Family Newsletter

Dear Families,

Report cards went home in your child's backpack on Friday.  Please take the time to read these together with your child and celebrate their hard work at school.  It would be great if you could return the yellow envelope to school as soon as possible.  We will use them again.  The report cards stay at home, of course!  Thank you.

Reading:
Ms. Z and I started introducing the students to non-fiction book in our guided reading groups.  As the students learn new content and information about different topics, they will also learn about various non-fiction text features.  So far, we have discussed table of contents, diagrams/labels, glossaries and bolded fonts.  As the students learn to identify these text features, they are also encouraged to think about why authors of non-fiction books use them.  In other words, what is the purpose of these features and how do they help the reader understand the text better?

While we immerse ourselves in non-fiction books at school, the students are still exposed to, and encouraged to read fictional stories.  They have many different fictional stories in the book boxes for independent reading and I am noticing on their reading logs that they read these types of books at home.  To help support improvements in our understanding of texts, Ms. Cara, our Reading Recovery Teacher here at ABS, shared a wonderfully helpful sheet with various reading response questions.  I will send this home with your child on Friday.  Please look for this in your child's Friday folder and keep at home for reference.  I hope this sheet will spark conversations at home about literature!  Thank you for supporting your child's love of reading at home.

Reading as an Investment:
Some parents asked about the "Reading as an Investment" reading log that was sent home the week before last.  This is a reading initiative run by the Department of Education, I believe.  To support the children, I read the three required books about money in class to ensure that all children qualify for this lottery.  If your child wants to participate, you can cross off the three required omney books and continue with the other free read choices to fulfill the requirements.  Good luck!

Writing:
We celebrated Martin Luther King Day last week at school.  We read books and watched a short video about him and his work for peace.  The students had the opportunity to write about their own dreams for the future and what they can do to make the world a better place.  They also wrote about what they would say or do if they could meet him.  They did an amazing job!  These writing pieces will be shared at our conferences in March and at Reading Restaurant as they will be placed inside the students' scrapbooks,

Science:
Last week, we explored some science with our Reading Buddies from Ms. Davison's class.  Next week, we will start our next science unit about processes that shape the earth.  We will learn about erosion, floods, earthquakes and volcanoes.  This is always a great unit and the students usually love it!

Math:
First grade mathematicians continued their work on number sense.  We have also spent a lot of time on problem-solving.  The students have improved their skills in representing their understanding and how to efficiently show what they are thinking to solve a particular problem.  They are encouraged to rely on known facts, or anchoring their solutions to 10s or 5s.  Next week, Ms. Z will conduct small groups to deepen this understanding.  The students will also focus on adding 10 to any number.  They will use rekenreks and popsicle sticks to show how the starting number grows by 10 each time.  For example, they will learn to count, and show, 2, 12, 22, 32,  42 etc.  We will practice with starting at any number but 0.

Valentine's Day:
Valentine's day is right around the corner.  I will email you a list of all the students' names.  If your child wishes to create a Valentine for his/her friends, please make sure your child includes everyone in class.  No candy, please.  We will hand out the Valentine's in the morning of the 14th.  Thank you.