The Mouse and the Motorcycle!

Reading in the Hall for Read Across America Week

The big reveal for The Mouse and the Motorcycle

• This week in reading we read the stories The Lost Button, A Barn Full of Hats, and Sort it Out! We classified objects by size, shape, and color. Our High Frequency words were: four, large, non, only , put, and round. In phonics, we learned the r-control sound "ar" like car and star.
• In math, we continued to explore 2D and 3D shapes. Next week we start parts of shapes and basic fractions. 
• Disability Awareness week will begin the week of 3/19. We will learn about and celebrate people with disabilities to create awareness and acceptance. We will have an assembly, $1 hat day 3/20, meet a famous para Olympian, wear tshirts 3/23 and conclude with an assembly.
• Donuts with Dad at Redwood Elementary! Please RSVP below for Donuts with Dad (or Grandpa, Uncle, brother, etc.) One adult only please. Donuts with Dad is Weds. March 21 from 8am-8:45am AND Thursday March 22 from 8am-8:45am (choose one). Donuts, coffee and milk will be provided. Scholastic Book Fair will be open to purchase books and items from the Spring Book Fair! Please click this link to RSVP: Fill out form

Jump Rope For Heart & Disability Awareness Week

• Jump Rope for Heart information came home Tuesday! Our jump party in gym will be on March 27th and all monetary donations to the American Heart Association is collected on or before this day as well!
• Read Across America week is March 12-16th. We will read in class, read in the hallway, read with buddies, wear a shirt with words on 3/16, and kick off the One District One Book again this year. The special book will be revealed during an assembly that week. Each child will receive the book to read at home and a fun packet to complete for the chance to earn prizes at school.
• Disability Awareness week will begin the week of 3/19. We will learn about and celebrate people with disabilities to create awareness and acceptance. We will have an assembly, $1 hat day 3/20, meet a famous para Olympian, wear tshirts 3/23 and conclude with an assembly.
• Donuts with Dad is @ 8:00 am on 3/21 (last names A-M) or 3/22 (last names N-Z). Children can bring dad, an uncle, or older male friend during this time. 

Basketball Jones Assembly

• Basketball Jones came to Redwood this week to spread kindness and encourage good work habits in our students. He had many important messages like: Keep on trying if you don't succeed, have courage to try new things, spread love not hate, stand up and do the right thing!
• This week in Reading we learned how animals and people can work together to help one another. We learned the high frequency words: found, hard, write, woman, & near. 
• In phonics, we learned that when words end in y or ey they sound like long e, as in monkey and key. 
• This week in math we explored 2D and 3D shapes. We learned to describe the shapes by their attributes like: size, shape color, # of vertices, # of flat faces, and # of edges. 

COSI!

• COSI was so much fun this week! The kids got to participate in hands-on experiments, wear their own goggles, and make slime! They learned a little bit about chemistry by mixing different ingredients together. 
• Reminder: No school Friday March 2nd because of conferences. 
• Marco's Pizza Night is Tuesday 2/27...  Redwood is currently in 3^rd place and if we finish first, we can win $10,000 for our Redwood students so..... order those pizzas and mention Redwood!
• If you have a child attending kindergarten next school year- Kindergarten Registration is 2/26-2/28 in the Performing Arts Canter @ ALHS
• In reading this week, our essential question was: How do animals survive in nature? We read stories about vultures, tigers, bears, ostriches, frogs, elephants, hippos, and alligators. In the stories, we practiced this week's HFW: find, food, over, more, start, warm. Next week's words are: caught, flew, know, laugh, listen, were.
• Children can log into their own Wonders accounts anytime at home and practice the current week's skills with games, stories, and HFW word practice. The content changes weekly, to match our curriculum. Passwords can be found on the back of their school folders.  https://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/connected/pictorialLoginSchool.do?code=n4z7
• In math this week, we learned to tell time to the hour and to the half hour. We briefly discussed telling time to the five minute & minute, but our quiz next week will just focus on time to the hour and half hour. We read The Grouchy Ladybug and followed her journey through the day to practice telling time. 
• I can't believe we are almost in March! March brings so many activities and important dates for the students. Be sure you check the "Important Dates" section on the left side of this page and this classroom blog to stay up to date! 

Valentine Week

Candy Heart Math

• We had a really fun day on Wednesday passing cards, graphing candy hearts, and celebrating during our class party! The mailboxes looked great and the kids enjoyed themselves.
• In reading, we read about animal teams and how certain animals work together to stay safe in the wild. We continue to work on finding the main idea and supporting details of  our nonfiction text. 
• This week's HFW were: becasue, small, other, or, into, blue.
• Next week we practice HFW: find, food, more, over, start, warm.
• In phonics, we learned the two vowel teams ee & ea say the long e sound as in tree and leaf.
• For math, we completed topic 9 and took our quiz by comparing numbers using the symbols >,<, and =. 
• COSI is Wednesday 2/21. Our class session is from 11:45-12:20. If you would like to volunteer, here is more information & the link to sign up: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080844ada623a31-cosi3
• No School Monday 2/19 for President's Day. Enjoy your long weekend!

HAPPY 100TH DAY!

100th Day Hats

• This week in phonics we are focusing on the long a sound using "ai" as in rain, and "ay" as in play. 
• Our High Frequency Words are: about, animal, carry, eight, give, our.
• In reading, we are learning: How animals' bodies help them by reading the folktales A Tail of a Tale and How Bat Got Its Wings. Over the next few weeks, the children will complete their own Animal Reports by reading nonfiction animal books and then recalling facts. 
• In math this week, we will learn to compare numbers using the symbols <  >  =, & find ten more/ten less/1 more/1 less.
• Yoga forms due 2/14 if interested! 
• Disability Awareness Tshirt orders are also due 2/14.

