December 14-18

Here is what we will be working on in English class this week:

• phonics: phonetic skill #5 (two vowels walking, the first one does the talking)
• phonics: assessment (soft c & g, adding suffixes, adverbs, and phonetic skill #5)
• phonics: spelling with -k
• reading: continuing to close read A Chair for my Mother (objectives: describe the overall structure of a story, describe how characters respond to major events and challenges, use information gained from the words in a print text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, identify and understand the central message in a text)
• writing: continue with narrative writing
• Holiday sing-along - Friday @ 8:30 AM.
• Holiday rotations - Friday 12:45-2:25.  We will be learning about holiday customs in Italy, Germany, Israel, and Mexico.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

December 7-11

I am so sorry for neglecting the blog!  Things have been very hectic lately, and to make matters worse I have been a bit under the weather.  Cold and flu season has definitely arrived!  Here is what we will be working on in English class this week:

• phonics: soft c & g
• phonics: adding suffixes to CVCe (consonant-vowel-consonant-e) and CV words
• phonics: adverbs
• reading: begin A Chair for my Mother (objective: identify and understand story structure)
• reading: compare A Chair for my Mother with Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday.
• writing: begin working on narrative writing (objective: write a narrative that clearly describes the order of story events)
• power hour: continued practice becoming better readers, spellers, and comprehenders.

We will have our annual holiday music program on Monday @ 1:30 (for grades 1 & 2 - grades 3, 4, & 5 will be on Tuesday, and K will be next week).  Hope to see you there!

November 16 - 20

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I will be in Salt Lake at the Professional Learning Community conference.  Mrs. Navarro will still be at school.  Please remind your child about your expectations for their behavior when we have a substitute.  Here is what we will be working on this week in English class:

• phonics: adjectives
• phonics: spelling with -ke
• phonics: phonetic skills 3 & 4 (phonetic skill 3 is the 'sneaky e rule' and 4 is 'two vowels walking')
• math: review of standard, expanded, and pictorial forms of numbers
• writing: writing sentences that compare and contrast two different things
• writing: beginning work on a narrative that outlines the process of making a choice
• reading: begin reading Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday (objective - identify how characters respond to major events or challenges)
• power hour: continued practice in reading, spelling, and comprehension

November 9-13

Here is what we will be working on in English class this week:

• phonics: linking verbs
• phonics: subject/verb agreement
• phonics: vowel families o & i (-old, -olt, -ost, -ind, -ild) - these are single vowel words in which the vowel sound is long
• phonics: phonetic skill #3 (when a vowel stands alone, the vowel sound is long - for example, in the word 'she' or 'go')
• writing: writing sentences that compare and contrast two different things
• reading: The House on Maple Street (objective: to describe the overall structure of a story, and to use information from words and pictures in a text to show understanding of setting)
• power hour - continuing to practice reading, spelling, and comprehending

There is no school on Friday.  It is a professional development day for teachers.

November 2-6

We made it through all the Halloween craziness!  Here is what we will be working on this week in English:

• phonics: spelling with /ck/ (/ck/ follows short vowels)
• phonics: adding suffixes to one-syllable short vowel words
• phonics: the three sounds of /ed/
• phonics: verbs (action and linking, subject/verb agreement, past, present, future, and irregular) - this will continue into next week to say the least
• writing - writing a paragraph that compares and contrasts two elements within a text (we are currently working on comparing/contrasting two characters from a text)
• reading - continuing to read Friends Around the World
• power hour - continuing to practice reading, spelling, and comprehending

District Flyers

Here are some programs/activities that you may be interested in.  Click the picture for more information.

October 26-30

This is going to be a crazy week, so buckle your seat belts and I will try my best to get something taught!  Here is what we will be working on in English:

• phonics: nouns - singular, plural, common, proper, personal, possessive, indefinite, collective, irregular, and reflexive (who knew there were so many different kinds of nouns!)
• phonics assessment - short and long vowels and phonetic skills 1 & 2
• writing - they didn't do well on the writing assessment last week so we are going to practice some more.  We will be writing about games this week and going through the entire process again.  
• reading: identifying the main topic of a text
• reading: understanding the steps in a process
• reading: using text features (captions) to locate facts and information
• reading: ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding
• power hour: continuing to practice reading, spelling, and comprehension

Tuesday we will be going on a field trip to the Ellen Eccles theater.  We will be seeing Julie Fowlis perform Gaelic music.  The buses will leave school at 12:10 PM and return at 2:30.

