12/12 to 12/21

Hello,

Thank you to all the families that made it to family night! Students LOVED reading their compliments!

Last week before winter break! It is a very exciting and busy time of the year. This week we will have

a few fun celebrations. Stay tuned for videos and pictures throughout the week.

Secret Santa! Throughout the week students will be making handmade presents for their
secret santa. They can make some at home if they would like but please do not purchase
anything for it! Handmade cards, bookmarks, origami pieces, etc. And they will have time
to make some at school too so it is not something they need to do!

Gingerbread men: Sometimes this week students can bring their disguised gingerbread man to share at morning meeting. It is cool to see their creative designs!

Here is a snippet of what the end of the week will look like!

Thursday: We will watch a movie on Thursday, I am going to rent Small Foot which is rated PG. Please let me know if you are not comfortable with your child watching a PG movie I can have another activity ready for them. 

Friday: We will have time with our 3rd grade buddies and decorate cookies! We will also have a winter scoot where the students will rotate around rooms for various activities. 

If you would like to bring a treat or snack in for Thursday or Friday please email and I can let you

know what we need. But of course you do not need to.

Lastly, I have some exciting news to share. This last weekend I was proposed to and said yes! It was fun to share the news with the class this morning and I told them they can help me start planning! 

Here is a photo:

Upcoming Events:

12/21: Pajama Day or Red/Green

12/24 to 1/1: Winter Break

1/18: Early Release for Students

Reading: This week we will be surprising our secret santa with bookmarks and books throughout the

week. We will be learning about how it is important to get to know our reading partner to have great

conversations with them. At the end of the week we will be ending our nonfiction unit and will

celebrate by teaching the other first grade class about a topic we learned all about from our reading.

Writing: We are finishing up our all about books this week.  We are adding in introductions and

conclusions. We will have our on demand on Wednesday.

Math: We are working with tens and ones this week.  We will work on reading and writing numerals

and number words.  

Science: This week in science we will be recording videos to teach all we know about the sun,

planets, stars, and moon. If all goes well I will try to post those videos next week!

Questions to ask:

• What video are you recording for science?
• What did you make your secret santa?
• What poster are you going to make in reading?
• What is your topic for your writing On Demand going to be?
• What is a two digit number?
• Are you going to help Miss Wittmann plan her wedding?!

12/3 to 12/7

Hello,

I will be out of the classroom tomorrow and Wednesday because I will be attending the SLATE conference in Wisconsin Dells with a few other teachers from our school.  We will be learning new ways to integrate technology.  I’m excited for this learning opportunity.  I will be checking my email but if you have any urgent news please call Mrs. Mitchell in the office.


Book Order:  Book orders are due today! Please email if you would like to set up a time for me to get the books to you as a secret. You can order online as well at https://clubs.scholastic.com/ Our class code is QJMYM.

Upcoming Events:
12/3: Book Orders Due
12/6: Family Night sheets due
12/11: No School for Students
12/13: Pajama Day and Pizza and Publishing Family Night
12/21: Pajama Day or Red/Green
12/24 to 1/1: Winter Break

Reading:  In reading this week we are learning ways to solve unknown words in nonfiction books. We will add a few new strategies to solve our words. We will goal set and talk about strategies we use all the time and a few strategies we would like to work on.

Writing: In writing we are continuing our work with our All About books. We will be learning how to make our books into chapter books. We will learn how to create a table on contents, chapter titles, and other ways to organize our books.

Math: This week we will be starting a new math unit. This unit is all about place value. We will be learning about making groups of 10’s and 1’s. We will be creating 2 digit numbers and taking them apart. The math homework will be sent home on Thursday this week.

Science: This week we will be continuing our centers.  We will also receive a moon journal to use at home. This is an optional activity to do at home as a family. 

11/26 to 11/30

Hello,

I hope you had a great long weekend. It was great to see you all at the Veterans Event if you were able to make it. The students worked hard on all their songs and it was a lot of fun to watch!