Spirit Day: Football Friday!

• Friday, 2/2, wear your favorite football jersey or team colors to celebrate Super Bowl weekend.
• Continue to work on your Valentine's Day mailboxes at home. Bring mailbox and valentine's to school when complete, or on 2/14.
• Disability Awareness Week starts March 19! Tshirts can be ordered to support the Connecting for Kids Oranization. Order forms due February 14th. 
• Yearbooks for 2017-2018 are for sale for $16 on the Lifetouch website: https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/Order/SelectJob The code for Redwood is 11600718 and orders are due February 23rd.
• Kahalari Night for Redwood is March 1st. Special room rates are available. Please read the flyer that came home  last Tuesday to learn more about this trip.
• This week's HFW: after, buy, done, every, done, soon
•  In reading we focused on the big question: Where does my food come from? We read the stories A Look at Breakfast, From Cows to You, and Where Does Food Come From? The kids used transition words (first, next, then, last) to create a flow chart of how bread, orange juice, or grape jam is made. 
• Our new phonics sounds were /oo/ as in food and /oo/ as in book. We learned when to double a consonant when spelling words with -ed and -ing like: skipped, running, stopped, and swimming.
• In math, we completed Topic 8: Understanding Place Value. The children counted tens and ones, drew longs and cubes to model a number, and identified which numbers were in the ones and tens place. 

Outback Ray & Valentine's Day

• Outback Ray was the highlight of our week, bringing many amazing animals to our school. He shared about their diets, habitats, and other fun facts. Outback Ray let us pet snakes, turtles, chinchillas, a rabbit, a guinea pig, and a gecko.
• In math, we began Topic 8: Understanding Place Value. We practiced grouping objects in sets of ten and having leftovers. Then, we began to learn about the hundreds, tens, and ones place value by exploring flats, longs and cubes.
• In reading, our essential question this week was: How is life different than it was long ago? We explored a variety of stories and texts to learn more about the past. We used a venn diagram to compare and contrast life long ago and today. Finally, the students wrote an opinion piece to share if they would rather live like long ago or today.
• Our High Frequency words next week are: done, soon, every, after, work, buy.
• Yearbooks for 2017-2018 are for sale for $16 on the Lifetouch website: https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/Order/SelectJob The code for Redwood is 11600718 and orders are due February 23rd.
• Kahalari Night for Redwood is March 1st. Special room rates are available. Please read the flyer that came home Tuesday to learn more about this trip.
• Valentines Day Information:
1. Write Out Valentines: On February 14th, the children will be passing out Valentines during our class party. Use the class list below if you’d like to get a head start on writing them. Remember to include everyone!
2. Make A Mailbox: Please use a large shoebox or other box to make a Valentine’s Day mailbox together with your child at home! Spend some quality time together and be creative. Make the opening large enough. In years past, kids have made the lid detachable to open and close, so the child doesn’t have to rip open the box afterwards.
3. Bring Both to School When Completed. Here is a list of names in our class:

Girls	Boys
Maya	Vince
Lyla	Gage
Isla	Mike
Avery	Cooper
Bella	Charlie
Ryder	Thomas
Maddie	Asher
Kaidyn	Nathan
Emma	Will
Eliza	Jack
	Colin

A Snowy Day

• Today in class, we used the story The Snowy Day to guide our fun! We started off by reading about a boy named Peter that wakes up to a lot of snow outside. He goes on a long walk and enjoys playing in the snow in many ways. Then, we mixed up glue and shaving cream to make our own snowy day scene with Peter. We also watched the short movie Snowy Day and compared the movie to the original story.
• Next week's focus in reading is: How is life different than it was long ago? We will read the stories Life At Home, Long Ago and Now,  and From Horse to Plane. 
• We will learn how to use commas when writing dates such as: Saturday, June 6, 2018.
• Our new High Frequency Words are: ago, boy, girl, how, old, people
• In math next week, we will be grouping objects by 10's and 1's, counting up by 1's and 10's on an open number line, and finding missing numbers on a 120 chart. We will quiz topic 7 next week as well. 
• Glow Walk Forms are due back to school by 1/31. The Glow Walk is 1/9 from 7-8:30pm. Please see the yellow flyer that went home last Thursday for more info!

Week of 1/9 & 1/16

• Welcome back from a long, extended break! We are back into the groove of first grade with reading and math!
• In reading this week, we learned the High Frequency Words: upon, once, happy, from, any, so. We focused on learning about folktales by reading The Nice Mitten and The Foolish, Timid Rabbit. 
• We learned the sounds of soft c and soft g. Soft c makes the same sound as "s" like the words: nice, race, and mice. The soft g makes the same sound as "j" like the words: gem, cage, and stage. I introduced the sound of "dge" which also sounds like "j" as in pledge and fudge. We will continue to practice these sounds next week as we explore more folktales. 
• In math, we began Topic 7: Extending the counting sequence. We are exploring the 120's chart and the beginning stages of place value with the tens place and the ones place. Next week, we will group objects by 10's and 1's to help us count faster and to prepare for topic 8: Place Value. 
• No School Friday 1/12 for Teacher In-service, and no School Monday 1/15 for MLK Jr. day.
• Glow Walk Forms are due back to school by 1/31. The Glow Walk is 1/9 from 7-8:30pm. Please see the yellow flyer that went home Thursday.
• Fitness Club begins next Tuesday 1/16 and children may only stay after school to participate if they returned their permission slip.

Field Trip: Solids, Liquids, and Gases