Hi Team Ward Parents,

Time really does fly in first grade!  It's hard to believe October is more than half over.  Here is an overview of what we've been doing in Team Ward!

We started Team Literacy groups last week.  The children are all learning the routines of this small-group instructional time which consists of guided reading, writing, and word work for 30 minutes per day.  Your child may have already brought home one or two team lit books in his/her pouch.  These books should sound smooth and fluent when your child reads them.

Team Spelling is also in full swing.  By now your child should know which color spelling group he/she is in, and be able to navigate the Spelling City website/app in order to practice.  New spelling words are sent home every Friday and groups will change periodically based on new assessment data.

We began our study of plants as well by observing the plants in the courtyard outside of our classroom.  We will be spending the next few weeks studying plant parts and different types of seeds.

In math we spent several weeks studying number bonds and addition.  We are working on mastering all addition facts within ten (including facts like 3+4, 5+3, 9+1, etc.).  We learned many new math games and started working in small groups during math workshop.

The students have been working hard in writer's workshop to write personal narratives - true stories about special moments from their lives. Having conversations at the dinner table about "small moments" might help your child to generate ideas for new stories.  Stories like losing a tooth, falling off the monkey bars, scoring a soccer goal, or visiting grandma or grandpa are good examples.  We are trying to write "seeds" rather than "watermelons."  A watermelon story might be a whole camping trip.  The seed story would be roasting marshmallows and accidentally burning one to a crisp!  

We have begun our digital citizenship curriculum as well. Mrs. Sabin, our library-media specialist, and I have taught the children about how to stay safe online which is very similar to how they stay safe in the real world.  We will continue to have lessons throughout the school year following the Common Sense Media digital citizenship curriculum.  If you would like more information about the lessons, please visit https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum.

Our Halloween parade and party are coming up soon!  The Sprague parade is Oct. 31st at 2:15 and will be followed by our classroom party.  Please email our room parents, Mrs. Suby and Mrs. Farahmandpour, if you have questions about the party.  Children should bring their costumes to school in a labeled shopping bag.  They will change after recess.

Thanks for your support!  As always, please let me know if you have any questions:-)

Mrs. Ward