Questions to ask your first grader that will reinforce what we have been doing at school…

*       What are some –ill words?

*       Why is it important to ask questions when you read?

*       Tell me about the stories The Stranger, Charlie Anderson, and Coming On Home Soon.  What questions were you left with at the end of these stories?

*       What is fact power?  What is your fact power booklet?

*       Tell me about place value.

*       Who was Martin Luther King, Jr?

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

Monday – No School

Friday 1/22 – Money due if you are interested in purchasing our published class book

Friday 1/29 – No School

Our wow words this week were see, will, girl, boy & eat.  Our chunk was –ill.

The children have begun learning the comprehension strategy of Questioning.  Thoughtful readers ask questions about a story before they read, as they read, and when they are finished reading.  Questions allow the reader to have a dialogue of sorts with the author, leading them to a deeper understanding of the literature.  This week, we practiced questioning when we read the books The Stranger, Charlie Anderson, and Coming On Home Soon.

This week was all about developing our fact power!  Children have fact power when they are able to instantly recall math facts.  We know that instant recall of math facts makes it easier to do math problems because we don’t have to think about every single step of the problem; we just know the answer!  We played several games to help us strengthen our fact power.

Each child also received his/her own Fact Power Booklet.  The booklets contain sheets of 100 addition problems.  Each time your child completes a sheet, s/he turns it in to be checked.  Your child’s booklet is checked and returned so s/he may complete another sheet of problems.  The children work on these booklets at their own pace during their free time.  It’s one more way we are developing our Fact Power!  Here are some websites you can visit to help your child practice facts:

~ www.funbrain.com

~ www.coolmath-games.com/Timernator/index.html

~ www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/games/levelthree/KC_Blast_Off.html

Miscellaneous

Bi-Weekly Reports are being sent home today.

Parking Lot Safety

 The Office has received a number of calls since our Christmas break with concerns about student safety in the west parking lot. Mr. Burt has asked me to include this information in our newsletter about drop-off and pick-up procedures.

• At the start of your child’s school day, please drop off as quickly and safely as possible. This can be done by using the driving lane closest to the school and letting your child off curbside. If you might want to walk your child to his or her classroom door, please find a parking spot first.
•  Please park your car at dismissal time if you are waiting for your child. Cars waiting in the drop-off loop quickly cause traffic congestion.
•  It can be dangerous for children if they are allowed to cross the parking lot without assistance from an adult. Students need to be walked to and from the curbside by a parent.

Thank you for helping all of our children get to and from school safely each day. 

Enjoy the 3-day weekend!  See you on Tuesday!

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