Room 4 News

Week 20

2009-01-25T21:10:00.000-08:00

This will be my last blog. I will still be sending my weekly newsletter in the blue folders. We have a field trip on Tuesday to the Mello Center in Watsonville. We will be back for lunch.

In February, we will begin practicing for our play "The Ugly Duckling". It is a musical. You will know the songs well by the time we perform the play. We perform the play the week before Spring Break. On that Friday, all the first grade classes will be going to the skating rink in Sea Bright.

Last week, we had a wonderful time seeing our new president get sworn in. We also talked about many African Americans for Black History month. We read stories on Harriet Tubman, Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, etc. We will continue for the next few weeks talking about other special Americans and what made them special.

This week, we have a new homework log. We are asking all first grade students to practice basic facts at home daily on top of reading daily. Please continue to return homework on Fridays. I have been only receiving a few returned homework logs on Friday. This will be present on report cards.

It was great to find out that Kelsey Mackle is related to our past President John Quincy Adams. We will be talking about presidents next month. We love all the information that has been presented to the class for Star of the Week!

Have a wonderful week!

Week 19

2009-01-20T06:34:00.000-08:00

Today is a day in history. In our class, we have been talking about civil rights movement. We have talking about Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, etc. Today, we will be talking and discussing the inauguration. We will watch the inauguration in Mrs. Clouse's room.

We started computers last week. Students can go on the school website and find games under Mrs. Sampson's name. We played "Making Words".

Today, we will not have centers since we will be watching the inauguration.

Please return permission slips and $7.75 by Friday.

Week 18

2009-01-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great vacation and are ready to learn. We will be writing about special Americans for the next six weeks. The class will develop their writing skills. You can also help at home and make sure they practice their word wall words. We are also focusing on capitalizing proper nouns (names, etc.), the first word in a sentence and the word I. In response to literature, students will be continuing to identify parts of stories using a graphic organizer.

In math, students will be identifying ten more and ten less. We will be adding another piece for homework. We are asking students to spend at least 5 minutes on memorizing basic facts up to 1o. I will be showing several strategies to memorize these basic facts. You can play memory games (example: Say a number like "4" and have your child say the number that equals the sum of 10) The answer would be 6. The first grade teachers will be changing the homework sheet to add a basic math facts part. Please start memorizing your basic facts at home.

We will be watching a movie on Martin Luther King Jr. We do not have school next Monday for observing his birthday.

During Vacation

2009-01-07T14:26:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Clouse and I are at a math training this week. We are learning many new things about our math curriculum. We are excited to add more math into our daily routine. I hope all of you are having a great vacation. I will see you next Tuesday!

Week 17

2008-12-14T18:30:00.000-08:00

Last week, we talked about Christmas holidays and how different countries celebrate it. We made poinsettias and Christmas lights. Also, we are very sad but excited that Mauricio and Raphael have left little Aptos to adventure back to Germany for a few years. They will be back to visit. Since it was Mauricio's week, they were able to teach us a few things about Germany and some sayings in German. We learned hello and good day. Their dad came in to share what he does for work and to show us his German pants. They also say a few songs. Goodbye boys! We will miss you both!

No Centers this week!!! Only on Friday!

This week, we will talk about Kwanza. This is another celebration that African-Americans celebrate. On Friday, we will have a variety of centers that focus on multicultural celebrations.

In math, we will continue with patterns and sorting. Then, we will begin identifying coins and paper money. Please practice at home by playing games that include money. In science, we will continue investigating different types of clouds and chart the weather daily.

PLEASE REMEMBER NO BACKPACKS, ONLY A LUNCH THIS WEEK. BRING A PAPER BAG ON FRIDAY!!! No Homework!!!!

2008-12-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

Last week, Arianna shared with us her custom of celebrating St. Nicholas Day. Her grandmother came from Holland and they celebrate St. Nick's Day by putting a shoe out for St. Nick or his helper to fill with gifts. We all got to hear the story of St. Nick and received a gift in our shoe. Thank you to Arianna and her family for sharing.

