2012-13 An Awesome Year!

Thank you for a wonderful year and the very generous gifts… the special cards, notes, flowers,  gift cards and MONEY!!!

Have a great summer! Please be sure to read & write with your children as much as possible over vacation.

Thanks again for EVERYTHING!

A Fantastic Year!

Make a picture slideshow

Thank You for Coming to Portfolio Picnics

Everyone participated in student-led conferences. Thank you for sharing this special time with your child and reflecting on all their accomplishments they have made this school year!

Party!!!

***SAVE THE DATE***
Thursday, June 6, 2013
End of the Year Class Parties
1:30-2:30

Overview of Week 37 and 38

LANGUAGE ARTS
Reflections
Friendship
Letter Writing

MATH
Number Grids
Scrolls
Review

SCIENCE
Water Note Facts
Ocean Life

SOCIAL STUDIES
Attitudes & Profiles
US Flag
Business Fair

Overview of Week 36

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – How can we look at things in a different way??
Amazing Words – freedom, miserable, selfish, ignore, shrug, fond, proper, scarcely
Phonics – Vowel Pattern ow, ou
Pronouns
Draw Conclusions

MATH
Geometry Review
Temperature Review
Place Value

SCIENCE
Water Conservation & Pollution
Acid Rain

SOCIAL STUDIES
Attitudes
Profiles

THANK YOU!!!

Thank you the very thoughtful gifts… the special cards, notes, lovely figurine, flowers, candy, baked goods, gift cards and TARGET GIFT CARD! What a treat! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful class and such supportive parents.

Overview of Week 34

STANFORD 10 ACHIEVEMENT TEST
Get a good night’s sleep
Eat a healthy breakfast
Be on time to school
Maintain a calm, supportive home environment

SCIENCE
Water Pollution

SOCIAL STUDIES
Natural Resources
Land & Water Forms
Mother’s Day

Stanford Time

Let's get started!

We are prepared and ready! We have finished up our Stanford practice and the “BIG TEST” will begin  Monday morning. We will continue to test  through Thursday. It will be very important to make sure your child has a stress free morning, gets to bed a little bit earlier, has a good breakfast, arrives on time, and brings a snack.

IIM

IIM, Independent Investigation Method is a process that actively

involves students in their own learning. It empowers them to acess information, and helps them to become independent, responsible, confident, excited researchers.  It is a seven step process that the students use throughout their years at Roberts. We have done both group and individual IIM research projects this year. We will be sharing these products with you at our portfolio picnic!

Overview of Week 33

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – How can a great idea make our lives easier?
Amazing Words – convenient, engine, pilot, steer, cellar, furnace
Phonics – Diphthongs oi, oy, oo
Pronouns
Main Idea & Details

MATH
Problem Solving
Mathematics Procedures
Addition & Subtraction Facts

SCIENCE
Pollution, Acid Rain, Waste Disposal
Water Cycle
Importance of Water

SOCIAL STUDIES
Non-point Source Pollution
Pollution and Solutions
Cinco de Mayo

Stanford Homework

Stanford testing will be the week of May 6th - 10th. We have been preparing for Stanford testing at school. For the next two weeks math homework will be problem solving packets. This homework will help give extra practice in listening carefully, following directions and solving math problems. Please read the directions for each question orally to your child. The directions are at the bottom of each page.


The completed math homework packet is due on Friday. Thanks!

Overview of Week 32

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – When does a problem need a clever solution?
Amazing Words – clever, intend, predicament, grumpy, exhausted, furious, batter, griddle
Phonics – Diphthongs ow, ou
Imperative Sentences
Character, Setting, Plot

MATH
Problem Solving
Mathematics Procedures
Addition & Subtraction Facts

SCIENCE
Uses of Water
How Faucets Work

SOCIAL STUDIES
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Recycled Robot
Rainforests
Water Pollution

CAMP READ-A-LOT

Get ready...another fun activity. On Friday, April 26th we will be having Camp Read-A-Lot. The kids can bring their favorite stuffed animal to read with, small pillow & blanket, and books, books, & books!

INQUIRY

As we launched into this planner we considered the central idea and developed questions that would help guide us during our unit of study. Let me share with you some of the questions from our Wonder Wall that launched our inquiry process.

