February 21, 2012

Friends of Room 114,

Here are a few announcements for this week:

  • A reminder for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on March 12th was sent home last week.  The $13 fee must be paid this week.  It would be very helpful if students paid the $46 fee for all remaining field trips, but this is not mandatory.
  • The African American Poetry in Motion gallery walk is scheduled for this Thursday, February 23rd at 5:30.  This will be followed by a pot luck and the Ray School poetry slam.

Reading

This week in reading workshop we will complete our readings on space and learn about Mae Jemison.  Students will also read the story The Big Trip, and discuss the ways that we travel.  Students will complete a story web with facts they have learned about space.  During word study we will learn about the long  u and long o sound and the combinations that make (long u: u_e, -ue, ew   long e: ee, ea, _y, e_a.   We will also review statements vs. questions.  During writing workshop students continue to work on non-fiction How-To books.

Math

This week students will complete Unit 5 and take the end of unit assessment. In this unit we have studies time to the quarter hour, graphing, addition facts, money, base ten, greater than, less than and equal to.  In addition, students will learn “What’s My Rule?”  In these problems students have what is called a function machine.  This machine is programed so that when you drop a number into the machine the machine changes the number according to the rule, and a new number comes out of the machine.

Science and Social Science

In science we will continue our study of plants and animals.   Students will begin their seed observation journal.  Students will pick animals for their research report.  All reports will be completed by March 9th. In social science students will complete their “If I Were President” writing piece.  We will also discuss the climate in various parts of the country.

Have a great week!

Stacy Horgan

  High frequency:  about, could, sure, by, car, don’t there, maybe

Vocabulary: complain, plead, horizon

Spelling: me, be, read, feet, three, keep, eat, mean, sea, these, street, please

MATH READING
MONDAY NO SCHOOL    
TUESDAY Play the memory matching game with the sight and vocabulary word cards.  Students should be able to read each HF but may need assistance with vocabulary. Homelink 5.12 Read a minimum of 20 minutes each day.
WEDNESDAY Write your high frequency and vocabulary words in ABC order. Homelink 5.13 Read a minimum of 20 minutes each day.
THURSDAY Write a sentence for each of your high frequency words.  Do this on your own and be a brave speller. Unit 5 review.

 

Read a minimum of 20 minutes each day.
FRIDAY Look for your words in books that you read.    

February 14, 2012

Friends of Room 114,

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Here are a few announcements for this week:

  • There is no school Monday, February 20th in honor of Presidents Day
  • The African American Poetry in Motion gallery walk is scheduled for February 23rd.
  • Principals coffee with Dr. Tatia Beckwith is this Thursday at 9:15 outside the school cafeteria
  • I have included spelling words on the homework chart.  Please work with your child on these words and make sure they can correctly spell all words on the list.

Reading

This week in reading workshop we will continue reading nonfiction texts about animals and begin a lesson on space.   Students will read Let’s Go to the Moon.   We will continue to use Venn Diagrams to compare people and things in our world.  During word study we will learn about the long o sound and the combinations that make the long o: o_e, oa, ow, oe.   We will also learn about suffixes –y and –ly.  During writing workshop students will begin to work on their non-fiction unit.  We will create lists of things we know how to do and work create a book on one of our topics.

Math

This week will complete a Valentines Day graphing projects.  We will also use dice to solve addition problems.  Students will be introduced to the turn around rule for addition. This rule teaches students that if you learn one fact you are really learning two facts, 3+4 is the same as 4+3.  Students will also take home their fast facts table to study at home.

Science and Social Science

In science we will continue our study of plants and animals.  We will plant seeds for observation.  Your child will also begin to think about an animal they would like to complete a research project on.  We will work as a class to create a list of animals to study.  In social science we will study presidents and complete a writing project “If I were president”.

Have a great week!

Stacy Horgan

High frequency:  around, because, before, bring, carry, light, show, thinkVocabulary: landscape, vast, atmosphere, surface

Spelling: so, go, home, hole, no, rope, joke, poke, stove, bone, chose, wrote.

