Hour of Code

Important Dates:

Wednesdays: library
December 14 - early dismissal
December 5-19 Canned Food Drive
December 15 -  Winter concert

Winter Clothing:
Winter is here. Please make sure to send in winter clothing for recess. We go outside everyday. Snowpants, boots, mittens, hat, and a coat are really important this time of year. Do you  have boots, snowpants, or a coat your child has outgrown? I would love a few to keep in our extra locker for those days that items are forgotten. Please feel free to send in any old winter outdoor clothes that you don't need anymore.

Winter Concert:
This Thursday is our winter concert! Students need to get to school at 6:00 PM. The show starts at 6:30. Hope to see you there!

Canned Food Drive:
From now until December 18, JFK will be collecting nonperishable foods that will be donated to the food shelf. See the photo for more information.


Go Noodle:

Go Noodle is a website we use in the classroom for our movement breaks. I sent home info about kids creating their own Go Noodle Champs at home and then we can connect those champs with our school account! In case you missed it, here is what to do:

Go to gonoodle.com/class-code and enter this code: GZDMNF 

Hour of Code:
We had so much fun doing our hour of code! This is a nationwide event that encourages every child to get some experience in coding - the basics of computer programming. On Thursday we learned what coding is and what computer programmers do. On Friday we all got to use our class iPads and spend time using the app Kodable to get the basics of coding, understanding sequence of events. I sent home certificates of participation in the hour of code and a paper with your child's unique code so they can continue using kodable at home. Let me know if you have any questions. 

Math:

We are starting our measurement unit! Throughout this unit, we explore how mathematicians measure, the importance of being accurate, comparing lengths, and different units we can use for measuring. So far, the mathematicians have had a great time exploring these concepts. Super work mathematicians!

Food Drive Starts This Week

Important Dates:

Wednesdays: library
December 14 - early dismissal
December 5-19 Canned Food Drive
December 15 -  Winter concert

Morning Meeting:
Thank you so much to everyone who was able to come to our morning meeting last week! The kids and I talked about it all week long. One student even wrote about it at writing time. We loved sharing our morning routine with you and as you could see, we love
singing together!

Canned Food Drive:
From now until December 18, JFK will be collecting nonperishable foods that will be donated to the food shelf. See the photo for more information.


Go Noodle:

Go Noodle is a website we use in the classroom for our movement breaks. I sent home info about kids creating their own Go Noodle Champs at home and then we can connect those champs with our school account! In case you missed it, here is what to do:

Go to gonoodle.com/class-code and enter this code: GZDMNF 

Literacy:
The big focus this week as been figuring out tricky words. The students are learning how to tap out the sounds they know, use the pictures, try it two ways, and think if it makes sense.

During partner time, the students give clues to each other, helping partners use the above strategies, instead of just giving the answer.

Math:

The class worked on a lot of review work today, getting ready for our math assessment for the math unit. I can't believe how hard everyone worked! We offered academic choice on Thursday, letting students choose which strategies and concepts they wanted to work on. Those mathematicians did a ton of of work that day... most ended up reviewing several different concepts. They did not want the work period to end! This coming week we start our measurement unit. 

Enjoy the week off!

Important Dates:

Wednesdays: library
November 29 - Morning Meeting
December 14 - early dismissal
December 15 -  Winter concert

I enjoyed meeting with everyone at parent/teacher conferences! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. 

Morning Meeting:
Don't forget you are invited to our morning meeting on Tuesday, November 29. During this time, you will participate in all 4 parts of our morning meeting: greeting, share, activity, and message. Morning meeting is from 8:20-8:45. You are welcome to come in at 8 and  if you would like. Hope to see you there!

Go Noodle:

Go Noodle is a website we use in the classroom for our movement breaks. I sent home info about kids creating their own Go Noodle Champs at home and then we can connect those champs with our school account! In case you missed it, here is what to do:

Go to gonoodle.com/class-code and enter this code: GZDMNF 

Literacy:
Wow! These readers are doing an amazing job! We are working on applying all of our good habits to our reading and helping our reading partners use these habits. I am impressed with what I'm seeing and hearing in the class! Students are helping each other puzzle out words, not just give the answer. They are encourage each other and giving solid feedback. Super work readers!