Central Idea

Clean water is an essential resource with limited availability

Lines of Inquiry
The importance of water to humans and ecosystems

The conservation, usage, and pollution of water
The scarcity of clean water in many parts of the world

Questions we asked to launch our inquiry
How do people pollute water?
Where does water come from?
How much water do people use each day?
When will we run out of water?
How long should you turn on the water to brush your teeth?

It's Robot Time!

Your family is to create a robot using recyclable items!!!The "Recycled Robots" project is due on Monday, April 22nd. The children will be writing about the robots in class. They will need to explain how the robot was made, what materials were used and what job the robot performs. Can't wait to see all the creative robots!

How We Share the Planet

The first grade IB Planner Theme for the remainder of the school year is “How We Share the Planet.” The central idea is that clean water is an essential resource with limited availability. Students will focus on why it is important to care for the earth’s water. Our specific IB inquiries for this planner are into: (1) the importance of water to humans and ecosystems; (2) the conservation, usage, and pollution of water; and (3) the scarcity of clean water in many parts of the world.

Our activities in this Planner will broaden your child’s awareness of the rights and responsibilities in sharing finite resources with other people and with other living things

Overview of Week 31

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – What treasure can we share at home? and
What treasures can we share?
Amazing Words – jealous, relatives, siblings, secret, porridge, collector, seriousness, flourish, admire, sadness, dwell, resident, welcome, substantial, tremendous
Phonics – Vowel Digraph ue, ew, ui, Suffixes ly, ful, Vowel Sound oo
Compound Words,
Theme & Cause and Effect

MATH
Grid Puzzles
Fractional Parts of a Whole
Addition & Subtraction Facts
Problem Solving

SCIENCE
Rocks and Minerals
Natural Resources
How We Use Water

SOCIAL STUDIES
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Endangered Animals
Why Water is Important

Overview of Week 30

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – What do we treasure special places?
Amazing Words – impression, familiar, favorite, memory, errand, stampede
Phonics – Vowel Digraph ie, igh, Consonant Pattern kn, wr
Adjectives for What Kind
Fact & Details

MATH
Sharing 12 Pennies
Exploring Fractional Parts
Addition Facts
Problem Solving

SCIENCE
Rocks and Minerals
Natural Resources

SOCIAL STUDIES
Cardinal Directions
Earth Day
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

CALLING ALL PARENTS!

Our class will present The Ugly Woodpecker and Rafunzel on Thursday, April 11, at 9:30 a.m. The show will be performed on the stage in the cafeteria. Plan to be here by 9:15 to sign in, if you are in the system we will have your badge ready. Please plan to attend. Don’t forget your camera!

Overview of Week 29

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – What treasures can we find in our country?
Amazing Words – nation, symbol, tourist, splinter, sunken, abandon, harbor, statue
Phonics – Vowel Digraph oa, ow, Three-letter Consonant Blends
Adjectives for Size
Fact & Details

MATH
Number Stories
Making change
Equal Parts
Fractions

SCIENCE
Properties of Matter
Needs of a Seed
Properties of Soil

SOCIAL STUDIES
Map & Globe Skills
Cardinal Directions
Compass Rose

How We Express Ourselves

The first grade IB Planner Theme for this month is "How We Express Ourselves." The central idea is that humans have many ways to express their ideas, imagination, and emotions through their words and actions. Our specific IB inquiries for this planner involve making inferences about character traits, and using voice, facial expressions, and body movements.

In February, our class enjoyed three sessions with a Young Audiences drama coach and storyteller. Those visits helped to develop your child’s expressive speaking skills, dramatic skills, and oral presentation skills. Our field trip to see the stage show at the Main Street Theater was also in support of this Planner. Of course, your child’s participation in our April stage performance will be the culminating activity for this IB Planner.

Overview of Week 28

LANGUAGE ARTS

Question of the week – How can a story be a treasure?
Amazing Words – delightful, imagination, original, carve, tangle,
peer, royal, sighed
Phonics – ea, changing y to i
Adjectives for Colors and Shapes
Theme

MATH
Counting Coins
Dollar
Hundreds, Tens and Ones

SCIENCE
Animals Move
Animal Parts
External Characteristics

SOCIAL STUDIES
Map Skills
Map Key
Map Symbols

CLASS PLAYS

I sent home copies of the plays on Monday. PLEASE help your child learn his/her lines. The lines should be memorized by Tuesday, March 26th. We will start practicing on stage with a microphone!

