Mrs. Owens 1st Grade

Welcome!

Welcome to my classroom blog.  Please visit frequently to find the latest information on our classroom activities.

December 3, 2009

Happy December!  Oh my...can it really be the end of the year already? 

I'd like to welcome the Davidenko family to our classroom!  Lisa joined our class on Tuesday and is already one of the gang.  We are so glad she is here!

Important Dates and Information Below

This week's Kid of the Week is...Ryan!

Our Character Kid of the Month is ...Harrison!  Congratulations, Harrison, for being selected by your peers as representing this month's character trait of citizenship.

AR is up and running again!  Mrs. Provano gave us a lesson on the new and improved program and the kids are excited to get started.

D  December 4 - Holiday Doors project due

    December 15 - Space Creature project due

    December 7 - 11:  Cultural Celebrations of the World   

    December 18:  9:30 - 10:30 Winter Celebration

    December 21 - January 4:  Winter Break

     December birthdays:

            Chase - December 4th

   Anna Blaire - December 12th           

    Harrison - December 22nd

Mystery Readers (8-8:30)
Please plan to bring in 3 or 4 of your family favorites.  Mystery Reader has a 30 minute time block. 

 

  12/4    Kim Makuch

  12/11   April Yobs

  12/18  Chepin Hamilton

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts: We have studied a variety of poems to identify and understand literary devices such as suspense, irony, and the element of surprise.  We learned that authors do not always explain everything about the characters and events in a story or poem.  Instead, they may use literary clues to involve the reader with the text.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We have worked on the drafting, editing, and writing of our Thanksgiving experiences.

3. Math Workshop: We have been exploring plane and solid shapes this week.  We have determined number of sides, corners, and the shapes on the flats of solid figures.  Ask your child about the characteristics of pyramids, cones, cylinders, spheres, cubes, and rectangular prisms.  You might be surprised by how much he or she knows! 

We continue to practice our addition and subtraction timed tests.  Keep up the practice at home!

4. Phonics  Consonant blends: sl, bl, pl, fl

6. Science/SS: We will begin to explore sound this week and continue into next.

Thank you, thank you to Sherry vom Saal for bringing a fabulous Cultural Celebration art project to our classroom on Wednesday!  You probably noticed your child's colorful hat (and maybe a little glitter in the hair).  We learned about the season of Carnival and Mardi Gras celebration.  The kids decorated paper dolls to represent this holiday with masks, glitter, beads, pipe cleaners, sparkly felt, feathers, stickers, and coins. So fun!!

November 19, 2009

Wow!  I cannot believe Thanksgiving break is here!  I hope you and your family have a wonderful week.

Important Dates and Information Below:

This kid of the week is...Eric!!!

Our Character Kid of the Month is ...Stayton!  Congratulations, Stayton, for being selected by your peers as representing this month's character trait of Responsibility.

November Birthdays:

Ryan - 14th

Jay - 18th

Sydney - 26th

Important Dates and Information Below:

AR Tests:  Our new and extended AR program is up and running.  The children will have to enter a new password in order to access the program. 
I will teach them the new log on procedures when we return from Thanksgiving break.

    Friday, November 20.  Turkey Day Centers 9:30 - 10:30

    November 23 – 27:  Thanksgiving Holidays

D  December 4 - Holiday Doors project due (information  coming home the Monday we return from the break)

    December 7 - 11:  Cultural Celebrations of the World   

    December 18:  9:30 - 10:30 Winter Celebration

    December 21 - January 4:  Winter Break

   Mystery Readers (8-8:30)
Please plan to bring in 3 or 4 of your family favorites.  Mystery Reader has a 30 minute time block. 

   11/20 Daniel vom Saal

  12/4    Kim Makuch

  12/11   April Yobs

  12/18  Chepin Hamilton

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   This week we continued to focus on understanding story grammar.  We learned that readers become engaged in the plot and characters of a story when they understand the rules of story grammar.  We also worked on fluency.