Math:
The week after vacation  we will be finishing up another math unit. This unit builds on all the concepts of our first unit, which I shared with you at parent/teacher conferences. The mathematicians have been able to make some choices during our learning time to pick activities that help them practice the concepts they feel they need the most work in. The students love all the different games we have been learning! These games provide practice in combinations of 10, teen numbers, addition and subtraction, and finding the bigger quantity.

Thanksgiving:
After reading a book about talking animals, we decided to make our own talking turkeys! Each student designed their own turkey and then made a "talking bubble" to show what the turkey is saying. The students had a lot of fun and worked hard helping each other out.

Spelling and a New Addition Strategy

Important Dates:

November 21 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
November 21-25 No School
December 14 - early dismissal
December 15 -  Winter concert

Go Noodle:

Go Noodle is a website we use in the classroom for our movement breaks. I sent home info about kids creating their own Go Noodle Champs at home and then we can connect those champs with our school account! In case you missed it, here is what to do:

Go to gonoodle.com/class-code and enter this code: GZDMNF 

Literacy:

We are building our tool box of good habits we can use when we are stuck on a word. This we worked on looking at the picture, thinking about the sounds in the word, and checking to see if it makes sense. The readers are doing such a great job  with this!

We also love our word study time. Fundations is the curriculum we are using and the class is doing great with it! We have learned to tap out the sounds of a word and then write each sound that we hear. During word study time, we get to use magnetic letter tiles which makes spelling fun! 



Math:
At parent/teacher conferences I will be showing you all the math we are doing. You will be amazed! This week we worked on the find 10 strategy. This means if you have and equation such as 8+7=N you look for a way to make ten because it is so much easier to add a number to 10.

In this equation, you would start with the 8 and add 2 to it (to make 10). That leaves 5 from the 7. (8+2+5). 10 + 5 is easy! It's 15! The purpose of learning this is to give the mathematicians another strategy to use and help them become more flexible and fluid with numbers.

Authors, Spider Snacks, and Grease!

Important Dates:

Wednesday - Library

November 9 - Early Release Day

November 11 - Parent/Teacher Conference appointment times sent home

November 21 - Parent/Teacher Conferences 

Go Noodle:

Go Noodle is a website we use in the classroom for our movement breaks. I sent home info about kids creating their own Go Noodle Champs at home and then we can connect those champs with our school account! In case you missed it, here is what to do:

Go to gonoodle.com/class-code and enter this code: GZDMNF 

Classroom Fun:

For Halloween we made healthy Halloween spider treats! We used crackers, peanut butter, craisins,  and crunchy noodles. It was a hit but the kids had a good suggestion for next year. Instead of craisins for the eyes, I should used chocolate chips. Yum!

We got to see the high school production of Grease, put on by Lisa Goetz. Wow. It was fantastic! After seeing the show, a trio of first graders built the set out of legos during recess!

Literacy:

We started our author study of Leo Lionni. This week we read Swimmy and the students made a picture to show how the school of fish had to work together to scare of the big fish. We are stronger together! 

The students are working so hard with their independent reading! They continue to build onto the Good Habits of Reading. They love reading with their reading partners. During reading time, students are spread out all over the room enjoying their books. I love it!

We enjoyed hearing Ammi-Joan Paquette speak. It was interesting to hear about the writing process and to hear about all her books. 

Mindfulness:

I love this picture I took of a couple of students during mindfulness. Sometimes the best way to be mindful is to just quietly watch the rain with a friend.

A Week Full of Learning!

Important Dates:

Wednesday - Library

October 31 - Ammi Joan Paquette, author visit

November 9 - Early Release Day

November 21 - Parent/Teacher Conferences 

Go Noodle:

Go Noodle is a website we use in the classroom for our movement breaks. I sent home info about kids creating their own Go Noodle Champs at home and then we can connect those champs with our school account! In case you missed it, here is what to do:

Go to gonoodle.com/class-code and enter this code: GZDMNF 

Literacy:

Our Readers' and Writers' Workshops are in full swing! Each afternoon, I do a minilesson, focusing on a strategy that the readers will be working on during their independent reading. This week, we worked on rereading to smooth out our voices and scooping up words into phrases as we read. 

After our minilesson, the students go off and read independently using books at their just right level. Then, later during the workshop, they work with their reading buddy and read even more books! Hooray for reading! During independent and partner time, I work with students in small groups and independently to support them and help them grow as readers.

