Hello Parents!
I hope everyone enjoyed a beautiful Mother's Day. The children worked very hard on their sweet poems for you! Also, thank you for all the wonderful treats and notes during Teacher Appreciation Week! You are so kind.
It's hard to believe our year is already winding down. Soon reading assessments will begin for all our first grade students. We have been working hard to ensure every opportunity for the children to meet grade level expectations in reading comprehension for both fiction and informational text. This is an important standard this last quarter. Besides unit math assessments, a midterm math formal assessment will be administrated later in the month.
We finished our unit on measurement and now we are working on partitioning equal parts, fractions. Students need to understand halves, fourths or quarters, and the whole part. It is very important that we offer ample opportunity for the children to see equal shares in models; dividing pizza slices or cookies equally into halves or fourths.
During the 4th quarter we will focus on informational text across subject areas. Our habitat study is the Ocean. We have learned many facts about the four major oceans of the world and labeled our own maps. Now the children will choose their own animal to research and write their own All About. Once we become experts on the ocean, we will rotate to other classes to learn more about other world habitats.
Our science unit on Organisms will wrap up this week. If you would like your child to take home a snail or guppy, please send a note to school.
In social studies we are still working hard on helping our Earth stay clean. Take a walk down our hallway to see the awesome display from the children.
Thank you to all my volunteers who come in every week to help students with their reading. You are the best!!!
Have a great week!
Shar
Sincerely,
Sharon Mogilski
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Welcome Spring!
Hello Families!
I hope everyone found opportunities to relax and enjoy Spring Break! We will continue to work many of the same units as we head back this week in reading, math, and writing. Thank you for your constant support with daily reading and math homework practice with your children.
We wrapped up our science unit Pebbles. Sand, and Silt with a great visit from Scientist Joe! The class loved it! Our next unit is Organisms, which falls directly with the last unit study of earth materials and organisms that live on earth. After concentrating on science for several weeks, we will head into social studies. More on that later!
In math, our students need to be fluent with numbers up to 10. That means that children should know their doubles, understand making a ten, and counting on one and two more to answer addition and subtraction fast facts automatically. Flash cards serve as a great practice for this. They also need to be fluent solving word problems within 20, understanding what the question is asking- how many more and how many fewer. I try to send home extra homework practice to help with this and I also will get in contact with you if I see a need to work on this more at home. As we continue to work on addition and subtraction, we will use ten frames to solve problems with multiples of ten. These are referred to as decade numbers. Children will be expected to add 10, 20, 30 more or subtract that amount from a given number. Ten frames and number lines are great tools to use, especially the number line, which is used often in second grade.
In reading we are closing up study of different genres and comparing text from informational to fiction to poetry. Book Clubs have been very productive and I have noticed strong team building through conversations and questions they have had with each other in their groups. Students should be able to picture walk through their book to determine what kind of text they will read, what they will learn from it, and have a sense of purpose in their reading.
Ezra Jack Keats was a wonderful children's author with many crafts up his sleeve. We have enjoyed many of his books and charted many good tips. The children have worked hard to implement these ideas into their own Small Moments (stories that really happened). Sharing on the document camera is fun everyday!
I want to thank ALL my volunteers who come to tutor faithfully each morning during literacy and also to ALL of you who donate snacks and class items whenever we are low! You are awesome! Thank you so much!
Well, I am excited to see our class tomorrow! This is always the best time of year for first graders. They have learned so much this school year!
Sincerely,
Sharon Mogilski
I hope everyone found opportunities to relax and enjoy Spring Break! We will continue to work many of the same units as we head back this week in reading, math, and writing. Thank you for your constant support with daily reading and math homework practice with your children.
We wrapped up our science unit Pebbles. Sand, and Silt with a great visit from Scientist Joe! The class loved it! Our next unit is Organisms, which falls directly with the last unit study of earth materials and organisms that live on earth. After concentrating on science for several weeks, we will head into social studies. More on that later!
In math, our students need to be fluent with numbers up to 10. That means that children should know their doubles, understand making a ten, and counting on one and two more to answer addition and subtraction fast facts automatically. Flash cards serve as a great practice for this. They also need to be fluent solving word problems within 20, understanding what the question is asking- how many more and how many fewer. I try to send home extra homework practice to help with this and I also will get in contact with you if I see a need to work on this more at home. As we continue to work on addition and subtraction, we will use ten frames to solve problems with multiples of ten. These are referred to as decade numbers. Children will be expected to add 10, 20, 30 more or subtract that amount from a given number. Ten frames and number lines are great tools to use, especially the number line, which is used often in second grade.
