Classroom Needs

We are in desperate needs of dry erase markers in the classroom.  Unfortunately the ones we received earlier in the year have dried out.  If you are able please send one in with your child.

Additionally we could also use a box of spoons and snack.


Thank you so much,

Michael Hagen

Rotary Food Drive Flyer



Rotary Food Drive

Food Drive To Fight Summer Hunger: Both Bryant and Pattengill schools are collecting canned goods and non-perishable items for Rotary Club of Ann Arbor’s Food Drive To Fight Summer Hunger. Collection boxes will be near the front office at each school from March 16-27. 

Weekly Wrap Up

It was a very quick week here in first grade. We had a day off on Monday and on Wednesday I shadowed Ms. Heyward as part of my master's program. If that wasn’t enough, we had a field trip to the Yankee Air Museum on Tuesday! Thank you to Ruth and Cathy for volunteering to chaperone this wonderful trip. The kids had a blast and this was the first time we have visited this location. The first grade teachers are already looking forward to next year’s visit. In between these events it was assessment, assessment, assessment. Report cards go out on Tuesday so I have been making sure we have everything set for their release. I eagerly look forward to getting back to normal class business next week. If you have any questions about the report cards please get in touch with me. I am always available to speak with you about your child and his or her performance in the classroom.



Math:

Well it was a whole lot of assessments this week in math. We also took some time to review place value. Finally, we worked more on fact triangles. It was a shorter week in math due to assessments, field trip and the day off.



Phonics:

We spent a lot of time with diagraphs this week. The kids practiced sorting and writing various diagraphs. We also took time to review our spelling words and reinforce consonant clusters.



Writing:

We worked a lot more on revising this week. The kids had multiple opportunities to reread work and formulate plans for revision. This included adding additional details, spelling unknown words correctly and adding dialogue. The dialogue piece was particularly interesting to read.




This was a very brief look at what we were up to this week. I look forward to getting back to normal next week. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please let me now. As I stated earlier I am always available to speak on the phone or conference about your child and until next week…all told.

Weekly Wrap-Up

It was a jam-packed, awesome week here in first grade. We had the Read-A-Thon going full bore; we had a terrific book fair that concluded as well. If those events were not enough, we also had Pajama Night on Tuesday. Thank you to all the parents and families that came out to support this wonderful event. We were also able to get to a lot in the classroom as well. Let us see what took place….on to the highlights!!!



Math:

We begun the week celebrating the 100th day of school. This involved some new and fun math games through which the kids had an opportunity to rotate. A very special thank you to Anna for volunteering to help during this event. The kids had a blast playing the Difference Game with Anna. We also tackled an open-response problem. These types of problems really fit well into the common core state standards and I love administering them. It really gives a snapshot into the level of thinking the child is using to solve a problem. I would like to find more opportunities to work with these kinds of problems. We also studied equivalence towards the latter end of the week. Finally, on Friday we took some time to play some math games.



Science:

We observed our crickets a little more in depth this week. We also collected and analyzed our February weather data, but the less said about that the better. Let us just hope that March is warmer.


Phonics:

In phonics this week we worked on consonant digraphs. The kids had several opportunities to practice this concept with a number of different digraphs. We also took time to reinforce consonant clusters as well. Finally on Friday we took our spelling test.



This is just a quick glimpse of what we tackled this week. Thank you to everyone for all the work you are doing here at Bryant and also at home. This is a great group of kids and that is all because of what you all do at home. Please have a wonderful weekend and until next week….all told.

Spelling Words For The Week

Here are our spelling words for this week.

-while
-something
-begin
-paper
-often
-family

Weekly Wrap-Up

What a terrific week back here in first grade.  It was a very productive week and the class did a great job with everything I threw at them.  We had a Harombee on Monday, which focused on the concept of “bucket filling.”   This is a common theme here at Bryant where we encourage children to “fill buckets” of individuals and not “dip from other’s buckets.”  This theme ties into the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) program that we utilize here at Bryant. 

I want to let you all know we have a big week coming up with the Read-A-Thon, book fair, and a Bryant Pajama Night.  If that wasn’t enough we also celebrate the 100^th day of school on Monday.  We will have a several fun math related games to help mark the day.  Now let’s see what else we were up to this week…onto the highlights!!!

Math:

We were able to touch on several subjects this week in math.  We took additional time to work on doubles and near doubles.  This strategy is very effective in adding and subtracting within 20, which we also practiced this week.    Fact triangles were another concept that was briefly touched upon, although we will come back to it often over the next several weeks.  A scavenger hunt involving our Math Reference book rounded out the week’s festivities. 

Science:

We caught up with our February weather calendar early in the week.  After looking at our collection of data for the month we all came to the resounding conclusion that it has been cold!  I am also happy to report that we received our crickets late this week.  This allowed us the opportunity to observe and document the cricket’s activity. 

Writing:

We focused a lot on revision this week.  The class used pens to mark and edit their work.  These lessons went extremely week and I was real proud of how the kids performed.  We will continue this focus over the following weeks.  During this time we will also begin touching more on non-fiction writing.  I look forward to working on these subjects with the kids. 

This provides a brief snapshot of what the class was up to this week.  We also took time to delve back into social studies and we kept up our weekly focus in phonics.  If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to get in touch with me.  I am always available to answer any questions you may have and until next week…all told.