MATH READING
MONDAY NO SCHOOL
TUESDAY Play the memory matching game with the sight and vocabulary word cards.  Students should be able to read each HF but may need assistance with vocabulary. Math journal pgs. 93 and 94 Read a minimum of 20 minutes each day.
WEDNESDAY Write your high frequency and vocabulary words in ABC order. Homelink 5.9 Read a minimum of 20 minutes each day.
THURSDAY Write a sentence for each of your high frequency words.  Do this on your own and be a brave speller. Homelink 5.10 Read a minimum of 20 minutes each day.
FRIDAY Look for your words in books that you read. Homelink 5.11

 

 

 

February 6, 2012

Friends of Room 114,

Here are a few announcements for this week:

  • There is no school Monday, February 13th in observance of Lincoln’s Birthday
  • Please pay the $9 fee for our field trip to the Merle Reskin Theater.  All money is due no later than tomorrow.  Students do not need to bring a lunch as we will be eating at school during our regular lunch hour.

Reading

This week in reading workshop we will be reading nonfiction texts about animals.    Students will read Animals and Animal Picnic.  Students will discuss all animal groups and complete a Venn diagram comparing two of these groups.  During word study we will learn about the long i sound and digraphs kn, wr, gn, mb.  We will also study phonograms-ine and –ite. During writing workshop students will work on writing a short piece about a famous African American they chose to study. Students will discuss when to use is vs. are and was vs. were in their writing.

Math

In math we will discuss parts and total.  During this activity students will be given two parts to a problem and must find the total, or they will have the total and one part and must discover the missing part.  We will also continue to compare items using greater than, less than or equal to.  Students will solve a variety number stories that involving relations, addition and subtraction.

Science and Social Science

In science we will share our geologist stories and begin a unit on organisms.  This week we will compare similarities and differences between plants and animals.  In social science we will continue to explore resources in our community and how we use these resources.  We will also look at ways to improve recycling at home and school.

Have a great week!

HOMEWORK

  High frequency:  bird, eyes, both, fly long, or those, walk

Vocabulary: sensitive, swivel, threaten

Spelling: (optional): time, kite, like, bike, white, drive, stripe, nice

MATH READING
MONDAY Write each HF and vocabulary word on two index cards.  Use one set to introduce each word. Parts and Total Read a minimum of 20 minutes each day.
TUESDAY Play the memory matching game with the sight and vocabulary word cards.  Students should be able to read each HF but may need assistance with vocabulary. Homelink 5.6 Read a minimum of 20 minutes each day.
WEDNESDAY Write your high frequency and vocabulary words in ABC order. Homelink 5.7 Read a minimum of 20 minutes each day.
THURSDAY Write a sentence for each of your high frequency words.  Do this on your own and be a brave speller. Telling Time Read a minimum of 20 minutes each day.
FRIDAY Look for your words in books that you read. Homelink 5.8  

 

 

 

The Ray Boys Basketball game, at 4:00, on Monday February 6th, will be played at Kenwood High School.

This will be a double header. Please bring family and friends!

Let’s pack the place with Warrior fans!

January 30, 2012

Friends of Room 114,

I would like to thank all the families that donated food to the teacher appreciation luncheon.  The food was delicious!

Here are a few announcements for this week:

-       There is no school Friday, February 3rd.  This day is a professional development day for teachers

-       NWEA Winter scores are being sent home today.  On this sheet I have also included your child’s fall and winter reading level.  At this time in 1st Grade students reading on level are reading at a level F or G.  If you have any questions please email me at slhorgan@cps.edu

-       Report cards will be sent home on Wednesday, February 1, 2012.

-       Please make sure that you clean out your child’s homework folder every night.  The only thing that should remain in your child’s folder are items they are returning to school, such as homework or notes to the teacher.  All items left in your child’s folder from the previous week will be recycled on Monday.

-       The $6.00 refund is being sent home today for those students that paid for all of this school year’s field trips at once.

-       There was a mix-up with traveling library books last week so not every student has a set go home.   Please remember that traveling library books are due back every Tuesday.  If your child has a set of books at home please make sure they return them to school.  Several students have many weeks of traveling library books still not returned.

-       Please pay the $9 fee for our field trip to the Merle Reskin Theater.  All money is due by February 6th.