2. Writer's Workshop:  This week we have written responses to the literature we have read about Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea as well as the first Thanksgiving.

3. Math Workshop: This week we have been fine tuning our skills of applying subtraction strategies to solve these problems in a SNAP!  We have also practiced identifying the operation to solve story problems.

4. Phonics  s blends, phoneme substitution

6.   Grammar   verbs, or action words

5. Word Wall Words: around, he, down

6. Science/SS: We continue to learn about the amazing journey of Lewis & Clark and Sacagawea.  The children have been so excited to learn about these American heroes.  We have also read books and viewed information on the first Thanksgiving.

  Thank you for sharing your children with me!

November 12, 2009

I just learned I was awarded a trip to the spa for our class’ participation in the Mt. Bethel Foundation Patron Program!  Thank you all so much for your contributions. 

Important Dates and Information Below:

This kid of the week is...Sydney!!!

Our Character Kid of the Month is ...Stayton!  Congratulations, Stayton, for being selected by your peers as representing this month's character trait of Responsibility.

November Birthdays:

Ryan - 14th

Jay - 18th

Sydney - 26th

Important Dates and Information Below:

Math Blaster packets went home last week.  These addition and subtraction timed tests are a way of tracking your child's progress toward the math fact standard on the report card.  Remember, in order to achieve a "3", a student must receive an average of 75%  on the addition and subtraction timed tests.  Keep up the great practice!

AR Tests:  Our AR program is being updated to include comprehension tests for up to 80% of the books in our media center!  During this upgrade, the AR software will temporarily be down.  Until we can get back on the computers, keep up the great reading!

    Friday, November 20.  Turkey Day Centers

November 23 – 27:  Thanksgiving Holidays

Mystery Readers (8-8:30)
Please plan to bring in 3 or 4 of your family favorites.  Mystery Reader has a 30 minute time block. 

   11/13 David Hamilton

   11/20 Daniel vom Saal

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   This week we learned that most stories have similar elements, such as main character, setting, and a plat that involves solving a problem.  Good readers learn to recognize and ask questions about this basic “story grammar”.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We published our personal narratives, practiced writing about things from our imagination, and explored techniques in writing pattern books.

3. Math Workshop: This week we have been fine tuning our skills of applying addition strategies to solve problems in a snap!

4. Phonics  s blends

6.   Grammar   proper nouns

5. Word Wall Words: I, no, said

6. Science/SS: We are learning about the amazing journey of Lewis & Clark and Sacagawea.  The children have been so excited to learn about these American heroes. 

Thank you to Julie Brown and Kim Makuch for bringing an art lesson on Vincent van Gogh! 

November 5, 2009

         Happy November!
This Kid of the Week is...Chase!
Character Kid of the Month is ...Stayton!  Congratulations, Stayton, for being selected by your peers as representing this month's character trait of Responsibilty.

November Birthdays:

Ryan - 14th

Jay - 18th

Sydney - 26th

Important Dates and Information Below:

1.    Saturday, November 7 – Mt. Bethel Fun Run.  I’ll be there with my running shoes on.  Hope to see you all there!

2.  Friday, November 20.  Turkey Day Centers

Mystery Readers (8-8:30)
Please plan to bring in 3 or 4 of your family favorites.  Mystery Reader has a 30 minute time block. 

   11/6  Carolyn Edmunds

   11/13 David Hamilton

   11/20 Daniel vom Saal

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   This week we have practiced making inferences.  We can enrich our experiences with books when we connect what we know to what we read and when we learn to “read between the lines.”  We practiced this skill with Dreams, by Ezra Jack Keats and Chicken Sunday, by Patricia Polacco.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We continue to work on our personal narratives, editing and fine tuning in order to produce our published piece!

3. Math Workshop: This week we have worked on rounding numbers to the nearest ten and solving story problems.

4. Phonics  s, t, and st blend.

6.   Grammar:  proper nouns, comparative words

5. Word Wall Words: it, to, was, what

6. Science/SS: We played to learn with magnets this week.  The children discovered that magnets have two poles, and the opposite poles are attracted to each other, while the opposite poles repel each other.  Our experiences showed us that magnets pull some metals – only those with iron. 