In reading we are closing up study of different genres and comparing text from informational to fiction to poetry. Book Clubs have been very productive and I have noticed strong team building through conversations and questions they have had with each other in their groups. Students should be able to picture walk through their book to determine what kind of text they will read, what they will learn from it, and have a sense of purpose in their reading.
Ezra Jack Keats was a wonderful children's author with many crafts up his sleeve. We have enjoyed many of his books and charted many good tips. The children have worked hard to implement these ideas into their own Small Moments (stories that really happened). Sharing on the document camera is fun everyday!
I want to thank ALL my volunteers who come to tutor faithfully each morning during literacy and also to ALL of you who donate snacks and class items whenever we are low! You are awesome! Thank you so much!
Well, I am excited to see our class tomorrow! This is always the best time of year for first graders. They have learned so much this school year!
Sincerely,
Sharon Mogilski
Friday, January 30, 2015
Valentine's Day
Hello Parents!
Valentine's Day will be celebrated on Friday, February 13th. The class list of 22 children will go home in Monday Folders. Please send valentines to all children, not a selected few. We will have one small special snack, as coordinated by Danielle Stewart. Please try to keep extra candy at home and stick to special cards. Below are links to great ideas for healthy snacks!
.
https://www.pinterest.com/ebethobrien/valentines-day-ideas-healthy/
Thanks for all your support!
Sharon Mogilski
Valentine's Day will be celebrated on Friday, February 13th. The class list of 22 children will go home in Monday Folders. Please send valentines to all children, not a selected few. We will have one small special snack, as coordinated by Danielle Stewart. Please try to keep extra candy at home and stick to special cards. Below are links to great ideas for healthy snacks!
.
https://www.pinterest.com/ebethobrien/valentines-day-ideas-healthy/
Thanks for all your support!
Sharon Mogilski
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Half Way There!
Hello Parents,
It's hard to believe that we have already been to school 90 days! The third quarter has begun. Report cards are distributed on Monday, January 26th. Please review, sign the envelope, and return ONLY the envelope back to school.
Valentine's Day is coming up! The children will exchange valentines on Friday, February 13th. As you may be aware, our school and county are promoting healthy lifestyles with good food choices. Please keep this in mind as you create or buy valentines for your child to make sure there is not too much candy. We may have one treat and then the valentines will go home. Our Room Rep, Danielle Stewart, will help coordinate this. The best part of the day is the actual exchange of loving cards and notes to each other! Also, if you could spare an extra box of valentines, that would help us make sure everyone has their own cards to pass out to the class. Thank you!
In math we have begun our study of geometry. Right now the children continue to explore flat plane figures' defining and non-defining attributes. Vocabulary is very new for them, but I am encouraging lots of math talk to help them compare shapes with various activities. We will also explore 3D shapes as well. Be looking soon for information on our Geo-Animals that we will be building at school. We will need lots of supplies. Start saving paper towel and toilet paper rolls! Also, be on the look out for Math Night to be held on February 5th. This will be a fun night for children and informative for parents. Pizza sign-up will be in the Monday Folders!
Throughout the quarter Ms. Evans (AIG) will visit our class with the PETS Program, which includes critical thinking skills. These are whole group lessons with opportunity for guided practice within the class. We have already had one session on Friday and the children really enjoyed the story, much like being a detective.
All the children have been assessed on Mclass for decoding of words and comprehension. A summary of how your child did will be in Monday Folders soon, once the window of testing is over. Of course, these assessments are another snap shot of your child's reading progress. Daily observations in the classroom with small groups and informal assessments play a big part of the final grade. Next quarter the standard will address meeting grade level comprehension. It is so important that your child read every night for 20 minutes. This practice builds stamina and promotes fluency. I will be happy to lend your child some books, if that would help.
We are having a great time exploring rocks in science as we study Pebbles, Sand, and Silt. They are already asking so many questions such as...Are there rocks in sand? Why are they so different? Where do they come from? So far we have studied volcanic rocks' properties (scoria, basalt, and tuff).
