastic time on the Tule Pond field trip! It was a beautiful day and the students were so excited to be looking at all the animals and plants. Our guide showed us a new family of ducklings, how to make natural soap from plants and where to pick bay leaves from a tree. There was so much to see! Thank you so much to all the parents that drove and were chaperones. I appreciate the time you took to be involved with the students in our class.
We have another field trip coming up on Friday, May 26th going to the Science Extravaganza at Amador High School from 12:30-2:30 where students will get to do hands-on science experiments.We will need drivers for this one! I will be sending home the information and permission slip on Friday. Please keep an eye out for those in your child’s homework folder.
A note from Mr. Berg:
A primary goal at Lydiksen Elementary School is strong communication. We are seeking information from parents/guardians to help us better connect with our school community.
Thank you for taking 10-15 minutes to complete this survey.
Please complete only one survey per household. Your answers are confidential and can in no way be traced back to you as an individual. Thank you for your input. The survey deadline is Monday, May 1.
Family Fun Night:
Friday, April 28th, 5:30-8:00 pm
Book Fair, Petting Zoo, Cake Walk, Bounce House and Slides, Carnival Games, Face Painting
To purchase wristbands online click here:
https://lancer-market.myshopify.com/collections/all?page=2
We need volunteers for Family Fun Night!!
We hope that by making most shifts 1 hour, more people can help out and still have time to enjoy the evening with their family. Remember, if you volunteer for "setup" your children will have early access.
Please sign up here to volunteer at Family Fun Night.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054ea4ac23a64-family1
Thanks for your participation and spread the word to all your friends to sign up too!!
Also if you have any teenagers who would like to volunteer this is a great opportunity to earn service hours. Here is the link for teen volunteers.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054ea4ac23a64-family2
A note from our music teacher, Mrs. Robertson:
Music homework: Memorize 1st grade songs for Performance. Songs available here: http://tinyurl.com/j78ktqw
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students identified adjectives, put pond words in ABC order, read just right books during independent reading time and read an article in Scholastic News about the book Make Way for Ducklings. We watched a video that accompanied the article and the class showed off their comprehension with an online interactive quiz.
Writing - Students continued to write opinion pieces last week in writer’s workshop. In small groups they put on their judge’s hat to look at shell collections and decide which one should get 1st place (or the blue ribbon). Students also learned about the OREO acronym to help them structure their pieces of writing: O-state your Opinion, R-give a Reason for your opinion, E-give an Example that backs up your opinion (repeat R and E one to two more times) and the last O-restate your opinion in a concluding sentence. Also, in celebration of Earth Day, students wrote about what they can do to help take care of the earth.
Math - We finished Module 5 and took the End of Module Test.
Science - We did a little more work with the pond in writing, art and centers. Students learned more about the frog life cycle.
If you have any questions about anything, please let me know. Have a great week!
Classroom News and Notes
April 23, 2017
Notes:
4/28 - Family Fun Night
5/10 - Bike to School Day
5/18 - Open House, 6:30-7:30 pm
5/19 - Minimum Day
5/22 - 1st Grade Pond Musical, 9:30 am
5/26 - Science Extravaganza Field Trip at Amador H.S.
5/29 - No School
6/2 - Last day, Field Day, Minimum Day
Homework for 4/21-4/24 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
We had a fantastic time on the Tule Pond field trip! It was a beautiful day and the students were so excited to be looking at all the animals and plants. Our guide showed us a new family of ducklings, how to make natural soap from plants and where to pick bay leaves from a tree. There was so much to see! Thank you so much to all the parents that drove and were chaperones. I appreciate the time you took to be involved with the students in our class.
We have another field trip coming up on Friday, May 26th going to the Science Extravaganza at Amador High School from 12:30-2:30 where students will get to do hands-on science experiments.We will need drivers for this one! I will be sending home the information and permission slip on Friday. Please keep an eye out for those in your child’s homework folder.
A note from Mr. Berg:
A primary goal at Lydiksen Elementary School is strong communication. We are seeking information from parents/guardians to help us better connect with our school community.
Thank you for taking 10-15 minutes to complete this survey.
Please complete only one survey per household. Your answers are confidential and can in no way be traced back to you as an individual. Thank you for your input. The survey deadline is Monday, May 1.
Family Fun Night:
Friday, April 28th, 5:30-8:00 pm
Book Fair, Petting Zoo, Cake Walk, Bounce House and Slides, Carnival Games, Face Painting
To purchase wristbands online click here:
https://lancer-market.myshopify.com/collections/all?page=2
We need volunteers for Family Fun Night!!
We hope that by making most shifts 1 hour, more people can help out and still have time to enjoy the evening with their family. Remember, if you volunteer for "setup" your children will have early access.
Please sign up here to volunteer at Family Fun Night.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054ea4ac23a64-family1
Thanks for your participation and spread the word to all your friends to sign up too!!
Also if you have any teenagers who would like to volunteer this is a great opportunity to earn service hours. Here is the link for teen volunteers.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054ea4ac23a64-family2
A note from our music teacher, Mrs. Robertson:
Music homework: Memorize 1st grade songs for Performance. Songs available here: http://tinyurl.com/j78ktqw
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students identified adjectives, put pond words in ABC order, read just right books during independent reading time and read an article in Scholastic News about the book Make Way for Ducklings. We watched a video that accompanied the article and the class showed off their comprehension with an online interactive quiz.
Writing - Students continued to write opinion pieces last week in writer’s workshop. In small groups they put on their judge’s hat to look at shell collections and decide which one should get 1st place (or the blue ribbon). Students also learned about the OREO acronym to help them structure their pieces of writing: O-state your Opinion, R-give a Reason for your opinion, E-give an Example that backs up your opinion (repeat R and E one to two more times) and the last O-restate your opinion in a concluding sentence. Also, in celebration of Earth Day, students wrote about what they can do to help take care of the earth.
Math - We finished Module 5 and took the End of Module Test.
Science - We did a little more work with the pond in writing, art and centers. Students learned more about the frog life cycle.
If you have any questions about anything, please let me know. Have a great week!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
April 16, 2017
Notes:
4/17 - No School
4/21 - Malone’s Pond Field Trip: All students attend 8:20-2:00!
4/23 - PPIE Run for Education - sign up now!
4/28 - Family Fun Night
5/10 - Bike to School Day
5/18 - Open House, 6:30-7:30 pm
5/19 - Minimum Day
5/22 - 1st Grade Pond Musical, 9:30 am
5/29 - No School
6/2 - Last day, Field Day, Minimum Day
Homework for 4/14-4/21 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
Big event this week! Our field trip is this Friday and all students will attend school from 8:20 am - 2:00 pm. Also, all students MUST bring a booster seat that morning. Please have your child wear comfortable shoes and a jacket or sweatshirt since we are going in the morning to the pond. Let me know if you have questions!
A note from Mr. Berg:
A primary goal at Lydiksen Elementary School is strong communication. We are seeking information from parents/guardians to help us better connect with our school community.
Thank you for taking 10-15 minutes to complete this survey.
Please complete only one survey per household. Your answers are confidential and can in no way be traced back to you as an individual. Thank you for your input. The survey deadline is Monday, May 1.
Family Fun Night:
Friday, April 28th, 5:30-8:00 pm
Book Fair, Petting Zoo, Cake Walk, Bounce House and Slides, Carnival Games, Face Painting
To purchase wristbands online click here:
https://lancer-market.myshopify.com/collections/all?page=2
We need volunteers for Family Fun Night!!
We hope that by making most shifts 1 hour, more people can help out and still have time to enjoy the evening with their family. Remember, if you volunteer for "setup" your children will have early access.
Please sign up here to volunteer at Family Fun Night.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054ea4ac23a64-family1
Thanks for your participation and spread the word to all your friends to sign up too!!
Also if you have any teenagers who would like to volunteer this is a great opportunity to earn service hours. Here is the link for teen volunteers.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054ea4ac23a64-family2
PPIE Run for Education
Let's finish strong! With less than two weeks until the 5th Annual Pleasanton Run for Education in site, let's sprint to the end of registration. There are two ways in which you can make a difference.
First, if you haven't signed up to run or walk, go to ppierun.com and register you and/or your family to run the 5k, 10k, 15k or Kid's Challenge.
Or, come out and volunteer. Over 200 volunteers line the course and we need you. Please consider joining us on race day to help execute a successful 2017 Run for Education. Opportunities to volunteer can be found under the "Volunteer" tab on the ppierun.com website. While we are in need of many volunteers, PPIE needs adult volunteers (must be 18 years or older) to act as a course marshal on April 23 for our annual Run for Education. The duties include handling runners at corners and intersections, directing them to stay on the path and helping with their safety. There is an informational session on April 19th (7:00pm at the PPIE office) to provide course location and basic training. If you have a particular location you prefer to remain in, we will do what we can to accommodate requests. Time commitment can be from 7:00 am to 10:00 am (estimate - time may vary once we get final approval for the race locations, etc). If interested, please contact PPIE at 925-845-5620 or Andraya Martin, our race volunteer manager, at [email protected]
PPIE Spring Push fundraiser
Every year, PPIE is proud to have two major funding campaigns - at school registration in August and
our Spring Push - to raise funds for school site staffing that impacts the classroom experience for our
children. This year, YOUR FUNDS WILL DIRECTLY IMPACT YOUR OWN SCHOOL! The goal for
our Spring Push is to raise $40,000 from our 12 elementary and middle schools (less than $3,500 per
school; about $100 per family).
PLEASE CONSIDER a donation of $100 or more to keep school libraries open longer or to get onsite tech support to keep technology running effectively for student and teachers. PLEASE DONATE to PPIE (http://ppie.org/donate/) - Thank you!
A note from our music teacher, Mrs. Robertson:
Music homework: Memorize 1st grade songs for Performance. Songs available here: http://tinyurl.com/j78ktqw
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students read a nonfiction book on frogs while participating in a shared reading experience in which they identified important text features, learned new vocabulary and discussed content. They also did a close reading of an article entitled Thunder and Lightning. They read the text several times, located and marked the answers to questions in the text and responded to questions using complete sentences. They used these same skills to read about frog feet in our Scholastic News. We practiced vowel sounds (long and short) using games, did collaborative work coming up with words for assigned word families and did some chanting with physical movement to practice sight words. Students also helped identify syllables and rhyming words in our poem of the week. I read the Runaway Bunny to them and let them get creative in their writing about how they would try to hide and with their art as they created a bunny to go with their writing. On Friday, the Booklegger came to the classroom to read some books to the class and get them excited about reading. She encouraged them to check out the Pleasanton LIbrary for some good reads! It’s always fun when the Booklegger comes!
Writing - Students have been writing their opinion regarding certain topics (from pickles to superpowers!) and supporting their opinion with 2 or more reasons. They also have been busy writing about frogs using a brainstorming graphic organizer to display their knowledge and learning. Using this information they wrote three paragraphs about what frogs can do, what frogs have and what frogs are. They are excited to show these off to you at Open House!
Math - We finished up math through lesson 11 doing some geometry and starting time to the hour and to the half. I used a big hula hoop on the floor as our example clock. Students enjoyed helping me label the hours and the minutes. We talked about hours and ‘half past’ using the big clock and students did a great job following along and showing off what they had learned. On Friday students made a bunny clock to take home with them. Please use this to show different times to the hour and to the half hour (for challenge only you could try quarter past and quarter til) and heave them read it to you--any clock will do!)
Science - We are continuing our study of the pond. We finished our pond mini books (again, they are so excited to show these off at Open House!) and looked for facts about the pond using the books. Students also learned about the food chain and did an activity to go along with it. They began learning a little bit about the life cycle of the frog, but we will get more into that next week.
I hope you have enjoyed your 3 day weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!
Classroom News and Notes
April 16, 2017
Notes:
4/17 - No School
4/21 - Malone’s Pond Field Trip: All students attend 8:20-2:00!
4/23 - PPIE Run for Education - sign up now!
4/28 - Family Fun Night
5/10 - Bike to School Day
5/18 - Open House, 6:30-7:30 pm
5/19 - Minimum Day
5/22 - 1st Grade Pond Musical, 9:30 am
5/29 - No School
6/2 - Last day, Field Day, Minimum Day
Homework for 4/14-4/21 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
Big event this week! Our field trip is this Friday and all students will attend school from 8:20 am - 2:00 pm. Also, all students MUST bring a booster seat that morning. Please have your child wear comfortable shoes and a jacket or sweatshirt since we are going in the morning to the pond. Let me know if you have questions!
A note from Mr. Berg:
A primary goal at Lydiksen Elementary School is strong communication. We are seeking information from parents/guardians to help us better connect with our school community.
Thank you for taking 10-15 minutes to complete this survey.
Please complete only one survey per household. Your answers are confidential and can in no way be traced back to you as an individual. Thank you for your input. The survey deadline is Monday, May 1.
Family Fun Night:
Friday, April 28th, 5:30-8:00 pm
Book Fair, Petting Zoo, Cake Walk, Bounce House and Slides, Carnival Games, Face Painting
To purchase wristbands online click here:
https://lancer-market.myshopify.com/collections/all?page=2
We need volunteers for Family Fun Night!!
We hope that by making most shifts 1 hour, more people can help out and still have time to enjoy the evening with their family. Remember, if you volunteer for "setup" your children will have early access.
Please sign up here to volunteer at Family Fun Night.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054ea4ac23a64-family1
Thanks for your participation and spread the word to all your friends to sign up too!!
Also if you have any teenagers who would like to volunteer this is a great opportunity to earn service hours. Here is the link for teen volunteers.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054ea4ac23a64-family2
PPIE Run for Education
Let's finish strong! With less than two weeks until the 5th Annual Pleasanton Run for Education in site, let's sprint to the end of registration. There are two ways in which you can make a difference.
First, if you haven't signed up to run or walk, go to ppierun.com and register you and/or your family to run the 5k, 10k, 15k or Kid's Challenge.
Or, come out and volunteer. Over 200 volunteers line the course and we need you. Please consider joining us on race day to help execute a successful 2017 Run for Education. Opportunities to volunteer can be found under the "Volunteer" tab on the ppierun.com website. While we are in need of many volunteers, PPIE needs adult volunteers (must be 18 years or older) to act as a course marshal on April 23 for our annual Run for Education. The duties include handling runners at corners and intersections, directing them to stay on the path and helping with their safety. There is an informational session on April 19th (7:00pm at the PPIE office) to provide course location and basic training. If you have a particular location you prefer to remain in, we will do what we can to accommodate requests. Time commitment can be from 7:00 am to 10:00 am (estimate - time may vary once we get final approval for the race locations, etc). If interested, please contact PPIE at 925-845-5620 or Andraya Martin, our race volunteer manager, at [email protected]
PPIE Spring Push fundraiser
Every year, PPIE is proud to have two major funding campaigns - at school registration in August and
our Spring Push - to raise funds for school site staffing that impacts the classroom experience for our
children. This year, YOUR FUNDS WILL DIRECTLY IMPACT YOUR OWN SCHOOL! The goal for
our Spring Push is to raise $40,000 from our 12 elementary and middle schools (less than $3,500 per
school; about $100 per family).