This is also Red Ribbon Week.  Here is the schedule of activities for the week:

Monday - Wear your craziest socks to "Sock it to drugs!"

Tuesday - "Hats off to giving drugs the boot!" so wear hats and boots today.

Wednesday - "Staying healthy and doing drugs don't match" so be mismatched today.

Thursday - "Follow your dreams" and wear pajamas today.

Friday - "Scare out drugs!" by wearing your Halloween costume today.

The Halloween parade will be on Friday morning at 8:20.  Parents are welcome to attend.  There will be seating in the gym.  There are a few rules to  ensure that everyone has a good time: please, no masks, no weapons (real or fake), no gore, and minimal face paint.  Students may wear their costumes during the parade, but they will need to change into regular clothes afterwards.

October 19-23

I hope that everyone had a nice break.  Here is what we will be working on this week in English class:

• phonics: review how to make contractions
  
• phonics: assessment on lessons 28-30 (digraphs and contractions)
• phonics: long and short vowels
• phonics: phonetic skill #1 (when a vowel is followed by a single guardian consonant, and nothing else, the vowel sound is short)
• phonics: phonetic skill #2 (when a vowel is followed by two guardian consonants, the vowel sound is short)
• writing: writing about a food (begin with circle map, transfer to tree map, write sentences)
• writing assessment: prompt - write about fall (they will need to do this one completely on their own)
• reading: continue reading Friends Around the World (objective 1 - identify the main topic of the text, objective 2 - ask and answer questions to understand a text
• power hour - continuing to practice reading, spelling, and comprehending to become better readers and writers

October 12-15

Conference schedule:

As you can see, it is VERY full.  I had to schedule several that had gone unscheduled.  I apologize if you ended up with a time that is not convenient for you.  If you cannot make it to your conference, please call Nancy at 755-2345 and let her know.  If you are late, we will not be able to meet with you, and you will need to reschedule for another time.  Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.  We will be conducting conferences in the Red Hall Workroom (it is diagonally across the hall from Mrs. Reeder's room).
We only have two days of school this week: a full day on Monday, and a half day on Tuesday.  To accommodate all the conference times, we will have substitutes on Monday afternoon and on Tuesday.  There will be no school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Enjoy your brief fall vacation!

Bridger Fund Raiser!

We are currently selling Cache Valley Direct books to raise money for our school.  The books costs $25 and  can be used for discounts at a wide variety of businesses and restaurants across the valley.  You will save more than $25 using your Cache Valley Direct card & coupons.  But the best part is that 1/2 of every book sold stays at Bridger; that is $12.50 from each book that we can use on supplies for our school!  You can pick them up in the office, or return the coupon that came last week.  Thanks for your support.

Announcements

The Logan City School District is no longer sending out community flyers.  They are now posted on the district website.  Here are some you may be interested in - for more information, click on the picture:

October 5-9

The online scheduler is open.  If you haven't already, please sign up for a conference ASAP.  There are only 51 slots available.  You need to sign up early to get one that works for you.  Look at my last post for complete directions on how to schedule a conference online.  If you have any troubles, call Nancy at 755-2345 and she will help you.  WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MEET WITH PARENTS THAT SHOW UP LATE.  IF YOU ARE LATE, YOU WILL NEED TO RESCHEDULE.
Here is what we will be working on in English class this week:

• STAR (reading & comprehension) testing - have they improved?  I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
• progress monitoring for DIBELS (reading & phonics) - again, fingers crossed!
• phonics: voiced and voiceless /th/
• phonics: assessment on lessons 23-27 (special vowel combinations, double s/f/z, plurals, voiced/voiceless /th/)
• phonics: digraphs (sh, wh, ph, ch)
• phonics: contractions
• phonics: common word list 8 (two, more, write, go, see, number, no, way, could, people)
• comprehension: read Friends Around the World (objective -  identify the main topic of a text, know use text features to locate key facts/information, explain how specific images contribute to and clarify a text)
• writing: combining simple sentences to make compound sentences
• writing: practice writing compound sentences
• writing: adding adjectives to compound sentences
• power hour - continuing to work on becoming better readers, spellers, and comprehenders

