Winter Break!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful winter break!  When we return from break, we will begin lesson 12 in Storytown reading.  On the blog, you can find the Storytown ebooks for lesson 12.  Choose book 2, lesson 12 if you would like your child to practice reading the story.  Also, be sure to check the weekly School-Home Connection newsletter that was sent home!  I will be sending them each week.  The newsletter includes what stories we will be reading, high frequency words, and home activities to enrich your child's understanding of the stories. 

I will be sending your child's running record levels and reading group information with their progress reports.  If you have concerns or questions in regards to progress reports please call or email. 

February is quickly approaching which means parent-teacher conferences.  If you have special concerns that you would like to discuss before conferences, I would gladly schedule a time to meet with you.

Enjoy the rest of your winter break!  See you next year!

Benchmark Testing This Week!

Hello!  This week we will be doing reading benchmark testing.  We will begin first thing Tuesday morning and continue throughout the week.  I will be sending home high frequency word lists with students before winter break.  I will indicate what words your child needs to work on.  High frequency words need to be read rapidly.  If your child can read the word but has to sound it out, I will send the word home for extra practice.   I will also be sending home your child's running record level.  If you have any questions, please call or email me.

Our Winter Party is quickly approaching.  I did not request parent volunteers because we only spend a small part of the morning with the party.  We would welcome any treats you would like to send!  Please look for details later this week.

Thanks so much for your support in your child's education! 

Weekly reminders!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with your families.  This is going to be a very busy week!  The students will begin a new reading lesson--I hope you saw the Weekly Reading Lesson note that was sent home this week.  You can always read the stories with your child using the Storytown Website I have posted.  We are reading from Book 2, Lesson 10.  I will continue to send home the Storytown Reading textbook on Thursdays.  The students were reminded if they do not bring the book back on Friday, they cannot bring one home the following week.  Thanks so much for your help in reminding them! 

Spelling has been going well.  We discussed CVC spelling patterns and adding 's to those words.  Antonyms were introduced too!  After some examples, I was amazed at how quickly students recognized antonyms!  The first spelling test was sent home last week.  Everyone did a great job!  If you have any questions on the Spelling curriculum, please email or call--I would love to answer your questions. 

I will be in Texas for the National Reading Conference this week so I will not be available to respond to emails or phone calls.  Have a fabulous week!

How to Cook a Turkey by First Grade

First grade decided that we needed the following items on our shopping list:
Turkey, salt, pepper, flour, fat, stuffing, grease, sugar, shredded cheese

First grade recommends you cook your turkey using the following directions:

First, you put the stuffing in it.  You put pepper and seasoning on it, and garlic I think.  Put it in the oven for 18 minutes at 29 degrees.
Brock H.

First, you have to put in the boiler thing and fry it in the oven.  Put in the oven for 89 minutes 29 degrees.  Then you eat it!
McKenna C.

First, put salt and pepper on the turkey.  The fat and flour goes inside the turkey and put the stuffing inside with the other stuff.  Cook the turkey at 98 degrees for 93 minutes.
Alanna B.

First, put the ingredients on the turkey.  I put the stuffing on the turkey.  I put the salt and pepper on.  Cook the turkey at 90 degrees for 60 minutes.  After I cook the turkey, I put grease and flour on the turkey.
Chase M.

First, you have to cut open the turkey.  Then you have to put the stuffing in the turkey.  Then you put pepper and salt in it.  Then you put the fat and flour in the turkey.  Cook for 20 seconds at 13 degrees.
Jordan M.

First, you need a turkey.  Stuff the turkey and put grease and flour on the turkey.  Cook for 4 minutes in a warm oven.
Chloe C.

First, you bring the turkey home.  You put the salt, pepper, stuffing, grease, and shredded cheese on top of the turkey.  Put it in the oven for 30 minutes and 90 degrees.
Johnny W.

First, you get the turkey from the commissary.  You put stuffing in the turkey.  You put pepper and salt on it too.  Cook on the grill for 5 minutes.
Asher B.