PLEASE CONSIDER a donation of $100 or more to keep school libraries open longer or to get onsite tech support to keep technology running effectively for student and teachers. PLEASE DONATE to PPIE (http://ppie.org/donate/) - Thank you!
A note from our music teacher, Mrs. Robertson:
Music homework: Memorize 1st grade songs for Performance. Songs available here: http://tinyurl.com/j78ktqw
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students read a nonfiction book on frogs while participating in a shared reading experience in which they identified important text features, learned new vocabulary and discussed content. They also did a close reading of an article entitled Thunder and Lightning. They read the text several times, located and marked the answers to questions in the text and responded to questions using complete sentences. They used these same skills to read about frog feet in our Scholastic News. We practiced vowel sounds (long and short) using games, did collaborative work coming up with words for assigned word families and did some chanting with physical movement to practice sight words. Students also helped identify syllables and rhyming words in our poem of the week. I read the Runaway Bunny to them and let them get creative in their writing about how they would try to hide and with their art as they created a bunny to go with their writing. On Friday, the Booklegger came to the classroom to read some books to the class and get them excited about reading. She encouraged them to check out the Pleasanton LIbrary for some good reads! It’s always fun when the Booklegger comes!
Writing - Students have been writing their opinion regarding certain topics (from pickles to superpowers!) and supporting their opinion with 2 or more reasons. They also have been busy writing about frogs using a brainstorming graphic organizer to display their knowledge and learning. Using this information they wrote three paragraphs about what frogs can do, what frogs have and what frogs are. They are excited to show these off to you at Open House!
Math - We finished up math through lesson 11 doing some geometry and starting time to the hour and to the half. I used a big hula hoop on the floor as our example clock. Students enjoyed helping me label the hours and the minutes. We talked about hours and ‘half past’ using the big clock and students did a great job following along and showing off what they had learned. On Friday students made a bunny clock to take home with them. Please use this to show different times to the hour and to the half hour (for challenge only you could try quarter past and quarter til) and heave them read it to you--any clock will do!)
Science - We are continuing our study of the pond. We finished our pond mini books (again, they are so excited to show these off at Open House!) and looked for facts about the pond using the books. Students also learned about the food chain and did an activity to go along with it. They began learning a little bit about the life cycle of the frog, but we will get more into that next week.
I hope you have enjoyed your 3 day weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
April 10, 2017
Notes:
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/14 - Spirit Day -- Twin Day
4/17 - No School
4/21 - Malone’s Pond Field Trip-All students 8:20-2:00
4/28 - Family Fun Night
5/10 - Bike to School Day
5/18 - Open House, 6:30-7:30 pm
5/19 - Minimum Day
5/22 - 1st Grade Pond Musical, 9:30 am
5/29 - No School
6/2 - Last day, Field Day, Minimum Day
Homework for 4/10-4/14 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing Spring Break! I was more than ready to see your children today and am excited for the little bit of time we have together until the end of the year. I know time is going to fly!
Please be sure to check out your child’s homework folder today. You’ll find information for the April/May oral presentation, a review spelling packet (no test this week!) and Module 5 homework booklet.
A note from our music teacher, Mrs. Robertson
MUSIC CLASS HOMEWORK - CONCERT PREPARATION
May is Concert Season here at Lydiksen, and in order to prepare, I have asked your child(ren) to visit my Music Class Website to practice and memorize songs that they will need to know for their performance. There are audio files of each song that they can download (free of viruses and free of charge) as well as lyric sheets that they can print out. Would you please aid your child in linking to my website using the link below, or by accessing it on my Lydiksen Staff Directory listing? Thank you SO much for supporting your child's Music study!
Most sincerely,
Mrs. Cathy Robertson
Mrs. Robertson's Music Class Webpage:
http://tinyurl.com/j78ktqw
-Lydiksen Family Lunch Day - April 12
Parents or other family members are invited to have lunch with their children at Lydiksen on Wednesday, April 12. If you didn’t order a school lunch for yourself, no worries! You can still attend, but you will need to bring your own lunch.
Lunch times are 11:45-12:10 for grades 1-3, 12:20-12:45 for grades 4-5, and 12:45-1:10 for TK/kindergarten. (TK/kindergarten students will only have lunch on campus if a family member is present.) This activity is intended for adults only; do not bring siblings or additional children on campus during this time.
Complete this Google Form by Monday, March 27 to confirm your attendance for this event so we can get an estimate of the number of family members who will be attending.
We look forward to seeing you on Family Lunch Day!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students finished reading the Frog and Toad Are Friends chapter book before Spring Break. They also did a writing response to each chapter, working on reading skills that include creating mental images, making connections and making comparisons. Students also read an article about weather in our Science Spin magazine.
Writing - Students wrote a poem about themselves and about activities we did in March. They also did some opinion writing, deciding who they were more like: frog or toad? We are partnering up with some high school zoology students, as pen pals. These pals wrote our students a letter and we got to practice our letter writing skills writing back. We will be writing back and forth one or two more times, after which the high school students will come here to meet their pen pal and teach the students about animals. The students were so excited to read their letters and write something back--I loved the enthusiasm!
Math - We started Module 5 which is all about geometry. Students are loving talking and learning about shapes. It is a very short module, so it shouldn’t take us too long before we move on to Module 6. Students have also done some math related art and a shape sort.
Science - Students learned about the pond habitat. We did a pictorial activity to learn about the layers of the pond and the life found at the pond. Students will be learning more about the pond and the animals that live there over the next couple of weeks. We will be going on our field trip to the pond to tie into this topic.
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
March 24, 2017
Notes:
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/21 - Malone’s Pond Field Trip-All students 8:20-2:00
4/28 - Family Fun Night
5/10 - Bike to School Day
5/18 - Open House, 6:30-7:30 pm
5/19 - Minimum Day
5/22 - 1st Grade Pond Musical, 9:30 am
5/29 - No School
6/2 - Last day, Field Day, Minimum Day
Homework for 3/24-3/31 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
Hi all, I wanted to apologize for not sending homework folders with “Early Birds” today. I ran out of time trying to help students with the End of Module assessment and other assignments they are trying to finish up. I will send them on Monday!
I’m not sure if everyone heard the great news, but Lydiksen raised over $10,000 for the Wheelchair Foundation. We’ll be sending 67 wheelchairs to Argentina! Thank you to all who helped by raising funds or contributing to the fundraiser--you are making a direct impact on the life of someone in need. Thank you!!
Field Trip Permission slips due now! Please send in the forms if you haven’t yet.
A note from our music teacher, Mrs. Robertson
MUSIC CLASS HOMEWORK - CONCERT PREPARATION
May is Concert Season here at Lydiksen, and in order to prepare, I have asked your child(ren) to visit my Music Class Website to practice and memorize songs that they will need to know for their performance. There are audio files of each song that they can download (free of viruses and free of charge) as well as lyric sheets that they can print out. Would you please aid your child in linking to my website using the link below, or by accessing it on my Lydiksen Staff Directory listing? Thank you SO much for supporting your child's Music study!
Most sincerely,
Mrs. Cathy Robertson
Mrs. Robertson's Music Class Webpage:
http://tinyurl.com/j78ktqw
-You can still order yearbooks March 18-31 for $27. Order online at www.yearbookordercenter.com and enter school code 14382 to purchase with credit card. Or you can fill out order form and attach a check made to Lydiksen PFC and return to school. This is only way to guarantee your child receives a yearbook. There were NO Sales during Walk-thru Registration. This is only time yearbooks are on sale. Flyer attached to this email.
-Lydiksen Family Lunch Day - April 12
Parents or other family members are invited to have lunch with their children at Lydiksen on Wednesday, April 12. One complimentary lunch per student will be provided for a single family member; if you need more than one lunch, you can purchase one for $3.50 each on the day of the lunch. If you prefer, you may bring lunch for yourself and your child.
Lunch times are 11:45-12:10 for grades 1-3, 12:20-12:45 for grades 4-5, and 12:45-1:10 for TK/kindergarten. (TK/kindergarten students will only have lunch on campus if a family member is present.) This activity is intended for adults only; do not bring siblings or additional children on campus during this time.
Complete this Google Form by Monday, March 27 to confirm your attendance for this event so we can get an estimate of the number of family members who will be attending.
We look forward to seeing you on Family Lunch Day!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students have started reading the Frog and Toad Are Friends chapter book this week. Students love these characters for all their humor and antics! We read three chapters and did a writing response to each chapter, working on reading skills that include creating mental images, making connections and making comparisons. Students also read It Looked Like Spilt Milk to kick start our lesson on clouds. Students wrote about what shapes they have seen in the clouds. They also read an article about weather in Scholastic News.
Writing - Students finished a writing project in connection with the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. They will be displaying their finished project this coming week in the classroom. Our next unit of study in writing will be opinion writing. Students did a pre-workshop assessment on opinion writing.
Math - Students finished Module 4, did an End of Module review and took the assessment today. We will be moving on to Module 5 next!
Social Studies - Students are learning about Brazil.
Science - We watched some videos this week to learn more about the water cycle and clouds. The students really enjoyed the water cycle song, so I’m attaching the videos if you and your child would like to watch them again. Now, the best story of the week: we had just finished an activity learning about different kinds of clouds and were walking to music when BOOM! There was a huge clap of thunder and a flash of lightning! The timing could not have been more perfect, and even though the students did a bit of screaming, they also excitedly told me, “Mrs. Malone! Those are cumulonimbus clouds!” It was a great learning moment!
I hope you have a great weekend! Please let me know if you have any questions!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
March 19, 2017
Notes:
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/21 - Malone’s Pond Field Trip-All students 8:20-2:00
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 3/17-3/24 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
Students had a pretty magical day on Friday! They were so excited to see if a leprechaun came to our room and were amazed to see the mischief he caused! At least the leprechaun left them a gold coin!
The oral presentations of the leprechaun traps went great and their traps turned out amazing! I always love seeing the inventive and creative ideas the students have to catch a leprechaun. Thanks for supporting your child and helping them do their best!
Please check your child’s homework folder for our Pond Field Trip coming up in April. You need to fill out the permission slip, and if you can drive please send in the paper indicating how many you can drive in your car. Don’t forget, you need to have up-to-date insurance information in the office. Please talk to the office if you have questions about insurance.
-You can still order yearbooks March 18-31 for $27. Order online at www.yearbookordercenter.com and enter school code 14382 to purchase with credit card. Or you can fill out order form and attach a check made to Lydiksen PFC and return to school.
This is only way to guarantee your child receives a yearbook. There were NO Sales during Walk-thru Registration. This is only time yearbooks are on sale. Flyer attached to this email.
-Lydiksen Family Lunch Day - April 12
Parents or other family members are invited to have lunch with their children at Lydiksen on Wednesday, April 12. One complimentary lunch per student will be provided for a single family member; if you need more than one lunch, you can purchase one for $3.50 each on the day of the lunch. If you prefer, you may bring lunch for yourself and your child.
Lunch times are 11:45-12:10 for grades 1-3, 12:20-12:45 for grades 4-5, and 12:45-1:10 for TK/kindergarten. (TK/kindergarten students will only have lunch on campus if a family member is present.) This activity is intended for adults only; do not bring siblings or additional children on campus during this time.
Complete this Google Form by Monday, March 27 to confirm your attendance for this event so we can get an estimate of the number of family members who will be attending.
We look forward to seeing you on Family Lunch Day!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students listened to many read alouds in connection with St. Patrick’s day, such as Leprechaun in the Basement, The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow and The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever!, and they wrote responses to some stories in their reading journals. Another read aloud students enjoyed was Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. They will be connecting this story to their learning this coming week. Students read nonfiction text about habitats (see Science below).
Writing - Students were able to write creative stories about a leprechaun, write a story about where a leprechaun hid its pot of gold using prepositions, and they were also able to do some opinion writing (stating their opinion and supporting their answers). Students also wrote about 3 wishes they have for a friend, their family and themselves.
Math - Students are keeping up their work in Module 4. We are getting close to the end of the module! They were able to practice their counting, reading and writing to and within 120 skills. Students also did math art for March and Math Tiles during Centers.
Social Studies - Students are learning about Ireland.
Science - Students became “experts” on many of the habitats found on Earth. After reading nonfiction text to learn more about their assigned habitat, students taught their peers about the habitat. Those learning about the habitats wrote notes in their own process grid in order to organize the information. Students also did some reading about weather which we will be discussing and learning more about this week. Also, students enjoyed attending the Science Fair with our 3rd grade buddies and looking at all of the experiments. It was good to see some of our own students involved in the fair this year!
As always, let me know if you have any questions or if I can help with anything.
Classroom News and Notes
March 19, 2017
Notes:
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/21 - Malone’s Pond Field Trip-All students 8:20-2:00
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 3/17-3/24 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
Students had a pretty magical day on Friday! They were so excited to see if a leprechaun came to our room and were amazed to see the mischief he caused! At least the leprechaun left them a gold coin!
The oral presentations of the leprechaun traps went great and their traps turned out amazing! I always love seeing the inventive and creative ideas the students have to catch a leprechaun. Thanks for supporting your child and helping them do their best!
Please check your child’s homework folder for our Pond Field Trip coming up in April. You need to fill out the permission slip, and if you can drive please send in the paper indicating how many you can drive in your car. Don’t forget, you need to have up-to-date insurance information in the office. Please talk to the office if you have questions about insurance.
-You can still order yearbooks March 18-31 for $27. Order online at www.yearbookordercenter.com and enter school code 14382 to purchase with credit card. Or you can fill out order form and attach a check made to Lydiksen PFC and return to school.
This is only way to guarantee your child receives a yearbook. There were NO Sales during Walk-thru Registration. This is only time yearbooks are on sale. Flyer attached to this email.
-Lydiksen Family Lunch Day - April 12
Parents or other family members are invited to have lunch with their children at Lydiksen on Wednesday, April 12. One complimentary lunch per student will be provided for a single family member; if you need more than one lunch, you can purchase one for $3.50 each on the day of the lunch. If you prefer, you may bring lunch for yourself and your child.
Lunch times are 11:45-12:10 for grades 1-3, 12:20-12:45 for grades 4-5, and 12:45-1:10 for TK/kindergarten. (TK/kindergarten students will only have lunch on campus if a family member is present.) This activity is intended for adults only; do not bring siblings or additional children on campus during this time.
Complete this Google Form by Monday, March 27 to confirm your attendance for this event so we can get an estimate of the number of family members who will be attending.
