This week with our Wonders program we will focus on the Essential Question:  How do plants change as they grow?  Interesting question with snow on the ground and below freezing temperatures outside!!  This is a great follow-up to our Mystery Science investigation last week of:  What do sunflowers do when you’re not looking?  We realized that plants need:  sun, water, and soil/nutrients to grow and that the parts of a plant play an important role in their growth.  This week we will be reading several books about plants and how plants grow, learning even more!  Our phonics focus will be Long Vowel Ii, with the spelling pattern of i_e. 
 
Everyone did a great job last week on their spelling test.   Between blends, digraphs, and long vowels the words are getting more difficult.   I will be adjusting the spelling words for this week.  This week’s spelling words will contain three long vowel Aa words (a review from last week) and three long vowel Ii words (the new spelling pattern for this week):
 
                            made, game, late
                             ride, bike, mine
 
We will be reviewing all of the long vowel words and sight words that our Wonders program has suggested, but your child will only be held responsible for the above six words.
 
In Social Studies we talked more about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his dream for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States. 
 
This week in Science we will investigate:  How do animals make their home in the forest?  This will conclude our study of what animals and plants need in order to survive and that their lives are all about meeting those needs. 
 
In Math we will continue to work with place value and telling time to the hour.  Be on the lookout in your child’s folder on Monday for a 120 grid and activities that can help your child with their number sense.  The Power Standards on your child’s Report care are:
 
1. Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10.
2.Count to/within 120, read and write numbers to 120.
3.Demonstrate understanding of place value for 2-digit numbers (25=two tens and five ones).
4.Add a 2-digit and a 1-digit number within 100.  For example the addition number sentence of 23 + 7 is decomposed as:  20 + 3 + 7.
5.Add and subtract using multiples of 10 (23 + 10 = 33, 57 – 10 = 47).
Your children love playing math games in the classroom.  Have fun with these activities at home.
 
Winter Clothing Rule Reminder:  Your child needs EVERYDAY….
Hat, Gloves/Mittens, Snow Pants, Coat, and Boots.   
Please make sure they have an extra set of clothing in their backpack - - depending on the weather conditions…sometimes they come in from recess with wet pants, socks, etc.

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​This week with our Wonders program our Essential Question is:  How do we measure time?  We will be reading A Second is a Hiccup by Hazel Hutchins.  Understanding the passage of time can be a very abstract concept.  How long is a second?  A minute? How about an hour?  This book will help to explain these units of time with examples that we can understand and apply.  A second is how long it takes to hiccup...a week is seven sleeps.  We will start our mathematical exploration of clocks – both digital and analog - with telling time to the hour and half hour.
 
Our phonics focus is the long vowel Aa with the spelling pattern of a-e (Magic Ee, Silent Ee).  Last week we learned about the power of the letter “e” at the end of words with a focus on the spelling patterns for this week:  _ake, _ame, _ate).  We will be practicing a lot with this new concept.  Confusion creeps in when we start to sound out these words.  We have spent so many weeks on short vowels (words with a consonant-vowel-consonant, such as - -  rob, pin) and have mastered this concept.  Now we will be learning that with a “magic e/silent e” at the end of the word, the vowel now says its name...a new sound to apply.  So...rob becomes robe, pin becomes pine.  Our spelling words follow three a_e spelling patterns (ake, ame, ate):
 
make, take
came, game
gate, late
 
Our two new high-frequency words are: some, today.  We will also focus on these additional high-frequency words:  away, now, way, why.
 
Number Sense is so important and we will continue to focus on it. When children understand numbers and operations along with the ability to use this understanding in flexible ways to make mathematical judgments and to develop useful strategies for solving complex problems then they are developing number sense. Researchers note that number sense develops gradually, and varies as a result of exploring numbers, visualizing them in a variety of contexts, and relating them in ways that are not limited by traditional algorithms. Developing an understanding of numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, and number systems are focus areas of our math curriculum.
 
First graders move from developing basic counting techniques to understanding number size and relationships, place value, and operations. They develop this understanding at different rates. First graders can easily count 32 objects, but they do not always see that 32 is three groups of ten and 2 groups of ones. Through repeated practice they will understand that they can group objects into tens and ones and recognize their numerical representation. So…we practice and practice and practice these skills.
 
With our Everyday Mathematics program, we have begun investigating place-value concepts for tens and ones.  Using manipulatives, we will be learning this new skill.  Here is some information for you about the Base Ten Blocks that we are using.
 
The Base Ten Blocks provide a spatial model of our base ten number system. The smallest blocks are units, these represent the number 1. The long, narrow blocks are called longs or rods and represent the number ten.  Eventually we will be getting to flats, which represent 100 and even the largest cube which represent 1,000.
 

