Mrs. Ludtke's First Grade

Enjoy learning about different space topics from our class.  They have worked hard to plan the information that they wanted to share with the "world."  They worked in groups to design their videos and materials. All videos uploaded to the blog except for the moon video, it was too large.  Click the link to see it!  Shadows Planets Stars Sun Moon https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tL5byIlfvVxIabcWQpzuBw8Dk5jtsJ5V/view?usp=sharing

Hello, Last week before winter break! It is a very exciting and busy time of the year. This week we will have a few fun celebrations. Stay tuned for videos and pictures throughout the week. Every year I celebrate a Grinch day in my classroom.  It is my favorite holiday book and now movie.  On Thursday students may choose to dress in green like the Grinch, a Who, or maybe even Max!  We will do fun activities and study the authors message. We have a few birthdays and half birthdays this week and over break.  Please just send me a quick email letting me know if you plan to send in a treat.  Thank you! Upcoming Events: 12/21: Pajama Day or Red/Green 12/24 to 1/1: Winter Break 1/18: Early Release for Students Reading: This week we will be surprising our secret santa with bookmarks and books throughout the week. We will be learning about how it is important to get to know our reading partner to have great conversations with them. At the end of the week we will be ending our non

Hello! We're trying something new! Below are some videos to give you a glimpse into our week in first grade. Reminder that there is no school tomorrow. Upcoming Events: 12/11: No School for Students 12/13: Pajama Day and Pizza and Publishing Family Night 12/21: Pajama Day or Red/Green 12/24 to 1/1: Winter Break 1/18: Early Release for Students Science Update: Reading, Writing, and Math: Piggie and Gerald Visited our classroom today!!! '

Hello, I will be out of the classroom tomorrow and Wednesday because I will be attending the SLATE conference in Wisconsin Dells with a few other teachers from our school.  We will be learning new ways to integrate technology.  I’m excited for this learning opportunity.  I will be checking my email but if you have any urgent news please call Mrs. Mitchell in the office.  Book Order:  Book orders are due today! Please email if you would like to set up a time for me to get the books to you as a secret. Upcoming Events: 12/3: Book Orders Due 12/6: Family Night sheets due 12/11: No School for Students 12/13: Pajama Day and Pizza and Publishing Family Night 12/21: Pajama Day or Red/Green 12/24 to 1/1: Winter Break Reading:  In reading this week we are learning ways to solve unknown words in nonfiction books. We will add a few new strategies to solve our words. We will goal set and talk about strategies we use all the time and a few strategies we would like to wo

Hello, I hope you had a great long weekend. It was great to see you all at the Veterans Event if you were able to make it. The students worked hard on all their songs and it was a lot of fun to watch! Book Order:  Book orders are coming home today.  They will be due back next Monday, Dec. 3. Books make great gifts! If you want the order to be kept a secret for Christmas gift please just send me an email and I will let you know when the order comes in.  To order online:  scholastic.com/bookclubs    Class Code:  J4RGH Upcoming Events: 12/3: Book Orders Due 12/11: No School for Students 12/13: Family Night 12/21: Pajama Day or Red/Green 12/24 to 1/1: Winter Break Reading:  In reading this week we will continue to learn ways to get super smart while reading our nonfiction books. We will learn to chat about a page in the book, either by thinking to ourselves or talking to our partner. Also, we will learn about rereading to make sure we understand, retelling our stories, work o

Happy Monday! I really enjoyed meeting with families last week and I look forward to meeting with the rest of you tomorrow.  Remember we encourage the students to attend to give an opportunity to take pride in their work. Please let me know if you have any questions. Turkeys:  There is a turkey coming home today to be disguised by Friday.  Feel free to get as creative as you want! Your first grader can bring it back any day this week to share with the class.  We hope that we can save Turkey from being eaten on Thanksgiving day! Writing folders:  Yellow writing folders will be coming home today to be decorated for our All About unit.  The pictures on this folder should be about things that your child can tell lots about.  Example: favorite animals, games, sports, etc.  Please try to have them back by next Monday, November 19th, the sooner the better!  Thanks! Our Veterans Day program is coming up on Monday, November 19.  We are looking for volunteers to bring treats for the end