Thank you to everyone who gifted books to me through the book fair.  These books will make wonderful additions to our class library!

Many thanks to all of my Scarecrow Day volunteers.  We had a ball!

October 29, 2009

What a week we've had!  From our fabulous field trip to see Junie B. Jones at the Fox, to the 11 Alive Weather Mobile visit, to Scarecrow Day on Friday...it is easy to see that learning can be fun!

This Kid of the Week is...Stayton!
Character Kid of the Month is ...Stayton!  Congratulations, Stayton, for being selected by your peers as representing this month's character trait of Responsibilty.

Important Dates and Information Below:

1.  October 30:  Scarecrow Day! The children will celebrate fall by participating in fun fall games and crafts on this day from 9:30 - 10:30 while wearing their finest scarecrow attire!  Be creative with your child as your create his or her costume.  In the past, students (and teachers) have worn amazing and clever costumes including overalls with patches, straw sewn or stuffed into cuffs and pockets, floppy hats topped with crows, and faces painted to resemble and scarecrow. Have fun!

2.  Tuesday, November 3 - Student Holiday/Teacher Workday

Mystery Readers (8-8:30)
Please plan to bring in 3 or 4 of your family favorites.  Mystery Reader has a 30 minute time block. 

   10/30 Kelsey Starns

   11/6  Carolyn Edmunds

   11/13 David Hamilton

   11/20 Daniel vom Saal

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   We have been learning about what to do when we encounter new words as we read.  By using words we know and other clues, we can figure out these new words and connect with what we are reading.

We also thought about the author's purpose as we read books this week.  We learned that most books are written to entertain us, to inform us, or to teach us a life lesson.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We continue to work on our personal narratives.  We know that we can make good stories great by including details.  We practiced using our five senses to describe our experiences in vivid detail after we cleaned out a giant pumpkin.  The kids will practice writing descriptions such as, "The pumpkin was a orange as a sunset.", "When I scooped out the pumpkin, it sounded like a monster slurping soup.", and "The pumpkin seeds tasted as salty as the ocean." 

3. Math Workshop: We have continue to describe and find patterns on the 100 chart.  We practiced identifying and proving which large numbers are odd or even, and we worked with the concept of ordinal numbers.

4. Phonics  Digraphs: sh, ch.

6.   Grammar:  Naming words (nouns), compound words

5. Word Wall Words: in, my, two

6. Science/SS: We had a visit from the 11 Alive Weathermobile, and will explore magnets next week.

Thank you, Mrs. Starns, for traveling with us on our Field Trip to the Fox and taking great pictures!

Please Support our Foundation!

 
Do you know about our ELMOs?  Thanks to the Foundation, we started the school year with an ELMO in every teacher's classroom! Click here to learn more!

The Mt. Bethel Foundation is funded 100% by parent donations and the Patron Program, which ends next week, is their only fundraiser. If you plan to make a donation or pledge, please send in your patron card ASAP. The superb programs and teacher grants provided by the Foundation are in jeopardy! Thank you to the families that have contributed!

Our class currently has 32% Participation!

Highest participating classes per grade level: 

• Kindergarten - Schreck
• First - Cillian
• Second - Birdsong
• Third - Bredickas
• Fourth - Sloan
• Fifth - Jones

Please view the MBESF website for more information about the Foundation and what it provides for our school. 

Keep Mt. Bethel students' thinking caps fully charged, send in your patron card before 10/30/09!

Please Support our Foundation!

 
Do you know about our ELMOs?  Thanks to the Foundation, we started the school year with an ELMO in every teacher's classroom! Click here to learn more!

The Mt. Bethel Foundation is funded 100% by parent donations and the Patron Program, which ends next week, is their only fundraiser. If you plan to make a donation or pledge, please send in your patron card ASAP. The superb programs and teacher grants provided by the Foundation are in jeopardy! Thank you to the families that have contributed!