September 28 - October 2

Wow!  September really flew by.  Ms. Navarro and I will both be gone on Monday to attend a state-wide DLI training.  We have told the kids our expectations for their behavior when we have substitutes.  It would be nice if you could reinforce that at home; they are to behave and follow the same rules for a substitute as they would for us.  Here is what we will be working on in English this week:

• phonics: making plurals with words that end in x and double s and z
• phonics: special vowel combinations (-all, -ell, -oll, -ull, and -ill)
• phonics: special vowel combinations (-ang, -ong, -ung, -ing, -ank, -onk, - unk, and -ink)
• phonics: compound words
• reading: finish reading Snowshoe Hare's Winter Home (objective 1 - use information from illustrations and words in a text to demonstrate an understanding of its characters, objective 2 - demonstrate understanding of key details in a text)
• reading: read Something Told the Wild Geese (objective -  describe how words and phrases supply rhythm and meaning in a poem)
• comprehension: compare the characters in Snowshoe Hare's Winter Home to those in Trouble at the Sandbox - discuss/chart similarities and differences in their points of view
• Power Hour - continue to work on becoming better readers, spellers, and comprehenders
• writing: we need to take a step back and review sentence structure.  Many of the kids are struggling to write basic sentences.  We will be working on how to form a simple sentence this week.

We have no school on Friday so that we can prepare for conferences.  The on-line conference scheduler will be open to parents on October 3rd.  Conferences will be on October 12th and 13th.  To schedule, go to bridgerelementary.weebly.com and select the Online Scheduler link.  On the scheduler page: 

1. Choose 'Bridger' from the drop down list and click "go."
2. Enter the school password (bears).
3. Enter your student's ID (it is their lunch number).
4. Verify your student's birth date.
5. A list of teachers will be displayed - check the box next to the name of each teacher you would like to meet with.  Ms. Navarro and I will be conducting conferences together, so you only need to schedule one conference to meet with both of us.
6. Select the conference time that works best for your schedule.  Once you have finished, confirm your appointment details and print your schedule.
7. WRITE DOWN YOUR CONFIRMATION NUMBER - YOU WILL NEED IT IF YOU NEED TO CANCEL YOUR APPOINTMENT.       

September 21-25

I have had several comments on homework packets about Reflex Math.  Yes, it is homework.  Click here for directions on how to access Reflex Math.  If your child doesn't have access to a computer at home, they can use playing cards to play a math game instead.  If they don't have playing cards, they need to ask me for some (I have plenty to share!).  Click here for some fun math games that you can play with playing cards.
Here is what we are working on this week in English class:

• vision screening: Wednesday @ 1:20
• phonics: S-Blends (sc, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw)
• phonics:  commas (between day and year, after the year in a sentence, between date and month, to separate items in a series, after greeting and closings in a letter)
• phonics: /dw/ and /tw/
• phonics: assessment - chapters 18-22
• phonics: double S, F, and Z (in single-syllable words that end in the letter s, f, or z, the ending consonant is usually doubled)
• writing: continue working on an imaginative narrative (fictional story) - create a flow map with an opening sentence, three events with details, and transition words
• reading: begin Snowshoe Hare's Winter Home (objective 1 - use information from illustrations and words in a text to demonstrate an understanding of its characters, objective 2 - demonstrate understanding of key details in a text)

September 14-18

Here is what we will be working on in English class this week:

• red class will begin power hour
• phonics: spelling with ck
• phonics: alphabetical order
• phonics: L-blends
• phonics: R-blends
• phonics: assessment (lessons 11-15)
• writing: beginning to write an imaginative narrative - establishing the setting and events, writing an opening sentence, and using transition words to show sequence
• reading: continue to read Trouble at the Sandbox while learning about character traits, and practicing how to pull information from illustrations

We will have a hearing screening on Thursday @ 1:00.  We will notify you if your child has an issue.

