Newsletter March 2 2018

Mrs. Adler’s and Ms.
Zimmermann’s First Grade
Weekly Review
March 2, 2018
Past Week’s Review

WELCOME TO THE FIRST GRADE!
What an exciting week in First Grade it has been! Here are some of the highlights: We
celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday! The children looked adorable all dressed up and we read many of
his fascinating books. Thank you Dr. Seuss for making the world of reading more colorfully fun for
all of us! On Thursday, we celebrated Purim by dressing in costumes, shaking groggers, having a
parade led by a clown on stilts and spending time with our fifth grade buddies at different Purim
stations. This has been a truly festive week!
In Language Arts, during Reader’s Workshop, we continued our author’s study on Kevin
Henkes. We read the stories Chester’s Way, Lilly’s Big Day and Julius Baby of the World. We made
text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections throughout the stories. During reading the
students take notes on connections they make while listening to the story. After reading the
students share their connections with the class. We are practicing recognizing the techniques that
Kevin Henkes uses in his stories. We are learning that readers retell the stories to help retain them
and make comparisons to notice what is the same and different in the stories. During Writer’s
Workshop, we wrote our ‘text to world’ connections and again had an opportunity to share them
with the class. The children are making great connections. Our phonic lesson focused on a two-
way sort with the short/i/ and long/i/.
In Spelling, we had our spelling test on words with the patterns k, wh, and qu. The
students were challenged by our two bonus words: multiplication and costumes. The three sight
words this week included: about, who and many. Please make sure that you are continuing to
review these words with your children.
In Math, We have now begun learning multiplication! We know that multiplication is adding
equal groups. For example, three groups each containing the number 5 would be represented
as 5 + 5 + 5 = 15
We are continuing to work on model drawing word problems and taking math sprints to practice
our math facts! The goal is to build accuracy and to see how many problems one can complete in a
minute. At home, please continue to practice addition and subtraction MATH FACTS with your
child every night! Flash cards are a great way to reinforce the skill!
In Social Studies, Our ‘Weekly Reader’ was called “This is Dr. Seuss”. Theodor Seuss Geisel
(March 2, 1904 to September 24, 1991), was better known by his pen name Dr. Seuss. He was a
writer and cartoonist who published over 45 books. He published his first children's book, And to
Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, in 1937. His books contain silly characters, zany stories,
wacky machines, funny rhymes and made up words. His rhymes and characters are beloved by all
generations. Our ‘Studies Weekly’ was called “Celebrate America”. We learned about American
symbols! We know the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell represent freedom. The bald eagle
represents America and Uncle Sam represents the government. We celebrate Veterans Day to
honor the people who served our country. Lastly, we discussed that there are many different
people in our country, speaking different languages, from different cultures. We are all unique and
this is what makes our country a great place to live!
In Science, we learned about insect eyes, antennae and wings. We learned that there are
different types of eyes. For example, the simple eye only has one lens, but the compound eye has
thousands of lenses. Insects use their eyes to help them find food and to escape from predators.
We also learned about the insect’s antennae. They act as an insect’s nose and help it smell. The
antennae help some insects find food, feel, hear and find mates. Their wings help them escape
from predators. Beetles have two pair of wings. The front pair of wings is called the elytra. The
elytra protect the rest the beetle’s body, including its other pair of wings. Most other insects do
not have this protection. Scientists call beetles Coleoptera, which means wings with sheaths. They
have hard coverings that protect them. The students have been recording what they learn in their
insect journals.
In Science Lab, this week we continued learning about insects. We had to take care of our
meal worms and observe any changes since last week. Each student has their own meal worm to
take care of, clean out its habitat, and provide with wheat bran and a small slice of apple once a
week. We observed some meal worms molting, some were quite large in the larva stage, and some
were now in the pupa stage. We drew and wrote about our observations in our science journals
and added the stage into our life cycle calendar. Then we introduced two new insects into our
classroom: ladybugs and praying mantises. They were very excited to learn about the life cycle of
each insect.
In Art, this week the first graders continued to work on their Vincent Van Gogh Sunflower
paintings. They are learning the proper way to hold their brush and apply thick acrylic paint in the
style of impressionism. They are doing an awesome job and they are looking forward to completing
their paintings in art next week.
Last but not least, if there is one thing we can suggest or encourage for you to be doing at
home is to read with your child every night. It is important that you let your child read to you so
he/she can practice reading aloud. This is a wonderful bonding time for you and your child. Please
make sure that you are also recording in the daily reading log what your child is reading at home
and returning the reading logs to school on Monday’s. Please make sure that your child is reading
for at least 15 minutes every day.
Important Dates Ask Your Child
 Tuesday, March 6th - 1st grade Chagigat  What is a ‘text to world’ connection?
Siddur celebration  Which Dr. Seuss book do you like best?
 Wednesday, March 7th – Group Picture  What was your favorite activity during
Day (Individual picture make up day) the Purim Day Celebration?
Wear Dress Uniform  Draw and solve 4 x 6 =
 Name a national symbol.
Important Info
 Please remember to send snacks with your child every day! They get very hungry and a mid-
morning, as well as mid-afternoon, snack helps out! These should be healthy snacks that
can be eaten in a 5-minute time frame!
 Every Monday is Spirit Dress Day! Students may come dressed in a spirit dress shirt and
jeans! If there is no school on a Monday, Tuesday becomes Spirit Dress Day.
We love school!

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Mrs. Adler’s and Ms.

Zimmermann’s First Grade

Past Week’s Review

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