We read one of my favorite books this week, Big Pumpkin, by Erica Silverman. We love singing the song!

The children made retelling booklets of this story this week and brought them home. They were all excited to share their retellings with you!

Math:
We started our new math unit! This unit builds on everything we learned in the first math unit. We started off with combination problems, a type of story problem we spent a lot of time on in the first unit.

This time, we are also looking at how mathematicians use patterns to help solve story problems and equations. The children discovered that if we know the total sum (10) then we can use a counting forward and backward strategy to find combinations that solve for that number. This photo shows one student talking about the pattern she notices in another student's work. Wow! Great work mathematicians! 

Books, Math, Puzzles, and a Poem!

Important Dates:

Wednesday - Library

October 31 - Ammi Joan Paquette, author visit

November 9 - Early Release Day

Go Noodle:

Go Noodle is a website we use in the classroom for our movement breaks. I sent home info about kids creating their own Go Noodle Champs at home and then we can connect those champs with our school account! In case you missed it, here is what to do:

Go to gonoodle.com/class-code and enter this code: GZDMNF 

Literacy:

Here are the books we read:

Bag Head, by Jarrett Krosocka

The Vanishing Pumpkin, by Tony Johnston

Ghost in the House, by Ammi Joan Paquette

The students worked on some projects this week while I completed running records with every child to find out their just right reading level. I will be using this information during our readers workshop time to help students set reading goals, learn new reading strategies, and to continue to grow as readers.

We also had a great time with a poem called Five Little Pumpkins. Here is a video of the class reciting the poem.

Word Study is one of our favorite times of the day! We use Fundations to teach sounds, letters, and encoding/decoding skills. It's a very interactive part of our day. And we have a blast!

Math:
We finished up unit 1 in math! The students worked hard throughout this entire unit. The students have learned how to solve addition, subtraction, and combination problems. But, more importantly, they are doing a great job sharing their mathematical thinking, listening to each other's ideas, comparing ideas, and changing their thinking. Good job mathematicians.



Classroom Fun:

A few weeks ago, we had some free time in the classroom. We discovered that this class LOVES puzzles and I did not have enough puzzles to go around. Feelings were hurt and as a class we discussed how to solve the problem. The class worked through this issue very well. I was so impressed that I bought the class a special puzzle with our class picture on it. We made it this week! So much fun!

And finally... Friday the fresh fruit/veggie was a vegetable from the school garden. It was scallions. Many of the students tried them and quite a few LOVED the scallions!

A short week, but a busy week!

Important Dates:

Wednesday - Library

October 19 - Early Release (12:15)

October 20 - Picture retake day
October 31 - Ammi Joan Paquette, author visit

I know it was only a three day week, but we fit a lot into that short week!

Literacy: 
We read two books as a class this week:
Alphabet Adventure, by Audrey Wood and Bruce Wood
Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom, by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault

During our independent reading time, we worked on building good reading habits. We added two new habits this week:

• set reading goals
• read more and more

The students are using reading mats, organizing their books in the order they want to read them, setting a goal, and then reading! Some students like to stretch out on the floor, others like to read at a table with a friend. 

Math:

Big news for math this week... we started FACT POWER! During this time of the day, the mathematicians will practice math facts. We have the math facts broken down by level. Students start at level A (plus 1). When they can do all the math facts quickly and correctly from level A, they will move onto level B (minus 1). Students work together to practice with math fact cards and there are fact power packets for independent practice.Everyone did a great job during our introduction to this new math routine. 

Important Dates:

Wednesday - Library

October 10, 11 - No School

October 19 - Early Release (12:15)

October 20 - Picture retake day

October 31 - Author Visit

What a fun week we had - full of celebrations and learning! Our class was able to empty our hearts into the heart monitor and we enjoyed a class celebration of a pajama day! Also, the whole school celebrated filling the heart monitor with a bubble party!

Literacy: 
This week, every student was able to set up their "bag of books." This is a bag that has books at a just  right reading level for them. We learned what to think about when choosing books:

• Is it about a subject I like?
• Can I read most of the words?
• Can I retell what I read?

Students worked on increasing their independent reading time and learned how to use a reading mat.

We also read 2 fantastic books:

• Ish by Peter H. Reynolds
• The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

The students were able to compare the character of the Rainbow Fish to the character of Red from One. Good thinking readers!

