Miss Calcott's Blog

What to Practice at Home This Week

• Spelling Words / Pattern –  REVIEW Lessons 1-15 (As a class, students chose a word from each lesson to review.  Next week, our class will review lessons 16-30.): the, now, too, pick, oh, thank, sent, said, don’t, does, head, rush, match, watch, whiz
• Word Wall Words: favorite, after, yesterday, family, year, second
• Comprehension Skill: Visualize
• Robust Vocabulary: seized, tiresome, tremendous, exhausted, outrageous, patient
• Writing Skill: Describing/Sensory Words- look, smell, taste, sound, feel
• Math Vocabulary: hour, half hour, analog clock, digital clock, hour hand, minute hand, second hand
• Social Studies Vocabulary: life science, living, nonliving, shelter, plant, animal, habitat, desert, forest, wetland, ocean, adaptation, camouflage, life cycle, pupa, larva, egg, mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird, insect, fish, classify
• Fixers (Also available under the Fixers page): 8,5,13 – 4,2,6 – 9,7,16 – 9,8,17  – 5,3,8 – 6, 4, 10 -  9,8,17 – 2,2,4 – 5,4,9 – 8,7,15 – 7,7,14 – 9,3,12 – 8,2,10 – 7,6,13 – 9,918 – 4,3,7 – 9,2,11 – 5,5,10 – 8,4,12 – 5,2,7 – 3,3,6 – 9,5,14 – 7,4,11 – 8,8,16- 7, 6, 13

Upcoming Events for May and June

Thursday, May 17th – Early Release, Students will be dismissed at 1:00pm

Thursday, May 24th – Math Centers, please check the schedule to see if you are volunteering.

Thursday, May 24th  – Fun Fest

Friday, May 25th -  First Grade Plant Sale at 9:00am-10:00am

Monday, May 28th – Memorial Day, No School

Friday, June 1st – Heller Nature Center Field Trip (Please send back your permission slip!)

Monday, June 4th – Field Day

Tuesday, June 5th – Early Release Day, students will be dismissed at 11:40am

Tuesday, June 5th – Step-Up Day

Wednesday, June 6th -  Last Day of First Grade!  Students will be dismissed at 10:00am.

Daily 5 for Literacy

• Read to Self

1. Students read just right books out of their read-to-self baskets.

• Listen to Reading:

1. Students listened to Class Two at the Zoo by Julia Jarman and focused on the story elements such as beginning, middle, and end.

• Work on Words:

1. Students practiced their spelling words by sorting them, reading them and then writing them.  If time remained, they were able to access Spelling City.
2. Students practiced their vocabulary words by playing Pictionary on white boards with a partner.  One student drew a picture of a selected vocabulary word while the other student guessed which vocabulary word it could be.  Practice the robust vocabulary words at home so your child is more confident when they choose to try this activity.
3. Students practiced making words by using selected letter magnets.  After making as many words as they could find, they were challenged to find the secret word.  This word had to include each provided letter.  The secret word this week was “kindness”.
4. Students practiced their word wall words by playing “Shopping for Word Wall Words”. Students had to follow a key to determine how much each letter cost for the word they were spelling.  They enjoyed figuring out which word was the most expensive and which was the least.

• Work on Writing:

1. Students wrote creatively about a picture.  This picture was of a boy who was who was in an ocean habitat.
2. Students practiced writing silly sentences using as many of their spelling words as they could.
3. Students wrote about a topic of their choice in their journals.
4. Students wrote worked on Build a Sentence.  They pulled a noun, adjective, verb, and punctuation mark from a basket and had to build a complete sentence using each word.

• Meet with the Teacher/Read to Someone
  

1. This week students worked practiced various comprehension skills based on their individual needs.

Literacy

This week students worked on the comprehension skill of making connections to self.  They continued to use these sentence starters to help them make a connection that supports their comprehension:
I can connect to…

It reminds me of…

It helps me understand the story better because…

Please make sure you continue to practice these comprehension skills at home when your child reads each night for 15 minutes.

Math

This week, students began learning how to tell time.  They have learned how to tell time to the hour and the half hour.  We were able to play a game to practice our ability to tell time on both analog clocks and digital clocks.

Using analog clocks and digital clocks in a math game.