 
 


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​As a result, your children have begun to understand that the number 32 consists of three longs (30) and two units: 30 + 2 = 32 (Expanded Notation). This is also a great concept for adding larger numbers.  32 + 54 = 30 + 50 + 2 + 4.
 
We have been having so much fun investigating Plant and Animal Superpowers with Mystery Science.  Why don’t trees blow down in the wind?  Why are polar bears white? Why do family members look alike?  Be sure to ask your child about this – they have gained a vast amount of knowledge on these concepts.

​​Our trip down to the New Boston Food Pantry was a huge success.  We brought bags upon bags of items to help fill the shelves.  Thank you so much for your generous participation.
 
This week with our Wonders program we will be talking and reading about maps and how to use them.  What is a compass rose?  Why are maps important?  How can we use a map to locate places?  The book Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney is a great introduction to maps and geography.  We will take what we learn about maps in this book and apply it to our own lives.  Where is New Boston on the map?  How about the state of New Hampshire?  Our country...our continent?
 
Our phonics focus continues with tricky digraphs.  This week we will learn about ch, tch, wh, and ph.   Our spelling words are:
 
whip, whale, catch, match, chin, graph - - many, around, with exposure to:  by, place, walk
 
This week in Science we will answer the question:  Why are polar bears white?  We will be making observations to construct an explanation of why camouflage is helpful to animals.
 
Please remember to send your child with all their snow gear on Thursday:  hat, gloves/mittens, jacket, snow pants, boots.  It is a good idea to send an extra pair of gloves/mittens and socks.  Playing in the snow is so much fun but gloves and socks can sure get wet.

​This week with our Wonders program we will focus on:  How do people help out in the community?  We will read the book, The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr.  The book tells how Dr. King excelled in school, became a minister, and worked to end segregation in America.  We will be having many conversations around “what can we do together to make a difference”?  Our phonics focus will be the following digraphs:  th, sh and ng.  Digraphs are difficult because, although they have two letters, the sound that they make is different.  Our spelling words are:
fish, shop, ship, with, thing, sang - -  want,  call
We will also be looking at three additional sight words:  all, day, her
 
We will NOT be having a spelling test this week.  We will continue to practice the words all week long.  Reviewing the words with your child will help them to connect this learning to other words with digraphs and blends.
 
Our grammar focus will be nouns.  Your children know that a noun is a person, animal, place, or thing.
 
We will be talking about Wants and Needs this week - - perfect timing with the upcoming holiday.  This is a difficult concept for children to understand.  Can you think of ways to extend this thinking at home, while you are out in the community, or at stores.
 
Just a few reminders for this week:

Holiday Brunch:  We will be having our holiday celebration on Friday from 8:30 – 9:30.
New Boston Food Pantry:  we will be heading down to the Food Pantry on Friday.  Be sure to return your child’s permission slip.  On that paperwork is a list of items that our class will be responsible for.  Thank you, in advance, for your help with this wonderful Act of Kindness.

​Due to the craziness of last week’s snowstorms and the teacher workshop, we have decided to extend last week’s Wonders unit “Where do animals live together?” over to this week, also.  We will continue learning about different animals that live together as well as do a research project on Meerkats, which is based on our Guided Reading books that your child brought home on Thursday to share with you.
 
Our spelling will be the words that were introduced last week:
 
lend, send, fast, past, sink, wink, of, who
 
Be on the lookout for a “kindness” paper that your child will be bringing home.  We will be talking about all the “acts of kindness” that your child will be looking to show you.
 
We will be collecting food items and heading to the Food Pantry next week (the week of the 16th).  A notice will be sent home later this week with all the information.
 
We will be having our Holiday Celebration on Friday, Dec. 20th from 8:30 - 9:30.  Be on the lookout for a Sign-up Genius email from Elizabeth’s mom.  If you can come in to join us and help, we would love the extra set of hands. 
 
Your children did a great job last week of independently putting on their snow gear.  Please make sure your child has extra socks (they get very wet) and a pair of shoes to wear in the classroom.  

​And then there were two snow days....
 
Because of the two snow days and a teacher workshop on Friday...there will not be a spelling test this week.  We will practice the words on Wednesday and Thursday in school (they will be sent home to you on Wednesday afternoon).  As a “bonus or extra credit” I will pick a word or two and put them on next week’s test.
 
An important reminder about snow!!  Your child MUST have the following snow gear to play in the snow at recess:
 

• hat
• jacket
• boots
• snow pants
• gloves/mittens

 
Please put extra socks in your child’s backpack - - these tend to get very wet.  If your child participates in an afterschool program, you may also want to include extra gloves/mittens. 

I will be sending home the latest Scholastic Book order forms this week.    Scholastic has many different book clubs for all ages, most of which I do not receive paper copies.
 
