February Weekly Newsletter
We are 100 Days Brighter! Read All About It
Looks like the Groundhog was wrong! We are having a delayed winter rather than an early spring! The school district has used their allotted calamity days as of February 14 and all days missed after the five days will need to be made up. The district will begin make up days during the scheduled spring break beginning with Monday and Tuesday, April 2-3, 2007. Notices will be sent home with students containing further instructions. 
We are writing and reading more every day! We are learning about homonyms like: to, two and too. We also are learning about word endings like -ed, -ing, and -s. We are experts on nouns and verbs and can match up plural forms. We are continuing to work on our phonics strategies and are writing in our journals.
Let's Get Curious
This month we will read Curious George books by H.A. Rey.
Curious About resources
Curious George links
Learn to draw Curious George
Curious George Opposites
Curious George activities
Curious George concentration game
Curious George Discovery Guide
Black & White Curious George book cover
Learn How to Draw Curious George
First Grade News... 
Week of February 26-March 2
This week we will finish up our Curious George bonanza! The students have enjoyed writing and reading about Curious George. Last week we worked on long and short vowels and sorted words according to their sound. We will continue learning long/short vowels, words with plural endings, and learn how contraction's work in reading.
Standard Indicators using Curious George & Dr. Seuss
- Gain meaning from print using various strategies.
- Uses conventions of print.
- Read, comprehend, and respond to written text.
- Write composition clearly.
- Written response to text.
- Giving/following directions/procedures.
- Telling/retelling stories.
- Listen/respond to media.
- Recognize organizational features of texts.
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!We will have a special "Dr. Seuss is on the Loose" day on Friday, March 2nd. Your child may bring in their favorite Dr. Seuss books this week to read during center reading time.
Students will be tested in reading in March. The results will be reported on the 3rd Quarter Report card. The expected DRA level is 12.
Word Study: List 18
(well) The wishing well had a lot of pennies in it.
(say) Did you say to bring my game to recess?
(when) When will we have lunch today?
(went) My brother went to the store to get an ice cream.
(with) I went with my dad to the baseball game. We had fun.
(stay) I told the dog to stay inside, but he didn't listen!
(away) Go away big black dog, Go away!
(want) I want to buy a toy at the store.
(curious) My dogs were curious to find out what was honking outside.
Week of February 19-23
WOW - last week was a short week with all the school closing days. So we will work on Word Study: List 17 this week and have the assessment on Friday. We will use Curious George books in our reading and writing focus.
Have an awesome week!
~ United Streaming & BrainPop Jr. ~
February video clips. When you open the link, just type in your initials with a space between the letters (ex. J space S).
* Presidents Day: Washington and Lincoln
* Abraham Lincoln (Brain Pop)
* The Food Pyramid What does junk food do to your body? How many servings from each food group should you have every day? (Brain Pop)
* Weather What is weather? How does it change?
* Winter This clip tells about the current season.
* Birds in Winter How do birds survive winter weather? Several of the birds in this video are in Carl Sams', Stranger in the Woods.
Week of February 12-16
Our Superbowl predictions were WAY off! The Colts swam into victory over the Bears. Last week we had 3 snow days and two 2-hour delays. That made for a short week as we also celebrated our 100th day of school and had our Valentine Party, therefore, we will study our Word Study: List 17 this week and have the assessment on Friday.
Thank you for sending in treats for the children to share and enjoy at our class Valentine's Day party. We appreciated our volunteers. I want to especially thank Jase's grandma and Cheyanne's mother for helping at our Valentine party. Both parent's were very helpful in making our party a huge success. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
We will read Curious George Books this week and write about George's characteristics in each of the texts we read.
Students will:- Access prior knowledge about a familiar children's book character.
- Use a graphic organizer to describe the character's traits and personality. Read Write Think Webbing Tool. (for teachers).
- Deepen their knowledge about the character by reading and discussing books about him.
Find out:
- What kinds of things does George do that get him in trouble?
- What happens when George gets curious?
- How does George usually get out of trouble?
- Extend what they have learned about the character by developing a new storyline about him that includes actions.
- Practice sequencing by ordering the events in their storyline.
We will graph our favorite Curious George book.
1. Curious George
2. Curious George Flies a Kite
3. Curious George Gets a Medal
4. Curious George Goes to the Hospital
5. Curious George Learns the Alphabet
6. Curious George Rides a Bike.
7. Curious George Takes a Job.
February is Dental Health Month. We will learn a poem about Brushing Our Teeth and read some "Tooth Fairy Books".
Word Study: List 17
(pretty) The girl wore a pretty red hat.
(ran) She ran faster than the boys in the race.
(mean) It is not nice to say mean words.
(after) He ran after his friend to get the ball.
(eat) Do you like to eat hotdogs at the ballpark?
(again) My little dog ran after the ball again and again, and again!
(maybe) Maybe the dog would like to have a drink after all that running.
(under) Did you see the cat run under the bed after his toy?
Bonus Word - (Curious) Why is George so curious?
Thank you for working with your child in reviewing our weekly popcorn words at home.
Week of February 5-9
Last Friday, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, so he predicts that we are set for an early spring! Our class thought that was fantastic! Our Groundhog pictures are in the hall.
We also made our Superbowl predictions. 13/3 for the Bears. We will have to see who wins and write our opinions of the game!
Links
February Book-It Calendar
Groundhog printout
Groundhog activities
Groundhog Day is February 2
2 great coloring pages of Punxsutawney Phil
Groundhog crafts
Presidents Day
Abe Lincoln
February Phonics
February (Tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat)FEB-RU-ARY,February, February,Spell it with me now!FEB-RU-ARY,February, February,Spell it with me now!
FYI
February Assessments:
- Spell popcorn words correctly.
- Identify and say the beg/ending sounds in words.
- Identify sequence of events.
- Follow multi step directions.
- Identify long and short vowels.
- Sort words using the rime (ending) pattern.
- Make plurals by adding "s" and "es".
- Recognize contractions.
- Recognize and locate popcorn words in text.
- Determine purpose and audience in writing.
…..This Week…..
Feb 26-March 2, 2007
Monday, March 19, Kindergarten Registration Begins
Tuesday, March 27 Spring Concert at Memorial Hall
Wednesday, March 28 Early Release Day
Thursday, March 29 Waves of Pride at the High School
Friday, March 30 Spring Pictures & Report Cards
April 4-6, Spring Break