We look forward to seeing you on Family Lunch Day!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students listened to many read alouds in connection with St. Patrick’s day, such as Leprechaun in the Basement, The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow and The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever!, and they wrote responses to some stories in their reading journals. Another read aloud students enjoyed was Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. They will be connecting this story to their learning this coming week. Students read nonfiction text about habitats (see Science below).
Writing - Students were able to write creative stories about a leprechaun, write a story about where a leprechaun hid its pot of gold using prepositions, and they were also able to do some opinion writing (stating their opinion and supporting their answers). Students also wrote about 3 wishes they have for a friend, their family and themselves.
Math - Students are keeping up their work in Module 4. We are getting close to the end of the module! They were able to practice their counting, reading and writing to and within 120 skills. Students also did math art for March and Math Tiles during Centers.
Social Studies - Students are learning about Ireland.
Science - Students became “experts” on many of the habitats found on Earth. After reading nonfiction text to learn more about their assigned habitat, students taught their peers about the habitat. Those learning about the habitats wrote notes in their own process grid in order to organize the information. Students also did some reading about weather which we will be discussing and learning more about this week. Also, students enjoyed attending the Science Fair with our 3rd grade buddies and looking at all of the experiments. It was good to see some of our own students involved in the fair this year!
As always, let me know if you have any questions or if I can help with anything.
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
March 12, 2017
Notes:
3/14 - Science Fair project drop off, MPR
3/15 - Science Fair, MPR, 6:00-7:30 pm for families
3/16 - Leprechaun Traps and Oral Presentations Due!
3/17 - Last day of Yearbook sales
3/17 - Science Fair interviews
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 3/10-3/17 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
-Get your yearbooks! Yearbook sales will be held from March 1-17th. The cost is $25. You can order online at www.yearbookordercenter.com and enter school code 14382 to purchase with credit card. Or you can fill out order form and attach a check made to Lydiksen PFC and return to school.
Late orders will be accepted March 18-31 for $27.
This is only way to guarantee your child receives a yearbook. There were NO Sales during Walk-thru Registration. This is only time yearbooks are on sale. Flyer attached to this email.
-Report cards were sent home on Friday. Please take out and keep the report card, but sign the front of the envelop it was sent home in and return it to me. If you have any questions about your child’s report card, please let me know.
-Lydiksen Family Lunch Day - April 12
Parents or other family members are invited to have lunch with their children at Lydiksen on Wednesday, April 12. One complimentary lunch per student will be provided for a single family member; if you need more than one lunch, you can purchase one for $3.50 each on the day of the lunch. If you prefer, you may bring lunch for yourself and your child.
Lunch times are 11:45-12:10 for grades 1-3, 12:20-12:45 for grades 4-5, and 12:45-1:10 for TK/kindergarten. (TK/kindergarten students will only have lunch on campus if a family member is present.) This activity is intended for adults only; do not bring siblings or additional children on campus during this time.
Complete this Google Form by Monday, March 27 to confirm your attendance for this event so we can get an estimate of the number of family members who will be attending.
We look forward to seeing you on Family Lunch Day!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Last week we did some shared reading and comprehension practice from a weather related Scholastic News; made predictions, studied character traits and discussed opinions with Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato; practiced phonics skills making words.
Writing - Students were able to write about creative stories about a leprechaun, write a story about where a leprechaun hid its pot of gold, and they were also able to do some opinion writing (stating their opinion and supporting their answers). Students also wrote about 3 wishes they have for a friend, their family and themselves.
Math - Students are keeping up their work in Module 4 and were able to practice their counting, reading and writing to and within 120 skills. They were also able to do some math art for March.
Social Studies - Students are learning about Ireland.
Science - We just began a unit on weather and the water cycle.
Please enjoy the rest of this beautiful weekend! As always, let me know if you have any questions or if I can help with anything.
Classroom News and Notes
March 12, 2017
Notes:
3/14 - Science Fair project drop off, MPR
3/15 - Science Fair, MPR, 6:00-7:30 pm for families
3/16 - Leprechaun Traps and Oral Presentations Due!
3/17 - Last day of Yearbook sales
3/17 - Science Fair interviews
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 3/10-3/17 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
-Get your yearbooks! Yearbook sales will be held from March 1-17th. The cost is $25. You can order online at www.yearbookordercenter.com and enter school code 14382 to purchase with credit card. Or you can fill out order form and attach a check made to Lydiksen PFC and return to school.
Late orders will be accepted March 18-31 for $27.
This is only way to guarantee your child receives a yearbook. There were NO Sales during Walk-thru Registration. This is only time yearbooks are on sale. Flyer attached to this email.
-Report cards were sent home on Friday. Please take out and keep the report card, but sign the front of the envelop it was sent home in and return it to me. If you have any questions about your child’s report card, please let me know.
-Lydiksen Family Lunch Day - April 12
Parents or other family members are invited to have lunch with their children at Lydiksen on Wednesday, April 12. One complimentary lunch per student will be provided for a single family member; if you need more than one lunch, you can purchase one for $3.50 each on the day of the lunch. If you prefer, you may bring lunch for yourself and your child.
Lunch times are 11:45-12:10 for grades 1-3, 12:20-12:45 for grades 4-5, and 12:45-1:10 for TK/kindergarten. (TK/kindergarten students will only have lunch on campus if a family member is present.) This activity is intended for adults only; do not bring siblings or additional children on campus during this time.
Complete this Google Form by Monday, March 27 to confirm your attendance for this event so we can get an estimate of the number of family members who will be attending.
We look forward to seeing you on Family Lunch Day!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Last week we did some shared reading and comprehension practice from a weather related Scholastic News; made predictions, studied character traits and discussed opinions with Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato; practiced phonics skills making words.
Writing - Students were able to write about creative stories about a leprechaun, write a story about where a leprechaun hid its pot of gold, and they were also able to do some opinion writing (stating their opinion and supporting their answers). Students also wrote about 3 wishes they have for a friend, their family and themselves.
Math - Students are keeping up their work in Module 4 and were able to practice their counting, reading and writing to and within 120 skills. They were also able to do some math art for March.
Social Studies - Students are learning about Ireland.
Science - We just began a unit on weather and the water cycle.
Please enjoy the rest of this beautiful weekend! As always, let me know if you have any questions or if I can help with anything.
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
February 26, 2017
Notes:
2/28 - Talent Show Applications due with music cut and lyrics printed out by 2:55 pm
3/1 - Yearbook for sale through 3/17. Not previously for sale.
3/2 - Yakkity Yak Book Attack!
3 /4 - GALA - Hoping many will attend!
3/10 - Spirit Day, Hawaiian shirts
3/14 - Science Fair project drop off, MPR
3/15 - Science Fair, MPR, 6:00-7:30 pm for families
3/17 - Science Fair interviews
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 2/24-3/3 found here. (No homework packet this week)
Class website found here.
News:
Next week is the last week to turn in money for the Wheelchair Foundation. Our class has raised about $5.00. I will turn in all money collected to add toward the school’s total amount raised on Friday.
Last week Makenzie’s dad, Chris Bulaon, came in to give our class a presentation for Engineering Week. Students learned all about what engineers do and create. After the presentation they worked in teams to build the strongest bridge using one piece of paper and some pennies. They learned so much and had a great time! Thank you Mr. Bulaon!
Students also had a fabulous time at the International Fair last week. They loved “traveling” from country to country learning and receiving a stamp for their passport. They were so excited to be a part of it!
We have a few important announcements from other teachers, the office and the PFC:
Dear parents/guardians,
This week in Physical Education, we will be doing some simple tumbling activities. Please have your child come to PE in the normal comfortable clothes, but also socks. Athletic shoes that are easy to get on and off would be helpful as well. As a reminder, your child's PE days are Tuesday and Thursday.
Thanks for your help!
Coach Stewart
--A reminder 2017 Talent Show Applications are due Tuesday 2/28 by 3pm (no LATE or incomplete applications will be accepted). Students can turn them into their teacher or the office.
-Students need to rank their 3 choices for tryouts (1st, 2nd, 3rd choice) and if they are singing a song with lyrics or dancing to a song with lyrics, the lyrics and the cut music must be attached to the application (the lyrics must be photocopied and attached). We want to make sure the lyrics are school appropriate. Applications turned in on 2/28 without these items will not be accepted.
-Try out times should be sent home on Thursday 3/2.
Last call for photos! Due by MARCH 1ST - If you have any photos from school events or class parties, please send them in! This is the LAST DATE to upload photos to www.hjeshare.com school code: lydiksenlancers
Attention All Page Creators please have yearbook pages completed by MARCH 17TH.
Get your yearbooks! Yearbook sales will be held from March 1-17th. The cost is $25. You can order online at www.yearbookordercenter.com and enter school code 14382 to purchase with credit card. Or you can fill out order form and attach a check made to Lydiksen PFC and return to school.
Late orders will be accepted March 18-31 for $27.
This is only way to guarantee your child receives a yearbook. There were NO Sales during Walk-thru Registration. This is only time yearbooks are on sale. Flyer attached to this email.
You can help support the Dream Big Gala & Auction by participating in the Teacher Experiences Raffle! The First Grade Experience is called the Amazing Race. Students will come early to school on a Wednesday morning and work in small teams to complete a series of physical and mental challenges in a race to win. It’s a fun and exciting experience that your student will love!
All students have received one ticket for a chance to win the drawing for the 1st Grade Teacher Experience: The Amazing Race. You can also purchase additional tickets to improve your chance of winning. Students will turn in all tickets to the raffle box. The raffle box will be kept in the classroom all next week leading up to the gala. The raffle boxes will be turned into the office after school on FRIDAY, MARCH 3. Winners will be selected at the gala on Saturday, March 4th..
Ticket sales:
$1/ticket
$10/12 tickets
$20/25 tickets
Raffle tickets can be purchased online at www.lydiksenpfc.org or at the gala.
We will also sell them in the front of the school on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1st after school. If you can not purchase tickets after school on Wednesday, but would like to buy some, please let Mrs. Malone know and she can make arrangements for you to send money in with your child to get tickets.
Don’t forget we have our Read Across America Day, also known in the Lydiksen 1st grade as Yakkity Yak Book Attack Day, on Thursday, March 2nd. Students can bring in 1-3 favorite books and a flashlight to read their books during the day. I have plenty of books and a few spare flashlights in case you don’t have those items at home. Just send me an email to let me know.
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students practiced identifying and creating word families. They also did nonfiction reading using a Dr. Seuss Scholastic News and a penguin article. Students focused on strengthening their ability to identity fiction and nonfiction, referring back to the text to find answers to comprehension questions and identifying the point of view in a fictional book. Students are also doing reading skills assessments with me in preparation for report cards.
Writing - Most students are nearly finished or finished with the rough draft of their informational books. Students will work to make corrections and edits and then write the final draft. I’m hoping all students are finished with their rough drafts by the end of this week. Soon students will be doing the informational writing on demand assessment.
Math - We continued with lessons in Module 4 to learn and practice adding and subtracting from a multiple of 10, adding and subtracting ten from a multiple of 10 and using the counting on and make ten strategies when adding across a 10. We also spent time practicing math facts to 20 in a timed situation. I can see from results that many students need more practice with their subtraction facts. Please work on at home.
Last week students completed a few assessments and next week they will finish up a few more.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Have a great evening!
Classroom News and Notes
February 26, 2017
Notes:
2/28 - Talent Show Applications due with music cut and lyrics printed out by 2:55 pm
3/1 - Yearbook for sale through 3/17. Not previously for sale.
3/2 - Yakkity Yak Book Attack!
3 /4 - GALA - Hoping many will attend!
3/10 - Spirit Day, Hawaiian shirts
3/14 - Science Fair project drop off, MPR
3/15 - Science Fair, MPR, 6:00-7:30 pm for families
3/17 - Science Fair interviews
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 2/24-3/3 found here. (No homework packet this week)
Class website found here.
News:
Next week is the last week to turn in money for the Wheelchair Foundation. Our class has raised about $5.00. I will turn in all money collected to add toward the school’s total amount raised on Friday.
Last week Makenzie’s dad, Chris Bulaon, came in to give our class a presentation for Engineering Week. Students learned all about what engineers do and create. After the presentation they worked in teams to build the strongest bridge using one piece of paper and some pennies. They learned so much and had a great time! Thank you Mr. Bulaon!
Students also had a fabulous time at the International Fair last week. They loved “traveling” from country to country learning and receiving a stamp for their passport. They were so excited to be a part of it!
We have a few important announcements from other teachers, the office and the PFC:
Dear parents/guardians,
This week in Physical Education, we will be doing some simple tumbling activities. Please have your child come to PE in the normal comfortable clothes, but also socks. Athletic shoes that are easy to get on and off would be helpful as well. As a reminder, your child's PE days are Tuesday and Thursday.
Thanks for your help!
Coach Stewart
--A reminder 2017 Talent Show Applications are due Tuesday 2/28 by 3pm (no LATE or incomplete applications will be accepted). Students can turn them into their teacher or the office.
-Students need to rank their 3 choices for tryouts (1st, 2nd, 3rd choice) and if they are singing a song with lyrics or dancing to a song with lyrics, the lyrics and the cut music must be attached to the application (the lyrics must be photocopied and attached). We want to make sure the lyrics are school appropriate. Applications turned in on 2/28 without these items will not be accepted.
-Try out times should be sent home on Thursday 3/2.
Last call for photos! Due by MARCH 1ST - If you have any photos from school events or class parties, please send them in! This is the LAST DATE to upload photos to www.hjeshare.com school code: lydiksenlancers
Attention All Page Creators please have yearbook pages completed by MARCH 17TH.
Get your yearbooks! Yearbook sales will be held from March 1-17th. The cost is $25. You can order online at www.yearbookordercenter.com and enter school code 14382 to purchase with credit card. Or you can fill out order form and attach a check made to Lydiksen PFC and return to school.
Late orders will be accepted March 18-31 for $27.
This is only way to guarantee your child receives a yearbook. There were NO Sales during Walk-thru Registration. This is only time yearbooks are on sale. Flyer attached to this email.
You can help support the Dream Big Gala & Auction by participating in the Teacher Experiences Raffle! The First Grade Experience is called the Amazing Race. Students will come early to school on a Wednesday morning and work in small teams to complete a series of physical and mental challenges in a race to win. It’s a fun and exciting experience that your student will love!
All students have received one ticket for a chance to win the drawing for the 1st Grade Teacher Experience: The Amazing Race. You can also purchase additional tickets to improve your chance of winning. Students will turn in all tickets to the raffle box. The raffle box will be kept in the classroom all next week leading up to the gala. The raffle boxes will be turned into the office after school on FRIDAY, MARCH 3. Winners will be selected at the gala on Saturday, March 4th..