Our class currently has 32% Participation!

Highest participating classes per grade level: 

• Kindergarten - Schreck
• First - Cillian
• Second - Birdsong
• Third - Bredickas
• Fourth - Sloan
• Fifth - Jones

Please view the MBESF website for more information about the Foundation and what it provides for our school. 

Keep Mt. Bethel students' thinking caps fully charged, send in your patron card before 10/30/09!

Please Support our Foundation!

 
Do you know about our ELMOs?  Thanks to the Foundation, we started the school year with an ELMO in every teacher's classroom! Click here to learn more!

The Mt. Bethel Foundation is funded 100% by parent donations and the Patron Program, which ends next week, is their only fundraiser. If you plan to make a donation or pledge, please send in your patron card ASAP. The superb programs and teacher grants provided by the Foundation are in jeopardy! Thank you to the families that have contributed!

Our class currently has 32% Participation!

Highest participating classes per grade level: 

• Kindergarten - Schreck
• First - Cillian
• Second - Birdsong
• Third - Bredickas
• Fourth - Sloan
• Fifth - Jones

Please view the MBESF website for more information about the Foundation and what it provides for our school. 

Keep Mt. Bethel students' thinking caps fully charged, send in your patron card before 10/30/09!

October 22, 2009 and recovered info from October 15, 2009

Important Dates and Information Below:

Update!  Uh oh!  I realized as I posted this blog that my blog from last week was not published as I thought I had scheduled.  I apologize for any confusion...I had a lot of information for you last week, including updates on Raz Kids and the optional report!  I've added last week's to the bottom of this one.  Please take a look to catch up on the information from last week! 

 Character Kid of the Month is ...Mara!  Congratulations, Mara, for being selected by your peers as representing this month's character trait of Integrity.

1.  October 26:  Field Trip to The Fox to see the play Junie B. Jones!  Be sure your child wears his or her "kiwi green" class shirt!  I sent home a reminder today with your child’s lunch selection.

2.  Book Fair:  We will visit the Book Fair today for our preview time.  The kids are so excited to visit the Media Center which has been transformed by the Book Fair volunteer..

2.  October 30:  Scarecrow Day! The children will celebrate fall by participating in fun fall games and crafts on this day from 9:30 - 10:30 while wearing their finest scarecrow attire!  Be creative with your child as your create his or her costume.  In the past, students (and teachers) have worn amazing and clever costumes including overalls with patches, straw sewn or stuffed into cuffs and pockets, floppy hats topped with crows, and faces painted to resemble and scarecrow. Have fun!

Mystery Readers (8-8:30)
Please plan to bring in 3 or 4 of your family favorites.  Mystery Reader has a 30 minute time block. 

   10/23 Stayton's Grandmother

   10/30 Kelsey Starns

   11/6  Carolyn Edmunds

   11/13 David Hamilton

   11/20 Daniel vom Saal

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   We practiced activating our schema before, during, and after reading.  We learned that our schema is how we process information based on our previous experiences.  We continue to practice what all great readers do as they read: we continue to question, make predictions, make connections, read a variety of genres, and explore the characters and setting.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We continue to work on our personal narratives.  We continue to “zoom in” to the different parts of our narrative to add vivid details and descriptions.  As great writers, we are always thinking about what would make our writing more interesting to our reader!

3. Math Workshop: We have practiced ordering and comparing large numbers.  The kids met “Ally the Aligator”, who is a greedy, hungry alligator who only eats the greater of any two numbers.  Ally helped us to remember how to show the greater than, less than, and equal to symbols.  We also began to explore the 100s chart, which helps us to see patterns in numbers.

4. Phonics  Consonant blends:  bl, pl, fl, and ld.  Digraphs: sh, ch.

6.   Grammar:  Naming words (nouns), punctuation for questioning sentences.

5. Word Wall Words: blue, does, long, where

6. Science/SS: We continue to learn about the life and accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson.

Thank you for sharing your children with me!

