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Paradise Valley Unified School District #69
Mercury Mine Elementary School
9640 North 28th Street Phoenix, Arizona 85028
602-449-3700 Donna Alley, Principal
September Happenings
Your First Graders have welcomed the new school year with smiling faces, oodles of energy, and an eagerness to learn new things. What a wonderful beginning to first grade we have had! The children are settling in, getting to know one another, and making new friends with many life-long memories. Together, we are establishing routines that will help us become the BEST Mercury Mine Prospector we can be and we are learning to respect one another's differences by using our good manners and showing kindness to others.
The first grade teachers have been assessing (fast and furiously - ha!) reading and writing skills so that we can better serve your child's academic needs. Our first graders have been practicing staying on task and learning to whisper as they work in their literacy work stations. When individual testing is completed we will be able to have productive, flexible guided reading groups on each child’s instructional level. Remember, reading is the essential key to having a successful school life and it is particularly important to every child to build self confidence at an early age.
During reading lessons we have been working on decoding strategies and comparing and contrasting. In phonics we continue to practice fluency with our initial consonant sounds, blends and short vowel sounds. During the next few weeks we will be talking about syllables and working on putting words in ABC order.
It is so important for your child to have reading experiences at home each day. Please be sure to read to them daily. It is time well spent and time to treasure. You are your child’s first teachers and role models. What a wonderful gift you give when you read to them.
Instant recognition of high frequency words builds confidence in beginning readers. Your child should be able to read these words to you as fast as they do their own name. Thank you for working with us to promote the reading fluency of your young reader.
Along with all of the assessing, we have been directing our academic focus on the following: complete sentences, end marks, capital letters in the appropriate place, ending each statement with a punctuation mark, and leaving a space between words, short vowel sounds with an emphasis on short a, e, and i, beginning and ending sounds of words, hearing, reading, and writing rhyming words, story elements such as the main character, setting, the problem, the solution, and the most important events, reciting new songs and poems, patterns, ordinal numbers, open and closed shapes, measurement, adding and subtracting to 18, graphing, and ordinal directions. WHEW! Now can you see why your
little first grader comes home so wiped out!!
Can you think of a little red house with no doors, no windows, a chimney on top and a star inside?
You guessed it, an apple. We will have fun learning about Apples this month. We will be using apples as stamps to make wonderful patterns, learn about Johnny Appleseed, paint Apple Trees, and learn about apple trees through the seasons.
Communication between parents and teachers is extremely important. Please feel free to contact us at school regarding any questions or concerns that you may have. We are looking forward to a wonderful year with you and your child! Together we can make your child’s school experience a happy and rewarding one!
Mercury Mine First Grade Teachers,
Mrs. Dannenfeldt Mrs. Hewitt
Unit  Follow Me |
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Theme Center Activities |
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Let's Tap Wag, Hop, Hide!  Focus Skill: Make Predications Focus Strategy: Answer Questions  Focus Skill: Sentences Focus Skill: Short Vowel /a/ |
Spelling: am, at, cat, can, ran, man, map, tap, a, the |
High Frequency Words: help, let's, now |
Robust Vocabulary: bothered, distance, form, attention, perform, supportive |
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The Van People Movers Focus Skill: Make
Predications Focus Strategy: Asking
Questions Focus Skill: Word Order Focus Skill: Short Vowel /a/ Focus Phonograms: -ap, -at, -ag, -and |
Spelling: hat, had, sad, sat, bat, bag, at, can, help, now |
High Frequency Words: in, no, too |
Robust Vocabulary: escape, fright, nearby, cram, solution, strategy |
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Big Rigs Truck Trailer Focus Skill: Classify/Categorize Focus Strategy: Making Inferences Focus Skill: Naming Parts of Sentences Focus Skill: Short Vowel /i/ |