Ticket sales:
$1/ticket
$10/12 tickets
$20/25 tickets
Raffle tickets can be purchased online at www.lydiksenpfc.org or at the gala.
We will also sell them in the front of the school on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1st after school. If you can not purchase tickets after school on Wednesday, but would like to buy some, please let Mrs. Malone know and she can make arrangements for you to send money in with your child to get tickets.
Don’t forget we have our Read Across America Day, also known in the Lydiksen 1st grade as Yakkity Yak Book Attack Day, on Thursday, March 2nd. Students can bring in 1-3 favorite books and a flashlight to read their books during the day. I have plenty of books and a few spare flashlights in case you don’t have those items at home. Just send me an email to let me know.
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students practiced identifying and creating word families. They also did nonfiction reading using a Dr. Seuss Scholastic News and a penguin article. Students focused on strengthening their ability to identity fiction and nonfiction, referring back to the text to find answers to comprehension questions and identifying the point of view in a fictional book. Students are also doing reading skills assessments with me in preparation for report cards.
Writing - Most students are nearly finished or finished with the rough draft of their informational books. Students will work to make corrections and edits and then write the final draft. I’m hoping all students are finished with their rough drafts by the end of this week. Soon students will be doing the informational writing on demand assessment.
Math - We continued with lessons in Module 4 to learn and practice adding and subtracting from a multiple of 10, adding and subtracting ten from a multiple of 10 and using the counting on and make ten strategies when adding across a 10. We also spent time practicing math facts to 20 in a timed situation. I can see from results that many students need more practice with their subtraction facts. Please work on at home.
Last week students completed a few assessments and next week they will finish up a few more.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Have a great evening!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
February 17, 2017
Notes:
2/20 - Presidents’ Day--No School
2/22 - International Fair, MPR
2/28 - Talent Show Applications due with music cut by 2:55 pm
3/1 - Yearbook for sale through 3/17. Not previously for sale.
3 /4 - GALA - Hoping many will attend!
3/10 - Spirit Day, Hawaiian shirts
3/14 - Science Fair project drop off, MPR
3/15 - Science Fair, MPR, 6:00-7:30 pm for families
3/17 - Science Fair interviews
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 2/17-2/24 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
We are still collecting funds for our 5th annual Wheelchair Fundraiser in collaboration with the non-profit Wheelchair Foundation. The fundraiser will run through the end of February. Last year Lydiksen raised enough money to send 60 wheelchairs to Ecuador and Bolivia. This year we are raising money to help people in Argentina. It is our class goal to raise $150 to purchase one wheelchair for someone in need. Please consider letting your child raise money by having a cookie sale or lemonade stand, doing extra chores at home, mowing the neighbor’s lawn, donating piggy bank money or asking relatives to help the cause. You can send in cash or checks in an envelope to class.
We had our Valentine’s art project and I was so impressed by the beautiful works of art the students produced. I hope you are enjoying them as much as I did! I want to give a huge THANK YOU to our room parent Cindi Davis-Pham and her helpers for the day, Rahul’s mom, Logan’s mom and Naman’s mom. They went above and beyond to make it a special day. The students really enjoyed themselves!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Once again we spent time focusing on point of view, fiction vs. nonfiction, story elements and main idea/details. We read The Biggest Valentine Ever!, The Diary of a Worm and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and used Scholastic News to help reinforce this concept. We used a Scholastic News to assess Main Idea/Details and we’ll be assessing skills next week.
Writing - Students wrote a chapter for their teaching books, to celebrate Presidents’ Day students wrote about what they would do if they were president (by the way, they shared such thoughtful, caring answers for 1st graders without prompting from me!) and some Valentine’s writing.
Math - We are still learning concepts from Module 4. We are continuing our study of place value and comparing numbers using greater than, less than and equal to. Students also worked on measurement and graphing with Valentine’s Day math and with a partner in math stations on Friday. Students worked did a math assessment last week and will be doing more this week. Please work on addition and subtraction facts up to 10 this weekend!
Social Studies - We learned about George Washington last week.
Please have a wonderful 3 day weekend and I’ll see you on Tuesday! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Classroom News and Notes
February 17, 2017
Notes:
2/20 - Presidents’ Day--No School
2/22 - International Fair, MPR
2/28 - Talent Show Applications due with music cut by 2:55 pm
3/1 - Yearbook for sale through 3/17. Not previously for sale.
3 /4 - GALA - Hoping many will attend!
3/10 - Spirit Day, Hawaiian shirts
3/14 - Science Fair project drop off, MPR
3/15 - Science Fair, MPR, 6:00-7:30 pm for families
3/17 - Science Fair interviews
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 2/17-2/24 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
We are still collecting funds for our 5th annual Wheelchair Fundraiser in collaboration with the non-profit Wheelchair Foundation. The fundraiser will run through the end of February. Last year Lydiksen raised enough money to send 60 wheelchairs to Ecuador and Bolivia. This year we are raising money to help people in Argentina. It is our class goal to raise $150 to purchase one wheelchair for someone in need. Please consider letting your child raise money by having a cookie sale or lemonade stand, doing extra chores at home, mowing the neighbor’s lawn, donating piggy bank money or asking relatives to help the cause. You can send in cash or checks in an envelope to class.
We had our Valentine’s art project and I was so impressed by the beautiful works of art the students produced. I hope you are enjoying them as much as I did! I want to give a huge THANK YOU to our room parent Cindi Davis-Pham and her helpers for the day, Rahul’s mom, Logan’s mom and Naman’s mom. They went above and beyond to make it a special day. The students really enjoyed themselves!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Once again we spent time focusing on point of view, fiction vs. nonfiction, story elements and main idea/details. We read The Biggest Valentine Ever!, The Diary of a Worm and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and used Scholastic News to help reinforce this concept. We used a Scholastic News to assess Main Idea/Details and we’ll be assessing skills next week.
Writing - Students wrote a chapter for their teaching books, to celebrate Presidents’ Day students wrote about what they would do if they were president (by the way, they shared such thoughtful, caring answers for 1st graders without prompting from me!) and some Valentine’s writing.
Math - We are still learning concepts from Module 4. We are continuing our study of place value and comparing numbers using greater than, less than and equal to. Students also worked on measurement and graphing with Valentine’s Day math and with a partner in math stations on Friday. Students worked did a math assessment last week and will be doing more this week. Please work on addition and subtraction facts up to 10 this weekend!
Social Studies - We learned about George Washington last week.
Please have a wonderful 3 day weekend and I’ll see you on Tuesday! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
February 10, 2017
Notes:
2/13 - Lincoln’s Birthday--No School!
2/14 - Valentine Exchange
2/15 - Science Fair Workshops, 3:00-4:00 and 6:00-7:00, Library
2/17 - Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)
2/20 - Presidents’ Day--No School
2/22 - International Fair, MPR
2/28 - Talent Show Applications due with music cut by 2:55 pm
3/1 - Yearbook for sale through 3/17. Not previously for sale.
*3/3 - 1st grade Yakkity Yak Book Attack (for Read Across America)-more info to come
3 /4 - GALA - Hoping many will attend!
3/10 - Spirit Day, Hawaiian shirts
3/14 - Science Fair project drop off, MPR
3/15 - Science Fair, MPR, 6:00-7:30 pm for families
3/17 - Science Fair interviews
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 2/10-2/17 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
*I sent home the March Oral Presentation informational flyer on Friday. Please check your child’s folder. Students will not be having a February presentation!
*We will be having a Valentine’s art project and exchanging Valentines with classmates on Valentine’s Day. Students can make or buy Valentines to hand out. Just remember if your child decides to participate they must bring one for every student in the class. Please see this flyer for directions and a list of student names. I also included a printed flyer in your child’s homework folder this week.
*“Helping Others Helps Others in Need” - Lydiksen held our kick off assembly for our 5th annual Wheelchair Fundraiser in collaboration with the non-profit Wheelchair Foundation. The fundraiser will run through the end of February. Last year Lydiksen raised enough money to send 60 wheelchairs to Ecuador and Bolivia. This year we are raising money to help people in Argentina. It is our class goal to raise $150!
Ask your child how he/she could raise money - having a lemonade stand, doing extra chores at home, mowing the neighbor’s lawn, donating piggy bank money. We are hoping that through their fundraising effort, our Lydiksen students will understand and feel the impact they have on creating a better world one wheelchair at a time! Here are shorts videos of the impact Lydiksen has made on Honduras in 2014, Peru in 2015, and Ecuador/Bolivia last summer!
*We had some wonderful opportunities for students during Ability Awareness week. Students visited different stations to experience how difficult some tasks can be for others who have a disability. We also had a guest, Mrs. Wollesen (Sadie’s mom!), come to read to our class to increase their awareness of other students who may have a disability and how they can be a friend and find things in commons with all kids. We appreciate her time and the discussion she facilitated!
*Students attended Art in Action last week. Thank you to our parent volunteers who made that happen! We appreciate you!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Last week we focused on point of view, fiction vs. nonfiction, story elements and main idea/details. We used several read aloud books to learn and practice these reading skills. Students also did a close read, identifying answers and referring back to the text to prove those answers.
Writing - Students chose an animal to write a teaching book about and checked out a book from our library to use for research. Students reviewed the steps for writing a teaching book (choose a topic, plan & sketch and write!) and they learned how to write a good beginning and ending for their books. They planned the chapters for their books and they all wrote an introduction. They also got their table of contents ready to fill in. Now we will be concentrating on writing the chapters this next week. Students also reviewed and practiced letter writing skills.
Math - We are still learning concepts from Module 4. We focused on comparing two quantities and identifying the greater or lesser number. Students also covered measurement and graphing standards found in Module 3 during math stations on Friday.
Social Studies - We learned about Abraham Lincoln last week.
I will be seeing everyone on Tuesday--Valentine’s Day! Don’t forget to send those Valentines in if you choose to participate. The students always love handing them out and reading the ones they receive from all their classmates.
I hope you have a wonderful 3 day weekend! Enjoy!
Classroom News and Notes
February 10, 2017
Notes:
2/13 - Lincoln’s Birthday--No School!
2/14 - Valentine Exchange
2/15 - Science Fair Workshops, 3:00-4:00 and 6:00-7:00, Library
2/17 - Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)
2/20 - Presidents’ Day--No School
2/22 - International Fair, MPR
2/28 - Talent Show Applications due with music cut by 2:55 pm
3/1 - Yearbook for sale through 3/17. Not previously for sale.
*3/3 - 1st grade Yakkity Yak Book Attack (for Read Across America)-more info to come
3 /4 - GALA - Hoping many will attend!
3/10 - Spirit Day, Hawaiian shirts
3/14 - Science Fair project drop off, MPR
3/15 - Science Fair, MPR, 6:00-7:30 pm for families
3/17 - Science Fair interviews
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 2/10-2/17 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
*I sent home the March Oral Presentation informational flyer on Friday. Please check your child’s folder. Students will not be having a February presentation!
*We will be having a Valentine’s art project and exchanging Valentines with classmates on Valentine’s Day. Students can make or buy Valentines to hand out. Just remember if your child decides to participate they must bring one for every student in the class. Please see this flyer for directions and a list of student names. I also included a printed flyer in your child’s homework folder this week.
*“Helping Others Helps Others in Need” - Lydiksen held our kick off assembly for our 5th annual Wheelchair Fundraiser in collaboration with the non-profit Wheelchair Foundation. The fundraiser will run through the end of February. Last year Lydiksen raised enough money to send 60 wheelchairs to Ecuador and Bolivia. This year we are raising money to help people in Argentina. It is our class goal to raise $150!
Ask your child how he/she could raise money - having a lemonade stand, doing extra chores at home, mowing the neighbor’s lawn, donating piggy bank money. We are hoping that through their fundraising effort, our Lydiksen students will understand and feel the impact they have on creating a better world one wheelchair at a time! Here are shorts videos of the impact Lydiksen has made on Honduras in 2014, Peru in 2015, and Ecuador/Bolivia last summer!
*We had some wonderful opportunities for students during Ability Awareness week. Students visited different stations to experience how difficult some tasks can be for others who have a disability. We also had a guest, Mrs. Wollesen (Sadie’s mom!), come to read to our class to increase their awareness of other students who may have a disability and how they can be a friend and find things in commons with all kids. We appreciate her time and the discussion she facilitated!
*Students attended Art in Action last week. Thank you to our parent volunteers who made that happen! We appreciate you!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Last week we focused on point of view, fiction vs. nonfiction, story elements and main idea/details. We used several read aloud books to learn and practice these reading skills. Students also did a close read, identifying answers and referring back to the text to prove those answers.
Writing - Students chose an animal to write a teaching book about and checked out a book from our library to use for research. Students reviewed the steps for writing a teaching book (choose a topic, plan & sketch and write!) and they learned how to write a good beginning and ending for their books. They planned the chapters for their books and they all wrote an introduction. They also got their table of contents ready to fill in. Now we will be concentrating on writing the chapters this next week. Students also reviewed and practiced letter writing skills.
Math - We are still learning concepts from Module 4. We focused on comparing two quantities and identifying the greater or lesser number. Students also covered measurement and graphing standards found in Module 3 during math stations on Friday.
Social Studies - We learned about Abraham Lincoln last week.
I will be seeing everyone on Tuesday--Valentine’s Day! Don’t forget to send those Valentines in if you choose to participate. The students always love handing them out and reading the ones they receive from all their classmates.
I hope you have a wonderful 3 day weekend! Enjoy!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
February 5, 2017
Notes:
There are a lot of important dates and events coming up in the next few months.
Be sure to mark your calendars!
2/3-28 Wheelchair Foundation Fundraiser
2/6-10 Abilities Awareness Week
2/13 - Lincoln’s Birthday--No School
2/14 - Valentine Exchange
2/15 - Science Fair Workshops, 3:00-4:00 and 6:00-7:00, Library
2/17 - Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)
2/20 - Presidents’ Day--No School
2/22 - International Fair, MPR
2/28 - Talent Show Applications due with music cut by 2:55 pm
3/1 - Yearbook for sale through 3/17. Not previously for sale.
3 /4 - GALA - Hoping many will attend!
3/10 - Spirit Day, Hawaiian shirts
3/14 - Science Fair project drop off, MPR
3/15 - Science Fair, MPR, 6:00-7:30 pm for families
3/17 - Science Fair interviews
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 2/5-2/10 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
I will be going to a conference as the 1st grade representative with other teachers from our school on Tuesday and Wednesday. PLEASE talk with your child about expected behaviors at school and in the classroom. Here are some talking points:
2. Follow directions the first time they are given.
3. Be kind with your words and your actions.
4. Be safe at all times.
2. A 5 minute time out
3. Parent and/or principal contact
We have our next Art in Action lesson this Tuesday at 9:10-10:00. Florian’s mom is signed up to be our docent, but we need 3-4 more volunteers!
Please SIGN-UP HERE to help!
