november

Dear Parents,                                                                                November 5, 2001

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween. Our Halloween started off with the
Big Bad Wolf looking for the Three Little Pigs. He almost got us but luckily we all stuck together and got away from him.    When the coast was clear, we participated
in a school-wide costume parade. The Big Bad Wolf found us again but we blended
in well with the other storybook characters. After the parade, we went to a mini-
fair to play some games. Mrs. March was a fortuneteller. She told us what the
future has in store for us. Most of us went to the Monster Lab and got to touch
livers, fingers, eyes, and other yucky stuff. We got to play bingo with the seventh graders. Our day ended with a movie and some Halloween treats. We had a BLAST!

Here`s what is in store for this month:

Math Minutes with Miss Powell:
This month in Math, we will be learning about place value to 100. This is usually
one of the most difficult concepts for first graders to master. Please help your child throughout this month in understanding these concepts.

In Ch. 6, the students will be able to:
1.   Read and write numbers and number words (10 through 100).
2.   Count by 10`s.
3.   Identify and describe number patterns (on a hundred chart).
4.   Order numbers.
5.   Count on and back on a number line.
6.   Write numbers just after, just before, and between.
7.   Compare 2-digit numbers.
8.   Count by 5`s.
9.   Count by 2`s.
10. Identify and count equal groups.
11. Find how many in each group (sharing).
12. Find the number of groups (separating).
13. Solve problems by using guess and test.
14. Solve problems by using logical reasoning.

We're Proud to be an American:
We will be reading a story called What is Veteran`s Day?. We will be discussing
the meaning of some of our country`s symbols and why we celebrate certain
holidays. We will be writing letters to the Veterans in the V. A. Hospital.

Grateful Gobblers:
We will be reading stories about turkeys and the first Thanksgiving. We will also
be learning about Native Americans. We will be making a few things this month to
go with our theme. We are planning on having a Thanksgiving Feast in our classroom. We are planning on having our Thanksgiving Feast during the week
of the 19th. If you would like to donate any items, please let me know or Cathy Welch, our homeroom mom. Her number is #664-1214. This will be something for
the children only to enjoy while watching a Thanksgiving movie.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!:
We will be having our Unit 2 test on Monday, November 5th. I will be sending home our Unit 2 book, Out Came the Sun, which will be due back on Friday, November 9th. We are starting our new unit called Morning Bells. In the first part, we will be participating in activities, which focuses on the concept of left and right. The second part explores what family members share during fun and caring activities. If your child has passed the S.T.A.R. test and is able to read and take test on A.R. books, then please encourage them to do so. We only have four children who are taking A.R. tests. Over half the class, has passed the S.T.A.R. test. We should be seeing more children taking A.R. test. I am very proud of those students who are keeping up with their reading logs. Some children are on their 4th or 5th log. Everyone by now should have completed at least three logs. If you have but forgot to turn them in, please do so, so that your child can get a sticker on our reading chart. If your child has been assigned a reading folder with stories and vocabulary words to learn weekly, then please remember to send them in on Fridays. Mrs. C, our aide, listens to each child read. It is important that your child not forget their folder.

On the Write Track!
Our homework may include some writing assignments in the future. Remember, during writing it is okay for children to phonetically spell words using inventive spelling. I am not looking for words to be perfect. The children should be spelling words that we have had in the past for our spelling tests. Besides that as long as we are able to read what the child was saying, they are progressing in the right direction. However, I do want it to be in the child`s best handwriting. This makes it easier on all of us in helping us to read what they wrote.