Below: Please find the missing update from last week, October 15, 2009!

It is hard to believe that we have completed the first quarter of our school year!  I’ve assessed each of your children according to the first grade performance standards, and I’m looking forward to sharing their growth with you.  Report cards come home on Friday. 

Important Dates and Information Below:

This week's Kid of the Week is…Julia!

Our Character Kid of the Month is ...Mara!  Congratulations, Mara, for being selected by your peers as representing this month's character trait of Integrity.

Raz Kids – The kids have shown such excitement over Raz Kids!  This wonderful reading comprehension program is a gift from The Mount Bethel Foundation.  Please encourage your child to visit this website to explore the leveled reading books and quizzes.  Remember – the kids can count this time towards their 20 minutes of reading per night!  If you are having trouble with accessing your child’s account, please let me know.

Optional Reports  -  I sent information home on our optional reports earlier this week.  The children may complete the report at home for extra enrichment!  This can be as complicated or as simple as your child would like.  If the regular work is keeping your child challenged, your child doesn't have to do this at all!  All of the children will benefit from these optional enrichment reports.

1.October 16:  Report cards go home.  

2.  October 21:  Early release day with 12:20 dismissal.

3.  October 26:  Field Trip to The Fox to see the play Junie B. Jones!  Be sure your child wears his or her "kiwi green" class shirt!

4.  October 30:  Scarecrow Day! The children will celebrate fall by participating in fun fall games and crafts while wearing their finest scarecrow attire!  Be creative with your child as your create his or her costume.  In the past, students (and teachers) have worn amazing and clever costumes including overalls with patches, straw sewn or stuffed into cuffs and pockets, floppy hats topped with crows, and faces painted to resemble and scarecrow. Have fun!

Mystery Readers (8-8:30)
Please plan to bring in 3 or 4 of your family favorites.  Mystery Reader has a 30 minute time block. 

   10/16 Linda Keeton

   10/23 Stayton's Grandmother

   10/30 Kelsey Starns

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   We learned that great readers make connections!  As we read, we can better understand and enjoy the book if we make connections to things we’ve experienced in our own lives! We call these text-to-self connections.  We also practiced making text-to-text connections, which occurs when a book we are reading reminds us of something we’ve read in another text.  We also learned that good readers can make connections from the text to what we know about the outside world.  We’ve worked hard this week!

2. Writer's Workshop:  We worked on selecting and writing personal narratives.  We practiced adding details to these personal narratives by inserting describing words and phrases.

3. Math Workshop: The children worked in pairs to complete a week-long graphing project.  The students formulated their own questions and choices, polled each classmate, tallied the results, compiled the data into a bar and picture graph, and then interpreted the findings.  These kids are graphing experts!

4. Phonics  word families:  ut, up, un  Digraphs: sh, th, ch, wh

5. Word Wall Words: for, little, so

6. Science/SS: We’ve learned about the life of Thomas Jefferson and will continue to explore his character traits and accomplishments next week.

Thank you, thank you to our Art Parent, Betsy Hart, and Trained Parent Volunteers Carolyn Edmunds and Lisa Flagel for spending time in our classroom on Tuesday to allow me to go to the first grade team meeting.  The kids were thrilled learn about Master Artist Pablo Picasso, and to do an art piece in his style.

Also, I want to thank you all for the Boosterthon donations.  I was granted nearly $200 to spend on our classroom because of those donations!  So far, I have purchased a dry erase easel for my reading table, AR Books, and math manipulatives. 

October 8, 2009

It was so nice to see you all at the picnic.  The children loved sharing their reading boxes with you.

Important Dates and Information Below:

This week's Kid of the Week is...Harrison!

Our Character Kid of the Month is ...Mara!  Congratulations, Mara, for being selected by your peers as representing this month's character trait of Integrity.

Upcoming Birthdays:

Julia - October 11!   