In social studies we will study maps. This is always a hit in first grade. They can really connect to everyday life travelling place to place, using a GPS.
With the Super Bowl approaching, first grade is concentrating on being Brave Readers, just like the football players! So we are practicing a lot, tackling trick parts, and running toward that touchdown of being true Brave Readers!
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. The First Grade Newsletter is published on Member Hub at the beginning of each month. I will also continue to send text messages through Remind on your phone.
Have a great couple weeks! I wonder what winter has in store for us?
Sincerely,
Sharon Mogilski
It's hard to believe that we have already been to school 90 days! The third quarter has begun. Report cards are distributed on Monday, January 26th. Please review, sign the envelope, and return ONLY the envelope back to school.
Valentine's Day is coming up! The children will exchange valentines on Friday, February 13th. As you may be aware, our school and county are promoting healthy lifestyles with good food choices. Please keep this in mind as you create or buy valentines for your child to make sure there is not too much candy. We may have one treat and then the valentines will go home. Our Room Rep, Danielle Stewart, will help coordinate this. The best part of the day is the actual exchange of loving cards and notes to each other! Also, if you could spare an extra box of valentines, that would help us make sure everyone has their own cards to pass out to the class. Thank you!
In math we have begun our study of geometry. Right now the children continue to explore flat plane figures' defining and non-defining attributes. Vocabulary is very new for them, but I am encouraging lots of math talk to help them compare shapes with various activities. We will also explore 3D shapes as well. Be looking soon for information on our Geo-Animals that we will be building at school. We will need lots of supplies. Start saving paper towel and toilet paper rolls! Also, be on the look out for Math Night to be held on February 5th. This will be a fun night for children and informative for parents. Pizza sign-up will be in the Monday Folders!
Throughout the quarter Ms. Evans (AIG) will visit our class with the PETS Program, which includes critical thinking skills. These are whole group lessons with opportunity for guided practice within the class. We have already had one session on Friday and the children really enjoyed the story, much like being a detective.
All the children have been assessed on Mclass for decoding of words and comprehension. A summary of how your child did will be in Monday Folders soon, once the window of testing is over. Of course, these assessments are another snap shot of your child's reading progress. Daily observations in the classroom with small groups and informal assessments play a big part of the final grade. Next quarter the standard will address meeting grade level comprehension. It is so important that your child read every night for 20 minutes. This practice builds stamina and promotes fluency. I will be happy to lend your child some books, if that would help.
We are having a great time exploring rocks in science as we study Pebbles, Sand, and Silt. They are already asking so many questions such as...Are there rocks in sand? Why are they so different? Where do they come from? So far we have studied volcanic rocks' properties (scoria, basalt, and tuff).
In social studies we will study maps. This is always a hit in first grade. They can really connect to everyday life travelling place to place, using a GPS.
With the Super Bowl approaching, first grade is concentrating on being Brave Readers, just like the football players! So we are practicing a lot, tackling trick parts, and running toward that touchdown of being true Brave Readers!
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. The First Grade Newsletter is published on Member Hub at the beginning of each month. I will also continue to send text messages through Remind on your phone.
Have a great couple weeks! I wonder what winter has in store for us?
Sincerely,
Sharon Mogilski
Monday, January 12, 2015
Happy New Year!
Hello Parents!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Winter Break! I appreciate your warm thoughts with gifts and goodies over the holiday. Thank you once again! But now we are in full swing at school. The second quarter will end this Friday, January 16th. There is a lot of assessments going on to make sure our children are proficient in all areas During the Elective Down week, we will use that time to conference with students and see all their progress!
In math we have been learning how to tell time to the hour and half hour. it is important for them to verbalize this by saying, I know the time is _______ because the hour hand is pointing to ___ and the minute hand is pointing to ___. I sent home a memory game last week for extra practice. There will be an assessment on Tuesday and then we will have a mid year math assessment on Wednesday. I will let you know if your child needs more practice. Our next unit will focus on geometry, identifying defining and non defining attributes of plane and solid figures.
In reading we will study Informational text briefly and hold Book Clubs to read and ask I Wonder Questions. Then it is time to become Brave Readers. I am proud of their effort to use strategies all the time and become independent readers.
In writing we have been writing How-To, informational form. That has been great fun! We will continue to write about facts we have learned on different topics, called "All About" Writing.