Thank you for working on the 100th day projects with your students! There were so many creative projects that the students were so proud to share. We had a great time on the 100th day of school, doing activity rotations in each of the 1st grade classrooms.
We will be having a Valentine’s art project and will open Valentines from classmates on Valentines Day. Students can make or buy Valentines to hand out. Just remember if your child decides to participate they must bring one for every student in the class. Please see this flyer for directions and a list of student names.
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Last week we began talking about the specific differences between fiction and nonfiction books. We read several read alouds from both genres and talked about the attributes that tell us the book is fiction or nonfiction. We also read a nonfiction article from Scholastic News, writing about the main idea and details after.
Writing - We began writing informational reports on penguins during writer’s workshop. We’ve covered topics that include choosing a topic, planning chapters and sketching pictures to match the words. Students also learned about ways to teach the reader including using teaching words and writing twin sentences. We wrote an introduction, title page and four chapters. We are just finishing up by choosing creative chapter titles. Next week students will use animal books they checked out at our school library to write their own chapter books. They will use the process we learned last week. Outside of writer’s workshop, students wrote about what they did in January and Groundhog’s Day.
Math - We have started Module 4, a focus on tens and ones.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!
Classroom News and Notes
February 5, 2017
Notes:
There are a lot of important dates and events coming up in the next few months.
Be sure to mark your calendars!
2/3-28 Wheelchair Foundation Fundraiser
2/6-10 Abilities Awareness Week
2/13 - Lincoln’s Birthday--No School
2/14 - Valentine Exchange
2/15 - Science Fair Workshops, 3:00-4:00 and 6:00-7:00, Library
2/17 - Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)
2/20 - Presidents’ Day--No School
2/22 - International Fair, MPR
2/28 - Talent Show Applications due with music cut by 2:55 pm
3/1 - Yearbook for sale through 3/17. Not previously for sale.
3 /4 - GALA - Hoping many will attend!
3/10 - Spirit Day, Hawaiian shirts
3/14 - Science Fair project drop off, MPR
3/15 - Science Fair, MPR, 6:00-7:30 pm for families
3/17 - Science Fair interviews
3/31 - Talent Show
4/3-7- Spring Break
4/12 - Parent to Lunch Day
4/17 - No School
4/28 - Family Fun Night
Homework for 2/5-2/10 found here.
Class website found here.
News:
I will be going to a conference as the 1st grade representative with other teachers from our school on Tuesday and Wednesday. PLEASE talk with your child about expected behaviors at school and in the classroom. Here are some talking points:
- Our school rules, the Lancer 3Bs:
- Our classroom rules:
2. Follow directions the first time they are given.
3. Be kind with your words and your actions.
4. Be safe at all times.
- Consequences for choosing “unexpected” behaviors:
2. A 5 minute time out
3. Parent and/or principal contact
We have our next Art in Action lesson this Tuesday at 9:10-10:00. Florian’s mom is signed up to be our docent, but we need 3-4 more volunteers!
Please SIGN-UP HERE to help!
Thank you for working on the 100th day projects with your students! There were so many creative projects that the students were so proud to share. We had a great time on the 100th day of school, doing activity rotations in each of the 1st grade classrooms.
We will be having a Valentine’s art project and will open Valentines from classmates on Valentines Day. Students can make or buy Valentines to hand out. Just remember if your child decides to participate they must bring one for every student in the class. Please see this flyer for directions and a list of student names.
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Last week we began talking about the specific differences between fiction and nonfiction books. We read several read alouds from both genres and talked about the attributes that tell us the book is fiction or nonfiction. We also read a nonfiction article from Scholastic News, writing about the main idea and details after.
Writing - We began writing informational reports on penguins during writer’s workshop. We’ve covered topics that include choosing a topic, planning chapters and sketching pictures to match the words. Students also learned about ways to teach the reader including using teaching words and writing twin sentences. We wrote an introduction, title page and four chapters. We are just finishing up by choosing creative chapter titles. Next week students will use animal books they checked out at our school library to write their own chapter books. They will use the process we learned last week. Outside of writer’s workshop, students wrote about what they did in January and Groundhog’s Day.
Math - We have started Module 4, a focus on tens and ones.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
January 29, 2017
Notes:
1/30 - 100th Day! (optional project due)
1/31 - School Smarts Parent Engagement Night RSVP HERE!
2/2 - Special Spirit Day (Sports Day)
2/13 - Lincoln’s Birthday--No School
2/17 - Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)
2/20 - Presidents’ Day--No School
Homework for 1/29-2/2 found here.
News:
Tomorrow is the 100th day of school! We are going to be having some fun 100th day projects and activities to celebrate! If your child has a 100th Day project to share, be sure to send it tomorrow!
Another reminder that the School Smarts Parent Engagement Night is on Tuesday at 6:00 pm in the MPR. Since I am helping to facilitate, I hope to see some of you there! Please RSVP if you would like to come. Don’t forget, pizza and childcare will be provided at the meeting to those who RSVP.
Thank you to all of you who helped your child with the January Oral Presentation! It was so fun for students to tell about their parent’s job. I appreciate your efforts!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students did spelling/word work practice with th and wh digraphs and continued working on the reading strategy of visualization. We used the book A Bad Case of the Stripes to visualize and draw 3 parts of the story without looking at the illustrations. Students were able to compare their vision to what the illustrator created. Students are also beginning to learn more about questioning as a reading strategy. We’ll be working more on that during the coming weeks. I read a couple more Tacky books to the class and he is a BIG hit with students!
Writing - At the beginning of the week I had the students write a letter to their substitute teacher from the previous week. The notes left by the substitute indicated that the class had difficulty being respectful and responsible. I took the opportunity to teach the students how to write a letter (of apology). The substitute received the letters Monday afternoon and sent me an email thanking me for the gesture and letting me know she appreciated the students’ efforts. Hopefully they will remember to follow expected behaviors the next time there is a sub. In addition to their letters, students wrote about their favorite toy and had to support their choice with three reasons and facts. Another fun writing assignment students had was to write a How-To on how to do a cannonball (one of their favorite characters, Tacky, loves to do cannonballs!). Remember, students at this point in the year are expected to be using capitals and punctuation correctly in their writing 100% of the time. They will be assessed on this skill on the next report card, so please take a look at any student work that comes home and help your child recognize any mistakes they made.
Math - We took the End of Module 2 assessment on Tuesday. Most students did very well on this test. We will be going a little out of order for the next couple of modules, but don’t worry, all material will be covered! We have started work on Module 4. The homework booklets for Module 4 went home last Friday. Those are due March 16th. Also, the students did a math art project that was connected to the book The Mitten as well.
Social Studies - Students learned about China in Center Time this week. We watched some videos about Chinese New Year and did some comparing and contrasting between Chinese New Year and North America’s New Year.
Science - We continued talking about matter last week. Students did a fun sorting activity and also are doing an art activity connected to solids, liquids and gases in Center Time.
I hope you had a great weekend and I look forward to seeing your kiddos tomorrow! If you have any questions, please let me know.
Classroom News and Notes
January 29, 2017
Notes:
1/30 - 100th Day! (optional project due)
1/31 - School Smarts Parent Engagement Night RSVP HERE!
2/2 - Special Spirit Day (Sports Day)
2/13 - Lincoln’s Birthday--No School
2/17 - Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)
2/20 - Presidents’ Day--No School
Homework for 1/29-2/2 found here.
News:
Tomorrow is the 100th day of school! We are going to be having some fun 100th day projects and activities to celebrate! If your child has a 100th Day project to share, be sure to send it tomorrow!
Another reminder that the School Smarts Parent Engagement Night is on Tuesday at 6:00 pm in the MPR. Since I am helping to facilitate, I hope to see some of you there! Please RSVP if you would like to come. Don’t forget, pizza and childcare will be provided at the meeting to those who RSVP.
Thank you to all of you who helped your child with the January Oral Presentation! It was so fun for students to tell about their parent’s job. I appreciate your efforts!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students did spelling/word work practice with th and wh digraphs and continued working on the reading strategy of visualization. We used the book A Bad Case of the Stripes to visualize and draw 3 parts of the story without looking at the illustrations. Students were able to compare their vision to what the illustrator created. Students are also beginning to learn more about questioning as a reading strategy. We’ll be working more on that during the coming weeks. I read a couple more Tacky books to the class and he is a BIG hit with students!
Writing - At the beginning of the week I had the students write a letter to their substitute teacher from the previous week. The notes left by the substitute indicated that the class had difficulty being respectful and responsible. I took the opportunity to teach the students how to write a letter (of apology). The substitute received the letters Monday afternoon and sent me an email thanking me for the gesture and letting me know she appreciated the students’ efforts. Hopefully they will remember to follow expected behaviors the next time there is a sub. In addition to their letters, students wrote about their favorite toy and had to support their choice with three reasons and facts. Another fun writing assignment students had was to write a How-To on how to do a cannonball (one of their favorite characters, Tacky, loves to do cannonballs!). Remember, students at this point in the year are expected to be using capitals and punctuation correctly in their writing 100% of the time. They will be assessed on this skill on the next report card, so please take a look at any student work that comes home and help your child recognize any mistakes they made.
Math - We took the End of Module 2 assessment on Tuesday. Most students did very well on this test. We will be going a little out of order for the next couple of modules, but don’t worry, all material will be covered! We have started work on Module 4. The homework booklets for Module 4 went home last Friday. Those are due March 16th. Also, the students did a math art project that was connected to the book The Mitten as well.
Social Studies - Students learned about China in Center Time this week. We watched some videos about Chinese New Year and did some comparing and contrasting between Chinese New Year and North America’s New Year.
Science - We continued talking about matter last week. Students did a fun sorting activity and also are doing an art activity connected to solids, liquids and gases in Center Time.
I hope you had a great weekend and I look forward to seeing your kiddos tomorrow! If you have any questions, please let me know.
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
January 22, 2017
Notes:
1/25 - Breakfast Book Club, 9:30 AM
1/27 - January Oral Presentation Due
1/30 - 100th Day (optional project due)
1/31 - School Smarts Parent Engagement Night RSVP HERE!
2/2 - Special Spirit Day (Sports Day)
Homework for 1/23-1/27 found here.
News:
On Friday, you should have received the new spelling test procedures in your child’s homework folder. It explained that students will now be taking a pretest each week to determine what list they will be on the following week. Students who get a 100% on the pretest will be given challenge words in place of the regular words. If you have any questions about the procedure or routine just let me know.
Don’t forget the oral presentation is due this Friday. Also, if you are doing the 100th day project with your child, it is due on Monday the 30th.
I would like to personally invite you to the School Smarts Parent Engagement Night at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, January 31st. I am one of the facilitators for this wonderful program that helps parents learn more about how to help their child succeed in school and beyond. Come learn more about the program at this informational meeting! Pizza and childcare will be provided, but you must RSVP (see the link above).
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Last week students worked on identifying vowels and consonants, ABC order, “bossy e” and long vowels. We used a couple of mentor texts to review visualizing and story elements with Snowmen at Night and Tacky. Students also read an article from Scholastic News about volunteering and had to locate the main idea and three supporting details. We will be doing more nonfiction main idea/detail practice over the next few weeks. They also did a close reading of a Snowman story in which they had to learn/review vocabulary, read the passage, and reread the passage to locate answers to comprehension questions. In addition, they had to highlight the text that provided the information or in other words “prove it”!
Writing - Students did some snowman writing and finished up their How-To-Build a Snowman writing as well. We will begin a nonfiction informational piece this next week. They will also continue writing a few How-To pieces as well.
Math - Due to my illness I pushed off the end of module test. Students reviewed concepts and math facts instead and will be taking the test early this next week.
Social Studies - Students read about mapping and did a “Me on the Map” activity.
Art - Art included a directed draw activity and a glyph activity in which they “built” a snowman based on their answers to certain questions.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!
Classroom News and Notes
January 22, 2017
Notes:
1/25 - Breakfast Book Club, 9:30 AM
1/27 - January Oral Presentation Due
1/30 - 100th Day (optional project due)
1/31 - School Smarts Parent Engagement Night RSVP HERE!
2/2 - Special Spirit Day (Sports Day)
Homework for 1/23-1/27 found here.
News:
On Friday, you should have received the new spelling test procedures in your child’s homework folder. It explained that students will now be taking a pretest each week to determine what list they will be on the following week. Students who get a 100% on the pretest will be given challenge words in place of the regular words. If you have any questions about the procedure or routine just let me know.
Don’t forget the oral presentation is due this Friday. Also, if you are doing the 100th day project with your child, it is due on Monday the 30th.
I would like to personally invite you to the School Smarts Parent Engagement Night at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, January 31st. I am one of the facilitators for this wonderful program that helps parents learn more about how to help their child succeed in school and beyond. Come learn more about the program at this informational meeting! Pizza and childcare will be provided, but you must RSVP (see the link above).
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Last week students worked on identifying vowels and consonants, ABC order, “bossy e” and long vowels. We used a couple of mentor texts to review visualizing and story elements with Snowmen at Night and Tacky. Students also read an article from Scholastic News about volunteering and had to locate the main idea and three supporting details. We will be doing more nonfiction main idea/detail practice over the next few weeks. They also did a close reading of a Snowman story in which they had to learn/review vocabulary, read the passage, and reread the passage to locate answers to comprehension questions. In addition, they had to highlight the text that provided the information or in other words “prove it”!
Writing - Students did some snowman writing and finished up their How-To-Build a Snowman writing as well. We will begin a nonfiction informational piece this next week. They will also continue writing a few How-To pieces as well.
Math - Due to my illness I pushed off the end of module test. Students reviewed concepts and math facts instead and will be taking the test early this next week.
Social Studies - Students read about mapping and did a “Me on the Map” activity.
Art - Art included a directed draw activity and a glyph activity in which they “built” a snowman based on their answers to certain questions.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
January 16, 2017
Notes:
1/18 - PFC Meeting, 6:30 PM, Library
1/19 - Principal Chat
1/25 - Breakfast Book Club, 9:30 AM
1/27 - January Oral Presentation Due
1/30 - 100th Day (optional project due)
2/2 - Special Spirit Day (Sports Day)
Homework for 1/17-1/20 found here.
News:
Last week we got back to the business of learning after a wonderful winter break! I hope you all got to spend time together with your family and friends. I would like to say thank you to our room parent Cindi Pham-Davis and her main helpers Rob Davis and Sha Tang! They organized a fantastic winter party and the kids had a blast! I also appreciate all the parents who gave of their time to volunteer at the stations and made sure our kids had a great time. Thank you to all of you!!
I sent the oral presentation flyer for January home on Friday. The January Oral Presentation is due on Friday, January 27th. Students will interview a parent to learn more about what they do in their job. You can go here to see the flyer.
