Weekly Update

Dear Families,

We have had another productive week in our 1st and 2nd grade classroom with lots of learning and celebrations.

In Writer’s Workshop, we continued discussing the different tools authors use when they write. We discussed the importance of finding the right type of paper and pencils. We also discussed the various strategies we can use when we get stuck on the spelling of a word. Ask your child to explain how we can tap our words out to check on our own spelling. We also discovered that different stories require different types of paper. Some stories are so long, we need more lines (or even pages), while some stories we write only require a single page. The students also started compiling a list of possible topics for future stories. We want to make sure we do not run out of ideas. This list will grow throughout the year. Please encourage your child to be a “Story Detective”, searching for hidden, invisible stories in our everyday lives. I have added a “Story Detective” survey onto our classroom blog. Please encourage your child to add his/her ideas to this survey. The students will also access this at school.

In Reader’s Workshop, we continued exploring what good readers do when they read and we also talked about the importance of learning for understanding. We discussed how a quiet spot, a book mark and a just right book can help us read for understanding. We also discussed the many strategies we have at our disposal when we try to read. This week, the students learned the importance of finger-reading (following along in the text with a finger or book-mark), sounding out words, reading the whole word (from beginning to end), and looking at the pictures to help us understand. We will continue to practice these strategies in the weeks to come.

Reading assessments will start later this week and continue into next week. I will be out for at least two days to complete these assessments, but the students will have regular days with a substitute teacher. I will also be out two more days next week for a CSSU math training course. I will continue to check emails, so please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Our classroom has three new pets! We have three caterpillars now and they are growing and changing every day. The students are busy observing them and noting the differences from day to day. Please ask your child to explain how we can use adjectives, or “describing words” to explain their individual features. We will continue to explore these little creatures and read many books on the subject. We will also vote on names for them so please return to the blog for updates! Thank you all.

I have some very exciting news to share with you. I have received a technology grant from the VT Department of Education to support reading instruction on our team. The grant provides for podcasting technologies, projectors and document cameras in an effort to improve reading accuracy, reading fluency and reading comprehension. Please stay tuned as more information will follow as I introduce these new digital tools to our students. Thank you.

The students continued to work on our interactive google doc with Sharon Davison’s class this week around our school motto “Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Responsible”. This document is going to be our classroom contract once it is finished. Please visit the classroom to see it displayed.

The students also continued learning about email this week. The students are now expected to reply to emails so if you wish to send your child an email at school, we would love it. Your child’s email address is firstnamelastname@cssu.us
Full first names are used. Not nick-names.
Thank you!

News and Reminders:
• ABS Curriculum Night is September 22nd at 6:30pm
• School Picture Day is September 22nd
• No peanut butter snacks on our team
• The weather is getting colder and wetter, so please send in thicker jackets, pants and shirts every day as your child has outdoor recess every day (unless it is raining)
• If you would like to keep an extra set of clothing in your child’s locker, please send in a small plastic bag containing those items with your child’s name attached
• Library day is Tuesday. Please remember to bring you books back.
• Thursday folders are due back in the classroom on Fridays (emptied of contents)
• Homework Folders containing reading logs are due back on Thursdays. Please read every day.

Have a great rest of the week!
Regards,
Maria McCormack