Also, we all had a great time looking at how we all changed from when they were a baby. Thank you for sending in the pictures and clues.

This week, we will talk about different types of maps and how to use maps. We will be reading a story on maps in our Language Arts book. We started Writer's workshop and will start making a list (prewriting) of stories we would like to write about in class. Every Wednesday, we will write stories. This Wednesday, we will be enjoying the play "Little Red Riding Hood" that second grade will be performing for the school. In science, we will continue to learn about weather and identify different types of clouds. We are continuing to learn about multicultural celebrations. We have talked about Hannuka and would love to know more about different customs in your family. Please write to me or send me information about your customs.

P.S. Lice is still a factor in our classroom and in our school. Please remember to check you child's hair. We have asked for our carpets to be steam cleaned during break. Thank you to everyone that has given feedback and has taken precautions in their own home.

We got our incentive!!!!

2008-12-04T16:03:00.000-08:00

Students spelled out their whole class incentive. Tomorrow, students will be watching a magic school bus movie "Weather" and eating popcorn. Congratulate them on their whole class performance!

Week 16

2008-11-30T19:02:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to school! I hope everyone had a great break. This week, we will begin with writer's workshop which is writing our own stories using the five writing processes (prewriting, rough draft, proofreading, editing, and publishing). In the spring, will be taking some of our stories to the mall to be on display. In Language Arts, we will read a story on a hermit crab that moves from shell to shell to find the perfect fit. We will retell the events, and identify adjectives in the story that describe shells. In math, we will continue with graphs. Hopefully, the students completed their homework with hearing different stories about themselves from different friends or family members. We will graph how many stories each student heard and recording on their knotting rope. Then, they will choose a story to share with the class. In science, we will begin our next unit in weather. Please return science journals after commenting on what students shared with you about what they learned about seeds.

Last reminder that baby pictures with three clues are due by Monday.

Thanksgiving week

2008-11-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

We only have two days this week. Please turn in your child's baby picture with three clues by Tuesday, November 25. I read a story called "Knots on a Counting Rope". During vacation, they are asked to have grandparents, parents, and other family members tell them stories of them such as how they were named, etc. They will make a knot for each story and bring it back to class Monday, December 1st. There are no word wall words this week. No homework except of the the knots on the rope.The science journals went home this week. Please return them next Monday or Tuesday for us to start our next unit on Weather.
Have a great vacation! See you next week!

Week 15

2008-11-16T21:42:00.000-08:00

Last week, we had a short week. We heard a story about Oscar, a boy who was blind. We observed ways blind people communicate and read. We finished our clay projects. We will need newspaper or tissue paper to wrap our projects on Thursday. Thank you to all the parents that helped out with clay projects. We wrote about our families with STUW format. We can't wait to make it a book and show you how much improvement all students have made in writing.

This week, we will be reading "The Best Pet" and discuss the sequence of events. We will continue retelling the main elements of the the story "The Secret Code". In math, we will develop fact family houses to understand fact families. This is the last week of Spectra Art. We will be writing thank you letters to Jenny for teaching us how to make objects out of clay. Also, we are finishing our nutrition program this week. We have learned all the different food groups and how to make healthy choices. If anyone has food or cooking magazines to make collages, please send them with your child to school by Tuesday. (Thank you!) We will begin Social Studies unit on "Changing Through Time". Students will compare how life has changed.

We only have two days of school next week. I will not be creating a new blog next week. I will send one the following week. Have a great Thanksgiving!!!

week 14

2008-11-11T19:41:00.000-08:00

This week is a short week. No centers Friday! Report cards go home on Friday. We have jog for the arts on Friday. This is to help pay for our Spectra which was clay projects. Please help to support this fundraiser since we don't want to get rid of Spectra. In Language Arts, we will be reading a story about a blind person and we will learn how they communicate using Braille. There are many books on Braille. If you have any books to share that discuss different ways to communicate, send them in. In math, we will be discussing fact families. Speeches will be begin tomorrow "Wednesday". I am excited to hear all the interesting topics.