This week in reading workshop we will be reading all about games.  Students will read The Olympic Games and The Big Race.  During word study we will learn about the long a, soft c and soft g sounds.  We will also study phonograms-ake and –ace. During writing workshop students will complete their Hyde Park poetry inspired by the book Bronzeville by Gwendolyn Brooks.  Our completed poems will be displayed in the hallway outside our room.  In math we will discuss weight, area, greater than, less than and equal to. In science we will finish up our rock unit and complete the writing prompt, If I Were a Geogist.  In social science we will discuss resources and recycling.

Have a great week!

Stacy Horgan

Friends of Room 114,

Here are a few announcements for this week:

  • - There is no school Friday, January 27th.  This day is a professional development day for teachers
  • - This Thursday, January 26th, Dr. Tatia will be presenting theState of the School Address” at 9:30AM & 6 PM.
  • - Please pay the $9 fee for our field trip to the Merle Reskin Theater on February 9th.
  • - January is girls’ month for snack.  If you have not yet provided a snack for 27 students please do so.
  • - If you have not updated your contact information electronically yet, do so by visiting our classroom blog or through the following link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGsxTm5zZnZWV3hld3VfUjVJZUFScXc6MQ#gid=0

This week in reading workshop we will read various poems as part of our poetry unit.  During word study we will review the sounds of th, wh, sh, ch and ph.  We will also review ‘s and n’t contractions, as well as possessive nouns.  During writing workshop students will complete their small moment stories as we prepare to being a new unit of non-fiction writing.  In math we will also take the Unit 4 assessment.   Students will be assessed on their ability to tell time to the quarter hour, write simple addition facts, measure items in inches, compete a pattern and count change using pennies, nickels and dimes.  In social science we will discuss landforms and bodies of water.  We will also discuss direction of objects in relation to one another.

January 17, 2012

Dear Friends of Room 114,

I hope everyone had a great long weekend and enjoyed our typical Chicago winter weather.

Here are a few announcements for this week:

  • - Last week I sent home a field trip notice for February 9th, to the Merle Reskin Theater.  We will be seeing a play based on the Nancy Drew series.  The fee is $9 and must be paid two day prior to the field trip.
  • - We originally had a field trip to the Shedd Aquarium that was canceled.  If you paid for all of this years field trips in advance you will be getting a refund of $6.
  • - January is girls’ month for snack.  If you have not yet provided a snack for 27 students please do so.
  • - Please make sure your child dresses appropriately for our winter weather.  I have suggested that each child keep an extra pair of socks in their backpack.  I also let children know that if there is a pair of shoes they would like to keep at school we have space for them.  Last week we had a lot of wet shoes and socks after brain boost and I am hoping to avoid this situation in the future.

This week in reading we will be reading non-fiction texts about the seasons.  We will also be reading poetry with seasonal themes.  During word study we will look at wh, sh and ph words.  We will also begin learning about contractions and verbs with –ed, -ing and –s endings.  During writing workshop students are completing their small moment stories that will be graded as part of their writing grade.  All students must submit three stories that they have been working on this quarter.  In math we will create home and school timelines.  We will begin to work on our number scrolls, writing numbers -9 to 1000.  In addition, we will begin to work on addition fact power.  Students will begin to practice instant recall of sums in 1- digit addition (0+0 thru 9+9).  In social science we will finish our unit on Martin Luther King Jr. and learn more about the states in our country.

Stacy  Horgan

 

 

 

January 9, 2012

Dear Friends of Room 114,

Happy 2012!  I hope everyone had a wonderful break.  I had an amazing time with friends and family.  I was fortunate enough to explore parts of the country I had not yet been to, sleep in and eat LOTS of delicious food.

Here are a few announcements for this week:

  • • Before break I announced that we would have a student teacher from Ohio beginning today.  Unfortunately due to issues with certification she will not be able to student teach at a CPS school.
  • • Please email me at slhorgan@cps.edu if you would like to set up a time to briefly meet in the morning to discuss your child’s progress.
  • • There is no school Monday, January 16, 2012 in observance of MLK day.

This week in reading we will be reviewing sequence of events in books with animal themes.  We will be reading How Leopard Got His Spots and The Rain Forest.   Students will be introduced to homophones and the ch, tch sound.   During writing workshop we will write about our winter holiday adventures.  I will also be helping students edit their own work. In math we will review standard and non-standard measurement and telling time.  We will also use dominoes to write addition and subtraction problems.  In science we will continue our rock investigation.

Welcome Back!