Balance and Motion will end this week with a grand finale! This has been a great unit exploring how objects spin, rotate, and roll. The children are learning so many vocabulary words and I can see them using them in their explanations for their Science Notebooks.
Thank you once again for your constant support! Our class continues to work together to become a true school class family!
Sincerely,
Sharon Mogilski
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Welcome December!
Hello Parents!
I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving holiday! Thank you ALL for your donations to our Service Project and special thanks to our Room Rep, Danielle Stewart for helping out and always making sure you are" in the know" with current events at Hunter and in our classroom!
I'm excited about our the month coming up because it is full of projects that help our children become global citizens. In social studies, we will learn about the culture and customs of Mexico. Every first grade class will represent a country, spending a month preparing for the Cultural Parade on December 12th at 9:30. Mark your calendars! It doesn't last long but it is awesome! We will learn about maps, read books on the geography of Mexico, and study traditional customs from long ago and celebrations still celebrated in Mexico today. This unit integrates literacy as well as art and has always been a wonderful experience for first graders. Once we have become experts on Mexico, we will grab our passports and travel to four other countries If you would like to share your special culture with our class, let me know.
Our reading genres will change as we delve into nonfiction or informational text. We will learn the features often present (index, table of content, captions, headings, bold print, glossary...) as well as the structure of reading information (sequence, compare/contrast, cause/effect..) In writing we will also switch to information, as we learn about How-To types of writing. The children enjoy this genre a lot! They love to share their expertise to others!
In science we continue to explore motion, beginning with spinning objects. The children are becoming more diligent with their science writing to include data with diagrams and labels as well as a conclusion that responds to the inquiry question of the day.
In math we are finishing up our place value unit. If I see that your child needs extra practice, I try to let you know so they can gain extra practice at home. I often send home daily math sheets that review what was learned in class that day. For those who are grasping the concepts easily, I am encouraging them to show various ways to prove their answer and give them ample opportunities to share and explain their solutions to the class. We will head back to addition and subtraction soon.
On Friday, December 5th, all Hunter students are walking to Ligon for their Winter Program. Please make sure you have signed both sides of the permission slip in order for your child to join us.
I appreciate your constant support with your children with homework. Creating good study habits now creates a ground foundation for future successful students!
Please contact me with any concerns or questions! We have a great class!
Sincerely,
Sharon Mogilski
I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving holiday! Thank you ALL for your donations to our Service Project and special thanks to our Room Rep, Danielle Stewart for helping out and always making sure you are" in the know" with current events at Hunter and in our classroom!
I'm excited about our the month coming up because it is full of projects that help our children become global citizens. In social studies, we will learn about the culture and customs of Mexico. Every first grade class will represent a country, spending a month preparing for the Cultural Parade on December 12th at 9:30. Mark your calendars! It doesn't last long but it is awesome! We will learn about maps, read books on the geography of Mexico, and study traditional customs from long ago and celebrations still celebrated in Mexico today. This unit integrates literacy as well as art and has always been a wonderful experience for first graders. Once we have become experts on Mexico, we will grab our passports and travel to four other countries If you would like to share your special culture with our class, let me know.
Our reading genres will change as we delve into nonfiction or informational text. We will learn the features often present (index, table of content, captions, headings, bold print, glossary...) as well as the structure of reading information (sequence, compare/contrast, cause/effect..) In writing we will also switch to information, as we learn about How-To types of writing. The children enjoy this genre a lot! They love to share their expertise to others!
In science we continue to explore motion, beginning with spinning objects. The children are becoming more diligent with their science writing to include data with diagrams and labels as well as a conclusion that responds to the inquiry question of the day.
In math we are finishing up our place value unit. If I see that your child needs extra practice, I try to let you know so they can gain extra practice at home. I often send home daily math sheets that review what was learned in class that day. For those who are grasping the concepts easily, I am encouraging them to show various ways to prove their answer and give them ample opportunities to share and explain their solutions to the class. We will head back to addition and subtraction soon.
On Friday, December 5th, all Hunter students are walking to Ligon for their Winter Program. Please make sure you have signed both sides of the permission slip in order for your child to join us.
I appreciate your constant support with your children with homework. Creating good study habits now creates a ground foundation for future successful students!
Please contact me with any concerns or questions! We have a great class!
Sincerely,
Sharon Mogilski
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