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.