SEPTEMBER 2-5th

LANGUAGE ARTS We have begun Theme ! in our Reading series, Silly Stories. This unit is always a student favorite! Mine too! Along with lots of giggles, Theme 1 will focus on phonics (short voewls a, e, i, o, u and long vowels CVCe), high frequency words, reading strategies(summarize, clarify, predict/infer), and overall reading comprehension. In this week's story, when Dragon decides that its time to go shopping, a trip to the store becomes an adventure. We will discuss nutrition and the 5 food groups. Together we will work to build your child's reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension! Our first word of the week is STRIVE. Ask your child what this word means. Can he spell it? Can he use it correctly in a sentence? WE WILL STRIVE TO MAKE LEARNING FUN! This week's Spelling words: plant, slam, swam, visit, rabbit, apple, inch, flat, inch, quick challenge words: cricket, nickel EVERYDAY MATHEMATICS Please continue to practice addition Math facts EVERY DAY FOR 2 MINUTES! THE CHILDREN CAN ALREADY SEE THE DIFFERENCE THIS LITTLE BIT OF PRACTICE MAKES. We have learned another fun way to practice, "Addition Top-it". Use a basic deck of playing cards, numbers 1-10. Each player takes 2 cards from the deck and adds them. The player with the larger sum keeps the cards! We will continue working in small groups to review number order, telling time, calendar and coins. All students should know days. months and coin values at the completion of first grade. It was a long summer...If your child seems a little rusty, please review this with him. We'll begin our Social Studies unit about government and citizenship next week Posted by Mrs. Belillti on 9/2/08; 6:48:57 AM from the dept. Discuss

WELCOME BACK!

Our website is temporarily under construction Posted by Mrs. Belillti on 9/1/08; 7:28:54 PM from the dept. Discuss

WELCOME BACK!

It was very nice meeting everyone at Open House last week. We're off to a great start! During our first two days of school, a lot of attention was given to rules and routines. Please look for your child's orange "homework folder" every night. It will be our main line of communication. Of course, you contact me via e-mail (sbelillti@littlemiamischools.com) or phone(899-5200 x: 35400) at any time! We will begin our Reading series and Spelling next week. New Spelling words are introduced every Monday. Students will have Monday and Tuesday evenings to practice the words at home. On Wednesday we will have the "practice" test. This is not for a grade, but rather to familiarize the students with the dictation sentences. ALL SPELLING TESTS ARE GIVEN IN SENTENCE DICTATION FORMAT (usually 4-6 sentences). The "real" test (the one that counts for a grade) is given every Friday. Please practice Math facts every night with your child! This can be easily done with a 60 second flashcard review. Flash cards can be purchased at the dollar store or home made with index cards. It is essential that your student knows his addition and subtraction facts ( zero to ten), as all other Math is built on this foundation. We will be practicing every day in class. Our first Social Studies unit will examine our government. We'll introduce new vocabulary, such as : mayor, governor, citizen, and President. We have shared are feelings about what it means to be a citizen of our classroom and school. Together we created a "Classroom Constitution". Now that each of the "Founding Sons and Daughters" have signed it, it is on display in our classroom. This is one of many ways we will build our classroom community. P.T.O. Butlerville Elementary is so fortunate to have a fantastic Parent-Teacher Organization! I encourage everyone to become a member and participate in all the activities our P.T.O. has to offer. Please join me at the first meeting of the 2008 school year at 7:00 on Tuesday, September 9th. You'll be happy you did! SOME IMPORTANT DATES... September 5- Scholastic Book Orders Due (checks only) SEPTEMBER 9-DELAYED START ( 10:15) September 11- Fall Sale Ends September 16- Board Meeting 7:00 at LMHS September 17- P.T.O. Spirit Wear Sale Begins September 19-P.T.O. Family Fun Night! SEPTEMBER 23- DELAYED START (10:15) Posted by Mrs. Belillti on 8/26/08; 12:36:59 PM from the dept. Discuss

SPRING HAS ARRIVED!

Thank you to everyone for making our "International Day" a huge success! The children presented their travel journals, research, and artifacts while sampling recipes from around the world. We tried a delicious sun-dried tapas dip from Spain, vegamite sandwiches from Australia, Israeli chocolates, Egyptian baklava, healthy Greek salad, and so much more! There was so much, in fact, that we shared all the dishes with the teaching staff! The class especially enjoyed celebrating Austin's birthday by breaking a pinata (He had research the country of Mexico). SHHHHHHHH! WE ARE WORKING ON A MOTHERS' DAY SURPRISE! Although it is top secret, we know everyone will love the special handcrafted gift their child is creating. I have purchased all of the materials. However, If you have not already, please be sure to send $6 with your child to class to cover the processing and shipping fee. THE WEEK OF APRIL 14TH ALL 2ND GRADE STUDENTS WILL TAKE THE IOWA ACHIEVEMENT TESTS. Please be sure that your child has a good night's sleep, a healthy breakfast, and is at school on time. We really want to shine! April 15th is a 90 minute delayed start! April 18th Interim Reports go home. April 22nd is the 1st/2nd Grade Choir Concert (7:00 at the High School) Posted by Mrs. Belillti on 4/9/08; 6:49:44 AM from the dept. Discuss

Busy Monkeys!

As the second trimester comes to an end, we are spending a great deal of time on reviewing the essential parts of any story: setting, characters, beginning, middle, and ending. Children will re-tell stories that they read, giving supporting details (orally and written). We continue learning about our community through Junior Achievement. Erica's mom has taught us so much about assembly and production, goods and services! We even pretended to manufacture doughnuts! Unit 9 Mathematics focusses on measurement. We revisit some of the standard units of measurement taught in1st grade, adding larger standard units such as yards, meters, miles, and kilometers. We just finished a unit on fractions, and are beginning to apply these newly learned skills as we measure fractional units of length. We are calculating the perimeter and area of a given space. An easy way for them to differentiate between the 2 concepts is to think of perimeter as a fence and area as everything inside the fence. EVERYONE SHOULD BE VERY SOLID WITH THEIR ADDITION MATH FACTS! WE WILL BE MOVING ON TO SUBTRACTION TIMED TESTS! PLEASE CONTINUE TO REVIEW WITH YOUR CHILD AT HOME. YOU CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT A DIFFERENCE THE CONTINUED PRACTICE MAKES! In Science, we are discussing SOUND, HEAT, and LIGHT. The children have experimented with making sounds (vibrations) by striking, blowing, and plucking objects. Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, February 21st and Tuesday, February 26th. If you have not yet turned in a request for a conference, please do so. If you would NOT like to meet, please just send a note saying this. Posted by Mrs. Belillti on 2/19/08; 12:03:43 PM from the dept. Discuss