Mrs. Rausch's Class

Friday, April 5, 2013

Weather Alert!!

As the sun finally shines in Cresco and melts away our snow, let's be cautious of school attire. Our playground is still somewhat snow covered and very muddy... snow-pants continue to be something that I would prefer students wear for at least another week!

Please remember that your child must have coats and closed toed shoes as well as hat & mittens!!

State Testing begins next week with our M.A.P.S. assessments. Class 1B will be assessing on Thursday & Friday of next week as well as Tuesday & Wednesday of the following week! Pleas be sure that your child receives plenty of sleep and a proper breakfast before school!!

The M.A.P.S. test consists of 2 math and 2 reading sub-tests. Students will be using computers & headphones to have the test read to them. Our goal with these tests is to improve our scores from the fall testing! Official reports will be sent home to share with you!

In Science, we will begin not 1, but 2 new units of study!

On Monday, we will welcome new class pets and will observe their habitat in the study "Observing an Aquarium."

On Wednesday, we will begin a S.T.E.M. project called "A World In Motion." During this unit, first grade students will experiment with different methods of producing movement using cars & ramps. More information will follow!!

A Peek at Next Week:

Monday: Art

Tuesday: Music

* Happy Birthday Ashton! *

Wednesday: 3 Hour Early Out

* Happy Birthday Wyatt! *

Thursday: Library

* M.A.P.S. Testing *

* Special Snack: Kaiya *

Friday: P.E.

* M.A.P.S. Testing *

Reading Strategies

Determine Important Information

When students read, they should pick out the most important ideas. The most important ideas are the ones the author wants readers to remember.

Compare and Contrast

When we compare certain things, we tell how they are alike or the same. When we contrast things, we tell how they are different!!

Make Inferences

Making inferences helps readers make sense of what they read. Sometimes the author doesn't tell us everything we need to understand. We can use clues in the story and what we already know to help fill in gaps which the author has left in the text. This is called MAKING INFERENCES!

Identify Text Structure

Stories are set up in different ways. They usually are told in sequence, or the order in which events happen. Knowing how a story is set up, or its structure, can help a reader remember the story.

Identify Details & Facts

Finding small bits of information that tells us more about important ideas.

Making Predictions

Using clues from the story and what you already know to guess what will happen next.

Summarize

Tell in your own words what has happened in the story or text.

Ask and Answer Questions

Asking questions and looking for answers in the text or pictures will help you to understand what you read!

Facts and Opinions

Facts and be proven! They are TRUE!

Opinions are people's thoughts. They might not be true! When giving an opinion, you might hear "I think...."

Monitor Comprehension

Stop and think about what you are reading. Are you understanding what you are reading? If not, use an accuracy strategy to help.

Recall and Retell

Tell about the setting, characters and most important events in the beginning, middle, and end of the text. Readers gain a better understanding of what a story is about when they can recall events from a story.

Make Connections

Use what you already know to understand what you are reading. We use text to text connections. We use text to self connections. And we use text to world connections.

Mrs. Rausch's Class

Friday, April 5, 2013

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