Halloween Stories

We hope everyone stays safe tonight trick-or-treating!  Enjoy these Halloween themed stories!

Pick one to watch, and talk with a parent or partner about each question below: 

• Can you tell the story in  over your 5 fingers?
• Can you identify the main characters?
• What is the setting (time and place)?

Shaun the Sheep: Halloween  

The Berenstein Bears and the Spookiest Pumpkin

I Need My Monster!

Winnie the Witch

Friendly Letters

We've been learning all about friendly letters as we write letters home to family members each week!  Check out this short YouTube video to help you learn the parts of a letter!




If you are interested in writing your OWN friendly letter, check this site out: Friendly Letter Maker!

Spelling Update: 1.8 -ff, -ll, -ss, & -zz

This week, we are reading and spelling words with -ff -ll -ss -zz.  The letters f, l, s, z are almost always doubled when they come at the end of a one- syllable word with one short vowel. 

Our heart words this week are from, try, and why.

Click here for Spelling City 1.8 word practice.

Click here for first quarter heart word review.

Click here for kindergarten heart word review.

Parents:  You may find this video helpful:

Math Homework - Subitizing

At open house, we discussed the importance of subitizing and moving beyond 1:1 counting. We have already sent home some basic flashcards to start developing your child's ability to subitize.  But what if your child finds the cards dead easy? Or by now needs things changed up a bit to stay engaged?

 Well, here are some more  subitizing activities for your child.

Next Step - games through 10:  https://www.haverford.k12.pa.us/cms/lib/PA01001043/Centricity/Domain/1441/Savvy_Subitizing_Cards.pdf  

Need a challenge with more complex patterns?  Try these games:
https://www.emsisd.com/cms/lib/TX21000533/Centricity/Domain/3442/dotcards.pdf

Both these games require you to print them out.  Please email your child's teacher if you do not have access to a printer.  We can print them out for you!

Count Your Buttons Day!

Oct 21st was Count Your Buttons Day!

Here in first grade we LOVE to celebrate holidays of all shapes and sizes.... (ha!  Get it?  All shapes and sizes?  Just like buttons?  No?  Just Mrs. Perry find this funny then?)  This particular holiday lends itself PERFECTLY to our current math unit: Building Numbers and Place Value.  Grab some buttons!  Count them as bundles of 10s and leftover 1s!

Need some ten frame mats?   Link to 1 per page / 2 per page: http://www.mathwire.com/templates/tenframemat.pdf   In first grade, we work with numbers up to 120, so print out a couple charts to work with.  However, it would be wise to start with numbers in the teens first.  Questions you can use are: "How many groups/bundles of ten do you have?"  "How many leftover ones?"  "When you count, do you have to count the whole mat of 10 individually or could we count by 10s?" etc....




This is a GREAT short video of the history of buttons... 


Is button manufacturing more your style?  Here's a video on how buttons are made.

Punctuation

Can you put the  right end punctuation mark on sentences?  Try playing these games for some extra practice.

 End Punctuation Game:  Help the dogs with punctuation!

Sentence Shooter - Shoot paper airplanes to show the right punctuation!

Want more of a challenge??  Try these out!

Punctuation Sentence Sort - Reading Challenge 

Can you guess the end punctuation mark?

Geography Update: Compass Rose

Here are some cool compass rose games:

Follow the Directions Game

Use Compass Points to Explore the Rain Forest!

Parents, 

We are starting to learn about the compass rose map tool and how it can help us find directions (north, south, east, and west) on a map.  Today, we will send home a small social studies project - our students will be making their very own compass rose out of creative materials!  Be sure to review the project assignment that comes home with your child.  We look forward to students sharing their projects in class!   

Spelling Update: 1.7 -am, -an, & -all

Spelling Update

This week, we are working on unit 1.7 - reading and spelling words with -am, -an, and -all.   Our heart words this week are word, work, and very.  Use the links below to access our lists on Spelling City.

Both m and n are called nasal sounds because the sound comes out the nose.  The m and n change the short a sound from a pure short a to a nasal sound.  The letter l is a liquid sound and distorts the vowel sound as well.  These letter combinations will be read as chunks with the sounds glued together.  Teach the exceptions pal and gal during this unit.

Click here for this week's spelling focus -am, -an, & -all).
For HEART WORD practice, Spelling City has separate lists of our High Frequency Words (HFW).  Here is the link for HFW for the first quarter.

If your child still needs to practice reading and writing K sight words, keep practicing them too!

DreamBox and Writer's Workshop Update

Math Update

Now that we're about a month into the school year, each class has had a chance to access Dreambox Math on our classroom iPads.  The first grade team would like to see students access Dreambox Math at home for at least two 15 minute sessions a week.  Since we do not send home math or spelling homework on the weekends, Friday - Monday would be the ideal time for students to do this.   For direct access to Huntingtown Elementary's Dreambox page, use the link on the righthand sidebar.

ELA Update

We are well into learning about the text elements of fiction and nonfiction!  Our Writer's Notebooks will give us a place to practice being authors and illustrators!  Check out Amelia's Notebook to see what an authentic writer's notebook can and should look like!  Below is an animated version of the story we're looking at in class. 

