Grant El. Kindergarten Weekly News

From Mrs. Conran and Mrs. Caya

Week Beginning:  October 20

Important Dates

Oct 22 – 24 Parent – Teacher Conference. No CLC

Oct 23 12:00 Dismissal – No Lunch will be served.  No CLC.

Oct 24 No school for students

Oct 29 Field Trip to St. Catherine’s Commons- Costume Parade

Oct 30 Fall Festival

Oct 31 No School for students; End of Quarter One

Reading

Comprehension:  Retelling stories is a very important comprehension skill.  You can work on retelling at home by talking about stories and modeling how to retell the important details of the beginning, middle and end of the story.  You can also practice retelling movies or shows that you watch together.

Comprehension Learning Target:  I can use my schema to talk to others about my understanding.

Phonics:  A few students are still in need of rhyme practice at home.  There are two parts to rhyme: the ability to decide if two words rhyme and the ability to think of another word that rhymes.  For example, do sit and fit rhyme; do fun and cat rhyme.  Give me another word that rhymes with cat, sat, …  Give me another word that rhymes with pig, wig, …

Phonics Learning Target:  I can identify letters and produce their sounds.

Letters & Sounds to be mastered by Oct 23: Tt, Mm, Ss, Aa, Cc, Pp, Nn, Ff, Bb, Ii

Sight words to be mastered by Oct 23:  I, and, the, like, see, we, a, to, come, me

Remember that all letters and their sounds should be mastered by Dec 1.  For Quarter 1, students should be able to read 12 sight words including, like, I, and , the, see, we, a, to, come, me.  The sight words are in your child’s folder.

Writing

We have been working on narrative writing.  Narrative writing is the type of writing that tells a story from beginning to end.  Narrative writing is a terrific way to practice and strengthen retelling. 

Additionally, we are working on segmenting to allow us to write unknown words.  Segmenting means saying a word slowing and recording the letters for the sounds we hear.  This is a major skill for us because it unlocks the world of writing.  Please practice at your child’s level several times each week by writing 1 sentence with sight words spelled correctly and other words written by using sounds.

Math

What is a Ten Frame and why is it a useful tool for developing early number relationships and fact fluency?

A ten frame is a simple graphic tool that allows people to “see” numbers.

This You Tube Video introduces the ten frame and explains how this tool is useful for students just beginning to learn about numbers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6RaMGDPfJg&NR=1

Understanding that numbers are composed of tens and ones is an important foundational concept, setting the stage for work with larger numbers. A strong sense of "ten" is a prerequisite for place-value understanding and mental calculations.

Investigations

For our unit on paper this week looked at many samples and compared and contrasted what we could see and feel. Next we wrote on each sample to see how they worked with pencil, crayon, and marker. Then we folded the samples of paper and talked about how the thickness of the paper Finally we experimented with water and how the samples absorbed or repelled the water.

This week we will be making recycled paper samples.

Questions to Ask Your Child to Spark Conversations

What is the hardest thing you do at school?

Name two new friends you have made.  What do you like best about them?

What do you think you need to practice more at home?

What is the difference between and need and a want?

What are some things you need?

What are some things you want?

What do you notice outside that tells you that it is fall?

Explain a ten-frame.

Describe a rectangle.

Other News, Notes and Reminders

St. Catherine’s Commons Costume Parade:  On Wednesday, October 29, students will take a walking field trip for a costume parade.  Many slips have not been returned.  Please send them back immediately.  If you volunteered to chaperone, you are welcome.  Please arrive at 1:20pm to help students put costumes on.  Remember costumes should not be worn to school.  We will change in the afternoon. All costumes should fit over your child’s clothes. We are unable to  out makeup on. Please send a bag for collecting candy.

Guided Reading:  Remember books will be sent home each week on Wednesday, and they will need to be returned on Thursday.  We use these books EVERY day, so please be consistent with returning books on Thursdays.  The first two books will be paper books that will need to be returned.  If your child successfully returns these books, they will continue to bring home our regular guided reading books.  Please be aware that these books are purchased in sets of 6 and cannot be purchased individually.  To replace one lost or damaged book, the cost to the school is $35-50.  Please be very careful with your books.  If books are not returned, we are not able to send home more books with your child.  There will be books this week on 10/22, but no books on 10/29 due to the end of the quarter.

rconran@kusd.edu                   jcaya@kusd.edu             http://conrankindergarten.blogspot.com