First, I would get a turkey.  I would put pepper on it and spice and mozzarella cheese and just orange cheese.  I will cook it in the oven for 50 degrees for 1 hour.
Aiden G.

First, get a turkey.  Get some stuffing and put the stuffing inside.  Then cook it at 60 degrees for 3 hours and then eat it with my family.
Jabari P.

First, get a turkey at Hy-Vee.  I put the stuffing over the turkey.  Then bake it for 8 hours for 5,000 degrees.  Then I would cut it and I would share it with my grandma and grandpa.
Matthew S.

First, you get a turkey from the grocery store.  I would put salt on the turkey and sugar.  Then I would stick it in the oven for 4 hours for 20 degrees and then serve it to somebody.
Tori O.

How to Cook a Turkey by 1st Graders

Please continue to check back this week for suggestions by first graders on how to cook your Thanksgiving turkey!  I will post the directions as students complete them.

Wonderful Reading!

I am so impressed by the progress students are making in reading. We have come a long way since the beginning of the school year. Daily practice of our high frequency words are helping us read our HFW words quickly--we "see it say it." Our weekly reading tests continue to improve. We are so proud of our success! First graders are becoming confident readers! Our favorite time of the day continues to be our D.E.A.R. time after lunch. We Drop Everything And Read for 5-10 minutes each day. It gives us a few minutes to relax before the start of our busy afternoon.


In Science we completed our unit on health and how to stay safe. I hope your child shared their food pyramid and their healthy lunch box they made. We enjoyed discussing how to make healthy food choices and the tiny yellow space on the food pyramid--that is where fats and sweets are found! We all agreed that we do love "junk food" every now and then! This week we will discuss how/why objects sink or float. Making predictions and observations are an important part of our science activities.

Just a reminder, I will be gone Nov. 30-Dec. 3 to a Reading Conference in Texas. I will have an excellent substitute. I am certain she can address any concerns or questions that may arise.

Have a wonderful week!

Turkey Feathers!

I hope you saw your child's paper turkey feather today!  Please help your child decorate the feather and return to school as soon as possible.  Be creative and have fun!  I look forward to seeing all of the feathers on our class turkey.
Have a wonderful week!

A special thank you to everyone who made our Fall Party a huge success!  The kids had a great time!

Reading Theme Test

Each week the students take a Weekly Lesson Test for reading.  This week, students will take their first reading Theme Test that will cover material from lessons 1-6.   I will not send home the Theme Test when it is completed so please contact me if you have any questions in regards to your child's score.
Please continue to practice word cards when they come home!   It is so exciting to see the progress the students are making in reading. 

Literacy bags will be coming home again soon.  Be sure to sign the journal  inside the bag so I know what books your child read. 

We have been working very hard in math too!  I introduced doubles addition facts.  We have been practicing them each day.  Ask your child to say the "Doubles Rap."  This week we will begin adding one to a number and continue counting pennies.

Last week was our first week of Science.  The students are very excited.  Our first topic was our five senses.  We tested our sense of smell Friday for science with a "Tell What You Smell" activity. 

Also, our Fall party is Friday, October 29 at 2:15 p.m!  I hope to see your there!

Fall Party

Our Fall Party is quickly approaching.  Mrs. O'Tool has graciously taken over the task of organizing the party.  Please look for information about the party from her soon!

Literacy Bags

Literacy Bags will be sent home with children this week.  Please look for them!  The books will be at your child's reading level so they can read independently and develop confidence to become a great a reader!  These are "Good Fit" books because  they can easily be read to someone without frustration.  Enjoy reading!  Please email, call, or send me a letter with any questions.

Please continue to check Storytown Page!

I have posted high frequency words and robust vocabulary words for lessons 4-6.  Please review words with your child.  We briefly discuss robust vocabulary words throughout the week.

I will be sending "Literacy Bags" home with some children beginning this week.  Please have your child read the books to you.  Ask your child questions about the book such as:  What happened at the beginning, middle, end of story?   Who were the characters in the story?  Please return the bag by the end of the week.  Thank you!