The 100th Day of School is on Monday, January 30th. To celebrate this day I am asking that students bring in a collection/display of 100 like items. These items can be brought in a baggie or glued to a board or...whatever you can dream of! Tomorrow I will send home this flyer to explain in a little more detail. Since the 100th day falls so close to our oral presentation I am making the 100th day project optional! Please know that this is a favorite project for the students and it doesn’t need to be elaborate, so I would encourage you to do this one with your child. It’s fun!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students worked on phonics skills by making new words with a given set of letters, practiced building compound words and read at their individual reading level. The class used mentor texts this week to review reading strategies for making predictions, story elements and visualizing using the books Scaredy Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution, The Snowy Day, I Walk at Night and from the poem “The Green Giant”. Students did a shared reading with a Martin Luther King Jr. article.
Writing - Students wrote about their New Year’s Resolutions in a writing project called Getting Started on the Right Foot and they did some writing on a New Year’s banner they created. They also had an opportunity to do some writing in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day about their dreams for our world.
Math - Students are continuing work in Module 2. We will be finishing up the lessons this week in that module, do some review and take an End of Module test at the end of the week.
Social Studies - Students finished up their continents and oceans study by reading, writing and doing an art project about North America. Students will be bringing home their booklets and art projects at the end of January.
Art - Students were able to attend Art in Action and learn more about the artist Vincent Van Gogh, lines, color, foreground and background. Using “Starry Night” as their inspiration students used water colors, pastels and construction paper to create their own masterpiece. I am so grateful for the parent volunteers that came to help the students complete their projects--thank you!
Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!
Classroom News and Notes
January 16, 2017
Notes:
1/18 - PFC Meeting, 6:30 PM, Library
1/19 - Principal Chat
1/25 - Breakfast Book Club, 9:30 AM
1/27 - January Oral Presentation Due
1/30 - 100th Day (optional project due)
2/2 - Special Spirit Day (Sports Day)
Homework for 1/17-1/20 found here.
News:
Last week we got back to the business of learning after a wonderful winter break! I hope you all got to spend time together with your family and friends. I would like to say thank you to our room parent Cindi Pham-Davis and her main helpers Rob Davis and Sha Tang! They organized a fantastic winter party and the kids had a blast! I also appreciate all the parents who gave of their time to volunteer at the stations and made sure our kids had a great time. Thank you to all of you!!
I sent the oral presentation flyer for January home on Friday. The January Oral Presentation is due on Friday, January 27th. Students will interview a parent to learn more about what they do in their job. You can go here to see the flyer.
The 100th Day of School is on Monday, January 30th. To celebrate this day I am asking that students bring in a collection/display of 100 like items. These items can be brought in a baggie or glued to a board or...whatever you can dream of! Tomorrow I will send home this flyer to explain in a little more detail. Since the 100th day falls so close to our oral presentation I am making the 100th day project optional! Please know that this is a favorite project for the students and it doesn’t need to be elaborate, so I would encourage you to do this one with your child. It’s fun!
Curriculum Update:
Reading/Language - Students worked on phonics skills by making new words with a given set of letters, practiced building compound words and read at their individual reading level. The class used mentor texts this week to review reading strategies for making predictions, story elements and visualizing using the books Scaredy Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution, The Snowy Day, I Walk at Night and from the poem “The Green Giant”. Students did a shared reading with a Martin Luther King Jr. article.
Writing - Students wrote about their New Year’s Resolutions in a writing project called Getting Started on the Right Foot and they did some writing on a New Year’s banner they created. They also had an opportunity to do some writing in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day about their dreams for our world.
Math - Students are continuing work in Module 2. We will be finishing up the lessons this week in that module, do some review and take an End of Module test at the end of the week.
Social Studies - Students finished up their continents and oceans study by reading, writing and doing an art project about North America. Students will be bringing home their booklets and art projects at the end of January.
Art - Students were able to attend Art in Action and learn more about the artist Vincent Van Gogh, lines, color, foreground and background. Using “Starry Night” as their inspiration students used water colors, pastels and construction paper to create their own masterpiece. I am so grateful for the parent volunteers that came to help the students complete their projects--thank you!
Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
December 12, 2016
Mrs. Malone’s Website: Click Here
News:
12/13: 1st Grade Field Trip (ALL students early start 8:20-2:00)
12/22: Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)/ PAJAMA DAY!
12/23: No School
12/23-1/8: Winter Break
1/9: School Begins
1/13: Special Spirit Day: Character Day
1/16: No School
Homework for 12/12-12/16: HERE
Notes:
Reading/Language: Last week students used different versions of The Gingerbread Man to write about the main story elements as well as compare and contrast the stories. We read The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Girl and The Gingerbread Baby. Today we even read The Ninjabread Man! Students did a great job pulling the similarities and differences from all the stories. Students also worked on their comprehension and nonfiction text features skills.
Math: We are continuing work in Module 2. We did several lessons focusing on counting on and taking from 10 to solve when one of the addends is 7, 8 or 9. I love seeing students choose from a variety strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems!
Writing: Students were asked to write about something they know a lot about. These writing samples will be kept by me to review later to look for growth. Students also wrote about why they would make a good elf, information about several continents and filling in their Gingerbread Story Elements.
Extras: Students were thrilled to participate in an art class at school provided by our PFC and Sachi’s mom. Students learned about drawing lines and patterns as they drew a turtle and chose designs to fill in sections on the turtle. The students loved it! (Thank you to our volunteer, Sachi’s mom!) On Wednesday, students were able to participate in the Hour of Code and had a blast creating commands to make their characters move! Thank you to everyone for helping your child be prepared to give their oral presentation on Friday. I was so happy that 100% of the students were able to share about their family traditions! It is such a great opportunity for all of us to learn about more about different cultures and celebrations. Thank you again!
Tomorrow is our field trip! Please be sure to send your child with their booster seat at 8:20 am.
I am looking forward to a wonderful time with the students!
Please let me know if you have any questions! Have a fantastic week!
PS - Here are some links if your child would like to play the coding games at home:
Hour of Code 1 and Hour of Code 2
Classroom News and Notes
December 12, 2016
Mrs. Malone’s Website: Click Here
News:
12/13: 1st Grade Field Trip (ALL students early start 8:20-2:00)
12/22: Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)/ PAJAMA DAY!
12/23: No School
12/23-1/8: Winter Break
1/9: School Begins
1/13: Special Spirit Day: Character Day
1/16: No School
Homework for 12/12-12/16: HERE
Notes:
Reading/Language: Last week students used different versions of The Gingerbread Man to write about the main story elements as well as compare and contrast the stories. We read The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Girl and The Gingerbread Baby. Today we even read The Ninjabread Man! Students did a great job pulling the similarities and differences from all the stories. Students also worked on their comprehension and nonfiction text features skills.
Math: We are continuing work in Module 2. We did several lessons focusing on counting on and taking from 10 to solve when one of the addends is 7, 8 or 9. I love seeing students choose from a variety strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems!
Writing: Students were asked to write about something they know a lot about. These writing samples will be kept by me to review later to look for growth. Students also wrote about why they would make a good elf, information about several continents and filling in their Gingerbread Story Elements.
Extras: Students were thrilled to participate in an art class at school provided by our PFC and Sachi’s mom. Students learned about drawing lines and patterns as they drew a turtle and chose designs to fill in sections on the turtle. The students loved it! (Thank you to our volunteer, Sachi’s mom!) On Wednesday, students were able to participate in the Hour of Code and had a blast creating commands to make their characters move! Thank you to everyone for helping your child be prepared to give their oral presentation on Friday. I was so happy that 100% of the students were able to share about their family traditions! It is such a great opportunity for all of us to learn about more about different cultures and celebrations. Thank you again!
Tomorrow is our field trip! Please be sure to send your child with their booster seat at 8:20 am.
I am looking forward to a wonderful time with the students!
Please let me know if you have any questions! Have a fantastic week!
PS - Here are some links if your child would like to play the coding games at home:
Hour of Code 1 and Hour of Code 2
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
December 5, 2016
News:
12/7: Breakfast Book Club
12/9: December Oral Presentation Due
12/9: Drop and Shop, 5:30pm
12/13: 1st Grade Field Trip (ALL students early start 8:20-2:00)
12/22: Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)
12/23: No School
Homework for 12/5-12/9: HERE
Notes:
Reading/Language: Last week we began our non-fiction reading unit learning how good readers study all parts of the cover and pictures inside a book to learn about the topic before even reading the text on the page. Students are continuing to learn more about nonfiction text features that are found in their reading. In reading groups we focused on comprehension and also paying attention to punctuation to make reading more smooth and interesting. Students finished their Little Red Hen books and should have brought them home to share with you. Creating these books provided a fun way for students to practice using proper punctuation in sentences. Students have also started a new reindeer themed group project to incorporate vocabulary and communication skills to present pertinent information.
Math: We are continuing work in Module 2. Last week students finished up counting on and making 10 to solve “result unknown” and “total unknown” problems. We are now moving on to counting on and taking from 10 to solve.
Writing: We have started our next writing unit on Informational writing. We will be researching reindeer together as a class and learning how to organize the information into chapters. Students will then work with me to write the chapters. The shared writing experience is meant to help prepare students to follow the same steps when writing on a topic of their own choosing.
Social Studies: Students began a unit on continents and oceans. We watched a video on BrainPop Jr. to learn more about the topic. So far we have read and learned about Australia and are working on an art project to go with it.
I just want to give you another reminder that our field trip is coming up next week on the 13th. We will need to leave the school at 9:00, so all students will need to attend school from 8:20-2:00 that day. All students need to bring a booster seat. I’ll be contacting those of you who have signed up to drive to make sure all necessary paperwork is turned in for you to drive and attend.
Let me know if you have questions. I hope you have a great week!
Classroom News and Notes
December 5, 2016
News:
12/7: Breakfast Book Club
12/9: December Oral Presentation Due
12/9: Drop and Shop, 5:30pm
12/13: 1st Grade Field Trip (ALL students early start 8:20-2:00)
12/22: Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)
12/23: No School
Homework for 12/5-12/9: HERE
Notes:
Reading/Language: Last week we began our non-fiction reading unit learning how good readers study all parts of the cover and pictures inside a book to learn about the topic before even reading the text on the page. Students are continuing to learn more about nonfiction text features that are found in their reading. In reading groups we focused on comprehension and also paying attention to punctuation to make reading more smooth and interesting. Students finished their Little Red Hen books and should have brought them home to share with you. Creating these books provided a fun way for students to practice using proper punctuation in sentences. Students have also started a new reindeer themed group project to incorporate vocabulary and communication skills to present pertinent information.
Math: We are continuing work in Module 2. Last week students finished up counting on and making 10 to solve “result unknown” and “total unknown” problems. We are now moving on to counting on and taking from 10 to solve.
Writing: We have started our next writing unit on Informational writing. We will be researching reindeer together as a class and learning how to organize the information into chapters. Students will then work with me to write the chapters. The shared writing experience is meant to help prepare students to follow the same steps when writing on a topic of their own choosing.
Social Studies: Students began a unit on continents and oceans. We watched a video on BrainPop Jr. to learn more about the topic. So far we have read and learned about Australia and are working on an art project to go with it.
I just want to give you another reminder that our field trip is coming up next week on the 13th. We will need to leave the school at 9:00, so all students will need to attend school from 8:20-2:00 that day. All students need to bring a booster seat. I’ll be contacting those of you who have signed up to drive to make sure all necessary paperwork is turned in for you to drive and attend.
Let me know if you have questions. I hope you have a great week!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
November 19, 2016
News:
11/21-11/25 Thanksgiving Break
12/7: Breakfast Book Club
12/9: December Oral Presentation Due
12/9: Drop and Shop, 5:30pm
12/13: 1st Grade Field Trip (ALL students early start 8:20-2:00)
12/22: Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)
12/23-1/6 No School
Reminder: December Oral Presentation due December 9th
My Website: http://mrsmalonesfirstgrade.weebly.com/
Notes:
Thank you so much for meeting with me for Parent/Teacher Conferences! It was wonderful to talk with you about your child, their progress and what’s coming up next. I’m looking forward to the 2nd trimester!
The homework folders that went home Thursday just had completed/checked work in it. No homework will be sent home until the Friday after we get back. Enjoy!
Reading/Language/Social Studies: We read from Turkey Trouble and Turk and Runt, focusing on comprehension and adjectives. We also read some fun books to go along with the Thanksgiving holiday including The Night Before Thanksgiving, The First Thanksgiving, The Great Escape and The Great Turkey Race, as always taking advantage of these read alouds to teach and review critical reading skills. Students did a shared reading with me using nonfiction text about Thanksgiving: Now and Then. They had a follow-up activity comparing and contrasting the holiday feast in the two time periods.
Math: Students learned how to make 10 when one of the addends is 9 and 8. Using number bonds, pictures and manipulatives they practiced “breaking apart” the other addend in order to make a “friendly 10”. It can be a tricky concept, but students were definitely showing more understanding last week. We will continue working on this concept when we return from break.
Writing: This week students finally finished up their favorite small moment narrative. We celebrated this exciting day by meeting up with 3rd grade buddies and all students read their written piece with everyone! I think our firsties were a little surprised and nervous they would be reading their story out loud, but they all did it and did a fantastic job! After break we will jump into informational writing.
I hope you all have a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving break. I am so proud of each of my amazing students and I am thankful they are such a special part of our class. I am also thankful for all of you and the support you provide me and the students. Thank you!!
--
Jennifer Malone
1st Grade Teacher
Lydiksen School
(925) 426-4420
Classroom News and Notes
November 19, 2016
News:
11/21-11/25 Thanksgiving Break
12/7: Breakfast Book Club
12/9: December Oral Presentation Due
12/9: Drop and Shop, 5:30pm
12/13: 1st Grade Field Trip (ALL students early start 8:20-2:00)
12/22: Minimum Day (8:20-12:35)
12/23-1/6 No School
Reminder: December Oral Presentation due December 9th
My Website: http://mrsmalonesfirstgrade.weebly.com/
Notes:
Thank you so much for meeting with me for Parent/Teacher Conferences! It was wonderful to talk with you about your child, their progress and what’s coming up next. I’m looking forward to the 2nd trimester!
The homework folders that went home Thursday just had completed/checked work in it. No homework will be sent home until the Friday after we get back. Enjoy!
Reading/Language/Social Studies: We read from Turkey Trouble and Turk and Runt, focusing on comprehension and adjectives. We also read some fun books to go along with the Thanksgiving holiday including The Night Before Thanksgiving, The First Thanksgiving, The Great Escape and The Great Turkey Race, as always taking advantage of these read alouds to teach and review critical reading skills. Students did a shared reading with me using nonfiction text about Thanksgiving: Now and Then. They had a follow-up activity comparing and contrasting the holiday feast in the two time periods.
