Summer Vacation

Congratulations, you are now second graders! I really loved having each of you in my class this year. I know you will do a great job in second grade. Work hard and don’t forget to have fun!

I hope you have a wonderful summer and enjoy your time off. Remember that even though it is a vacation, you still need to be reading, writing, and practicing your math! The more you practice over the summer, the better you will do in second grade.

Here are some ways to practice this summer:

READING

ê    Go on Raz-Kids! That’s right, you will still be able to use Raz-Kids during the summer. In case you forget, here is the login information:

Website: http://raz-kids.com

Teacher username: lhoreisa

Password: your initials

ê    Go to the library! Reading on the computer is fun, but so is reading real books! A great website to find books at your reading level is http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/. You can search for books at your guided reading level, and you can also search just for nonfiction books. Reading books at your level will help you improve your reading.

MATH

ê    Go on Math Score! Click on “Assessment”. Once you have finished the Early Skills Test 2, click on “View Results”. Always do any red topics first, and then black ones with a brown L next to them. Practice, practice, practice!

Website: http://goethe.il.mathscore.com

Username: your first initial and last name

Password: your initials

ê    Work on the math pages in this packet! Ask for help from a family member if you do not understand. Some of these pages may be things we have not done in first grade, but they are skills that will help you prepare for second grade.

WRITING

ê    Write me email and I will write back! You must get your parent’s permission first, so please ask them to send me an email before you do.

ê Keep a journal to write down all the cool things you do this summer!

ê    Write notes to your family each day!

Have a fantastic summer! I can’t wait to see you in second grade!

Love,

Mrs. Horeis

Friday Farewell

Tomorrow is the very last day of first grade! Students should still come to school at 8:40AM, but they will be dismissed on the playground at 10:00AM.

Please remember to bring your backpack to school as we still have a lot of things to bring home! Also, any school books (from our classroom or the Goethe library) must be returned tomorrow in order for students to receive their report cards.

The Final Week

Wow, how time flies! Over the last few weeks we have been busy bees in room 404. We have been finishing up our end of year assessments and working hard on various projects. Our Ocean display in the hallway is almost complete, and we have learned so much about the different habitats/biomes!

In social studies we finished our unit on France by learning about French Impressionist painting. We tried our hand at it on Friday, using Renoir, Monet, Degas, Seurat, and Pissarro as inspiration.

This week will be jam packed with end of year activities and events. Here is a quick peek at the week:

Monday: 8th grade graduation walk (students watch the 8th graders make a final trip around the school)
Tuesday: talent show
Wednesday: poster raffle (students take home the classroom anchor charts we created throughout the year), class party to celebrate summer birthdays and graduating first grade, empty desks
Thursday: no school
Friday: classroom cleanup, receive report cards, farewell on the playground at 10:00AM

Please send your child to school with a plastic bag on Wednesday to take home any remaining school supplies. Your child should still bring a backpack to school on Friday.

Students are welcome to bring snacks/treats to share with the class during our party on Wednesday.

Thanks! I hope to see you all on the playground on Friday at 10:00AM to say goodbye!

Computer Practice at Home

Math Score and Raz-Kids are really great online programs that all students should be doing every day. We are very lucky to have these programs, but only a few students have been using them. Please help your child log on to the computer each day to practice math and reading!

MATH SCORE

http://goethe.il.mathscore.com

When you click on “assessments” at the top, click “view assessment”. Green and purple topics are ones that were done well. Red topics need work immediately. 

Click on a red topic to get started. It will show you some example problems. Then click “Do Worksheet”.

When you have done all the red topics (or if you have no red topics), then do the topics that have a brown L.

If you are not sure what topic to choose, you can't go wrong with addition! All students should be practicing addition on Math Score.

In the beginning the students might need some help with reading the instructions or lessons to get them started, but once they are doing the worksheets most of the work will be independent.

RAZ-KIDS

http://raz-kids.com

Teacher username: lhoreisa

Students should listen to a book twice, then read it at LEAST twice, then try the quiz. If they don't get all the questions right they should read it again before retaking the quiz.

If you have a microphone in your computer, students can also record their reading. That way I am able to listen to them read even when they are at home! Students know that if they record a book they need to practice reading it a few times first.

If you have any questions, please let me know. It is so important that all the students use these programs to practice as much as possible!

We are keeping a class graph of the engaged time students on Math Score at home and the number of books read on Raz-Kids at home. Each week the three students who do the most Raz-Kids and Math Score at home will be announced over the intercom for the whole school to hear!