Hello, This Thursday and next Tuesday we will have our portfolio conferences. I am excited to share what students have been working on! We encourage the students to attend to give an opportunity to take pride in their work. Please let me know if you have any questions. Upcoming Events: 11/8: Fall Conferences 11/9: Funset Boulevard Wristband Sheet Due 11/13: Fall Conferences 11/16: Early Release for students 11/19: Veterans Event 11/21-23: No School Thanksgiving Break Reading: In reading this week we are concluding our word detective unit. We will learn about using word parts they know to read new words, learn about “unusual” words (contractions), and smooth out our reading. On Thursday we will celebrate the end of our unit with a special surprise from our detective agency. Then at the end of the week we will talk about reorganizing our library. Writing: This week in writing we are finishing up our How-To books.  We are adding introductions and conclusions.  We will be loo

Happy Tuesday!  I'm back from the best weekend of my life! Fall conference sign up was sent last week. Reminder: Veteran's Day RSVP is due November 1st. Please let us know if you are able to make it! It is also the last chance for third and fourth grade students to enter a piece of writing that they would like to read at the event. Lastly, if you are interested in volunteering your time to help us with our Veteran's Day preparations please contact Sheri Krueger at  kruegers@kaukaunasd.org Upcoming Events: 10/31: Fall Scoot Wear Black and Orange 11/1: Veteran’s Day RSVP Due 11/1: Picture Retake Day 11/8: Fall Conferences 11/13: Fall Conferences 11/16: Early Release for students Reading: This week in reading we are continuing our word detective unit. We will be using our knowledge of letters, sounds, and words to read. We will look at beginning of words, watch out for special endings, look at vowel teams, and use word parts we know to read new words. Writin

Hello, Field trip this week! You will not need to pack a lunch. We will be leaving after our normal lunch time to head to Barlow Planetarium. It's wedding week! The kids have been so excited and have helped me with decorating my programs.  They have been asking if they are invited to the wedding...of course they are welcome to the ceremony. The ceremony is at 1:00 on Saturday at Sacred Heart Parish in Appleton.  (Trust me, I know you have busy lives...I won't be crushed if you don't make it!) I will be out of the classroom on Wednesday and next Monday. The sign up for fall conferences will be sent out tomorrow. Here are a few links if you are able to help out for Fall Conferences: Fall 2018 Teacher Conference Meals Fall 2018 Book Fair Upcoming Events: 10/22-10/24: Red Ribbon Week 10/22: Wear Comfy Clothes 10/23: Wear Crazy Socks 10/23: Field Trip 10/23: Family Night: Goodies, Games, and Grandparents 10/24: Wear Red 10/25-10/26: No School 11/1: Veter

Hello, Wow! We have some busy weeks ahead for first grade! Thank you for your organization with paperwork that has come home. Here are a few links if you are able to help out for Fall Conferences: Fall 2018 Teacher Conference Meals Fall 2018 Book Fair Upcoming Events: 10/16: Field Trip Slip Due 10/19: Grandparent Event from 2-3 PM 10/23: Field Trip 10/23: Family Night: Goodies, Games, and Grandparents 10/25-10/26: No School 11/1: Veteran’s Day RSVP Due Reading: Have you heard?  We have been receiving notes from the Secret Service Detective Agency.  They need our help to become word detectives. We have received missions each day to help with our word solving strategies. This week we will use snap words to help us in our books. Students will ask themselves, “Does this mystery word remind me of another word I know?” and then think of similar snap word to help figure out the word. Here are some pictures teaching our stuffed animals our new strategies!

