Henry Clay Elementary

Our focus this week, in

Language Arts:

First Grade Footnotes all of our Wed like to wish

First Grade Families a Happy Thanksgiving. There are so many reasons we can be thankful! We hope you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday! -The First Grade Teachers

Issue 12 *Please note:

Our next issue will be sent in December.

Continue to identify nouns: focus on proper nouns (specific names of people and places). Proper nouns start with a capital letter. Focus Skill: details in a story Focus Strategy: look for word bits and parts to sound out challenging words Fundations

Heres a neat website that shows the current day and night of the world: http://www.fourmilab .ch/cgi-bin/Earth/ action?opt=-p

Blend, read, and spell three sound short vowel words Bonus Letters: At the end of 1 syllable words, if the word has 1 vowel immediately followed by an f, l, or s at the end, double that consonant (call, mess, puff, for ex.) Trick Words: they, one, said Review capitalization, word spacing, and punctuation for sentence writing (focus: capital letters). Reading in phrases for fluency

Mr. Ds Weekly Health Tip:

Teacher Tip: First grade students are expected to learn the definition of a tradition (a custom or belief that happens over a long period of time). One tradition we have at school is to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day. Many families have their own traditions around the holidays. Some great conversations to have with your first grader include: how certain traditions started, your favorite traditions as a child, or how your family can start a new tradition this year! Did you know that sleep deprivation causes colds/flu as well as well as intellectual impairment, personality changes, mood swings, and irritability? Lack of sleep suppresses the immune system and can cause sickness. Let's hope our students are getting the proper amount of sleep (10-11 hrs.), so they can perform their best while in school. www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2005/11/05 1111103748.htm IMPORTANT WORDS TO KNOW: (These are the
vocabulary words used in Social Studies, Science, or Math. It is important that your child knows these definitions.)

Math Count, read, and write to 50 Number sense: sequencing and counting forward and backward from a given number Solve story problems Neighbor Facts (+1, -1) Zero Facts (+0, -0) Compose and decompose numbers (example: 3 and 7 make 10 or 10 minus 3 is 7) Social Studies

Instructional Focus:

Past/Present: community, family life, transportation, schools Customs/traditions: Thanksgiving

Important Dates:

Wed. Nov. 23: Early Dismissal; Thanksgiving Holiday Break Thurs. & Fri. Nov. 24-25: no school Fri. Dec. 2: Good Citizenship Assembly

We are learning about past and present. Students will learn about how communities, transportation, schools, and family life has changed over time. This is a great opportunity to share how times were different during parents and grandparents childhood. (Can you believe there was a time when we didnt have cell phones? Or you had to watch a movie using a VCR? Anyone remember playing games on an Atari?)

tradition: a custom or belief that happens over a long period of time past: something that happened or lived long ago present= today community: a place where people live, work and play

Nov.21-Dec. 2, 2011

transportation: a way to get from one place to another