Science

As a part of our life science unit we have been learning about insect life cycles by having “class pets”.  This week we freed our lady bugs and butterflies that went through their life cycles.  (Egg, Larva, Pupa, Adult.)  Ask your child about this exciting experience!

Butterflies

Hoping one will land our our hand!

Social Studies/Writing

Happy Mothers Day!  This week students learned about why we celebrate Mothers Day.  They were able to create a book about the reasons they love their mom, what they like to do with their mom, and why their mom is the best!  They also learned about poetry and created a cinquain poem about their mom.

Upcoming Events for May and June

Thursday, May 17th – Early Release, Students will be dismissed at 1:00pm

Thursday, May 24th – Math Centers, please check the schedule to see if you are volunteering.

Thursday, May 24th  – Fun Fest

Friday, May 25th -  First Grade Plant Sale at 9:00am-10:00am

Friday, June 1st – Heller Nature Center Field Trip (Please send back your permission slip!)

Monday, June 4th – Field Day

Tuesday, June 5th – Early Release Day, students will be dismissed at 11:40am

Tuesday, June 5th – Step-Up Day

Wednesday, June 6th -  Last Day of First Grade!  Students will be dismissed at 10:00am.

Ragnar for Rory was a huge success!  Thank you to all of the families who donated to this great cause!  The students had a great time running during their scheduled time on Friday.

Daily 5 for Literacy

• Read to Self

1. Students read just right books out of their read-to-self baskets.

• Listen to Reading:

1. Students listened to The Grumpy Morning by Pamela Duncan Edwards and focused on the story elements such as problem and solution.

• Work on Words:

1. Students practiced their spelling words by sorting them, reading them and then writing them.  If time remained, they were able to access Spelling City.
2. Students practiced their vocabulary words by playing Pictionary on white boards with a partner.  One student drew a picture of a selected vocabulary word while the other student guessed which vocabulary word it could be.  Practice the robust vocabulary words at home so your child is more confident when they choose to try this activity.
3. Students practiced making words by using selected letter magnets.  After making as many words as they could find, they were challenged to find the secret word.  This word had to include each provided letter.  The secret word this week was “blooming”.
4. Students practiced their word wall words by playing “Shopping for Word Wall Words”. Students had to follow a key to determine how much each letter cost for the word they were spelling.  They enjoyed figuring out which word was the most expensive and which was the least.

• Work on Writing:

1. Students wrote creatively about a picture.  This picture was of a boy who was who was in a desert habitat.
2. Students practiced writing silly sentences using as many of their spelling words as they could.
3. Students wrote about a topic of their choice in their journals.
4. Students wrote worked on Build a Sentence.  They pulled a noun, adjective, verb, and punctuation mark from a basket and had to build a complete sentence using each word.

• Meet with the Teacher/Read to Someone
  

1. This week students worked practiced various comprehension skills based on their individual needs.

Literacy

This week our class focused on the comprehension skill of details.  In non-fiction, students learned how to use a graphic organizer to keep track of the important details in text.

In writing, our class began to explore different non-fiction texts in order to prepare for an expository writing prompt on butterflies/caterpillars.  To go with this paragraph, students created a butterfly using watercolor paints, coffee filters, and pipe cleaners.  These will be attached to the final copy of each students’ paragraph.

Math

In math, our class continued to learn about money.  We visited “The Calcott Supermarket” again to compare prices of different items.  Students used a greater than, less than, or equal sign to compare and then wrote about what product was the most and least expensive.

We also continued to practice how to make a specified amount of money in multiple ways.  For example: $1.00 can be made using four quarters or 10 dimes, and so on.  This is a challenging skill, (especially when using mixed coins) so please have your child continue to practice this at home.

Science

Students continued to learn about our life science unit with our new plants.  Each student planted one Zinnia and one Sweet Basil plant that we will sell at our upcoming plant sale.  Students began to learn about the plant life cycle and read more specific information about how to take care of both Zinnias and Sweet Basil.  We have been keeping track of the details from the informational text on chart paper as a class.

Upcoming Events for May and June

Monday, May 7th -School Supplies Orders for next year are due

Tuesday, May 8th – Fun Fest Raffle Basket Donation Due (Our theme: I’m Game/Build It)

Thursday, May 17th – Early Release, Students will be dismissed at 1:00pm

Thursday, May 24th – Math Centers, please check the schedule to see if you are volunteering.