Book Order:  Book orders are coming home today.  They will be due back next Monday, Dec. 3. Books make great gifts! If you want the order to be kept a secret for Christmas gift please just send me an email and I will let you know when the order comes in. Here in the link if you would like to do it online: https://clubs.scholastic.com/ Our class code is QJMYM

Specials Schedule:
Monday: Gym and Music
Tuesday: Gym and Music
Wednesday: Library Check Out and Guidance
Thursday: Library Skills and Gym
Friday: Art

Upcoming Events:
12/3: Book Orders Due
12/11: No School for Students
12/13: Family Night
12/21: Pajama Day or Red/Green
12/24 to 1/1: Winter Break

Reading:  In reading this week we will continue to learn ways to get super smart while reading our nonfiction books. We will learn to chat about a page in the book, either by thinking to ourselves or talking to our partner. Also, we will learn about rereading to make sure we understand, retelling our stories, work on our fluency, and celebrate by sharing all of the things we’ve learned. We will end the week with learning that we have a lot of ways to solve hard words in our books, and readers don’t let anything get in their way of learning a lot about their topic.

Writing: We will continue to write our all about books this week.  We will remind students that writers teach with pictures and words.  The illustrations in our teaching books help teach even more.  We will also encourage them to use the challenging, expert words that help teach about their topic.  Ask your child what they are writing about this week.

Math: We will practice mixed story problems.  We will have to picture the story in our mind to know where to solve in the equations.  Sometimes we will solve for an unknown partner and sometimes a total. We will take a practice test this week and the test on Friday.

Science: This week in science we will be talking about how you can use the stars and constellations to find North, South, East and West. We will also do a close reading, to learn more and more. We will also introduce science exploratory centers at the end of the week. We will have a book center, technology center, art center, planet comparison center, and an exploring constellations and shadows center.

Word Work: This week in word work we will be ending our unit on digraphs. Our snap words of the week are you, an, can, am, and no.

11/19- 11/20

Hello!

I wanted to start off by saying I am so thankful for each and every student in my class. I am so thankful for my career, it really is one of the best jobs! I enjoy coming to school each day and teaching your kiddos and getting to know them as a person. Thank you for all that you do as parents and enjoy this long weekend with family!

Since it is a short week, it is a quick blog post with some reading tips for at home!

Specials Schedule:
Monday: Art
Tuesday: Gym and Music

Upcoming Events:
11/19: Veterans Event: hope to see you there! The concert starts at 6:00, please arrive between 5:40-6:00 so students can take their places on the risers and you get a good spot! The students will be on the right side of the stage, so I suggest finding a seat to the right so you can see them. 
11/19: Yoga
11/19: Yellow Folders Due
11/20: Hanging out with 3rd grade buddies
11/21-23: No School Thanksgiving Break
12/11: No School for Students

Reading Tips:

At this time in the year students are becoming more and more independent with decoding words. We are starting to do a lot of work with comprehending our reading. After they read a book here are a few questions you could ask:

Fiction Books:

• Who was the main character? (who was the book mostly about?)
• Can you do a retell? What happened at the beginning, middle, and end?
• Did the character have a problem in this book?
• How did they solve the problem?
• How was your character feeling in the book? How do you know?
• Can you make any connections to this book? Does it remind you of something that has happened to you? Does it remind you of a different book?

Nonfiction Books:

• Can you predict what you will learn in this book?
• What did you learn in this book?
• Were there any expert words that you read?
• Did the book have a table of contents, glossary, or index?
• Were there any diagrams in your book? (Or pictures that taught you more)

These are just a few questions you can ask! You do not have to ask them for every book, but they are great to keep in the back of your mind for when they finish a book. It's great to remind them that readers do not just read to read, they read to understand more and to enjoy the story!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

Miss Wittmann

11/12 to 11/16

Hello,

I really enjoyed meeting with families last week and I look forward to meeting with the rest of you tomorrow.  Remember we encourage the students to attend to give an opportunity to take pride in their work. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Writing folders:  Yellow writing folders will be coming home today to be decorated for our All About unit.  The pictures on this folder should be about things that your child can tell lots about.  Example: favorite animals, games, sports, etc.  Please try to have them back by next Monday, November 19th, the sooner the better!  Thanks!