Next week, we have one full week of school. Then, we have a short week for Thanksgiving week.

week 13

2008-11-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

Last week, we had a great time at the holiday party. Thank you to everyone that helped with centers, food, etc.

This week, we will continue with the seed unit. We will be making bean soup on Wednesday and exploring the parts of a seed. Students will be asked to make a simple speech on any subject. It is to give students in opportunity to speak in front of a group. I will be looking for staying on topic, clearness for others to understand, and loud enough for others to hear. The subjects are very cute. Sometimes, students like to teach us how to build something. These speeches are do by next Wednesday. But, they can do it this Wednesday to be done early. We will continue learning about contractions. In math, we started our addition and subtraction timed math. Please review problems missed and practice facts at home. We have timed math facts because second grade teachers ask us to have first graders know their single digit addition and subtraction problems in order for them to excel in adding and subtracting two or more digits, etc.

Week 12

2008-10-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

Last week, we wrote about what we had learned about worms in SUTW (Step-Up-To-Writing) format. We also started identifying parts of narrative writing by using a graphic organizer called "The Kite". We focus on characters, setting, problem, solution, feelings, beginning, and details. This will help students when they start writing their own narratives in writer's workshop. We also learned about contractions. Next time you read a story with your child, play "contraction hunt" and have them locate the contractions. In science, we started our new unit on seeds. We sorted them and started making our seed mosaic. We will continue exploring seeds and identifying the parts of a seed. Next Wednesday, we will be making bean soup. Please send in dried beans, chicken broth, and any veggies your child would like to have in it. Also, we will be using the left over herbs from our garden. Our garden has had some visitors attack the cauliflower and other plants. If anyone would like to help with the garden and create a net for protect for spring time, it would be helpful.

This week, we only have four days of school. Friday is a teacher work day. Thursday is a fun day. Thank you room parents for organizing the events for the day. Anyone is welcome to come in the morning for the parade and then we have centers that we can always use the help. Also, we have clay project at 12:45 p.m.-1:30.

Week 11

2008-10-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Last week, I enjoyed meeting with many of you, parents, at conferences. I am glad I could share how much your child has improved since the beginning of the year. Keep up the great work reading and using flash cards at home.

This week, we will be back on regular schedule. Madisen McBride is our Student of the Week. We are excited to learn about each student! If the week your child got for student of the week is not a good week, please tell me ahead of time to change it.

Next week, we only have four days of school. We will be celebrating Halloween on Thursday. We beginning with a school costume parade at 8 am. To follow parade, we will have centers with a Halloween theme. Next, we will include a small party with healthy snacks. We can not have anything with peanuts, one student is highly allergic. The room parents will be sending out more information. You are all welcome to come and help out and enjoy some Halloween adventure.

Week 10

2008-10-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Last week, we had a great time learning how to write a paragraph on their favorite season. It was a great beginning. Students will be using SUTW (step up to writing) process to write paragraphs. You will get use to hearing transition words and colors for each part of the paragraph. It is amazing how much knowledge they gain in first grade. In Science, we started observing our worms and discussed the parts of the worm. We will continue the rest of the week and worms will come home on Thursday. Please remind students that worms don't deserve to live in a small tennis container and that they belong in a garden to help the soil. The worms can be freed in your garden at home.

This week, I am looking forward to speaking with each family at your appointed time this week. If you arrived and I am still with another family, please wait outside and read out class books until I am finished.

We do not have Spectra. We will have centers all week at our regular time.

The book fair starts on Monday and ends on Friday. Our class is going on Wednesday at 9:40-10:00, please join us and help out our class pick out books.

