WELCOME 2015

January 2015

Grade One / Two Classroom Newsletter

Homework Schedule
I greatly appreciate parents support with completing nightly reading tasks. The
time devoted to practice decoding, fluency, and comprehension skills at home
plays a huge role in the development of your childs literacy skills.
At school we have been working on reading for meaning. We have identified the
main idea or authors purpose of several books and practiced providing information from the text to support our thinking. To further develop this comprehension skill, I would like students to practice summarizing the main idea of texts on
the leveled books they bring home. Please see the attached letter for details and
examples.
During our parent interviews, a parent inquired about homework tasks incorporating a math component. In previous years, I have included a variety of reading,
writing, and math tasks into our weekly schedule and it proved effective. This allows students to build on strengths and areas for growth in a range of areas.

Our NEW Plan for the next 2 months is as follows:

Monday: Read and Comment on Decoding
Tuesday: Play Math Game or Complete Math Task

Dates to Remember

Wednesday: Read and Comment on Main Idea (parent or student records ideas)

January 27thFamily Literacy

Day

January 30thP.A. Day

(no school)

February 16thFamily Day

(no school)

February 19thReport Cards

Go Home

Thursday: Play Math Game or Complete Math Task

Friday: Read Classroom Library Book

Book Buddy Support: Practicing our reading skills (decoding, fluency, and identifying
the main idea)
The Grade 7/8 Book Buddies also read books to the Grade One and Two Students!
(Even Buster LOVES to hear a great story!)

Math Focus
As part of our professional development and school improvement planning model, primary teachers have been
meeting regularly to discuss best teaching practices. We
have noticed that many students find problem solving challenging. Teachers have identified the following areas as
particularly difficult for students.

1. Understanding what the problem is about

2. Deciding what strategy or tool to use to find a solution
3. Communicating their thinking clearly (so others can
understand their ideas)
4. Checking their work to see if the answer is reasonable

Our class has developed a Success Criteria (charts on

left) which is a list of expectations they can use to self assess their work.
We will continue to work on developing and improving
problem solving skills.
*Look for a few of these tasks on a math homework night!

Using polydrons and grid paper to show

different patterns for a cube.

Using problem solving strategies to find how

many different ways there are to make a cube?

Math Curriculum Expectations

There are 7 mathematical process expectations that are to be integrated
into student learning associated with all the strands (Number Sense,
Measurement, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Patterning & Algebra,
Data Management and Probability). These mathematical process are:
1.

Problem Solving

2.

Reasoning and Proving:

3.

Reflecting

4.

Selecting Tools and Computational Strategies

5.

Connecting

6.

Representing

7.

Communicating

Math Curriculum Expectations

Grade One Students are Expected to:
Solve a variety of problems involving the addition and subtraction

of whole numbers to 20
Solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of single-

digit whole numbers, using a variety of mental strategies (e.g., one

more than, one less than, counting on, counting back, doubles)

Grade Two Students are Expected to:

Solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of two-digit
numbers, with and without regrouping, using concrete materials (e.g.,
base ten materials, counters), student-generated algorithms, and standard algorithms (regrouping...previously known as borrowing or carrying)

Monday, January 12, 2015

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As mentioned in the class newsletter, I would like to change our nightly homework tasks a little
bit. This change will help add variety and align with expectations your child is working on in
class.

The NEW schedule is as follows:

Monday: Comment on Reading Decoding (thinking of what makes sense, sounds right,
and looks right, taking words apart, trying 2 vowel sounds, using silent e at end of the word trick,
etc. )
Tuesday: Complete Math Activity or Play Math Game
Wednesday: Read and Comment on Main Idea (parent or child can record main idea in 1-2
sentences).
Thursday: Complete Math Activity or Play Math Game
Friday: Read Classroom Library Book
Please remember that the school has purchased a subscription to Raz-Kids. Provided you have
high speed internet at home, this too can be used to read a variety of leveled books online AND
answer comprehension questions as well. Feel free to use this resource as an alternative to
reading the leveled books your child brings home from the classroom on Mondays and Wednesdays.
I hope this change adds a little flair to the home tasks. Your child is always welcome to read
on the non-reading nights but this is not my expectation. 10 15 min. of homework a night
would be greatly appreciated. Our goal is to keep the tasks enjoyable and at the students level!
On the Math nights it would be VERY helpful if you could please write 1 sentence in your childs
agenda describing your childs activity, success, or difficulties they may have had.

Thank you for your continued support! Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions
or concerns!

M. Haw

Main Idea Examples

Fiction
The main idea of the story Balloon Tree is dont leave your child
with a person you dont trust. The King left princess Leora with the
Archduke and the Archduke wanted to take over the kingdom.
or

Non-fiction
The main idea of the book Polar Bears is that polar bears have
special body parts that allow them to leave in the arctic. For example, they have two layers of waterproof fur, a thick fat layer, and
small ears and tail to help keep them warm.

Math Night Comment Examples

When we played the game Go Fish for Ten , Frankie was quick to
ask for cards to make 10 when he held a 5, 9, or 1. It was a little
trickier for him to know what card he needed to make 10 when he
held a 3, 4, 6, 7.
or

Since Jeanie is confident with facts for 10 , we changed the game

by playing facts for twelve using sets of 2 cards (e.g. 8+4) or more
than 2 cards (such as combinations of 3 or 4 cards to make 12
(e.g. 5 + 5 + 2 or 4 + 4 + 4).