Our Veterans Day program is coming up on Monday, November 19.  We are looking for volunteers to bring treats for the end of the program.  If you are willing, please click on the link below to sign up to bring something.
http://signup.com/go/NoWVZmT

Specials Schedule:
Monday: Gym and Music
Tuesday: Gym and Music
Wednesday: Gym and Music
Thursday: Library Checkout and STEAM
Friday: Library Skills and Gym

Upcoming Events:
11/12: Last Day of Food Drive
11/13: Fall Conferences
11/15: Order Forms due for Square1 Art merchandise
11/16: Early Release for students
11/19: Veterans Event
11/21-23: No School Thanksgiving Break

Reading: This week in reading we are getting ready to start our non-fiction unit.  We will spend a few days organizing our library and getting ready to book shop for just right non-fiction books.  Later in the week we will begin with sneak peeks of books and studying as much as we can on each page.  We will show students that slowing down in non-fiction books to name what they see before turning the page will help them remember the important information.

Writing: In writing this week we will be starting our new unit of study: Nonfiction Chapter Books. This week we will learn how to get ready to write, how to plan out our information books, thinking about our readers and what questions they might ask, and teaching with pictures as well as with words. Please return decorated yellow folders by November 19th, thanks!

Math: This week in math we will be continuing our work in Unit 3 which is all about solving for the unknown partner. We will be learning this week how subtraction can connect to solving for an unknown partner. We will practice using all the ways we know to solve for the unknown and start talking about which method is the most efficient. We will end the week with learning how to decipher a story problem to see what you need to solve for.

Science: In science this week we are continuing our exploration into space. We will be solving a mystery of why is it sometimes light out when we go to bed in summer but not in winter. We will also use a model to investigate why the stars are visible at night but disappear when the sun comes out during the day. We will finish the week with exploring constellations!

You can support your child’s curiosity at home by watching a read-aloud of the classic children's book Zoo in the Sky by Jacqueline Mitton: http://safeYouTube.net/w/PhCb.

Word Work: This week in word work we will continue working on our digraphs: ch, sh, wh, th, and ck.

Questions to ask:

• What non-fiction books are you reading?
• How did you organize your library?
• What should we put on your yellow folder?
• What experiments have you done this week in science?
• Did you learn how to stop and jot during a read aloud?

Here are a few photos from our writing celebration last week, we learned how to make flipsticks:

11/5 to 11/9

Hello,

This Thursday and next Tuesday we will have our portfolio conferences. I am excited to share what students have been working on! We encourage the students to attend to give an opportunity to take pride in their work. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you to everyone that brought in socks! We surpassed our goal, not once but twice! We will be donating the socks to Homeless Connections.

We also started our district-wide food drive. Each school is collecting food and the last day to bring things in is November 12th. Thanks!

Specials This Week:
Monday: Gym and Music
Tuesday: Gym(last day of biking) and Music
Wednesday: Library Check-Out and STEAM
Thursday: Library Skills and Gym
Friday: Art

Upcoming Events:
11/8: Fall Conferences
11/9: Funset Boulevard wristband sheet due (if you want to attend)
11/12: Last day to bring in food for Kaukauna Food Drive
11/13: Fall Conferences
11/16: Early Release for students
11/19: Veterans Event
11/21-23: No School Thanksgiving Break

Reading: In reading this week we are concluding our word detective unit. We will learn about using word parts they know to read new words, learn about “unusual” words (contractions), and smooth out our reading. On Thursday we will celebrate the end of our unit with a special surprise from our detective agency. Then at the end of the week we will talk about reorganizing our library.

