Week 36- April 23rd-April 27th

Dear Parents,

We hope everyone had a great weekend!
It was very nice to see so many parents and students out Friday night for the annual Family Night. We hope everyone had a good time!
We would like to remind you that the first graders will be taking the MAP assessments starting the second week of May. You can practice the various MAP skills by asking your child to play the online MAP reading and math games. They can be found under the 'Links' heading.
There will be a half day on Wednesday, April 25th. Students will be going home at 11:45 a.m. Your child only needs to bring a snack to school that day.
Last, we are planning a field trip for Friday, May 4th to the zoo in connection to our new science unit, Organisims. We will be sending home more information and the permission slip next week.
This week your child will inquire into the following:

Language Arts

• Phonics- This weeks words are through, show, following, came, and want. The class will be reviewing these words and other Word Wall words through various words activities and chants.
• Reading- This week your child will be learning about contractions by reading and listening to various poems. The class will investigate the differences and similarites between poetry and other genres of writing. They will also be reading two poems this week, 'New Pet' and 'Garden Snake' and inquiring into the meaning of contractions and using them to decode unknow words. Your child will also examine how poems are read with expression and he/she will be asked to read one of the poems with fluency and expression to the class. You can help your child with poetry by reading poems this week instead of stories and discussing the feelings and emotions the author is trying to provoke. You can ask your child to identify the rhyming words, if any, and ask them to use expression while reading.  
• Writing- Your child will be using facts to write a magazine page about a plant of his/her choice. Your child will be asked to write grammatically correct sentences with the proper mechanics. There are still many students who do not write a sentence correctly. Practicing this skill at home would benefit your child. Ask your child to write a few sentences about a topic and then ask him/her to edit the sentences; Are there capital letters? Are there end marks? Are the sentences complete? Do the sentences make sense? 

Math- This week your child will continue exploring estimating and measurement. He/she will also investigate probability and chance. This skill is difficult for some students to grasp. You can help your child be playing some of the following games:
1) coin toss- ask them what are the chances that they will land on a head?tail?on the side of the coin? You child should say that landing on the side is unlikely or almost impossible because chances are the coin will fall over. Test his/her predictions. Explaining to your child that landing on a tail or head is likely because those are the only two symbols on a coin
2) fill a bag with candy or any other object with one color (a bag of only green M&Ms). Then show your child that you will put some other candies/ objects of another color (maybe only red). Ask them what are the chances that he/she will pick a green object? a red one? You can then put only one candy of a different color and ask the same quesitons. Your child should understand that it is likely to pick a candy that there is more of and less likely or unlikely to pick a candy that there is a only a few or one of.

Theme- Science-Organisims- The class will examine, identify and create a magazine page on the various features plants have that help them survive in different environments. The class will also be introduced to animals and begin to classify animals into the correct kingdoms.

Homework

Monday
L.A- Helmet Hunt logic worksheet
Math- Choosing a Measurment worksheet
Reading- read 10 minutes and fill out the reading log

Tuesday
Math- Certain or Impossible worksheet
L.A.- Reread 'New Pet' poem
Reading- read 10 minutes and fill out the reading log

Wednesday
Science- Writing worksheet about an animal
L.A.- Contraction worksheet
Reading-read 10 minutes and fill out the reading log

Thursday
Math- Review worksheet
L.A.- Study for Spelling Challenge
Reading-read 10 minutes and fill out the reading log

Reminders

1/2 Day- April 25th
School Spirit Day- Every Friday the students are asked to wear their Discovery shirts to show their school spirit!
Water Bottles- Your child needs to bring a water bottle to school everyday. Please write your child's name on the bottle.
Sweaters/Jackets and Other Objects: We ask parents to label all their child’s belongings with a permanent marker. This makes it easier for us to help you look for things if they are misplaced or lost. We also ask for your cooperation by sending back with your child any item he/she brings home that does not belong to him, and to notify the homeroom teacher about it (by text message, email or phone call).
Library- Please make sure your child brings back his/her library book on his/her library day every week.
P.E- Please make sure your child wears proper running shoes and clothes on the days when he/she has P.E

Links
MAP Reading
BBC.co.uk- Great literacy games
Giggle Poetry- funny poetry for children
MAP Math
IXL- various math skills activites including measurment
Fun Brain- various math games
National Geographics for Kids
Biology 4 Kids- information about plants. Your child will need your help to read this website
Science Kids- Plant Facts

Secret Word- animals