                              

First our class enjoyed three sessions with a Young Audiences drama coach and storyteller.

Next, we went on a field trip to Main Street Theater and watched Miss Nelson is Missing. Thanks, Mr. Gordon and Main Street actors now we are ready to begin play practice!

FIELD TRIP

Our field trip to the Main Street Theatre is tomorrow Thursday, March 21st. Please remember to send your child wearing their red Roberts shirt . We will eat lunch at 10:48 at Roberts and leave the school at 11:45 am. We will return to Roberts around 2:00 pm.

Overview of Week 27

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – How can a surprise be a treasure?
Amazing Words – celebrate, cherish, grateful, delicate,
rarest, loot, genuine
Phonics – ai & ay, endings ed, ing
Adjectives
Draw Conclusions

MATH
Pyramids, Cones and Cubes
Symmetry

SCIENCE
Food Chains
Animals Adaptations
Animals Move

SOCIAL STUDIES
Expert Presentations
Communication and Transportation Long Ago & Now
Planner Reflection

SAVE THE DATE

Our class will be putting on two plays to be performed for the parents and families in the Cafe. I wanted to give you a heads up on the date and time so you can make arrangements if needed. We will be performing our plays on Thursday, April 11th at 9:30 in the morning. I will give more information soon!

Overview of Week 26

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – What do animals do when the seasons change?
Amazing Words – hibernate, migrate, temperature, autumn, freeze, bitterly, weary
Phonics – Comparative Endings er, est
Draw Conclusions

MATH
Two-Dimensional Shapes
Polygons
Three-Dimensional Shapes

SCIENCE
Interdependence among Living Organisms
Food Chains

SOCIAL STUDIES
IIM Research
Expert Presentations

Field Trip

Our field trip to the Main Street Theatre is Thursday, March 21st. Please send back the permisssion slip and money by Tuesday, March 5th.

Please remember to send your child wearing their red Roberts shirt. We will eat lunch at Roberts and leave the school at 11:45 am. We will return to Roberts around 2:00 pm.

Overview of Week 25

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – What changes can be seen in nature?
Amazing Words – cycle, develop, insect, rearrange, flurries,
emerge, fragile, vessel
Phonics – Vowel er, ir, ur
Fact & Opinion

MATH
Reference Book
Data Landmarks
Attribute Rules

SCIENCE
Food Chains

SOCIAL STUDIES
IIM Research
Expert Presentations
St. Patrick’s Day

Go Texan Day

Friday, February 22
Students are encouraged to wear western outfits on Friday, February 22. Ideas include blue jeans, cowboy boots, suede-looking vests, bandannas and/or sheriff badges. Please remember that toy weapons are not permitted at school, even on Go Texan Day.

Overview of Week 24

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – What changes happen in a garden?
Amazing Words – gardener, nature, sprout, dim, shade, sprinkling, destroy, humongous
Phonics – Add ed, ar
Verbs for Past & Future

MATH
“What’s My Rule?” Routine
Quarters
Digital Clocks
Addition & Subtraction Facts

SCIENCE
Weather
Temperature

SOCIAL STUDIES
George Washington
Abraham Lincoln

Parent Thoughts

Parents, please take a moment to share your thoughts about the Roberts IB Primary Years Programme. This 4 question survey is critical to our self-study process as we prepare for evaluation by IB. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6G269MQ

E-mail or Snail Mail

THANKS!!! Almost everyone has returned their sheet and self-addressed stamped envelope. Your child will write you a letter this week and will be sending you an e-mail next Monday, February 18th. We will be comparing and contrasting email and US postal mail as two forms of communication to see which one gets to you faster. If possible, please check your email between 9:30 and 10:45 and reply as soon as you receive your child's email. If you cannot respond immediately, please respond at your earliest opportunity. Your child’s U.S. mail letter will also be mailed on Monday. Please tell your child the date in which the U.S. mail letter is received at your home. I am sure your child would enjoy watching you open their letter to you. This is a fun activity that really allows the students to understand how technology has changed.

Share the Love

During Students in Action’s “Share the Love” campaign, we are collecting new socks of all kinds (men’s, women’s, kids, babies, etc.) to donate to the Star of Hope. If we can collect at least 300 pairs of socks by Valentine’s Day, Mrs. Graves has agreed to let the whole school have a “Sock Day” the Friday before Spring Break. Bring your socks and help share the love!