Spelling: in, pin, pig, big, dig, did, had, sat, too, no |
High Frequency Words: get, hold, home, so, soon |
Robust Vocabulary: sensed, especially, memorize, capacity, haul, proud |
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Unit One For All |
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Theme Center Activities |
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Get Up, Rick! Cock-a-Doodle-Doo Focus Skill: Story Elements Focus Strategy:
Summarize Focus Skill: Telling Parts of a Sentence Focus Skill: Digraph /k/ ck Focus Phonograms: -ink, -ill, -ick, -it |
Spelling: pick, pack, tack, back, sack, sick, big, in, hold, so |
High Frequency Words: late, oh, yes |
Robust Vocabulary: pouted, ambled, politely, routine, considerate, unexpected |
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Dot and Bob Trees Help Focus Skill:
Characters Focus Strategy: Recognize Story Structure Focus Skill: Telling Sentences Focus Skill: Short Vowel /o/ Focus Phonograms: Inflections -ed, -ing |
Spelling: top, hop, hot, not, dot, lot, back, pick, oh, yes |
High Frequency Words: find, much, thank |
Robust Vocabulary: horrible, invigorated, presented, sweltering, old, persistent |
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All on the Map Roads Focus Skill:
Classify/Categorize Focus Strategy: Adjust Reading Rate Focus Skill: Questions Focus Skill: /all/, Contractions n't, 's Focus Skill: Phonograms -ake, -ane, -ate, -ade |
Spelling: all, call, fall, wall, ball, tall, not top, much, thank |
High Frequency Words: how, make, of, some |
Robust Vocabulary: commotion, muffle, overflowing, locate, search, symbol |
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 First Grade Reading HappeningsAs any first grade teacher expects, the children are all over the board with their reading abilities at this time of the year. The most gratifying part of our job is seeing them grow and mature as readers in the next nine
months! You can help in this process by reading aloud to your child each and every night, and by giving them chances to read as well. Take them to the public library to choose books. They have a greater investment in reading if they have made some of the selections. We want to work together to help the children become lifelong readers! Please continue to review our sight words with your child until they are able to recognize and read them instantly. Instant recognition of high frequency words builds confidence in beginning readers. |
Accelerated Reader News The purpose of the Accelerated Reader program is to encourage reading and improve reading skills. The Accelerated Reader program is a computerized program that tests reading comprehension. Students select books on
their reading level, read independently or with a buddy, and take an independent comprehension test on the computer. Each book is worth a certain number of points based on its length and reading level. Students get a percentage of these points based on how many of the test questions they get right. The program tracks their progress over the course of the school year. |
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Dates to Remember
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September 6
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LABOR DAY RECESS
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NO SCHOOL |
September 9 |
K-12 RECESS |
NO SCHOOL |
September 10 |
PTG will be hosting Jamba Juice.
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Drinks will be sold in the courtyard after school for $3.00. |
September 21 |
Early Dismissal |
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September 24 |
PTG will be hosting Jamba Juice.
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Drinks will be sold in the courtyard after school for $3.00. |
Our WEBSITE will be updated each month. Check here for the following links.
 Monthly Newsletters Reading Activities & Strategies Special Area Calendars & Upcoming Dates Past & Present Spelling, Sight, & Phonics Words Spelling & Sight Word Practice Ideas Monthly Tic-Tac-Toe Skill Review Activities Monthly Homefun
Calendar Review Activities Monthly Sudoku Puzzles Links to Online Learning Sites First Grade Teacher E-mail
Links |
Mrs. Hewitt
Leave me a voicemail. Dial 602-449-7779
Enter my extension when prompted: 33701 #
Mrs. Dannenfeldt
Leave me a voicemail. Dial 602-449-7779
Enter my extension when prompted: 33702 #
Remember to keep sending in BOX TOPS for Education!
Every one we collect, we earn money used to purchase
items for the classrooms!
Webpage Master: Mrs. Lori-Ann Hewitt
Last Updated: 09/01/10
*Disclaimer:
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