We are busy in first grade! This week we are sharing important news!  We have a busy couple of weeks and want to make sure that you’ve seen all the notes coming home. Field Trip-October 23 We will be going on a field trip on October 23rd to the Barlow Planetarium.  Forms are coming home today.  Please send back by October 16th.  Yoga-October 12 This year our class will be participating in yoga once a month led by Kristin McEneany a mother of a first grader.  Our first session will be this Friday.  Please send in a beach towel this week to be left in your child's locker to be used during yoga.  Grandparent Event-October 19 On Friday October 19th we are inviting a grandparent or family member in to be interviewed by your first grader and to complete a small project.  If someone in your family is planning to join your student please send back the pink slip so that we have a count.  Bike Helmets-Starting this week First graders are beginning their bike unit in gym class.  I

Hello, Thank you to all the families that were able to make it to our first family night! I hope you found it to be helpful. This week there will be a survey sent out to give feedback. Thank you for your time with that! This October students at New Directions will CREATE Kindness as they collect socks for Kid President’s Socktober sock drive.  Look for more information to come home with your child on October 4.  Check out the link below for more information on Socktober! http://soulpancake.com/socktober/ We look forward to making a difference as a school! This week is Homecoming week for Kaukauna! Here are the dress up days for the remainder of the week: Monday: PJ/Comfy Day Tuesday: Superhero Day Wednesday: NDLC Wear Day Thursday: Sports Team Day Friday: Kaukauna Spirit Day Upcoming Events: 10/3: Homecoming Parade 10/10: National Walk to School Day 10/11: Roller Skating Fun at Skate City 10/23: Family Night: Goodies, Games, and Grandparents 10/25-10/26: No School

Hello! Our first family night is tomorrow night.  We look forward to seeing many families there.  Dinner will begin at 5:30, followed by information sessions on how to help.  Picture Day is this Wednesday! Please return picture day forms to school by Wednesday or have the online form submitted. We will be taking our pictures Wednesday morning. If you have any old magazines (school appropriate :) at home that you are willing donate to our classroom for projects please send them in!  Thank you! Upcoming Events: 9/25: Family Night 9/26: Picture Day 10/10: National Walk to School Day 10/11: Roller Skating Fun at Skate City Reading: In reading we will continue to learn strategies to solve hard words.  We will double check our reading by asking does it look right? Does it sound right? We will encourage students to not give up when the word gets hard. Another strategy that we will introduce is trying it two ways with a vowel.  It is so important for them to realize that vowels m

Hello! Hello! We are learning our routines in first grade quickly and it has been fun getting to know everyone with student of the day.  If your child hasn’t brought home a paper bag yet, their day will be coming soon! Thank you for checking planners each night! Red family night forms went home last week and are due back on Wednesday. Here is our class schedule (Notice that library checkout is DAY 4)  Upcoming Events:  9/17-9/20: Safety Week 9/21: No School 9/25: Family Night 9/26: Picture Day 10/10: National Walk to School Day Reading: We will think about some of the bad habits we have developed such as mumbling across hard words, asking an adult to tell us, and skipping words. This week we will focus on developing good habits to tackle hard words.  Some ways to do this are to use the pictures when taking a sneak peek and look at all the parts of the words.  Writing: This week in writing we are continuing to write our small moment stories. We will focus in a

Happy Monday! Hello and welcome to the first blog post! This will be used as a communication tool to keep you updated on what we are doing in the classroom and upcoming events/reminders. Let me know at anytime if you have any questions or concerns! Here a few reminders: Please be sure to have the decorated blue folder returned because we are starting our writing unit. Also all paperwork that was sent home at open house or the first day of school needs to be returned. PLANNERS! Planners are coming home today for the first time!  Each day will write news, reminders, or homework in them.  I will check them each morning.  Please sign each night so that I know that you saw it.  This is also a great place to write short notes to me, such as pick up changes, doctor appointments, etc. Upcoming Events: 9/14: Dot Day: Wear Dots  9/17-9/20: Safety Week 9/21: No School 9/25: Family Night 9/26: Picture Day Reading: Last week we worked on setting up reading routines and expectation