Have a great night!

The Most Wonderful Egg in the World

We have been reading the play, "The Most Wonderful Egg in the World". We are becoming very good at the different parts, and our wise kings, our vain hens, our strong narrators, and our delightful hen choruses are getting ready to put on a wonderful reader's theater production!

We would like to invite families to come see our performance on Wednesday, March 14th at 2:00 PM. Please wait for us by the security desk and our messengers will come to get you at 2:00. We look forward to seeing you there!

Science and Social Studies

At the end of February, we finished our unit on presidents by writing paragraphs about the president's job. Our paragraphs have a topic sentence, at least 3 details about what the president does, and a closing sentence telling what we think about it.

This week we will start learning more about maps!

As you know, in science we have been learning about the solar system. We posted our research reports in the hallway right next to our solar system mobiles! These mobiles helped us learn the colors and order of the planets (and the dwarf planet, pluto).

Similes Are as Fun as a Ferris Wheel!

We've been learning about similes! These are the examples we came up with as a class:

Then we wrote our very own class simile book! Here are some of the pages:

100th Day of School

This Friday, February 24^th, we will be celebrating the 100^th day of school! We are planning a fun day when the children will experience 100 through many different activities.

To help us see the different ways 100 can look, we are asking that each child bring 100 like items in an unbreakable container or ziplock bag with their name on it. Some ideas are popcorn kernels, macaroni, rice, paper clips, beans, cereal, buttons, sequins, etc.

We will also be making 100^th Day Trail Mix to enjoy as a snack. Each child will count out 10 pieces of 10 different snacks to mix together and make 100. To help with this project, we have assigned a snack for each child to bring. Please bring in your snack by Wednesday so I can make sure we will have enough. If for any reason you are unable to provide this snack, please let me know as soon as possible so I can make other arrangements.

We would love to have a parent volunteer to help with our activities from 9:30-10:45 A.M. If you can help please me know by Tuesday. Thank you for your support!

Practicing Addition Online

Some students asked if I could post links to places where they can practice their addition facts online. ABSOLUTELY! Here are some great choices for practicing to become an addition superhero:

One minute test:
http://www.softschools.com/math/games/mad_minute_math/
Flash card practice:
http://www.factmonster.com/math/flashcards.html
Practice two ways:
http://henryanker.com/Math/Computation/Addition/Addition_1_Digit_C.swf
Help with counting up:
http://www.softschools.com/math/addition/counting_up_method_addition/

If you saw this post and you use one of these sites to practice this weekend, come to school on Tuesday and tell me, "Addition is as easy as pie" to win a prize!

Addition Superheroes

The first graders in 404 are training to become Addition Superheroes! After testing the students on their number facts with mClass in January, I put a paper doll for each student up on our door. They started out at the bottom of the door, and when they can answer 8 oral addition problems correctly in 1 minute they move up to "Superhero Academy". When they can answer 12 problems, they get a superhero costume and move up to the sky. When they really know their facts and can answer 16 problems, they fly higher than the sun up where the teacher superhero flies!

So far this week two students have moved up. Help your child practice math facts at home every day so he or she can move up on our hero door!

Loads of Learning!

We have finished learning about the different states of matter in science. As one last project, we melted crayons with a hair dryer to see how fast they changed from solid to liquid and back to solid. Here is a picture of the cool poster we made!

Over the next month, we will be learning about the solar system. A short research project will be sent home soon for students to complete over a weekend. Stay tuned!

Here are our current learning objectives:

Report Cards

Report cards are going home today. Please look carefully at the first page, which shows your child's score on the Fountas & Pinnell reading assessment, the DIBELS reading tests, and the mCLASS math tests. These scores measure your child's current abilities in reading and math, rather than their effort on classwork and assignments. If your child has any yellow or red dots, he or she should be doing extra practice in those areas at home. I have included the DIBELS parent suggestions page for any students who were on yellow or red. Please use these ideas to practice at home.

Please sign the report card and return it to school. I will send it home again for you to keep once I have checked off that I saw your signature. If you would like to meet with me to discuss your child's progress, please contact me and I would be happy to set up an appointment.

Have a great weekend!

Student Council Special Day

Tomorrow is another student council special day. Boys can dress up in girls clothes, and girls can dress up in boys clothes! These special days were chosen at the beginning of the year by the student council members. Just like Nerd Day, Neon Day, or Pajama Day, participation is not required.