April 29-May 3, 2019         

Reading: Unit 6 begins this week. The stories discuss building homes. Our first story is called “Building with Dad.” It shows how schools are built. Compare and contrast is the comprehension skill we will review. The amazing words are: groundbreaking, foundation, waterproof, trenches, welding, gleaming. The sight words for the week are: here, do, little, with, what.

Phonics: Vowel sounds will be reviewed and practiced.

Math: Coins & Personal Financial Literacy will be completed and this week. The unit teaches how to identify coins and their value in order to count money, discusses why we have money and what it is used for, and explains the importance of spending and saving. The children are loving the coin songs and games that are enhancing these skills!

Reminders:

~April Book Logs are due on Wednesday. The goal is 15 books. Remember take home books also count.

~ The reading teachers will soon begin their end of the year testing. Your child will be required to write dictated sentences. (They must use capital letters at the beginning, finger spaces between words, and punctuation at the end. For words they do not know how to spell: have them sound out the word and write the sounds they hear.) They will also need to identify, write, and give the sound (along with a word) for each letter of the alphabet. Another assessment will determine how many words can be written correctly in a 10 minute time frame. Practice word writing regularly. Remind your child to use sight words, word families, colors, numbers, familiar names, etc.  

~The last round of DIBELS testing will also be taking place in May. The reading portion will have children identifying letters, segmenting words (jump /j/,/u/,/m/,/p/), and reading nonsense words (nuv, deg, baz…) . Each section will be timed for 1 minute, therefore speed is important. In the Math portion, students will compare number quantities (quickly determine which set of dots has more & state the number in that set), identify numbers 0-100, and name the next number randomly.

~Kindergarten Graduation will take place on Tuesday, May 28^th. Your child will be receiving 5 tickets and more information at a later date.

April 22-26, 2019

Reading: “This is the Way We Go to School” is the title of this week’s story. This informational fiction book discusses the ways children around the world get to school. Drawing conclusions is the comprehension skill taught this week. We will also revisit how to identify verbs as action words in sentences. Our amazing words are: cable car, horse-and –buggy, Metro line, trolley, skis, and vaporetto. The sight words to focus on are: where and come.

Phonics: Two letters will be featured this week. Yy makes the /y/ sound, as in yak. Qq’s sound is /kw/, as in quilt.

Math: Unit 8 begins this week. This unit teaches Coins & Personal Financial Literacy. We will identify coins and their value, discuss why we have money and what it is used for, and we will learn about spending and saving.

Reminders:

~The PTO Basket Raffle will take place this weekend (April 27^th & 28^th). Thank you for your contributions to our “Cold Drinks” basket. Please remember to stop by and drop a ticket in our cool prize!

~ The reading teachers will soon begin their end of the year testing. Your child will be required to write dictated sentences. (They must use capital letters at the beginning, finger spaces between words, and punctuation at the end. For words they do not know how to spell: have them sound out the word and write the sounds they hear.) They will also need to identify, write, and give the sound (along with a word) for each letter of the alphabet. Another assessment will determine how many words can be written correctly in a 10 minute time frame. Practice word writing regularly. Remind your child to use sight words, word families, colors, numbers, familiar names, etc.  

~The last round of DIBELS testing will also be taking place in May. The reading portion will have children identifying letters, segmenting words (jump /j/,/u/,/m/,/p/), and reading nonsense words (nuv, deg, baz…) . Each section will be timed for 1 minute, therefore speed is important. In the Math portion, students will compare number quantities (quickly determine which set of dots has more & state the number in that set), identify numbers 0-100, and name the next number randomly.

April 15-18, 2019  

   

Reading: Our story this week is called "On the Move!” It is an informational text that will discuss how people in different parts of the world travel.  We will review Main Idea to enhance our comprehension skills. We will also learn more about nouns in sentences. The amazing words from the story are: travel, llama, submarine, kayak, dogsled, and double-decker bus. The targeted sight words are: when and come.

Phonics: Two letters will be targeted this week. We will work with the letters Vv (with the /v/ sound as in van) and Zz (with the /z/ sound as in zebra).

Math: Unit 7 (Time, Data, and Measurement) will be tested this week. We are having so much fun measuring items according to length, height, weight, and capacity! We also enjoyed exploring the parts of a clock and telling time to the hour. (We don’t want to be late if we have an important date!) Finally, we are graphing information to organize our data.

Reminders:

~Please send Spring photo payments in as soon as possible. If you are not purchasing the pictures, please return the package.

~There is No School on Friday, April 19^th.

~Many thanks for the basket raffle donations! The raffle will be held on April 27^th & 28^th. Remember to stop by to try your luck and place a ticket in our basket!

~ Please continue to practice all sight words daily. Congratulations to the students who are able to read all 96 words! The goal is definitely in reach for those who are not quite there yet.

~Practice writing words and sentences. Sentences should start with a capital letter, contain a space between words, and have an end mark.

~The children are doing a wonderful job blending words to read stories. Remember to take some time to have your child read to you each night. They feel so proud when they realize they can read stories on their own!

April 8-12, 2019

Reading:  “The Little Engine That Could” is our story for the week.  This classic fantasy will teach about the work done by trains. Students will identify the plot in stories to build their comprehension skills. We will revisit the concept of nouns and learn about writing formal letters. The amazing words this week are: engine, passenger, mountain, tracks, roundhouse, and valley. The sight words featured include: what, said, and was.

Phonics:  We will continue working on Uu with the initial and medial /u/ sound, as in umbrella and tub.

Math: Time, Data, and Measurement will continue this week. Length, height, weight, and capacity will be practiced. Then we will learn about clocks and telling time.

Reminders:

*The PTO Basket Raffle donations are due by Friday, April 12^th. We are asking for items to add to our “Cold Drinks” basket. Children who provide a donation will be allowed to dress down on Friday, April 26^th. Thank you to those who have already donated to our prize.

~Friday, April 12^th will be a Spartan Dress Down Day for $1.00.

 ~Please continue to practice Sight Words daily. The children are doing a great job and they get so excited when the meet their goal!

Week of April 1, 2019

Reading:  This week’s story is “Trucks Roll!”  This rhyming, nonfiction book presents types of transportation that help people do their jobs. We will practice how to compare and contrast to build comprehension. The amazing words in the story are: trailers, cabs, haul, steering wheel, truckers, and headlight. The sight words to focus on are: what, said, and was.
Phonics: Our letter of the week is Uu. The short /u/ sound will be taught in the initial and medial position of words. (ex. umbrella, cut)

Math: Subtraction will be tested this week before we will move on to Unit 7. This unit teaches time, data, and measurement. It will cover concepts of height, length, weight, capacity, and time to the hour.

Reminders:

~March Book Logs are due. Children who met the 15 book monthly goal will receive a free pizza coupon from Pizza Hut. 

~Kindergarten Graduation Pictures will be taken on Thursday, April 4^th. Please send back the envelopes with the required amount prior to that day if you plan on purchasing pictures. All students will be photographed for the class photo. Please be sure your child is wearing a white, collared shirt to wear under their graduation gown. 

~April 13^th is the Kindergarten Prom.

~The PTO Basket Auction is scheduled for April 27^th and 28^th. Our class is composing a “Cold Drinks” basket for the event. Please send your themed items or monetary donations to by April 12^th in order to receive the free dress down ticket required for the Friday, April 26^th dress down day. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. We appreciate your cooperation! Many thanks for the donations we have received!

~ Please continue to practice sight words daily. It is very rewarding to see the children reading these words automatically in stories!  

Specials:    Mon. Guidance    Tues. Gym    Wed. Art    Thurs. Computers    Fri. Music