In reading lessons 1-3 we have discussed the following:
Phonics
Short vowel /a/ and /i/
introduced inflection -s
phonograms  -ap, -at, -ag, -and  
contraction 's

High Frequency Words
help, now, let's, in, too, no, so, hold, get, home, soon

Grammar
We discussed what a sentence looks like and identifying the naming parts of a sentence.

Conferences

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend parent-teacher conferences.  I enjoyed talking to each of you! 

First Week of Reading

Our first week of Storytown reading went very well.  This week we talked about short /a/ and built short vowel  /a/ words with word building cards in small groups.  I introduced our weekly spelling words.  Students will not be tested on spelling words.  However, students will write their spelling words each week and will begin writing short spelling sentences.  We played sparkle spelling too!  In grammar, we discussed what a correct sentence looks and sounds like.  I am thrilled with how the students have progressed with their handwriting.  When your child is writing at home, please encourage them to use a capital at the beginning of the sentence, spacing between words, and to always add a punctuation mark.  In math, we are working on basic concepts such as finding missing numbers between two numbers, identifying pennies, and beginning story problems using some, some more, and some, some went away.  During Social Studies this week we discussed Chinese New Year and customs and traditions our families celebrate.  We also took a 'virutal field trip' to China using Google Earth.  Very cool!

Reminders

Parent-Teacher conferences will be Wed., Sept. 22 & Thurs., Sept. 23.  Please be sure that you send your conference slip back so I can confirm your appointment.

Volunteers--thank you to the parents who have returned parent volunteer forms!  I will be in contact with you soon!  I still need a parent volunteer to coordinate the Fall Party.

Reading--we will begin our Storytown Reading program this week.  The reading program will include whole group reading, phonics, small group reading, and grammar.  Reading begins at 8:10-9:20 each morning. 

Questions--I am availabe to answer any questions in regards to your child or any other concerns that may arise.   You can reach me by email, phone, or by visiting the classroom .  The best time to reach me is 7:30 a.m.-8:00 a.m. or after school from 3:45 p.m.-4:30 p.m.  My planning period is from 10:20-10:50 a.m. and from 1:10-1:50 p.m.  Prior to visiting the classroom, please be sure to check in with the front office for a visitors pass.

RTI Information

Dear Families,

This week you will be receiving information about our new Response to Intervention (RTI) program we will begin for reading.  With this new program, your child may receive reading instruction from Mrs. Keene, Mrs. Bergmeyer, or myself.  Students will be changing classes at 8:50-9:20 a.m. daily.  The RTI program will allow us to give our students the best possible reading instruction that is developed for their current individual reading level.  If you have any questions, or would like to visit the classroom to see how the RTI program works--please call or email me!

Mrs. Gewinner

Exciting Week!

The students have been working very hard this week.  We are having a fabulous time in first grade!  Your children have such wonderful personalities and are so eager to learn!  We have been reviewing consonant sounds, what is a vowel, and what sound the short vowel /a/ makes.  Using word-building cards, students worked together in small groups to create words with the short /a/ sound.  I was so impressed with how well they worked together to complete this activity!   A very proud teacher moment!  Reading assessments are almost complete.   Please continue to review the HFW lists found on the blog.  I have been sending home our daily math worksheets.  If you see a DWC at the top of your child's paper, this means we did the activity as a class.  The back of the sheet is indepedent work.  Thursday's will usually be math homework.  Please have your child return their completed math sheet Friday morning.

Welcome to Conestoga's Open House 2010!

Welcome first graders!  I am so excited to have you in my class!  Please check back for frequent updates to our class blog!  I am looking forward to an adventurous school year!
Mrs. Gewinner

Enjoying your summer break?

I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer!   Over the next few weeks, I will be updating the class blog so check back to see what's new.  I will also be organizing our classroom so it is ready for my new students.  See you soon! 
Mrs. Gewinner