Week 9

2008-10-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

Last week, we continued to vowel code our poem for the week. The class had a exciting time with Reader's Theater. They really got into acting out and being dramatic. Ask them what part they played? Since we started a new month this week, our monthly writing assignment was "A Time I Got Hurt". Stop by and see what your child wrote and notice the improvement in their writing! I am so proud of them. You can see the self-confidence with how much they wrote. They are finally getting use to how much writing we do in First Grade. In math, we looked at several strategies that can be used when adding. In Spectra Art, the class made another sculpture. Ask your child what animal they made!

This week, we will begin "Star of the Week". Sam Chapa will be our first student. I will be discussing each student's week during conferences. In Language Arts, we are starting phonograms (sh, th, ee). Learning phonograms will help your child's spelling and reading skills. We will still continue to work on vowel sounds. We will look at topic, main idea, and details in our stories that we read this week. We will also use Step-Up-To-Writing in our writing about seasons. This will help students to understand that a paragraph needs to have topic sentence, facts, examples, and a conclusion. We use colors for each part. Green is for topic sentence and conclusion, yellow is for facts, and red is for examples. We only start with green and yellow unless students are at a stage to advance their writing. We will continue discussing parts of a sentence nouns(naming part) and verbs (action part). In math, students will begin subtracting. Please get out your subtraction flash cards. In science, we want to start our worm hotels. Please have your students bring in a bag of soil to fill a tennis ball can. Thank you to Gabby Mackle for volunteering to get the night crawlers.

Week 8

2008-09-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

Last week, we continued to decode vowel sounds. The short vowels sounds such as hat, met, sit, on, and up. The long vowel sounds say their name. Then we have dotted vowel sounds such as paw, to, and bush. Please practice at home with making words and sounding them out. We also read "Jasper's Beanstalk" and discussed the beginning, middle, and created our own ending. They took their graphic organizer home to share with you the parts of the story.

This week, we will continue decoding vowels. We will have Reader's Theater. This is when students will take a part of a character and act out by reading the lines for their character. In math, we will continue adding single digits. Please use addition flash cards to practice at home.

I will be sending home our science journals to have the students explain what they have learned about ants. Please write a comment at the end of the unit and send it back the next day.

Would anyone like to donate some items needed:

2 boxes of freezer gallon ziplock bags

1 big bag of soil for our worm hotels

20 night crawlers for our worm hotels (You can get them at the liquior/bait store in Seacliff by snow white) Please talk to me about when I need them.

Week 7

2008-09-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

Last week, we identified the different vowel sounds either short, long, or dotted vowel sounds to help students easily read the written words. We memorized a song that helps us remember the sounds of each vowel sound. Ask your child to sing it for you. In math, we started addition. Please get out math flash cards and practice at home. Also, continue writing numbers in order to 100. On Thursday, we had our first Spectra artist begin working on clay. We made ice cream bowls with animal footprints. If you would like to help out on Thursdays from 9:40-10:40 for the next eight weeks, we would love to see you.

This week, we will begin our science unit on Seasons. In math, we will continue with addition. Please use games or other strategies to bring math into your daily routine. For the next two weeks, we will read Jasper's Beanstalk. Please ask your child about their thoughts on the story and the different story elements. Please remember to bring library books on Tuesday. We had to many books not returned last Wednesday and the Librarian will not allow us to check out books if this continues!

week 6

2008-09-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

Our school experienced a sad week. We should still keep our thoughts with the family and friends of Sophia, a second grade student that died on Thursday.

Last week, I was out sick on Friday but heard the class was amazing. We will get back into routine on Monday with centers. This Thursday, there will be no centers. The Banana Slug band will be giving a concert for the whole school.

This week, we will continue to use several strategies for comprehending our Language Arts stories. Some of the strategies will be predicting the ending; identifying beginning, middle, and end; comparing and contrasting characters. In math, we are finishing chapter 2 on place value and more and less than. We will begin our new science unit on seeds. Can anyone bring in a couple of bags of soil for the garden? For some reason, the soil is soaking up all the water and some plants are dying. I will be sending home the science journal for your child to share what they have learned about ants. Please comment and return the next day!