Please visit the ABCs of Mrs. Owens Class on the left side of the blog for birthday celebration information. 

1.  October 14:  Picture day make-ups

2.  October 16:  Report cards go home.

3.  October 26:  Field Trip to The Fox to see the play Junie B. Jones!  Be sure your child wears his or her "kiwi green" class shirt!

4.  October 30:  Scarecrow Day! The children will celebrate fall by participating in fun fall games and crafts while wearing their finest scarecrow attire!  Be creative with your child as your create his or her costume.  In the past, students (and teachers) have worn amazing and clever costumes including overalls with patches, straw sewn or stuffed into cuffs and pockets, floppy hats topped with crows, and faces painted to resemble and scarecrow. Have fun!

Mystery Readers (8-8:30)
Please plan to bring in 3 or 4 of your family favorites.  Mystery Reader has a 30 minute time block. 

 

   10/9 April Yobs

   10/16 Linda Keen

   10/23 Stayton's Grandmother

   10/30 Kelsey Starns

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   We learned that great readers can summarize and retell what they have read.  This is important to allow us to understand, review, and organize the events and information from the text.  We also focused on identifying the characters and setting of books we read.  The children did a group project on Kevin Henkes' book Chester's Way in which they identified and described the 3 main characters and the setting.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We continued putting the finishing touches on our books.  We also continue to practice writing with transitional words such as "first", "next", "then", and "finally".

3. Math Workshop: We began to explore the base ten system by working with manipulatives such as unifix cubes, beans, and base ten blocks to group and represent two digit numbers.  We learned that by thinking about large numbers in terms of how many "tens" and "ones", we can work with them more easily.

4. Phonics  word families:  et, eg, en

5. Word Wall Words: his, will, your

6. Science/SS: We have explored the water cycle - investigating how water changes forms.

Thank you for sharing your children with me. Have a wonderful weekend!

 

   10/9 April Yobs

   10/16 Linda Keen

   10/23 Stayton's Grandmother

   10/30 Kelsey Starns

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   We learned that great readers can summarize and retell what they have read.  This is important to allow us to understand, review, and organize the events and information from the text.  We also focused on identifying the characters and setting of books we read.  The children did a group project on Kevin Henkes' book Chester's Way in which they identified and described the 3 main characters and the setting.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We continued putting the finishing touches on our books.  We also continue to practice writing with transitional words such as "first", "next", "then", and "finally".

3. Math Workshop: We began to explore the base ten system by working with manipulatives such as unifix cubes, beans, and base ten blocks to group and represent two digit numbers.  We learned that by thinking about large numbers in terms of how many "tens" and "ones", we can work with them more easily.

4. Phonics  word families:  et, eg, en

5. Word Wall Words: his, will, your

6. Science/SS: We have explored the water cycle - investigating how water changes forms.

October 1, 2009

Happy October! 

I'm looking forward to seeing you at the picnic today!

Important Dates and Information Below:

This week's Kid of the Week is...Anna Blaire!

Our Character Kid of the Month is ...Mara!  Congratulations, Mara, for being selected by your peers as representing this month's character trait of Integrity.

Upcoming Birthdays:

Julia - October 11!   

Please visit the ABCs of Mrs. Owens Class on the left side of the blog for birthday celebration information. 

1.  Beginning of the Year Picnic:  Thursday, October 1st from 11:00 - 12:00 in the Outdoor Classroom. (Located on the left just before you turn onto the first grade hall.) Buy your lunch from the cafeteria or pack from home for you and your child.  Siblings who do not attend Mt. Bethel are welcome!

2.  October 14:  Picture day make-ups

3.  October 16:  Report cards go home.

4.  October 26:  Field Trip to The Fox to see the play Junie B. Jones!  Be sure your child wears his or her "kiwi green" class shirt!

5.  October 30:  Scarecrow Day! Children will participate in fun fall activities wearing their finest scarecrow attire!

Mystery Readers (8-8:30)
Please plan to bring in 3 or 4 of your family favorites.  Mystery Reader has a 30 minute time block. 

