1. Mrs. Kurth’s Classroom News November 2 nd – 6 th, 2015

2. Dates to save: November 2 nd : Field Trip Permission Slip due November 9 th : No School – Teacher Workshop November 10 th: PIE Meeting 7pm November 25 th – 27 th : No School »Thanksgiving break

3. Book It: October Calendars will be due Monday, November 2 nd. 20 minutes, three nights or more a week = free, personal-size pizza from Pizza Hut. We’ll also be rewarding students who complete this goal every month. The November calendars will go home on Monday in the TIGER folder.

4. Box Top Collection: I am excited to report that our class won for first grade!! We will be brainstorming ideas of how we want to celebrate: we’ll keep you posted! Thanks again for all of your support!!

5. Decorated Pumpkins I am also happy to announce that Harrison and Jackson entered pumpkins in the contest through the bank, and they won!! We will keep you posted on how we celebrate that as well!

6. Family Turkey Project November is here – it’s time to decorate some turkeys! Watch your child’s TIGER folder for a turkey pattern and directions for how you can decorate your turkey.

7. Upcoming Academics: This will change each week!

8. Reading: Review Week: Now that we have completed our first 5 story units, we will have our Unit 1 Assessment: Word Wall Words: Unit 1 words (use your word cards on a ring to practice/review) Comprehension Strategy: comprehension assessment Phonics: short vowels assessment Writing: write about a time you learned something new – add a lable to your picture Spelling Words:

9. Spelling Review good, with, here, friend, you, what, they, my, have, do

10. Phonics Assessment In unit 1 we learned about short vowel sounds. Words with one vowel in them typically have a short vowel sounds. (cvc = consonant/vowel/consonant – ex. cat). We will be assessing this idea with a written test as well as an oral assessment. Written Test: These words will be similar to the spelling words we have had in this first unit. Typically they are rhyming words. Oral Test: Students will read a list of words following this pattern in addition to non-sense words (parts of words following the cvc pattern) -Below is a rubric we use to assess the oral phonics: 1…needs help on almost every word. Has difficulty blending beginning, middle, and ending sounds. 2…needs help on several words. Has difficulty blending the sounds, but is able to “catch on” after lots of modeling. 3…average. Able to read the majority of the words, but needs some help when switching from one word to the next. (different vowel sound, cluster, digraph, etc.) 4…able to read words easily. Can switch from word to word without help. 5…Excelling. Able to read the words very quickly. Can switch from word to word without hesitating.

11. Math Concepts for this week in class: Counting by 5’s, money, and time Anticipated Homework: Monday: 2.13 Counting Money Tuesday: Return and missing assignments Wednesday: No Homework Thursday: No Homework due to assessments Friday: 3.1 Patterns

12. More Math…. Here is the link if you need to reprint homework pages: http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/1st-grade/em-at- home/unit_2/http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/1st-grade/em-at- home/unit_2/ http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/1st-grade/em-at- home/unit_3/http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/1st-grade/em-at- home/unit_3/ Things you can practice at home if you are looking for additional ideas: -Telling time to the nearest hour -Counting combinations of pennies and nickels

13. Family Journals Family Journals are due each Monday. Please use the next empty page to complete your response to your child. I also encourage you to use the letter format to allow your child to see and experience that format.

14. Word of the Week Extra: Each week, your child can receive a sticker for their sticker book by writing down our special word/phrase of the week along with a parent signature. They love stickers! Phrase of the week: Book-It

15. General Homework Expectations Mondays: Spelling words and word wall words will come home (practice these words to be ready for the spelling test on Friday Wednesdays: Wednesday work: students complete the comprehension page as well as practice reading the words on the opposite side. When you feel your child is confident in knowing the words and has completed the comprehension page, please return it to the classroom. It is due by the following Tuesday at the latest. Monday through Friday: Math homework will be sent home each day, except Wednesdays. I expect each page to come back the following day.

16. Volunteering Sign Up With Students http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4faaab2da4fe3- volunteer Sign Up Without Students www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0C4FAAAB2DA4FE3- volunteer2

17. Volunteering The media center is also looking for volunteers to help shelve books. In the past, some parents have volunteered in the library right before coming to our room to volunteer. Please contact them beforehand to see if they have an available opening. Thank you for ALL your help! We couldn’t do it without you!!!

18. Contact Information Angie Kurth 1 st GradeTeacher – rm. 102 763-972-6200 ext.4102, angie.kurth@delanoschools.org angie.kurth@delanoschools.org Classroom Website/Blog: http://www.delano.k12.mn.us/elementary- school/gradesstaff/first-grade/mrs-kurth