Library books are due Wednesday morning!!!!

week 5

2008-09-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

Last week, we observed ants in our ant farm and labeled an ant. We also investigated what ants like better, jelly or cream cheese. Of course, ants love sugar!! The ants chose jelly. We also began our Nutrition program and discussed what we did daily that were healthy choices.

In Language Arts, we read many stories and looked at cause and effect, retelling the beginning, middle, and end of a story, and predicting what will happen next in a story. Try to use some of these strategies when you are reading nightly. We started 4 minute timed number writing to 100 test in math which went well. Continue practicing writing numbers in order at home.

This week, we will focus on noting details with each story we will read. We will finish learning how to write lower case letters the "first grade way" and concentrate on vowels and the sounds they make. We will learn the "Vowel Song" to help us remember the 12 vowel sounds. We will count and group objects in ones and tens. This is a hard concept for most of the students, please reinforce identifying ones and tens place value.

week 4

2008-09-01T18:24:00.001-07:00

It was wonderful to see so many families at our Back to School Night. There was a lot of information that was given out in a short period of time. Some parents missed the beginning of the presentation. Here are some of the highlights: First, homework is reading 15-20 minutes a night with your child and returning the homework log on Friday. Then, First grade policy for birthdays are no treats, instead an educational item such as; game, puzzle, book, etc. Another item of news was the newsletter, I am trying to help conserve paper and use the internet. Look for the newsletter on Sunday or Monday on www.riodelmar.pvusd.net and click on my blog (Mrs. Sandman). If you would prefer a paper version, please send me a note. Last, there are many other important items I talked about but the biggest is my e-mail is not working at mary_sandman@pvusd.net. You can send it to mkairish1976@yahoo.com or send me a note in the blue folder. Thanks for coming last Wednesday.

Centers begin this week, if you signed up to volunteer, please check-in at the office and be in the classroom by 8:10 AM.

Last week, we illustrated our own Very Hungry Ant book and I hope you enjoyed listening to your child read it over and over again! We went to the library for the first time and are excited to go and check out books this week. Remember to return books by Wednesday morning.

This week, we will focus on cause and effect. We will read many nonfiction books about ants, make our own ant, do a science experiment and make a pattern with ants. We will begin our nutrition unit, please discuss at home the different food groups during your meals at home. We will also begin our timed number writing program. Students will work on writing numbers 1-100 in four minutes.

Week 3

2008-08-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful full week. What a fantastic group of students I have this year! I hope you are enjoying looking over your child's work that he/she brings home the blue folder each day. Please help your child remember to bring it back daily as this is what he/she will use to take work home every day.

This week, we will focus on summarizing stories, comparing/contrasting stories, beginning all sentences with a capital letter, and we will write our own class book. In math, we will count, read, and write whole numbers to 100, do more than and less than, patterning, and place value.

Have a great week!

Week 2

2008-08-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

This week, the class will be starting our weekly routine. We will begin with mystery person. I will be the first mystery person and we identify concepts of print (capitals, punctuation marks, etc.). Each day will begin with finding out who our mystery person is that day. The mystery person will be the line leader and special student of the day. Next, the class will read two stories this week "The Cat" and "The Mat". They are in our Language Arts curriculum. We will follow with sequencing and pink worksheets that go along with our readings. Then, we have a handwriting program. Students will follow the correct first grade way to write letters. This prepares students for cursive in Second grade. Then, we have a new math program. It will begin with counting to 100 in order and adding single digits. There are several other things we will do in class. For example, poem of the week, science (gardening), and physical education. All in all, I am excited to begin the week and can't wait to meet all of you at Back-to-School night on Wednesday, August 27th.

Thanks,

Mary Sandman

Welcome Back!

2008-08-11T19:23:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! This is my first time having a blog. I am excited to learn how to use a blog and excel in being creative on the blog. This is where I will be posting updates of events, class activities, and anything that I need to share with parents and students. I will be updating every Monday.

Thanks,

Mrs. Sandman

P.S. See you Wednesday morning at 7:49 a.m.