Thursday, May 24th  – Fun Fest

Friday, May 25th -  First Grade Plant Sale

Friday, June 1st – Heller Nature Center Field Trip (More information will be sent home about this early next week)

Monday, June 4th – Field Day

Tuesday, June 5th – Early Release Day, students will be dismissed at 11:40am

Tuesday, June 5th – Step-Up Day

Wednesday, June 6th -  Last Day of First Grade!  Students will be dismissed at 10:00am.

What to Practice at Home This Week

• Spelling Words / Pattern –  /oo/ & /ew/: boot, tooth, soon, noon, new, grew, story, hurry, great, took, May, knew, school, blooming, through
• Word Wall Words: while, build, toward, sure, want, life
• Comprehension Skill: Details
• Robust Vocabulary: wriggle, interested, cooperative, prickly, construct, assist
• Writing Skill: Describing/Sensory Words- look, smell, taste, sound, feel
• Math Vocabulary: penny, nickel, dime, quarter, cent, dollar $, equal amounts
• Social Studies Vocabulary: ife science, living, nonliving, shelter, plant, animal, habitat, desert, forest, wetland, ocean, adaptation, camouflage
• Fixers (Also available under the Fixers page): 8,5,13 – 4,2,6 – 9,7,16 – 9,8,17  – 5,3,8 – 6, 4, 10 -  9,8,17 – 2,2,4 – 5,4,9 – 8,7,15 – 7,7,14 – 9,3,12 – 8,2,10 – 7,6,13 – 9,918 – 4,3,7 – 9,2,11 – 5,5,10 – 8,4,12 – 5,2,7 – 3,3,6 – 9,5,14 – 7,4,11 – 8,8,16- 7, 6, 13

Important Dates

Ragnar for Rory:

This is the last week to donate to Ragnar for Rory. Below are a list of events leading up to our Ragnar Run.

Wednesday-We’re Making Change…And So Can You!

This is the last week to donate to Ragnar for Rory! Bring spare change tomorrow to donate.

Thursday- Dollars for Deutsch

Donate dollar bills for Rory Deutsch Foundation

Friday- Hats “On” for Rory!

Bring in a dollar bill to wear a hat. Don’t forget to dress in running clothes and hydrate for your Ragnar Run in PE!

Online donations can be made here.

Visit Ragnar for Rory Facebook page.

Tuesday, May 8th – Fun Fest Raffle Basket Donation Due (Our theme: I’m Game/Build It)

Thursday, May 17th – Early Release, Students will be dismissed at 1:00pm

Thursday, May 24th  – Fun Fest

Friday, May 25th -  First Grade Plant Sale (more information will be sent home about this soon)

Below is the “What to practice” from last week:

·       Spelling Words / Pattern – _ies, _y, _ied: funny, happy, story, stories, hurry, hurried, how, out, baby, done, any, only, every, pennies, studied

·       Word Wall Words: able, almost, travel, pour, great, tomorrow

·       Comprehension Skill: Details & Re-read

·       Robust Vocabulary: properly, familiar, arrived, anticipate, numerous, vibrant

·       Writing Skill: Describing/Sensory Words- look, smell, taste, sound, feel

·       Math Vocabulary: penny, nickel, dime, quarter, cent, dollar $, equal amounts

·       Science Vocabulary: life science, living, nonliving, shelter, plant, animal, habitat, desert, forest, wetland, ocean, adaptation, camouflage

·       Fixers (Also available under the Fixers page): 8,5,13 – 4,2,6 – 9,7,16 – 9,8,17  – 5,3,8 – 6, 4, 10 -  9,8,17 – 2,2,4 – 5,4,9 – 8,7,15 – 7,7,14 – 9,3,12 – 8,2,10 – 7,6,13 – 9,918 – 4,3,7 – 9,2,11 – 5,5,10 – 8,4,12 – 5,2,7 – 3,3,6 – 9,5,14 – 7,4,11 – 8,8,16- 7, 6, 13

Daily 5 for Literacy

• Read to Self

1. Students read just right books out of their read-to-self baskets.

• Listen to Reading:

1. Students listened to Miss Fox’s Class Goes Green by Eileen Spinelli and focused on the story elements such as problem and solution.

