January/February

Our Grade One Newsletter

January is a busy month for us here at M. Gerald Teed School. We are re-establishing routines with students in all subject levels and starting many new concepts in both Math and Literacy. We will also be starting the Skating Program on January 31st. This runs for 5 weeks. Please make sure to inform your child s teacher if he/she does not have skates or a helmet. Jan 23 is Chinese New Year

Special Events Skating will take place on Tuesdays: Jan. 31st, Feb. 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. *Skating is part of the NB curriculum and ALL children are required to take part.

Mrs. Berlin, a UNB student intern, has been assigned to Mrs. Jelinek s class until April. She will be working with all of the grade one classes. We are very fortunate to have her join our team!

100 Days of School - 100th day of school will fall on February 15th. If a storm day takes places between now and then, the 100th day will change accordingly. Grade 1 students will be celebrating 100th day by completing special activities. If you are able to send in a treat on this day (100 goldfish etc.) it would be a great Math activity for our students. Further details will be sent home concerning 100th day celebrations. As a Grade 1 project, we will be attempting to collect 100 items for the Food Bank. We will be sorting, graphing and tallying our amounts as part of our Math outcomes as well as contributing to the community food bank. Some suggested items are: toothbrushes, toothpaste, snacks for lunches, canned fish or meat. Thank You!

November

Literacy
READING: Your child is continuing to learn comprehension strategies to be used when reading. 1. Spinner the Spider Make Connections!: y Connect to what you already know o Text to text o Text to self o Text to world 2. Questioning Owl Ask Questions as you read! y Ask questions about the story before, during and after reading y Who, What, Where, Why . . . 3. Digger the Dog Determine important ideas! y Dig for important details y Dig for important information that tells you the authors message y Dig and determine the facts 4. Iggy the Inferring Iguana Infer as you read! y Make predictions while you read y Draw conclusions as you put information together y Reflect while you read 5. Jabber the Re-teller Synthesize and Retell! ut the information together and y think about what you read y Retell the story or what you learned in your own words

Math Part/Part Whole: Your child has been working on this concept since September and will be continuing to develop this important idea in January and February. Here are the specific outcomes for January: r Represent a given number in a variety of equal groups with and without singles, e.g., 17 can be represented by 8 groups of 2 and one single, 5 groups of 3 and two singles, 4 groups of 4 and one single, and 3 groups of 5 and two singles. r Recognize that for a given number of counters, no matter how they are grouped, the total number of counters does not change. r Group a set of given counters into equal groups in more than one way. Place Value: Your child is beginning to develop the understanding of place value. We have been counting a variety of items in our class by making groups of ten. Estimation: Your child was signing-in each morning by estimating how many counters are in a jar. In Grade One, your child is required to estimate quantities to 20 using a referent. Estimation is a vital skill to developing efficient mental math strategies. You may want to have you child estimate how many items are in a package before eating them, for example: crackers, cookies, M&Ms or estimate how many raisins are in this box:

Gym In gym, your child is working on accuracy with under hand and over hand throwing skills. In addition, some students are taking part in the Run Across Canada Program.

Music
Your child is learning about different styles of Music from around the world with Mr.

Higgins.

On Mondays, M. Gerald Teed students gather to work on specific writing traits in small groups. On Thursday mornings, the grade ones are participating in Daily 5 Math activities rotating between the three classrooms.

Interesting Website Place Value:

WRITING: There are 6 traits of writing: Conventions, Sentence Structure, Word Choice, Organization and Voice. In Grade One, your child will concentrate on the first five. Ask your child which trait s/he is working on in his/her small group.

Scholastic Book Orders Scholastic Book order forms have gone out. Please check your the order form for the return date. There is no obligation to purchase these books; however, if you wish to place an order, please return your form with a cheque to

Scholastic Canada Ltd.