Friday Footnotes
May 17, 2012
THIS WEEK…
Kindergarten classes were introduced to the prolific children’s author Eric Carle. Eric Carle has written a bevy of books for young children, each of which is accompanied by collage-style colorful illustrations. Eric Carle has earned prestige from his most popular books, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? While RPES kindergarten students have listened to some of Eric Carle’s work already this year, teachers chose this week to focus specifically on his written work. Eric Carle’s books always offer a child the opportunity to learn something about the world around him/her as he provides a meaningful theme within the colorful and exciting stories. All students and teachers thoroughly enjoyed the texts during Shared Reading this week, many of which can be found at your local library. For more information and a complete listing of Eric Carle’s books, please visit: http://www.eric-carle.com. Math curriculum this week focused on the story of the number 10. Teachers once again introduced this concept using the terms part, part, and whole. Students completed number bonds to record all of the various combinations to create a value of 10. Kindergarten teachers are also encouraging students to use their knowledge of number bonds to help with developing addition and subtraction skills. Knowledge of number bonds (specifically the part, part, and whole combinations) will make addition and subtraction facts more fluid for children as they more easily recognize numbers that belong together within fact families. To best assist students with adding and subtracting, each has been introduced to number lines as well as manipulative items (counters, crayons, etc.). We continue to encourage families to work daily with your child on his or her facts, which can be found for easy reference on the reverse side of this newsletter. Writers at Writer’s Workshop concluded informational writing this week. Students are blossoming as writers as some students are including elements of informational writing such as a table of contents, labels, or an index. Students have had many opportunities to share pieces with classmates, which furthers the learning process as students gain the opportunity to become teachers and presenters to his/her classmates. Listening and response skills are developed through the “share out” time at the end of each Writer’s Workshop session, and each read-through gives students extra exposure to informational text. It is our hope that students can carry his/her experiences as informational writers to heighten reading and writing abilities through the conclusion of kindergarten and beyond!
ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT…
Talking with your child about what happened at school this week is a great way to enhance their speaking and listening skills. It also helps maintain the connection between home and school! This week, ask him or her about:
- Author Eric Carle
- The story of the number 10 (using part, part, and whole)
- Informational writing at Writer’s Workshop
PLEASE PRACTICE AT HOME….
- Addition and subtraction facts (see reverse side for complete practice)
- Sight words (see reverse side for complete practice)
- Printing first and last names correctly
- Blending individual sounds to create words (ex: m-a-d, d-o-t, z-i-p)
IMPORTANT NOTES…
- If you are participating in the Books-In-A-Bag program, please return last week’s books on Monday, May 21st, with your child. S/he cannot take home a new bag until the old set of books has been returned. The final set of Books-In-A-Bag will be sent home with students on Monday, May 21st; thank you to all participants – reading at home with your child significantly aids his/her independent reading ability!
- With warmer weather approaching, please remember that flip flops are not acceptable school footwear. It prevents children from being able to play at recess and/or gym. Thank You!
- There will be no school for students on Friday, May 18th to observe a Superintendent’s Conference Day.
- The Memorial Day holiday break will be held beginning on Friday, May 25th through Tuesday, May 29th.
Kindergarten classes were introduced to the prolific children’s author Eric Carle. Eric Carle has written a bevy of books for young children, each of which is accompanied by collage-style colorful illustrations. Eric Carle has earned prestige from his most popular books, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? While RPES kindergarten students have listened to some of Eric Carle’s work already this year, teachers chose this week to focus specifically on his written work. Eric Carle’s books always offer a child the opportunity to learn something about the world around him/her as he provides a meaningful theme within the colorful and exciting stories. All students and teachers thoroughly enjoyed the texts during Shared Reading this week, many of which can be found at your local library. For more information and a complete listing of Eric Carle’s books, please visit: http://www.eric-carle.com. Math curriculum this week focused on the story of the number 10. Teachers once again introduced this concept using the terms part, part, and whole. Students completed number bonds to record all of the various combinations to create a value of 10. Kindergarten teachers are also encouraging students to use their knowledge of number bonds to help with developing addition and subtraction skills. Knowledge of number bonds (specifically the part, part, and whole combinations) will make addition and subtraction facts more fluid for children as they more easily recognize numbers that belong together within fact families. To best assist students with adding and subtracting, each has been introduced to number lines as well as manipulative items (counters, crayons, etc.). We continue to encourage families to work daily with your child on his or her facts, which can be found for easy reference on the reverse side of this newsletter. Writers at Writer’s Workshop concluded informational writing this week. Students are blossoming as writers as some students are including elements of informational writing such as a table of contents, labels, or an index. Students have had many opportunities to share pieces with classmates, which furthers the learning process as students gain the opportunity to become teachers and presenters to his/her classmates. Listening and response skills are developed through the “share out” time at the end of each Writer’s Workshop session, and each read-through gives students extra exposure to informational text. It is our hope that students can carry his/her experiences as informational writers to heighten reading and writing abilities through the conclusion of kindergarten and beyond!
ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT…
Talking with your child about what happened at school this week is a great way to enhance their speaking and listening skills. It also helps maintain the connection between home and school! This week, ask him or her about:
- Author Eric Carle
- The story of the number 10 (using part, part, and whole)
- Informational writing at Writer’s Workshop
PLEASE PRACTICE AT HOME….
- Addition and subtraction facts (see reverse side for complete practice)
- Sight words (see reverse side for complete practice)
- Printing first and last names correctly
- Blending individual sounds to create words (ex: m-a-d, d-o-t, z-i-p)
IMPORTANT NOTES…
- If you are participating in the Books-In-A-Bag program, please return last week’s books on Monday, May 21st, with your child. S/he cannot take home a new bag until the old set of books has been returned. The final set of Books-In-A-Bag will be sent home with students on Monday, May 21st; thank you to all participants – reading at home with your child significantly aids his/her independent reading ability!
- With warmer weather approaching, please remember that flip flops are not acceptable school footwear. It prevents children from being able to play at recess and/or gym. Thank You!
- There will be no school for students on Friday, May 18th to observe a Superintendent’s Conference Day.
- The Memorial Day holiday break will be held beginning on Friday, May 25th through Tuesday, May 29th.