   10/2  Kim Makuch

   10/9 April Yobs

   10/16 Linda Keen

   10/23 Stayton's Grandmother

   10/30 Kelsey Starns

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   We learned that we can use problem solving to read unfamiliar words.  We practiced using what we know about words, finding little words in big words, rereading, and using a dictionary to read unfamiliar words.  We continue to practice fluency.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We learned that writers place words and pictures on a page to grab the reader's interest, that writers tell a story over several pages, and that writers share their work with readers.  The students continue to work on their first book!

3. Math Workshop: We've learned subtraction strategies this week.  We discovered that we can use the strategies of counting back by 1, 2, or 3; hopping back on a number line or thinking of RELATED facts to solve subtraction problems quickly.  Continue to practice those math facts at home!

4. Phonics  word families:  ot, op, og

5. Word Wall Words: do, not, want, very

6. Science/SS:  We finished up our unit on landforms in social studies, and in science we put together a book on measuring weather.

Thank you for sharing your children with me. Have a wonderful weekend!

   10/2  Kim Makuch

   10/9 April Yobs

   10/16 Linda Keen

   10/23 Stayton's Grandmother

   10/30 Kelsey Starns

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   We learned that we can use problem solving to read unfamiliar words.  We practiced using what we know about words, finding little words in big words, rereading, and using a dictionary to read unfamiliar words.  We continue to practice fluency.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We learned that writers place words and pictures on a page to grab the reader's interest, that writers tell a story over several pages, and that writers share their work with readers.  The students continue to work on their first book!

3. Math Workshop: We've learned subtraction strategies this week.  We discovered that we can use the strategies of counting back by 1, 2, or 3; hopping back on a number line or thinking of RELATED facts to solve subtraction problems quickly.  Continue to practice those math facts at home!

4. Phonics  word families:  ot, op, og

5. Word Wall Words: do, not, want, very

6. Science/SS:  We finished up our unit on landforms in social studies, and in science we put together a book on measuring weather.

September 24, 2009

 

• I hope you and your loved ones were all safe and dry this week.

Important Dates, Reminders, and Information Below:

You will find math homework in your child's daily folder today.  We've been practicing using strategies to solve addition problems in a "snap".  Go over these math sheets with your child and discuss the different strategies he or she has identified for each problem.  Be sure to practice those math facts with your child - especially doubles!  We will take our timed addition test next week.

Due to the days we've missed this week, I will not be sending home behavior folders today.  Additionally, we will carry over any missed curriculum from this week into next week.

We've had a change in our Media Center Time!   We will now go to the Media Center for our 30 minute session every Tuesday morning, rather than Wednesdays. Be sure to remind your child to pack his or her books on Monday night.

This week's Kid of the Week is...Anna Blaire! Anna Blaire was sick this week, so she will be our Kid of the Week next week as well.

Our Character Kid of the Month is ...Jay!  Congratulations, Jay, for being selected by your peers as representing this month's character trait of Respect.

Beginning of the Year Picnic:  Thursday, October 1st from 11:00 - 12:00 in the Outdoor Classroom. (Located on the left just before you turn onto the first grade hall.) Buy your lunch from the cafeteria or pack from home for you and your child.  Siblings who do not attend Mt. Bethel are welcome!

Upcoming Birthdays:

Julia - October 11!   

Please visit the ABCs of Mrs. Owens Class on the left side of the blog for birthday celebration information. 

Mystery Readers (8-8:30)
Please plan to bring in 3 or 4 of your family favorites.  Mystery Reader has a 30 minute time block. 

    9/25  Rebecca Brewster

   10/2  Kim Makuch

   10/9 April Yobs

   10/16 Linda Keen

   10/23 Stayton's Grandmother

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   We learned that good readers ask questions as they are reading.  We concentrated on "wondering" as we read.  When we are curious and ask questions about the book we read, we become active readers who look for information in that book.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We learned that good writers write for readers.  We practiced using sequence to tell a story, we planned stories with a beginning, middle and ending (concentrating on strong opening and closing sentences), and we practiced planning the the arrangement of text and pictures to along with our story.