Amelia's Notebook Part 1

Amelia's Notebook Part 2

Spelling Update: 1.6 Short Vowel Review

This week we are continuing to read and spell all short vowel CV and CVC words.  If your child is able to read and spell short vowel words, review/study those first quarter heart words!      

Our heart words this week are there, where & your.  If your child is still struggling with kindergarten heart words, continue to practice them!  

 Quarter 1 Week 6: Short Vowel Review

Click Below for Heart Word Practice!

Quarter 1 High Frequency Words 

or

Kindergarten High Frequency Words

NonFiction Characteristics

Spelling Update: Short e (and review of other short vowels)

This week, we are reading and spelling short e words with the VC and CVC pattern. We are also reviewing all previously taught vowel patterns.  Heart words are: some, come, and or. 

Click HERE for 1.5 spelling: Words with the short E pattern.

Short A and Short O - Geraldine

Geraldine is one silly giraffe, but she and Mr. Thorne love teaching you all about phonics!

Generating Seed Ideas, Short I and Short u words

Generating Seed Ideas: Writing

Spelling Update

This week, we are working on unit 1.4 - reading and spelling short i and short u in VC (vowel consonant) and CVC (consonant vowel consonant)  words.   Our heart words this week are one, two and were.  Use the links below to access our lists on Spelling City.

Click here for this week's spelling focus (short i & short u).

For HEART WORD practice, Spelling City has separate lists of our High Frequency Words (HFW).  Here is the link for first quarter heart words.  

If your child still needs to practice reading and writing K sight words, keep practicing them too!

Literature or Non-Fiction?

This week, we've explored literature and informational texts.   Here are some great discussion ideas (essential questions) for reinforcing what we've learned in school at home or in centers:

• What are the characteristics of literature?
• What are the characteristics of informational text?
• How is literature different from informational text?
• How can you determine if a text is literature or informational?

Here is the fiction text  we read in class:



Here is another literature (fiction) story, Badly Drawn Dog.

https://youtu.be/1Smml-s9g84

 
Now, let's look at some informational text. 





Revisit our essential questions. Talk about them with an adult or your partner. Can you spot the differences between these two kinds of text?

Germs - What Are Germs?

Can you tell three ways your body tells you you are sick?  Ever wonder what makes you sick?  Check out these Germs books below!





This Reading Episode features Germs Make Me Sick!  By Melvin Berger.

1.4 Spelling Short I and Short U Words

Having trouble with reading and spelling heart words?  Here is a video of 100 high frequency words that may help you.  Some are kindergarten review, some are words we will spell this quarter.  The rest are upcoming words.

Science: Germs!

We are learning all about germs in science!  

Check out these fantastic videolinks below: 

 

 

Homework Recap

 Homework Recap

A little each day goes a long way!  

Welcome to the third week of school.   Students are settling into our classroom routines nicely.  This week we will continue to practice our K heart words and start CVC words.  Expect math and reading homework to come home this week.  To help families stay organized, please review our homework expectations below:

• Homework Binders go home daily.  Please sign it daily and return to school.  If teachers don't see a parent initial, we don't know if it actually made it to you!
• Yellow Reading Envelopes - Go home Monday and should be initialed/returned by Friday.  As your child reads their decodable text, remember, go for accuracy first (read the word right the first time) and then worry about fluency (speed/voice).  These passages will focus on short vowel recursive practice and may or MAY NOT match the spelling/phonics focus of the week. 
• Math Homework goes home each Tuesday and come back on Fridays.  Please keep any papers/directions at home for future practice.  The only thing to return in the bag each Friday are any math manipulatives (plastic blocks, etc...).  We don't need the directions back or student work.  The more your child practices, the more fluent he/she will become in mathematics!  
• Homework (Spelling) students take their journals home on Mondays and return them on Fridays.  Please refer to it, this website, or your quarterly spelling focus sheet for each week's spelling focus/heart words. 
• Students are held accountable for knowing ALL previously taught spelling patterns, kindergarten words, and high frequency (heart) words.  If your child needs extra practice, please use our Spelling City resources. Remember, high frequency words (K and 1st) have their OWN lists in Spelling City. 
• We'd like DreamBox Math to be your child's math homework Friday - Monday.  Please try to schedule at least two 15 minute sessions or more each week at home.  If you do not have a computer at home, please contact your child's teacher so that we can provide additional time here at school.  
•  If your child hasn't memorized his/her lunch number, please help them memorize it now.  For your child's own personal safety, help them memorize their phone number and address as well.

Spelling Update 1.3

Spelling Update

 

This week, we are working on unit 1.3 - reading and spelling short a  and short o in VC (vowel consonant) and CVC (consonant vowel consonant)  words.   Our heart words this week are as, her, and his.  Use the links below to access our lists on Spelling City.

Click here for this week's spelling focus (short a & short o).
For HEART WORD practice, Spelling City has separate lists of our High Frequency Words (HFW).  Here is the link for First Quarter HFW (Heart Words).

Don't forget to continue to review your kindergarten sight words! In addition to reading these words, you are responsible for writing them, too.

Punctuation