May News

Hope everyone is staying cool in this warm weather. Our classroom is quite warm, so I encourage you to send a bottle of water with your child so that they can keep it at their seat. This way, the students can stay hydrated and keep right on learning! We have DIBELS in one week--this means that the students will be assessed on their letter naming skills, identifying the sounds in words, and sounding out nonsense words. Please keep practicing at home to reinforce our work at school. This will keep their skills fresh and help them to get the best scores possible. The students have been working so hard! We have been focusing on subtraction and took a formal test this week. They are so proud of their subtraction skills. Each day we watch Subtracting with Pirates on YouTube at the beginning of math. Ask your son or daughter to sing it for you--it is a hit with the students and helps them remember the rules of subtraction. We enjoyed reading The Little Engine that Could this week in Reading Street. The students have enjoyed learning about a various forms of transportation! This coming week is Right to Read week and there are many fun activities planned! Be sure to ask your child each day what our special activity was. Have a great week!

Fun in the Fourth Quarter

Both classes have now taken a "tour" of Brantner and the students worked together to create class maps of the school--inside and out. The students were very creative and the maps are now proudly displayed in the hallway. This was such a great way to meet the Social Studies standard for demonstrating familiarity with the school's layout.

Both classes are earning Cardinal Cards at record speed. We are really emphasizing the need to work hard to make good choices, as the students are almost first graders. I am so proud of how well they are focusing and putting forth so much effort to be successful!

Next week, we will begin focusing on subtraction. The students are very excited about addition, so I am hopeful to see the same enthusiasm for subtraction.

Back in the swing of things

We had a busy week following Spring Break! The fourth quarter is here, and the boys and girls will be first graders soon. This means that the work is getting more difficult and the students are being asked to do more things independently. I am so pleased with how much they have grown as learners this year.

In math, we have been focusing on various ways to solve addition problems: using a number line, counting on, drawing pictures, etc. The students will take their formal addition test next week, and I am expecting great results! Then we will move on to subtraction.

In writing, we are practicing what we have learned about the rules of writing a sentence and the students are beginning to explore more writing opportunities on their own.

In reading, we had a great time with Max Takes the Train. What a fun story! We also discussed various types of transportation, including subways, jets, ferryboats, and bicycles built for two.

Before the end of the year, the students will have many opportunities to show what they have learned for their final report cards. Additional practice at home is a huge help! Please practice the following:
~Writing the first, middle, and last sounds in words.
~Saying all of the sounds in words. (For DIBELS, students must state 40 sounds in one minute.)
~Counting by 1 to 100.
~Counting by 10 to 100.
~Writing numbers 1-20 in order.
~Reading all of the letters and stating their sounds.
~Reading all of the sight words we have learned this year.

Enjoy this beautiful day!