I have provided two links below to help you.  Our Class Code for online ordering is:   GV48H
 
To view the digital version of the fliers use this:

https://editions.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=621734
 
To order online use this:
 
https://orders.scholastic.com/GV48H

The class due date is December 9, 2019.
 
If you would like to books to be a surprise for your child, please let me know and we can make arrangements to get them to you.

This week with our Wonders program we will look at:   Where do animals live together?  Our guided reading books are all about Meerkats.  We will continue our learning about this interesting little animal during the week as we work on a Research Project. 
 
The spelling this week will be tricky word endings:
 
lend, send, fast, past, sink, wink - - of, who
 
**Due to Friday’s Teacher Workshop our weekly spelling test will be on Thursday.
 
During the course of the week our reading will expose us to three more sight words:  eat, under, no.  We will also learn about possessive nouns.
 
With our math we will focus on length as a measurable attribute and then compare the lengths of various objects. 
 
Last Wednesday we did a problem solving using the book Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano.  This book was perfect for a STEM activity.  Turkey was in trouble...big trouble!  The task:  using pattern blocks and working with a teammate could they successfully build a structure that Turkey could hide in from Farmer Jake?  The structure had to be solid enough to not fall down (a connection to last week’s Wonder stories about buildings) and Turkey could not be seen at all.  Check out the pictures below from this fun activity. 
 
Did you hear about our school-wide Pep Rally?  If you are interested in seeing a quick video from our Pep Rally, please email me and I will send you the link.  This is being done for privacy reasons.​

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Mrs. Buckley and I asked your children what they were thankful for.  

Peter:  everything
Phoebe:  Mom, Dad, and George
Coraline:  the best school
Bentley:  friends, family, my teachers
Walter:  my house
Zeke:  food
Mallory:  my sister
Elizabeth:  Mom, Dad, my pets
Matthew:  my teachers
Ben:  my family
Payton:  food
Rory:  my friends
Keiran:  my dogs
Alyssa:  the world
Brayden:  my teachers
Silas:  my brother
Darren:  my teachers
Derek:  my house
Connor:  the world
Mrs. Buckley and I are thankful for your children!

STEM Activity:

​We had so much fun last Friday when we investigated how pushes can change the speed and direction of falling objects.  Using the activity “Boulder Bounce” your children had to design a solution that would protect Tiny Town from a bouncing-ball “boulder”.  A huge thank you to Mrs. Cornwall for all of her help with our investigation.  Check out the pictures below!
 
We will be learning about the first Thanksgiving - comparing and contrasting with our present day celebration.  Be on the lookout for your child’s Thanksgiving flipbook – they will have lots to share with you.
 
Some of last week’s wet weather reminded us about the importance to packing an extra set of clothes for your child in their backpack.  It’s time to replace the extra “summer” clothing with “winter” clothing.  Also, please pack extra socks!  Although boots get left at the classroom door somehow the wet snow still appears on our classroom floor and we have puddles which seem to find all stocking feet.
 
Has your child learned how to tie their shoes?  Beginning in January it is expected that your child is able to tie their own shoes, independently.
 
We have been working hard at following routines and maintaining expected behaviors throughout the day.  We are working hard at earning our “dobs” by showing kindness and expected “Bobcat” behavior.  A conversation with your child on how they are doing would be greatly appreciated.  
 
Mrs. Buckley and I send warm wishes to wish you and your loved ones for a very Happy Thanksgiving.  May this day be a beautiful reminder of the wonderful friendships and love which continue to brighten and enrich our lives.

Our Wonders program will focus on our Essential Question:  What buildings do you know?  What are they made of? We will be talking and reading about buildings and what they are made of.  So, of course, the three little pigs is a perfect story for us to dive into.  There are so many wonderful variations of this tale, we will read two that your children have probably not read yet - - The Pigs, the Wolf, and the Mud by Ellen Tarlow and The Three Dassies by Jan Brett.
 
Our phonics focus is short vowel Uu.  The spelling words for the week are:
run, fun, nut, cut, bug, rug.  Our sight words are:  could, one...with exposure to:  live, then, three. 
 
I will be sending home a list of the Sight Words that your child will be responsible for in Trimester 1.  Your child will be assessed on these words within the next couple of weeks.  Please help them to practice these words.
 
Our Wonders program will expose us to singular and plural nouns as well as contractions. 
 
The cold weather is upon us.  Cynthia Rylant’s beautiful book, In November, will help to guide us to write our own stories about the approaching winter.  We will be finishing these stories up before our Thanksgiving break.
 
 
This week in Science we will make a connection to our Wonders program as we investigate:  How can we protect a mountain town from falling rocks.