Stacy  Horgan

December 23, 2011

Greetings from Ohio,

I am an Undergraduate at The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.  Pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education, I have reached my last semester where I will complete student teaching. Ms. Horgan has agreed to mentor me in her first grade classroom. It is with great pleasure that I will be moving from Ohio to complete my student teaching at William H. Ray Elementary School.

During my college career at The University of Akron, I gained outstanding education and understanding of young children. I plan to give each child I work with the challenge and support they need to meet his or her full potential. It has been my passion to teach young children for many years. I am honored to be given this opportunity to teach at Ray School. Wishing you all a happy holiday and I look forward to meeting you!

 

“Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.”

– Nikos Kazantzakis

Sincerely,   Cecilia Velazquez

If you have any questions regarding your child’s World Language grade please contact Mr. Walter at wlwalter@cps.edu.

Please remember to have your child read and write every day of the winter break.  Make sure they also practice their money counting skills, measurement and telling time.  Have a great holiday!

December 19, 2011

Dear Friends of Room 114,

Here are a few reminders for this week:

  • I am very happy to announce that after the break we will have a student teacher in our classroom until the beginning of March.  Ms. Cecilia Velazquez will be joining us from the University of Akron and will be living in Hyde Park during her time here.  The students had a chance to meet her today when she came to visit our classroom.
  • The Holiday Assembly is scheduled for this Thursday, December 22nd at 1:30 pm.  The students in our class are performing a Kwanza song on stage.  I am asking that students wear red, green or black for the performance.  There will only be one performance on this day.
  • We are making gingerbread houses tomorrow, Tuesday, December 20th at 2 pm.  Meet us at 2 pm in the student lunchroom if you would like to help out.
  • At the end of last week, I sent home a specific donation I would like your child to make for the gingerbread houses.  Please provide the requested items if you are able.
  • Progress Reports will be sent home this week.  Please sign and return the progress report.  Please email me at slhorgan@cps.edu if you would like to set up a time to briefly meet in the morning to discuss your child’s progress.

December 12, 2011

Friends of Room 114,

ü  Ray School will be celebrating its annual Holiday Assembly on December 22, 2011 at 1:30 p.m.  The Music and World Language Departments have collaborated once again to provide Ray students and parents with a performance filled with holiday songs from around the world and dances from Spain and Mexico.   Please note that there will be only one assembly on this day.  Have your child dress in a nice winter outfit for the assembly.

ü  Don’t forget to stop by our Ray School Cafe before and after the Holiday assembly in the Atrium outside the Student Cafeteria.

ü  I am planning on having students make gingerbread houses on December 20th. We will start this project around 2 pm and we will need volunteers.  I will also be asking for donations to complete this project.  More information will be sent home later this week.

ü  Please see that your child is dressing appropriately for the weather. Please discuss methods for keeping track of all belongings.  We are accumulating quite a pile of misplaced hats, mittens and scarfs in our Ray lost and found.

ü  Please go to the classroom blog to update you contact information electronically.

ü  Tomorrow I will not be at Ray.  I am not going to assign any homework while I am out.  Please have your child leave their homework folder at home Monday night and bring it back to school on Wednesday when I return.

ü  December was initially girl’s month to provide snack.  However, I am moving their month to January.  I will be sending home a letter to families that have not provided snack during the previous months.  We depend on snack contributions from all families.  Snack ideas include string cheese, pretzels, granola bars, individual yogurts, fresh fruit (must be washed and cut at home), goldfish, crackers, raisins, etc.

ü  This week we will take the Winter MAPS assessment.  I will share your child’s results as soon as they are available.

 

This week in reading we will be non-fiction science texts and discussing author’s purpose.  We will read Sea Animals and Water, as well as various leveled readers during guided reading.  We will review the digraph th, endings  -s, -es, -ed, -ing and review proper nouns.  During writing workshop we will continue to work on our 3 page stories.  We will conference with our writing partnerships that were formed last week.  In math we will review for the unit 3 test.  You child will be assessed on telling time, money and the frames and arrows routine.  We will also begin working on measurement.  In science we will continue our unit on Pebbles, Sand and Silt.  We will be investigating how rocks and separate them based on common properties.    In social studies we will discuss our city, state, country and continent.  We will work to learn the seven continents.

 

Stacy Horgan