Writing: This week in writing we are finishing up our How-To books.  We are adding introductions and conclusions.  We will be looking mentor texts and noticing author's craft.  At the end of the week we will publish our best piece and add it to our library.

Math: In math this week we are starting Unit 3, which is all about unknown partners. This week we will learn about unknown partners in addition story problems and in addition equations. Math homework will be sent home on Wednesday but again you do not need to return it to school. It is for students to be able to show what we are working on in school!

Science: In our first few lessons we will be learning about the sun, in particular how its place changes in the sky throughout the day.  In our first lesson, your child observed the surprising fact that the shadow of a stationary object moves, even though the object itself is not moving!  This is because of how the sun’s place is changing in the sky. You can encourage your child’s curiosity about the sun by going for a late afternoon walk around your neighborhood, and inviting them to notice where the shadows are. You can bring up interesting questions to ponder, such as: Which direction are the shadows pointing? How can you use a shadow’s direction to know where the sun is (since it’s not safe to look directly at the sun)?  How might these shadows be different in the morning?

Word Work: We have introduced the digraphs, ch, th, sh, wh, and ck. This week we will spell words using them.

Play Workshop: This year we have had some play workshop time or academic free choice time at least once a week. We sometimes have it with our 3rd grade buddies and sometimes on our own! We always start with a social lesson and then have a challenge during that playtime. Here are a few pictures of students at the centers and some posters of what we have learned about so far!

Questions to ask: 

• Did you get any missions this week from the Detective Agency?
• What How-To book are you going to publish?
• Did you get math homework? 
• What are you learning about in science?
• What did you learn about shadows? 
• What do shadows teach you about the sun?

10/29 to 11/2

Happy Monday!

Thank you to all families that participated in our Grand-friends event. It is always a lot of fun to show grandparents around the school! 

Fall conference sign up was sent last week.

On October 31st, we will host a Fall Scoot. The whole school is participating and there will be games, snacks, and crafts for the students. Students can also wear orange and black.

Reminder: Veteran's Day RSVP is due November 1st. Please let us know if you are able to make it! It is also the last chance for third and fourth grade students to enter a piece of writing that they would like to read at the event. Lastly, if you are interested in volunteering your time to help us with our Veteran's Day preparations please contact Sheri Krueger at  kruegers@kaukaunasd.org 

Upcoming Events:

10/30: Yoga: students can wear comfy clothes
10/31: Fall Scoot
10/31: Wear orange and black

11/1: Veteran’s Day RSVP Due

11/1: Picture Retake Day

11/8: Fall Conferences

11/13: Fall Conferences

11/16: Early Release for students

Reading: This week in reading we are continuing our word detective unit. We will be using our knowledge of letters, sounds, and words to read. We will look at beginning of words, watch out for special endings, look at vowel teams, and use word parts we know to read new words.

Writing: This week in writing we are working on teaching our readers how to do something. We will learn how to plan a book with our partners, start using "bossy" language, and work on gaining our readers attention at the beginning of our book! This week we are also writing a How-To Book as a class, to teach the school something new!

Math: The students have been working hard at solving subtraction and addition story problems in many ways and finding the most efficient way to solve it. This week we will relate addition and subtraction, learn about the vertical form, and start preparing for this Unit 2 test. This week in math you will get a homework sheet sent home on Thursday. We will start to send sheets home on Wednesdays for students to work on. You do not need to return it to school, we use this homework as a tool to show families what we are working on in school.

Science: This week in science we are going to start exploring space! We are going to build on what we learned on our field trip and start our unit with a close reading and asking ourselves some questions we have about space.

Word Work: This week in word work we are continuing our work with tapping out CVC words. We are also working on scooping up parts in our stories to sound fluent.

Questions to ask:

• What books are you reading this week?
• What are you teaching in your How-To book in writing?
• Are you writing a book as a class this week? What is the book about?
• Did you get math homework this week? Should we look at it together?
• What are you learning about space this week? What are some things you hope to learn about space?