Ms. Feinman's Class at Dora Moore

No spelling words due to the short week.

Click here for the homework packet (This Friday!)

General Homework Tips for Parents 

• Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to do homework.
  Avoid having your child do homework with the television on or in places with other distractions, such as people coming and going.
• Make sure the materials your child needs, such as paper, pencils and a dictionary, are available.
  Ask your child if special materials will be needed for some projects and get them in advance.
• Help your child with time management.
  Establish a set time each day for doing homework. Don't let your child leave homework until just before bedtime. Think about using a weekend morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially if the project involves getting together with classmates.
• Be positive about homework.
  Tell your child how important school is. The attitude you express about homework will be the attitude your child acquires.
• When your child does homework, you do homework.
  Show your child that the skills they are learning are related to things you do as an adult. If your child is reading, you read too. If your child is doing math, balance your checkbook.
• When your child asks for help, provide guidance, not answers.
  Giving answers means your child will not learn the material. Too much help teaches your child that when the going gets rough, someone will do the work for him or her.
• When the teacher asks that you play a role in homework, do it.
  Cooperate with the teacher. It shows your child that the school and home are a team. Follow the directions given by the teacher.
• If homework is meant to be done by your child alone, stay away.
  Too much parent involvement can prevent homework from having some positive effects. Homework is a great way for kids to develop independent, lifelong learning skills.
• Stay informed.
  Talk with your child's teacher. Make sure you know the purpose of homework and what your child's class rules are.
• Help your child figure out what is hard homework and what is easy homework.
  Have your child do the hard work first. This will mean he will be most alert when facing the biggest challenges. Easy material will seem to go fast when fatigue begins to set in.
• Watch your child for signs of failure and frustration.
  Let your child take a short break if she is having trouble keeping her mind on an assignment.
• Reward progress in homework.
  If your child has been successful in homework completion and is working hard, celebrate that success with a special event (e.g., pizza, a walk, a trip to the park) to reinforce the positive effort.

Each month, 1st graders get a chance to read with 6th graders.  This month, 1st graders got to see a 6th grade classroom and ask questions before reading!  They learned a lot about International Town (a recent field trip for the older students).  

Today we read Respecting Others.  We talked about how we respect others at home and at school.  We took a test on key details. 

Mrs. Buschman came to our class to read her favorite book.  

The students loved listening to it, after learning how to play the dreidel game (practicing math skills).  

Thank you Mrs. Buschman!

We have been working on character analysis. 

Today we learned the song Lean on Me by Bill Withers.  We learned the words sorrow, carry, load, bear, and borrow.

Today we talked about how our project is different and similar to the projects we have read about.  Share your sentence in the comments.  You can also make a comment on a friend's comment. 

Remember PUNCTUATION and CAPITALIZATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Share your sentence about what you learned during independent reading.  Then, comment on a friend's sentence.  

These are two new reading strategies we have learned:

“My name is Dexter the Detecting Deer, I help you look for picture clues
To determine tricky words so you don’t get the reading blues.
Simply look at the pictures to help you figure out
What the words are all about!”

First Grader Reading Milestones