3. Math Workshop: This week we reviewed the properties of addition as well as our addition strategies.  We are now able to look at nearly any single digit addition problem and identify to best strategy to solve that problem in a "snap".

4. Phonics   Short vowel sounds, word families ot, op, and og.

5. Word Wall Words: eat, like, and they

6. Science/SS:  We finished up our unit on landforms in social studies, and in science we put together a book on measuring weather.

Thank you for sharing your children with me. Have a wonderful weekend!

 

• I hope you and your loved ones were all safe and dry this week.

Important Dates, Reminders, and Information Below:

You will find math homework in your child's daily folder today.  We've been practicing using strategies to solve addition problems in a "snap".  Go over these math sheets with your child and discuss the different strategies he or she has identified for each problem.  Be sure to practice those math facts with your child - especially doubles!  We will take our timed addition test next week.

Due to the days we've missed this week, I will not be sending home behavior folders today.  Additionally, we will carry over any missed curriculum from this week into next week.

We've had a change in our Media Center Time!   We will now go to the Media Center for our 30 minute session every Tuesday morning, rather than Wednesdays. Be sure to remind your child to pack his or her books on Monday night.

This week's Kid of the Week is...Anna Blaire! Anna Blaire was sick this week, so she will be our Kid of the Week next week as well.

Our Character Kid of the Month is ...Jay!  Congratulations, Jay, for being selected by your peers as representing this month's character trait of Respect.

Beginning of the Year Picnic:  Thursday, October 1st from 11:00 - 12:00 in the Outdoor Classroom. (Located on the left just before you turn onto the first grade hall.) Buy your lunch from the cafeteria or pack from home for you and your child.  Siblings who do not attend Mt. Bethel are welcome!

Upcoming Birthdays:

Julia - October 11!   

Please visit the ABCs of Mrs. Owens Class on the left side of the blog for birthday celebration information. 

Mystery Readers (8-8:30)
Please plan to bring in 3 or 4 of your family favorites.  Mystery Reader has a 30 minute time block. 

    9/25  Rebecca Brewster

   10/2  Kim Makuch

   10/9 April Yobs

   10/16 Linda Keen

   10/23 Stayton's Grandmother

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   We learned that good readers ask questions as they are reading.  We concentrated on "wondering" as we read.  When we are curious and ask questions about the book we read, we become active readers who look for information in that book.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We learned that good writers write for readers.  We practiced using sequence to tell a story, we planned stories with a beginning, middle and ending (concentrating on strong opening and closing sentences), and we practiced planning the the arrangement of text and pictures to along with our story.

3. Math Workshop: This week we reviewed the properties of addition as well as our addition strategies.  We are now able to look at nearly any single digit addition problem and identify to best strategy to solve that problem in a "snap".

4. Phonics   Short vowel sounds, word families ot, op, and og.

5. Word Wall Words: eat, like, and they

6. Science/SS:  We finished up our unit on landforms in social studies, and in science we put together a book on measuring weather.

Thank you for sharing your children with me. Have a wonderful weekend!

    9/25  Rebecca Brewster

   10/2  Kim Makuch

   10/9 April Yobs

   10/16 Linda Keen

   10/23 Stayton's Grandmother

  

 Watch us Grow with Mrs. O!  This week’s spotlight:

1.  Reader's Workshop/Lang. Arts:   We learned that good readers ask questions as they are reading.  We concentrated on "wondering" as we read.  When we are curious and ask questions about the book we read, we become active readers who look for information in that book.

2. Writer's Workshop:  We learned that good writers write for readers.  We practiced using sequence to tell a story, we planned stories with a beginning, middle and ending (concentrating on strong opening and closing sentences), and we practiced planning the the arrangement of text and pictures to along with our story.