• Work on Words:

1. Students practiced their spelling words by sorting them, reading them and then writing them.  If time remained, they were able to access Spelling City.
2. Students practiced their vocabulary words by playing Pictionary on white boards with a partner.  One student drew a picture of a selected vocabulary word while the other student guessed which vocabulary word it could be.  Practice the robust vocabulary words at home so your child is more confident when they choose to try this activity.
3. Students practiced making words by using selected letter magnets.  After making as many words as they could find, they were challenged to find the secret word.  This word had to include each provided letter.  The secret word this week was “studied”.
4. Students practiced their word wall words by playing “Shopping for Word Wall Words”. Students had to follow a key to determine how much each letter cost for the word they were spelling.  They enjoyed figuring out which word was the most expensive and which was the least.

• Work on Writing:

1. Students wrote creatively about a picture.  This picture was of a boy who was smiling.  Students had to determine why the boy was so happy.
2. Students practiced writing silly sentences using as many of their spelling words as they could.
3. Students wrote about a topic of their choice in their journals.
4. Students wrote letters to other teachers in the building.

• Meet with the Teacher/Read to Someone
  

1. This week students worked practiced various comprehension skills based on their individual needs.

Literacy

Students worked on the comprehension skill of finding the main ideas and details when reading nonfiction.  Students discovered that the main idea is what the text is mostly about and that other interesting facts are details.  Students practiced using a graphic organizer to sort this out as we read.

In writing, students completed their April Writing sample.  They wrote about the most important thing they had.  This writing piece will be added to the book that will include their monthly writing samples from throughout the school year.

Math

Students continued to learn about money in math.  They enjoyed practicing by playing grocery store with all of the cereal boxes, cookie boxes, and so on that you sent in.  (Thank you to those who sent boxes in, we have plenty now and do not need anymore.)

Grocery Shopping to practice using money

Science

We have moved on from habitats and have been learning about animal adaptations.  One way an animal adapts to it’s environment is by using camouflage.  This week, students sorted pictures of animals and certain adaptations they had to help the animal to survive.

Sorting animals and adaptations

Students also enjoyed celebrating Earth Day by sharing their “Trash Man Super Hero” projects.  They also created a page that had their super hero’s name and their super powers.

The 3R's Superheros

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, May 8th – Fun Fest Raffle Basket Donation Due (Our theme: I’m Game/Build It)

We had a busy week in first grade!

Daily 5 for Literacy

• Read to Self

1. Students read just right books out of their read-to-self baskets.

• Listen to Reading:

1. Students listened to You Think It’s Easy Being the Toothfairy by Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt and focused on the comprehension skill of problem and soloution.

• Work on Words:

1. Students practiced their spelling words by sorting them, reading them and then writing them.  If time remained, they were able to access Spelling City.
2. Students practiced their vocabulary words by playing Pictionary on white boards with a partner.  One student drew a picture of a selected vocabulary word while the other student guessed which vocabulary word it could be.  Practice the robust vocabulary words at home so your child is more confident when they choose to try this activity.
3. Students practiced making words by using selected letter magnets.  After making as many words as they could find, they were challenged to find the secret word.  This word had to include each provided letter.  The secret word this week was “showers”.
4. Students practiced their word wall words by rainbow writing them.

• Work on Writing:

1. Students wrote creatively about a picture.  This picture was of a boy who was smelling something.  Students had to determine if it smelled good or bad and what it was that the boy was smelling.
2. Students practiced writing silly sentences using as many of their spelling words as they could.
3. Students wrote about a topic of their choice in their journals.
4. Students wrote creatively about why a boy was smiling so much!

• Meet with the Teacher/Read to Someone
  

1. This week students worked practiced various comprehension skills based on their individual needs.

Literacy

This week we continued working on our narrative unit paragraphs.  Students continued to tell the story of the first time they did something.  Some students chose to write about the first time they rode a roller coaster, or the first time they rode their bike, or their first plane ride.

Students also continued to practice making connections to self.  Please make sure that your student is doing this when they read at home and that they can explain how it helps them understand the story better.