Math: Students learned how to make 10 when one of the addends is 9 and 8. Using number bonds, pictures and manipulatives they practiced “breaking apart” the other addend in order to make a “friendly 10”. It can be a tricky concept, but students were definitely showing more understanding last week. We will continue working on this concept when we return from break.
Writing: This week students finally finished up their favorite small moment narrative. We celebrated this exciting day by meeting up with 3rd grade buddies and all students read their written piece with everyone! I think our firsties were a little surprised and nervous they would be reading their story out loud, but they all did it and did a fantastic job! After break we will jump into informational writing.
I hope you all have a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving break. I am so proud of each of my amazing students and I am thankful they are such a special part of our class. I am also thankful for all of you and the support you provide me and the students. Thank you!!
--
Jennifer Malone
1st Grade Teacher
Lydiksen School
(925) 426-4420
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
November 4, 2016
News:
11/9: PFC General Meeting
11/10: Field Trip Permission Slip/Donation Due
11/11: No School (Veteran's Day)
11/15: Dine-Out Night
11/15-17: Parent Teacher Conferences: Minimum Days (8:20-12:35)
11/17: Math Packet Due
11/18: No School
11/21-11/25 Thanksgiving Break
Homework for 11/4-11/10: HERE
You’ll also notice the December Oral Presentation assignment in the homework folder as well. Please read over the information and let me know if you have any questions.
We want to give a big welcome to two new students, Naman and Rishon, as well as welcome back Meng to the classroom! We are so happy to have you in our class.
Here’s a quick recap of the last couple of weeks:
Reading/Language: Students studied Story Elements, Sequencing, Predicting, Identifying text features, and Comprehension (among other skills!) through books like Room on the Broom, Stellaluna, The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything, Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse, and The Little Red Hen. Students learned to compare and contrast two versions of a story using an updated Little Ren Hen story called The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza in a Venn Diagram.
Students also learned reading skills through non-fiction texts using Scholastic News. They identified the main idea, three details from the article and made a self-to-text connection. Students also built their schema about bats, asked questions and cleared up misconceptions. They used information from a shared reading lesson, books and video about bats to compare and contrast them to birds.
Writing: Students wrote about bats with the information they learned and reviewed all narrative writing skills to write small moments. They also are working on writing a final draft of their favorite small moment and are hoping to share their stories with our 3rd grade buddies in the next week or two as a celebration of their hard work in the narrative genre.
Math: We have begun work in Module 2 for math. We have started out by looking to make a ten and add on when adding with 3 addends.
We shared the Thankful Turkey Feathers students created for November’s Oral Presentation. Presentations have been great--thanks for your efforts! We also have been spending time assessing growth and skills in all subject areas for Tri 1.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend and if you have any questions about the upcoming week, or anything else, please contact me.
Thank you!
Classroom News and Notes
November 4, 2016
News:
11/9: PFC General Meeting
11/10: Field Trip Permission Slip/Donation Due
11/11: No School (Veteran's Day)
11/15: Dine-Out Night
11/15-17: Parent Teacher Conferences: Minimum Days (8:20-12:35)
11/17: Math Packet Due
11/18: No School
11/21-11/25 Thanksgiving Break
Homework for 11/4-11/10: HERE
You’ll also notice the December Oral Presentation assignment in the homework folder as well. Please read over the information and let me know if you have any questions.
We want to give a big welcome to two new students, Naman and Rishon, as well as welcome back Meng to the classroom! We are so happy to have you in our class.
Here’s a quick recap of the last couple of weeks:
Reading/Language: Students studied Story Elements, Sequencing, Predicting, Identifying text features, and Comprehension (among other skills!) through books like Room on the Broom, Stellaluna, The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything, Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse, and The Little Red Hen. Students learned to compare and contrast two versions of a story using an updated Little Ren Hen story called The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza in a Venn Diagram.
Students also learned reading skills through non-fiction texts using Scholastic News. They identified the main idea, three details from the article and made a self-to-text connection. Students also built their schema about bats, asked questions and cleared up misconceptions. They used information from a shared reading lesson, books and video about bats to compare and contrast them to birds.
Writing: Students wrote about bats with the information they learned and reviewed all narrative writing skills to write small moments. They also are working on writing a final draft of their favorite small moment and are hoping to share their stories with our 3rd grade buddies in the next week or two as a celebration of their hard work in the narrative genre.
Math: We have begun work in Module 2 for math. We have started out by looking to make a ten and add on when adding with 3 addends.
We shared the Thankful Turkey Feathers students created for November’s Oral Presentation. Presentations have been great--thanks for your efforts! We also have been spending time assessing growth and skills in all subject areas for Tri 1.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend and if you have any questions about the upcoming week, or anything else, please contact me.
Thank you!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
October 24, 2016
News:
10/23-27: Red Ribbon Week (see schedule below)
10/25: Dine-out at Red Smoke Grill, Flyer: bit.ly/2edvRti
10/26: Walk or Ride Your Bike-to-School Day
10/27: October Oral Presentations Due
10/28: No School-Staff Development Day
10/31: Halloween Parade (8:30 am)**Please remember that no weapons or gore/blood
are allowed.
Party (after parade)
Minimum Day
11/11: No School (Veteran's Day)
11/15-18 Parent Teacher Conferences: Minimum Days
**PFC Calendar HERE
Parent/Teacher Conferences: If you have not signed up for a meeting time, please go here to sign up. The sign-up page will close on October 27th.
Homework for 10/24-10/27: HERE
October Oral Presentation is due Thursday October 27th. Details here.
November Oral Presentation is due Friday, November 4th. Details here.
Red Ribbon Week Schedule:
Monday: Students making a "Hands Off Drugs" poster
Tuesday: Mix it up and meet new friends at lunch
Wednesday: "Sock it to drugs" **Wear wacky or mismatched socks to school!
Thursday: Wear Red and "Thank our officers!” day. Pleasanton Police officers will be on campus during lunch.
Notes:
Reading/Language: Last week was spider week in our classroom! We learned about spiders through informational non-fiction books and videos. Students also enjoyed the read aloud books The Diary of a Spider and Aaaarrggh! A Spider! starring spiders as the main characters. We also focused on adjectives through writing and art.
Writing: Using our spider books as inspiration students wrote an informational paragraph using the spider research we did together as a class. Students also did some opinion writing on whether a spider would make a good pet or not. Also, students are continuing their work on Narrative writing during writer’s workshop. Over the next couple of weeks students will choose their favorite “small moment” that they’ve written, participate in peer editing and write a final draft to share.
Math: We took the End of Module assessment for Module 1 last week. We will be working on word problems and math fluency skills this week before we start Module 2.
Social Studies: We began a unit on maps and the globe. Students read about topics that included the maps, map legends, the compass rose, oceans and continents. Students also had a lesson from our Second Step social skills program about how to handle name calling. This week we will have a lesson about bullying prevention.
Please let me know if you have any questions! Thank you for all you do at home to support students in the classroom.
Classroom News and Notes
October 24, 2016
News:
10/23-27: Red Ribbon Week (see schedule below)
10/25: Dine-out at Red Smoke Grill, Flyer: bit.ly/2edvRti
10/26: Walk or Ride Your Bike-to-School Day
10/27: October Oral Presentations Due
10/28: No School-Staff Development Day
10/31: Halloween Parade (8:30 am)**Please remember that no weapons or gore/blood
are allowed.
Party (after parade)
Minimum Day
11/11: No School (Veteran's Day)
11/15-18 Parent Teacher Conferences: Minimum Days
**PFC Calendar HERE
Parent/Teacher Conferences: If you have not signed up for a meeting time, please go here to sign up. The sign-up page will close on October 27th.
Homework for 10/24-10/27: HERE
October Oral Presentation is due Thursday October 27th. Details here.
November Oral Presentation is due Friday, November 4th. Details here.
Red Ribbon Week Schedule:
Monday: Students making a "Hands Off Drugs" poster
Tuesday: Mix it up and meet new friends at lunch
Wednesday: "Sock it to drugs" **Wear wacky or mismatched socks to school!
Thursday: Wear Red and "Thank our officers!” day. Pleasanton Police officers will be on campus during lunch.
Notes:
Reading/Language: Last week was spider week in our classroom! We learned about spiders through informational non-fiction books and videos. Students also enjoyed the read aloud books The Diary of a Spider and Aaaarrggh! A Spider! starring spiders as the main characters. We also focused on adjectives through writing and art.
Writing: Using our spider books as inspiration students wrote an informational paragraph using the spider research we did together as a class. Students also did some opinion writing on whether a spider would make a good pet or not. Also, students are continuing their work on Narrative writing during writer’s workshop. Over the next couple of weeks students will choose their favorite “small moment” that they’ve written, participate in peer editing and write a final draft to share.
Math: We took the End of Module assessment for Module 1 last week. We will be working on word problems and math fluency skills this week before we start Module 2.
Social Studies: We began a unit on maps and the globe. Students read about topics that included the maps, map legends, the compass rose, oceans and continents. Students also had a lesson from our Second Step social skills program about how to handle name calling. This week we will have a lesson about bullying prevention.
Please let me know if you have any questions! Thank you for all you do at home to support students in the classroom.
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
October 14, 2016
News:
10/17: Fun Run Money Due (to be eligible for prizes)
10/19: Picture Retakes
10/19: General PFC Meeting 6:30 PM
10/23-27: Red Ribbon Week
10/25: Dine-out
10/26: Walk-to-School Day
10/28: No School-Staff Development Day
10/31: Halloween Parade/Party/Minimum Day
**PFC Calendar HERE
Homework for 10/17-10/21: HERE
Oral Presentations: Due to the short month of November, the November Oral Presentation is due earlier in the month--quickly after the October one is due. We wanted to give you plenty of notice and time to work on it, so please look for the papers in your child’s homework folder.
The October Oral Presentation is due Thursday October 27th. Please see here if you need to see the details and instructions.
The November Oral Presentation is due Friday, November 4th. Please see here if you need the details and instructions for this one.
Notes:
Reading/Language: This week students used mentor texts to help identify story elements, text connections, sentences, adjectives, rhyming words, characters, speech and to develop comprehension skills. The mentor texts included The Gruffalo, Crankenstein, Are Pirates Polite? and How a Seed Changes to a Pumpkin. Students were also were given time to read independently, in small groups and with partners.
Writing: Students also used the mentor texts to gain inspiration for a creative writing project just in time for Halloween called “My Monster.” After creating a silly monster, students then wrote about it, using adjectives. After reading Crankenstein, Students also wrote about when they have felt like the character “Crankenstein” and created their own Crankenstein through Directed Draw. Again, we focused on using adjectives to describe the character from the book. In wrapping up our unit on Plants, students wrote more about how a pumpkin seed grows into a pumpkin, using transitional words like first, then, next and last.
Math: We are close to finishing up Module 1. This week we worked on subtraction. Students had to solve take from with change unknown in math stories using drawings and number bonds, solve put together/take apart with addend unknown in math stories, model 0 less and 1 less pictorially and as subtraction number sentences and use related subtraction facts involving fives and doubles to decompose numbers. We will be taking the End of Module assessment toward the end of next week. I may send home a practice review in lieu of homework booklet practice one night, but I will email you to let you know.
Science: Students worked with their group to complete a collaborative plant project. Students were each in charge of helping to contribute to a plant picture with written plant facts. It was easier for some groups than others to complete this task, but it was a good experience to help students learn how to work with others to be successful. Students also completed a Directed Draw of a Sunflower.
Thank you so much for all your help and support from home. If you have any questions, please email me. I hope you have a great evening!
Classroom News and Notes
October 14, 2016
News:
10/17: Fun Run Money Due (to be eligible for prizes)
10/19: Picture Retakes
10/19: General PFC Meeting 6:30 PM
10/23-27: Red Ribbon Week
10/25: Dine-out
10/26: Walk-to-School Day
10/28: No School-Staff Development Day
10/31: Halloween Parade/Party/Minimum Day
**PFC Calendar HERE
Homework for 10/17-10/21: HERE
Oral Presentations: Due to the short month of November, the November Oral Presentation is due earlier in the month--quickly after the October one is due. We wanted to give you plenty of notice and time to work on it, so please look for the papers in your child’s homework folder.
The October Oral Presentation is due Thursday October 27th. Please see here if you need to see the details and instructions.
The November Oral Presentation is due Friday, November 4th. Please see here if you need the details and instructions for this one.
Notes:
Reading/Language: This week students used mentor texts to help identify story elements, text connections, sentences, adjectives, rhyming words, characters, speech and to develop comprehension skills. The mentor texts included The Gruffalo, Crankenstein, Are Pirates Polite? and How a Seed Changes to a Pumpkin. Students were also were given time to read independently, in small groups and with partners.
Writing: Students also used the mentor texts to gain inspiration for a creative writing project just in time for Halloween called “My Monster.” After creating a silly monster, students then wrote about it, using adjectives. After reading Crankenstein, Students also wrote about when they have felt like the character “Crankenstein” and created their own Crankenstein through Directed Draw. Again, we focused on using adjectives to describe the character from the book. In wrapping up our unit on Plants, students wrote more about how a pumpkin seed grows into a pumpkin, using transitional words like first, then, next and last.
Math: We are close to finishing up Module 1. This week we worked on subtraction. Students had to solve take from with change unknown in math stories using drawings and number bonds, solve put together/take apart with addend unknown in math stories, model 0 less and 1 less pictorially and as subtraction number sentences and use related subtraction facts involving fives and doubles to decompose numbers. We will be taking the End of Module assessment toward the end of next week. I may send home a practice review in lieu of homework booklet practice one night, but I will email you to let you know.
Science: Students worked with their group to complete a collaborative plant project. Students were each in charge of helping to contribute to a plant picture with written plant facts. It was easier for some groups than others to complete this task, but it was a good experience to help students learn how to work with others to be successful. Students also completed a Directed Draw of a Sunflower.
Thank you so much for all your help and support from home. If you have any questions, please email me. I hope you have a great evening!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
October 8, 2016
News:
10/7-14: Book Fair
10/8: Movie Night at the School
10/14: Spirit Day--Hat Day
10/17: Fun Run Money Due
10/19: Picture Retakes
10/19: General PFC Meeting 6:30 PM
10/23-27: Red Ribbon Week
10/25: Dine-out
10/26: Walk-to-School Day
10/28: No School-Staff Development Day
10/31: Halloween Parade/Party/Minimum Day
**PFC Calendar HERE
Homework for 10/10-10/14: HERE
Notes:
Reading/Language: In language arts we’ve been really focusing on what a complete sentence is and how to write one. In reading this week we discussed how an author may use words to convey feeling by making them bold, smaller/bigger or even italicized. We noticed the author of The Biggest Pumpkin did exactly that. We also discussed how an author brings characters to life by having them talk. As we read The Ugly Pumpkin we pointed out where dialogue begins and ends within quotation marks and that we change our voice when we see a character is talking.