 

Reflex Math Update

I have had to change the passwords for Reflex Math.  The district doesn't want us using lunch numbers as passwords.  On Monday, I will place a sticker on the front of their homework folder that has their new password.  If they want to play Reflex this weekend, just email me or message me through Class Dojo and I will get you the new password.  Sorry for the short notice, I only found out myself today!

Class Dojo

We have decided to go back to using Class Dojo.  If you are not familiar with Class Dojo you can find the website here.  We love Class Dojo because it allows parents to keep tabs on their child's behavior on a real-time basis.  Parent/Student codes will come home on Wednesday.  These codes will allow you to access your child's dojo.  You will be able to see the points they earn/lose, and you can follow through at home as necessary.  We have made one change this year; we have only one positive, and one negative.  We felt that it was too confusing last year when we had multiple positives and negatives.  When we award/subtract points, we will be very specific with your child about what they are for.  This week, our goal is to reach at least 10 positives each day.  Any student that earns 10 or more will be rewarded.  Next week, we will move to a week-long goal of 50.  Any student that earns 50 or more over the week will be rewarded.

September 8-11

I hope that everyone had a restful, long weekend.  Here is what we will be working on this week in English class:

• phonics assessment for lessons 6-10
• phonics: punctuation
• phonics: q, z, c, k, i
• phonics: spelling with ck
• comprehension: continuing to study character point of view in Trouble at the Sandbox (objectives - understand that characters in stories have unique points of view)
• writing: continuing our narrative that incorporates character interaction and sequencing (objectives - understand how to write a narrative scene, participate in a shared writing task, write about a point of view, write a narrative describing actions, thoughts, and feelings, capitalize proper nouns, use signal words (first, next, last, etc) to indicate story sequence)
• blue class will start Power Hour this week - your student may be going to another teacher during this time based upon their reading needs.  This year, I will work with the students that need more phonics practice with vowel patterns.  Mrs. Webb will work with students that need beginning phonics instruction.  Mrs. Anderson will work with students that need to read faster and more accurately.  Mrs. Montgomery will work with students that read well, but struggle with comprehension.  Mrs. Losee will work with students that are already good all-around readers, and she will challenge them to continue growing in their reading skills.
• red class is still gearing up for Power Hour.  At this point, they are still struggling with working quietly and independently; two skills that are essential for me to be able to teach small groups when there are 26 kids in the room.  Hopefully, they will be ready by next week.

Friday is a half-day of school to allow for teacher professional development classes.  
Dismissal is at 12:00.

August 31 - September 4

We made it through our first full week!  The kids are getting better at following routines, and they are quickly becoming used to being back in school. Here is what we will be working on in English class this week:

• DIBELS and STAR testing - this will be our beginning of the year baseline testing
• phonics: letter group #2 - h, j, l, m, e
• phonics: common words #2 - he, was, for, on, are, as, with, his, they, I
• phonics: letter group #3 - n, p, r, s, o
• phonics: common words #3 - at, be, this, have, from, or, one, had, by, word
• phonics: letter group #4 - t, v, w, x, y, u
• phonics: nouns, verbs, and adjectives
• reading: continue to practice read-to-self routine
• reading: begin working on read-to-someone routine
• reading comprehension: begin reading Trouble at the Sandbox
• reading comprehension focus: readers will understand that characters in stories have unique points of view
• writing: write a narrative with character interaction and a clear sequence of events
• writing focus: writers will understand that signal words tell the sequence of events in a story.

Tuesday is picture day.

We had our first phonics test last week.  Everything on the test was review from first grade.  Students did well for the most part.  The blue class already brought the graded tests home.  The red class will bring them home on Monday.

We have had to shuffle our lunch times around.  The fifth grade was not getting any down time at lunch due to long lines.  Unfortunately, this means that blue class will now go to lunch at 10:40, and red class will go at 10:42.  This makes our lunch about a half-hour earlier than it was before.  CANCEL THAT - WE HAVE COME UP WITH ANOTHER SOLUTION FOR NOW.  LUNCH TIME WILL STILL BE 11:17.