Poetry Reading: From what I have heard, the Poetry Reading was a huge success. The students couldn't wait to tell me all about it when I got back. I hope you enjoyed watching your child present a piece of his/her hard work. I was very fortunate to receive a DVD of the event, and I am very proud of the students and their bravery!
Rainforest Program: Last week, the PTO sponsored a fabulous presentation for the first grade students about rainforest animals. The presenter brought in many different kinds of animals, from hissing cockroaches to porcupines and bats. Ask your child what his or her favorite animal was! (The students loved it when I had to stick my hand in the hissing cockroaches' cage!)
Open House: This Thursday, May 27th, is Cherry Hill's Open House. Please plan on attending, with your child, as the students can't wait to show off their classroom and hard work. See the school notice, or email me, for more information.
Parent/Teacher Conferences: I am holding conferences, during school hours, on June 3rd and June 7th. I will do my best to create a schedule that will work well for everyone, but it can be tough! Early this week you will receive a notice with the time and date that I have scheduled you for. If you cannot make that time/date, please send me a note/email ASAP.
Reading: Last week, there were a lot of changes during reading workshop! The students have new reading spots and most students have new reading partners. (The students were particularly excited because they got to have their input on where their reading spots would be.) Ask your child where his/her reading spot is and who his/her partner is.
In addition to those changes, we have begun to work on reading stamina again. We touched on this at the beginning of the year as we were trying to stretch our reading time to be longer and longer each day. Now that we're nearing the end of first grade, we're close to reading, independently, for half an hour! (This is up from three minutes on the first day of school.) The longer the students can sustain independent reading, the more reading practice they get!
Writing: After the poetry reading, we have gone back to writing small moment pieces. Since poetry doesn't have many capitalization and punctuation rules, we're focusing on making sure that we remember to add these conventions when we're writing 'regular' stories.
This week we will also have a joint publishing party with Ms. Kim's kindergarten class!
Math: Last week we finished unit 9, which is the last 'main' math unit. Now we will revisit, deepen, and create more connections with the students knowledge about previously introduced topics. Now, the students will be expected to apply their knowledge to other experiences and situations than they have in the past.
Science: We are currently studying deserts. Look for a desert project at Open House this Thursday
Have a great week!