Students listened to My Mouth is a Volcano as a springboard for coming up with ideas and reminders to help our class follow our expected rules and behaviors. Students remembered that each student should raise their hand and wait to be called on, never interrupt when the teacher or others are speaking, use signals to tell the teacher certain things and to keep playing to outside. Students know what I’m talking about when I say the single word: volcano! I have seen a big difference in their behavior the last two days and I appreciate their efforts.
Writing: This week students learned that good authors bring their stories to life. Instead of writing flat sentences with frozen characters, students now know they can unfreeze characters by making them talk and move. We piggybacked on the reading topic of using dialogue to make your character talk by either using speech bubbles or in quotation marks. Students helped me turn one of my flat, boring stories with little movement or talking into something much more exciting to read! Students will be trying out what they’ve learned about unfreezing their characters and adding movement to their pictures next week in their own stories.
Math: Students continued to work on subtraction using number bonds, pictures, counting back or counting on and solving for a change in a word problem. We worked on number fluency and discussed the concept of odd and even.
Science: Students are still learning about plants. We did a Plant Pictorial which taught students lots of information about plants parts and other facts about plants. Next week they will be expected to use this information to work in collaborative groups to create a poster project.
Thank you to all those that were involved in Fun Run! The students had a blast and really enjoyed getting to cheer on our 3rd grade buddies later in the day! Please turn in any money you collect from pledges for the Fun Run by October 17th to be eligible for prizes.
That’s it for now! If you have any questions, please email me. I hope you have a great evening!
Classroom News and Notes
October 8, 2016
News:
10/7-14: Book Fair
10/8: Movie Night at the School
10/14: Spirit Day--Hat Day
10/17: Fun Run Money Due
10/19: Picture Retakes
10/19: General PFC Meeting 6:30 PM
10/23-27: Red Ribbon Week
10/25: Dine-out
10/26: Walk-to-School Day
10/28: No School-Staff Development Day
10/31: Halloween Parade/Party/Minimum Day
**PFC Calendar HERE
Homework for 10/10-10/14: HERE
Notes:
Reading/Language: In language arts we’ve been really focusing on what a complete sentence is and how to write one. In reading this week we discussed how an author may use words to convey feeling by making them bold, smaller/bigger or even italicized. We noticed the author of The Biggest Pumpkin did exactly that. We also discussed how an author brings characters to life by having them talk. As we read The Ugly Pumpkin we pointed out where dialogue begins and ends within quotation marks and that we change our voice when we see a character is talking.
Students listened to My Mouth is a Volcano as a springboard for coming up with ideas and reminders to help our class follow our expected rules and behaviors. Students remembered that each student should raise their hand and wait to be called on, never interrupt when the teacher or others are speaking, use signals to tell the teacher certain things and to keep playing to outside. Students know what I’m talking about when I say the single word: volcano! I have seen a big difference in their behavior the last two days and I appreciate their efforts.
Writing: This week students learned that good authors bring their stories to life. Instead of writing flat sentences with frozen characters, students now know they can unfreeze characters by making them talk and move. We piggybacked on the reading topic of using dialogue to make your character talk by either using speech bubbles or in quotation marks. Students helped me turn one of my flat, boring stories with little movement or talking into something much more exciting to read! Students will be trying out what they’ve learned about unfreezing their characters and adding movement to their pictures next week in their own stories.
Math: Students continued to work on subtraction using number bonds, pictures, counting back or counting on and solving for a change in a word problem. We worked on number fluency and discussed the concept of odd and even.
Science: Students are still learning about plants. We did a Plant Pictorial which taught students lots of information about plants parts and other facts about plants. Next week they will be expected to use this information to work in collaborative groups to create a poster project.
Thank you to all those that were involved in Fun Run! The students had a blast and really enjoyed getting to cheer on our 3rd grade buddies later in the day! Please turn in any money you collect from pledges for the Fun Run by October 17th to be eligible for prizes.
That’s it for now! If you have any questions, please email me. I hope you have a great evening!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
September 30, 2016
News:
10/3: Fun Run Pledge Sheets due
10/5: Pumpkin Fun Run (Our class runs at 10:30-10:50)
10/7: Family movie night 6:30 PM
10/7-14: Book Fair
10/14: Spirit Day: Hat Day
10/17: Fun Run money due
10/18: Picture Re-take Day *Date change from last week's email*
10/19: Breakfast Book Club
10/19: PFC Meeting, 6:30
10/26: Walk to School Day
10/28: No School-Teacher Staff Development
10/31: Minimum Day; Halloween Class Party
**PFC Calendar HERE
Notes:
Homework: Here is this week's. Please print if needed.
Room Parent Letter: Our room parents are asking for a $25 donation (or whatever you can do) to go toward class parties/supplies. You can send your donation to the classroom with your child in a envelope marked "Room Parent Donation." Thank you so much for your support!
Language Arts: In Reader’s Workshop students learned that readers read with their eyes instead of their fingers. They practiced "scooping up" more words at a time with their eyes and reading in phrases, instead of word by word. This skill will help students improve their fluency. Students were also put with a reading partner so they can start having some partner reading time. We will continue to work on expected behaviors when reading with their partners. We used Wemberly Worried to work on making connections (self-to-text and text-to-text) and comparing how the character changed throughout the story. We read a Scholastic News about author, Kevin Henkes, who wrote Wemberly Worried. Students also did an interactive shared reading lesson. Also, we are focusing on what complete sentences are and how to write them correctly (a capital at the beginning, a complete thought and a punctuation mark at the end). This is a skill that I expect all students to apply and transfer to their writing, no excuses!
Writing: Students learned about "zooming in" or narrowing their focus in their writing. We used The Relatives Came and The Night of the Veggie Monster as mentor texts for this concept.
Math: Students reviewed for and completed the mid-module math assessment. We began work on the second half of the module with a lesson about how to solve "add to with change unknown" math stories with related subtraction sentences. Whew!
Science/Social Studies: We started new lessons on "Respect" in Social Studies and are learning more and more about plants in science.
Oral Presentations: We started our oral presentations today, but will continue on Monday. Just a note that presentations are for students only, but I will try and send you a little video of your child doing theirs!
I'll be sending the October Oral Presentation information sheet in the homework folder on Monday. Keep your eyes out for it!
Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be glad to help you! Have a great weekend!
Classroom News and Notes
September 30, 2016
News:
10/3: Fun Run Pledge Sheets due
10/5: Pumpkin Fun Run (Our class runs at 10:30-10:50)
10/7: Family movie night 6:30 PM
10/7-14: Book Fair
10/14: Spirit Day: Hat Day
10/17: Fun Run money due
10/18: Picture Re-take Day *Date change from last week's email*
10/19: Breakfast Book Club
10/19: PFC Meeting, 6:30
10/26: Walk to School Day
10/28: No School-Teacher Staff Development
10/31: Minimum Day; Halloween Class Party
**PFC Calendar HERE
Notes:
Homework: Here is this week's. Please print if needed.
Room Parent Letter: Our room parents are asking for a $25 donation (or whatever you can do) to go toward class parties/supplies. You can send your donation to the classroom with your child in a envelope marked "Room Parent Donation." Thank you so much for your support!
Language Arts: In Reader’s Workshop students learned that readers read with their eyes instead of their fingers. They practiced "scooping up" more words at a time with their eyes and reading in phrases, instead of word by word. This skill will help students improve their fluency. Students were also put with a reading partner so they can start having some partner reading time. We will continue to work on expected behaviors when reading with their partners. We used Wemberly Worried to work on making connections (self-to-text and text-to-text) and comparing how the character changed throughout the story. We read a Scholastic News about author, Kevin Henkes, who wrote Wemberly Worried. Students also did an interactive shared reading lesson. Also, we are focusing on what complete sentences are and how to write them correctly (a capital at the beginning, a complete thought and a punctuation mark at the end). This is a skill that I expect all students to apply and transfer to their writing, no excuses!
Writing: Students learned about "zooming in" or narrowing their focus in their writing. We used The Relatives Came and The Night of the Veggie Monster as mentor texts for this concept.
Math: Students reviewed for and completed the mid-module math assessment. We began work on the second half of the module with a lesson about how to solve "add to with change unknown" math stories with related subtraction sentences. Whew!
Science/Social Studies: We started new lessons on "Respect" in Social Studies and are learning more and more about plants in science.
Oral Presentations: We started our oral presentations today, but will continue on Monday. Just a note that presentations are for students only, but I will try and send you a little video of your child doing theirs!
I'll be sending the October Oral Presentation information sheet in the homework folder on Monday. Keep your eyes out for it!
Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be glad to help you! Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Malone’s
Classroom News and Notes
September 23, 2016
News:
9/30: Oral Presentations due
10/3: Fun Run Pledge Sheets due
10/5: Pumpkin Fun Run (Our class runs at 10:30-10:50)
10/7: Family movie night 6:30 PM
10/7-14: Book Fair
10/17: Fun Run money due
10/19: Breakfast Book Club
10/19: Picture Re-take Day
10/19: PFC Meeting, 6:30
10/26: Walk to School Day
10/28: No School-Teacher Staff Development
10/31: Minimum Day; Halloween Class Party
**PFC Calendar HERE
Notes:
Homework: Going forward, the weekly homework flyer will only be available via my website (I have updated it and it is ready to go now! Thanks for your patience! You may want to bookmark it) and a link in the weekly news and notes. Here is this week's. Please print if needed.
Remember, spelling homework is due on Thursdays. Also, I keep the homework folders Thursday and our homework helper stuffs them with the following week’s spelling packet and other papers to go home on Friday. The 1st half on module 1 math packet is not due until October 20th. The second half will go home after that.
Room Parent Letter: Hopefully you received the Room Parents' letter in your child’s homework folder today! They are asking for a $25 donation (or whatever you can do) to go toward class parties/supplies. Please send in your donation in an envelope and I will pass along to them. Thank you!
Language Arts: The last two weeks we have been busy with Language arts! In Reader’s Workshop we focused on the concept that readers have good habits, build stamina and do something at the end of their book (like retell the story or reread their favorite part). We used Ira Sleeps Over, Regina’s Big Mistake, The Dot and Giraffes Can’t Dance to work on comparing and contrasting, making connections, character study and growth mindset. Students also read some non-fiction text with Scholastic News and had interactive shared reading lessons with me. During guided reading students are focusing on different reading strategies and story elements as well as fluency.
Writing: Students learned how to choose a small moment to write about and how to plan a small moment story using the ‘touch, tell, sketch and write’ strategy. We also discussed how to write good beginnings and endings. In addition, students have been adding speech bubbles and labels to the pictures to help them add more detail to their stories. We did a shared writing and I’ve been working with students on editing and revising as well. It’s been wonderful conferencing with students and learning about them through their writing. I think students enjoy their time to share their stories with the others in class the most! We’ll be celebrating our writing at the end of the narrative writing unit.
Math: Students worked on comparing equivalent expressions and constructing number sentences, the concept of the commutative property and solving doubles and doubles plus 1. Students had some fun reviewing doubles by doing the Doubles Rap! Next week students will take the mid-module assessment for module 1.
Buddies: It was a great day on Wednesday as we paired up with Mrs. Culpepper’s class to do a hands-on STEM activity. Students had to work collaboratively in a group using only toothpicks and apple chunks to create an ‘apple raft’ that would float. All students discussed a plan, drew a blueprint and tested their idea. Many students had success and built floating apple rafts. We also had Buddies with Mrs. Wu’s 3rd grade class. The challenge for our students there was to create the longest paper chain using only a glue stick, scissors and one piece of construction paper. Students had to decide on a plan, create and readjust as needed, but they tried their best!
That’s it for now! If you have any questions, please email me. I hope you have a great evening!
Classroom News and Notes
September 23, 2016
News:
9/30: Oral Presentations due
10/3: Fun Run Pledge Sheets due
10/5: Pumpkin Fun Run (Our class runs at 10:30-10:50)
10/7: Family movie night 6:30 PM
10/7-14: Book Fair
10/17: Fun Run money due
10/19: Breakfast Book Club
10/19: Picture Re-take Day
10/19: PFC Meeting, 6:30
10/26: Walk to School Day
10/28: No School-Teacher Staff Development
10/31: Minimum Day; Halloween Class Party
**PFC Calendar HERE
Notes:
Homework: Going forward, the weekly homework flyer will only be available via my website (I have updated it and it is ready to go now! Thanks for your patience! You may want to bookmark it) and a link in the weekly news and notes. Here is this week's. Please print if needed.
Remember, spelling homework is due on Thursdays. Also, I keep the homework folders Thursday and our homework helper stuffs them with the following week’s spelling packet and other papers to go home on Friday. The 1st half on module 1 math packet is not due until October 20th. The second half will go home after that.
Room Parent Letter: Hopefully you received the Room Parents' letter in your child’s homework folder today! They are asking for a $25 donation (or whatever you can do) to go toward class parties/supplies. Please send in your donation in an envelope and I will pass along to them. Thank you!
Language Arts: The last two weeks we have been busy with Language arts! In Reader’s Workshop we focused on the concept that readers have good habits, build stamina and do something at the end of their book (like retell the story or reread their favorite part). We used Ira Sleeps Over, Regina’s Big Mistake, The Dot and Giraffes Can’t Dance to work on comparing and contrasting, making connections, character study and growth mindset. Students also read some non-fiction text with Scholastic News and had interactive shared reading lessons with me. During guided reading students are focusing on different reading strategies and story elements as well as fluency.
Writing: Students learned how to choose a small moment to write about and how to plan a small moment story using the ‘touch, tell, sketch and write’ strategy. We also discussed how to write good beginnings and endings. In addition, students have been adding speech bubbles and labels to the pictures to help them add more detail to their stories. We did a shared writing and I’ve been working with students on editing and revising as well. It’s been wonderful conferencing with students and learning about them through their writing. I think students enjoy their time to share their stories with the others in class the most! We’ll be celebrating our writing at the end of the narrative writing unit.
Math: Students worked on comparing equivalent expressions and constructing number sentences, the concept of the commutative property and solving doubles and doubles plus 1. Students had some fun reviewing doubles by doing the Doubles Rap! Next week students will take the mid-module assessment for module 1.
Buddies: It was a great day on Wednesday as we paired up with Mrs. Culpepper’s class to do a hands-on STEM activity. Students had to work collaboratively in a group using only toothpicks and apple chunks to create an ‘apple raft’ that would float. All students discussed a plan, drew a blueprint and tested their idea. Many students had success and built floating apple rafts. We also had Buddies with Mrs. Wu’s 3rd grade class. The challenge for our students there was to create the longest paper chain using only a glue stick, scissors and one piece of construction paper. Students had to decide on a plan, create and readjust as needed, but they tried their best!
That’s it for now! If you have any questions, please email me. I hope you have a great evening!