Math:

We learned about a third type of math problem, a combination problem:
Nadia had 7 hearts. Some were red and some were blue. How many of each could she have?

In this type of problem, the mathematicians needs to come up with as many correct equations as they can. We have worked hard to compare the three types of problems (addition, subtraction,

We filled our bucket again!

Important Dates:

Wednesday - Library

Wednesday, October 5 - Walk to School Day! Teachers will be meeting students at the Rite Aid to all walk to school. 

October 10, 11 - No School

October 19 - Early Release (12:15)

October 20 - Picture retake day

October 31 - Author Visit - see info below

It's been a couple of weeks, and we have filled our heart bucket again! This time I promise to take pictures. We will be adding our hearts to the heart monitor on Monday.

Literacy:On October 31,author  Ammi Joan Paquette will be coming to talk about her books and writing. Mr. Gile, our librarian, will be getting order forms soon so you can order some of her books if you are interested.

We read the fantastic book One by Kathryn Otoshi. This is one of my all time favorite books.As a class we discussed the themes in the book, we watched this video, we acted it out, and completed projects about it. I hope you enjoy the book as much as we did!

During our mini-lessons this week we  have been learning how to share our thinking and our books with reading partners. We also are developing the habits that readers use, such as:

• Take a Sneak Peek
• Check Your Sneak Peek
• Do Something When you Finish a Book

Math:

This week is was all about using number lines and partner work! I am impressed with how everyone worked so hard with this new math tool! And, the students did a fantastic job comparing their work with a partner and explaining their thinking. We even got to play a froggy on the number line game created by our own Miss Sarah! Good work mathematicians!

We filled our bucket again!

Important Dates:

Wednesday - Library

Wednesday, October 5 - Walk to School Day! Teachers will be meeting students at the Rite Aid to all walk to school. 

October 10, 11 - No School

October 19 - Early Release (12:15)

October 20 - Picture retake day

October 31 - Author Visit - see info below

It's been a couple of weeks, and we have filled our heart bucket again! This time I promise to take pictures. We will be adding our hearts to the heart monitor on Monday.

Literacy:On October 31,author  Ammi Joan Paquette will be coming to talk about her books and writing. Mr. Gile, our librarian, will be getting order forms soon so you can order some of her books if you are interested.

We read the fantastic book One by Kathryn Otoshi. This is one of my all time favorite books.As a class we discussed the themes in the book, we watched this video, we acted it out, and completed projects about it. I hope you enjoy the book as much as we did!

During our mini-lessons this week we  have been learning how to share our thinking and our books with reading partners. We also are developing the habits that readers use, such as:

• Take a Sneak Peek
• Check Your Sneak Peek
• Do Something When you Finish a Book

Math:

This week is was all about using number lines and partner work! I am impressed with how everyone worked so hard with this new math tool! And, the students did a fantastic job comparing their work with a partner and explaining their thinking. We even got to play a froggy on the number line game created by our own Miss Sarah! Good work mathematicians!

We filled our bucket again!

Important Dates:

Wednesday - Library

Wednesday, October 5 - Walk to School Day! Teachers will be meeting students at the Rite Aid to all walk to school. 

October 10, 11 - No School

October 19 - Early Release (12:15)

October 20 - Picture retake day

October 31 - Author Visit - see info below

It's been a couple of weeks, and we have filled our heart bucket again! This time I promise to take pictures. We will be adding our hearts to the heart monitor on Monday.

Literacy:On October 31,author  Ammi Joan Paquette will be coming to talk about her books and writing. Mr. Gile, our librarian, will be getting order forms soon so you can order some of her books if you are interested.

We read the fantastic book One by Kathryn Otoshi. This is one of my all time favorite books.As a class we discussed the themes in the book, we watched this video, we acted it out, and completed projects about it. I hope you enjoy the book as much as we did!

During our mini-lessons this week we  have been learning how to share our thinking and our books with reading partners. We also are developing the habits that readers use, such as:

• Take a Sneak Peek
• Check Your Sneak Peek
• Do Something When you Finish a Book

Math:

This week is was all about using number lines and partner work! I am impressed with how everyone worked so hard with this new math tool! And, the students did a fantastic job comparing their work with a partner and explaining their thinking. We even got to play a froggy on the number line game created by our own Miss Sarah! Good work mathematicians!