Math

We continued our money unit in math.  We are beginning to count mixed money and making a specified amount of money in various ways.  Thank you to those parents who sent in cereal boxes, macaroni and cheese boxes and so on.  We will be using these to create real life situations where students would need money (such as in a grocery store).

Our class also enjoyed participating in math centers this week.  Here are some pictures of the students working their their small groups on math:

Money Chase!

Penny, nickel, dime, quarter exchange

Secret Number Place Value Game

Science

Students continued to learn about habitats.  This week we focused on wetlands, oceans, forests, and deserts.  Students will be creating a book to describe the different habitats that they learned about.

Upcoming Events

Monday, April 23rd – Reading Around the World Night – 6:00pm-8:15pm

Wednesday, April 26th – Scholastic Book Order Due

Thursday, April 27th – Trash Kid Homework Project Due

Tuesday, May 8th – Fun Fest Raffle Basket Donation Due (Our theme: I’m Game/Build It)

The Rory Deustch Foundation Update:

Dear Indian Trail Community,

Today information was sent home with your child about Indian Trail’s new charity, The Rory Deustch Foundation (http:// www.roryd.org/welcome). Rory is a former Indian Trail student and beloved member of our community.  At the young age of seven-years old, he died of a brain stem glioma, a type of pediatric brain tumor. His courage and optimism in the face of inevitable death was an inspiration to all who knew him. The mission of The Rory David Deutsch Foundation is to eradicate pediatric brain tumors and other devastating childhood diseases as well as to make a difference in the lives of afflicted children and their families. It accomplishes these purposes by: 



• Funding medical research and programs.
• Increasing public awareness of the Foundation’s mission. 

• Creating opportunities to engage young people and adults in activities that can make a positive difference in their lives.

During the week of April 30th – May 4th, Indian Trail School will host it’s first “Ragnar for Rory” school-wide fundraising event to support the Rory Deustch Foundation. In order to make this fundraiser meaningful for students, they will participate in a week-long distance running program that fosters the importance of exercise, teamwork, and goal setting during P.E. Additionally, six Indian Trail teachers will be running the official Ragnar Relay on June 8th.

Our goal is to reach $10,000.00 in donations this year and we need YOUR help! The Rory David Deustch Foundation is a non-profit organization and all proceeds benefit their mission.

All fundraiser links can be found on our physical education department blog: (http://blogs.nssd112.org/jfunke/) or on our school website (http://www.edline.net/pages/Indian_Trail_ES)

Show your support and “like” Ragnar for Rory on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ragnarforrory

We are looking forward to the Indian Trail community coming together to support the Rory Deustch Foundation.  

Thank you for your support,

Coach Funke and Ms. Henkel

Scholastic Book Clubs Ordering Information
www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: GQPZW

Dear Parent,

This month’s Scholastic Book Clubs flyer is ready for you to explore with your child. Once you’ve decided which books to purchase, please return the form and payment to me, or give online ordering a try. It saves time, offers more book choices, and earns extra rewards for the classroom.

To start ordering online, follow these simple steps:

1.  Register at Scholastic Book Clubs’ secure Web site (www.scholastic.com/bookclubs), and create your own User Name and Password.
2.  Enter the onetime Class Activation Code above to link you to our classroom.
3.  Choose the books that you would like to order.
4.  Pay for your selections using your credit card.
5.  Submit your order to me online.

It’s always a special moment to see an entire classroom bursting with excitement to open the book box!

Thank you,

Molly Calcott

What to Practice at Home this Week

• Spelling Words / Pattern – Diphthong /ou/ & /ow/: how, cow, down, out, found, round, try, light, earth, table, cloudy, showers, flowering, conservation, camouflage
• Word Wall Words: done, baby, together, heard, weather, ready
• Comprehension Skill: Make Connections (Text to text and text to self)
• Robust Vocabulary: quivered, wailed, scattered, lonesome, elated, hopeless
• Writing Skill: Describing/Sensory Words- look, smell, taste, sound, feel
• Math Vocabulary: penny, nickel, dime, quarter, cent, dollar $, equal amounts * Please send in any empty and cleaned out cereal boxes, drink containers, snack boxes, etc.  This will help our class to learn how money is used in real live situations.
• Science Vocabulary: life science, living, nonliving, shelter, plant, animal, habitat, desert, forest, wetland, ocean
• Fixers (Also available under the Fixers page): 8,5,13 – 4,2,6 – 9,7,16 – 9,8,17  – 5,3,8 – 6, 4, 10 -  9,8,17 – 2,2,4 – 5,4,9 – 8,7,15 – 7,7,14 – 9,3,12 – 8,2,10 – 7,6,13 – 9,918 – 4,3,7 – 9,2,11 – 5,5,10 – 8,4,12 – 5,2,7 – 3,3,6 – 9,5,14 – 7,4,11 – 8,8,16- 7, 6, 13