Overview of Week 23

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – What can we learn about animals as they
grow and change?
Amazing Words – features, mature, natural, swoop, crumple,
nibble, nudges, wriggle
Phonics – Suffix es & Plural es
Verbs that do not add s
Fact & Opinion

MATH
Addition & Subtraction Facts
Fact Triangles
Centimeter

SCIENCE
Earth & Space
Sun & Moon
Temperature

SOCIAL STUDIES
Chinese New Year
Timelines
Transportation & Communication

Overview of Week 21

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – How do places change?
Amazing Words – growth, population, public, suffle, crooked, teeter,
Makeshift, spindly
Phonics – Vowel Sounds of y, Syllable pattern cv
Action Verbs
Sequence

MATH
What’s My Rule?
Easy Facts

SCIENCE
Simple Machines
Ground Hog Day

SOCIAL STUDIES
Technology
US Mail & E-Mail
February Calendar

EAR BUDS

We will be starting Rosetta Stone Spanish in our classroom. We will be using iPads and students will need headphones. For hygiene reasons, we are asking that parents supply a set of iPad compatible ear buds (headphones) for your child. Please send these with your child in a Ziploc bag and their name written on it as soon as possible.

Overview of Week 20

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – How is an insect like a community of people?
Amazing Words – individual, industrious, special, creep, slither, romp, eagerly, wander
Phonics – Long e, Syllable Pattern VC/CV
Nouns in Sentences
Compare & Contrast

MATH
Dice Sums
Turn-Around Facts
Easy Facts

SCIENCE
Simple Machines

SOCIAL STUDIES
Martin Luther King
Long Ago & Today
U.S. President’s Job

THANK YOU!!!

I want to thank everyone for the flowers, cupcakes and money! It was a GREAT birthday!!! I am extremely lucky to have sush a wonderful, generous class!
Funniest Gifs

Overview of Week 19

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – How are plant and animals communities important to each other?
Amazing Words – environment, require, thrive, inhale, slimy, sludge, capture, creature
Phonics – Long u, Inflective Ending ed
Singular & Plural Nouns
Identify the Author’s Purpose

MATH
Place Value, Tens & Ones
More Than & Less Than Number Stories
Solving Number Stories

SCIENCE
Matter
Measurement Tools

SOCIAL STUDIES
Martin Luther King
Long Ago & Today;
Schools, Transportation & Communication

What Was It Like?

The first grade IB Planner Theme for this month is "Where We Are in Place and Time." The central idea is that discoveries in technology affect our lives. Students will mainly focus on changes in transportation and communication, but many other aspects of life and change will naturally come into discussion and consideration. Our specific IB inquiries for this planner are into: (1) how human connections have changed; and (2) similarities and differences in technology, across time and in comparison to each other.

Our activities in this Planner will broaden your child’s awareness of history, inventions, and change. Students will be provided with nonfiction books at various reading levels, and will have opportunities to determine and write interesting facts during individual and small group research. Your child will share research information through oral presentations, write about past and present modes of transportation and communication, and try to invent forms of transportation and communication for the future.

In a few weeks, your child will participate in a small group project in which students will choose or create visuals for a report, arrange graphics for a presentation board, and analyze and write about the positive and negative aspects of technological changes. Students will also continue their study and use of the Independent Investigation Method (IIM) of research. By the end of this Planner, your child should be able to discuss the seven steps of the IIM process with you!

Overview of Week 18

LANGUAGE ARTS
Question of the week – How do animals communities work together
to survive?
Amazing Words – enemy, extinct, protect, crater, holler, swamp,
bluff, boisterous
Phonics – Long o
Proper Nouns
Identify Sequence

MATH
Place Value, Tens  & Ones
Greater Than and Less Than

SCIENCE
Matter

SOCIAL STUDIES
Goals & Resolutions
Transportation
Communication

WELCOME 2013!

I hope you had a wonderful and restful holiday. I did!



Glitter Graphics

In January, The Texas Primary Reading Inventory will be administered to all first graders between January 14 and January 25. Your child will be assessed on proficiency in oral reading, reading speed, and comprehension. Please continue to have your child read to an adult at least 20 minutes per day, 7 days a week, as part of the first grade homework. Your child should read to you from a book on or close to his/her reading level, such as the Book Trade supplementary reader.


I look forward to a GREAT 2013!