Upcoming Events

Thursday, April 19th – Math Centers, please check the schedule to see if you are volunteering

Monday, April 23rd – Reading Around the World Night – 6:00pm-8:15pm

Tuesday, May 8th – Fun Fest Raffle Basket Donation Due (Our theme: I’m Game/Build It)

Thank you to those families who participated in iRead!  This year was a huge success!  Now that iRead is over, please make sure that you continue to help your child to read each night.  Research continues to show the importance of having your child read daily.  The best way to help your child improve their reading is by having them read!  I appreciate your support at home with this to help you child to become a lifelong reader.

Daily 5 for Literacy

• Read to Self

1. I replaced the books in each students’ reading basket.  The students were eager to see what new books they had and to being reading to self.

• Listen to Reading:

1. Students listened to My Life as a Chicken by Ellen A. Kelley and focused on the comprehension skill of characters.

• Work on Words:

1. Students practiced their spelling words by sorting them, reading them and then writing them.  If time remained, they were able to access Spelling City.
2. Students practiced their vocabulary words by playing Pictionary on white boards with a partner.  One student drew a picture of a selected vocabulary word while the other student guessed which vocabulary word it could be.  Practice the robust vocabulary words at home so your child is more confident when they choose to try this activity.
3. Students practiced making words by using selected letter magnets.  After making as many words as they could find, they were challenged to find the secret word.  This word had to include each provided letter.  The secret word this week was “habitat”.

• Work on Writing:

1. Students wrote creatively about a picture.  This picture was of a boy who was smelling something.  Students had to determine if it smelled good or bad and what it was that the boy was smelling.
2. Students practiced writing silly sentences using as many of their spelling words as they could.
3. Students wrote about a topic of their choice in their journals.

• Meet with the Teacher/Read to Someone
  

1. This week students worked practiced various comprehension skills based on their individual needs.

Literacy

This week we kicked off our narrative unit!  Students enjoyed learning how a narrative needs to follow a sequence and have a beginning middle and end.  We completed a brainstorming graphic organizer and will follow the writing process next week for our very first narrative!

Students also learned about synonyms.  Students learned that describing words are important, but they need to practice using different words.  We practice using a synonym sheet to change words like funny to hilarious or pretty to gorgeous.  Try to help you student practice this when writing or speaking.  Their writing will improve tremendously when changing words like nice, love, pretty, fun, and so on to more interesting words.

Our comprehension skill this week was making connections to self and to text.  Students practiced this using these sentence starters during a read aloud and their guided reading time:
I can connect to…______

It reminds me of…______

It helps me understand the story better because…_____

Using these sentence starters helps students to differentiate from a fun fact and a connection that actually supports their comprehension.  Try practicing this at home with your child when reading each night.

Math

In math, students began learning about money this week.  We learned the names of the coins and their value by completing a book describing each coin.  We also watched several math videos.  Please have your child access these at home to reinforce their skills:

Science

This week we started an experiment.  We put both beans and gravel in water and made predictions about what might happen.

Our experiment!

Making predictions based on what we already know...

Students have been making observations each day and recording them in their book.  We haven’t seen many changes yet, but we are looking forward to see what happened over the weekend.

Recording our observations.

This week we began learning about different habitats.  This was introduced by working in small groups to sort cards into two piles and found that animals either live on land or water.  We will begin to learn about habitats that can be found in both places next week.

Land and water piles

Upcoming Events

Thursday, April 19th – Math Centers, please check the schedule to see if you are volunteering

Monday, April 23rd – Reading Around the World Night – 6:00pm-8:15pm