Book order

Time for a book order!

I'm sending home the Scholastic Book Order information. You can send back the form in a labeled envelope with a check written out to SCHOLASTIC READING CLUB. Or, you can order right online. Go to https://orders.scholastic.com/DZPMV or scholastic.com/readingclub our activation code is DZPMV. Please place your order by October 30. Please let me know if you have any questions!


You can also always access our Scholastic site through this picture.

October 16, 2014

 Classroom News:

• Delayed start on Wednesday, October 22
• Library is on Monday - don't forget your library books

Our school wide celebration spirit day on Thursday was so much fun! First grade was one of the winning grades that showed the most spirit! We made blue posters and blue paper chains to decorate the hall and add to the fun. Good job first grade!

And even though the teachers didn't win, there were a ton of stripes at school on Thursday!

Literacy: Our read aloud and mini-lesson focus this week was thinking about our characters.  We practiced using the questions that readers use while they read.
What is the character doing?
Why is the character acting this way?
Why is the character making this decision?
 
Books we read this week:
Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon, by Patty Lovell
Mr. Putter and Tabby Walk the Dog, by Cynthia Rylant
A Bad Case of the Stripes, by David Shannon
 
 PBL
This stands for Project Based Learning. In groups and individually, the students will be investigating a driving question for an extended period of time. First grade has launched their project! First grade's driving question is What kind of classroom do we need to help us learn? We will be using the STARS acronym, talking to experts, and figuring out how to use those concepts in our classroom to create a vibrant learning environment. The students are so excited!

At this point, we are taking time to write and share about striving, thoughtful, accepting, responsible,  and safe. Once we finish that step, we will work on our Need To Know  list and start researching experts.  


 
Math
We finished up our first math unit and took our test. The students worked very  hard on this. We talked about how the test is really a celebration of all the learning and hard work they have put in. We celebrated the next day by playing some math games. 

Our new unit is an extension of the first unit, but with higher numbers, more organization, and higher expectations. We started off by working with multiple ways to represent a number using different addition equations. One way we worked on this was with the activity Counters in a Cup. Students were given 10 counters. One partner had to hide some under the cup and they other partner had to figure out what was hiding.

October 10, 2014

Classroom News:

• We won the recess trophy two weeks in a row!  
• Thursday October 16 - spirit day... First grade is wearing blue
• No School on Friday, October 17
• Delayed start on Wednesday, October 22

 Thursday is our first school-wide celebration of the year! It is a spirit day with each grade level wearing a color that they voted on. First grade is wearing blue. Be creative with it and have fun! There is also a competition with this spirit day. Which grade level will show the most spirit? And... the adults in the school will also be showing spirit by wearing stripes! Will the adults win or will it be a grade level? Who has the most spirit?

The students were fantastic when channel three came into the classroom last Tuesday. They were focused, engaged, and showed all expected behaviors. Super job super stars!

Literacy:

This week our focus during read aloud and our mini-lessons was determining the character and the problem in the story. We practiced previewing a book with a book walk, making predictions, and then identified the characters and problems.
 
Books we read this week:
Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne Moore
Hooway for Wodney Wat, by Kevin Henkes
Mr. Putter and Tabby Walk the Dog, by Cynthia Rylant
 
During writing time, our class of authors have been working on writing books all about themselves. This has been successful and everyone wants to keep working when writing time is over. Good work authors!

Math:
We have been learning a new type of math story problem:  combination problems. Earlier, we learned solving for the sum problems (I found 5 red stars. Then I found 4 blue stars. How many stars did I find?) Combination problems are different because we already know the sum but we need to find the addends. Here is an example:

I had 9 stars. Some were red. Some were blue. How many of each could I have?

In this type of problem, the mathematicians need to show several different equations that could solve the problem.
1+8=9
2+7=9
3+6=9

Every time we solve a problem in math, we have been asking ourselves, "Does it make sense?" This is a good way to start checking our work and to reflect on our answer.

October 3, 2014

Classroom News:

• Wednesday, October 8 is Walk to School day! The school is meeting at 7:30 in the Rite Aid parking  lot and then walking to school together! 
• No School on Friday, October 17
• Delayed start on Wednesday, October 22

Literacy:

The children are doing very well going to their reading groups, reading independently at their seats, and discussing books with their reading buddies. 

We continued to dive into Kathryn Otoshi's books. This week is was Zero. In our class discussions, the children decided that the big idea of the book was that everyone has something special inside, everyone has value.

Here is a video of the book:



Math Focus:
 
We've started math facts! Fact power is a fun part of our daily math routines. I assessed every child to determine their instructional math fact level. Then, the children work on learning new math facts. They use flash cards, games, and independent work. The class is enjoying this part of our day.


We also have learned how mathematicians represent their thinking on a number line. This was a big conceptual leap for the students. They showed good perseverance!


 








Mindfulness/Wellness:
Mrs. Murphy shared a great website with the first grade:  Go Noodle

This website has brain breaks that can be used throughout the day. The activities can be categorized by grade level or need (energizing vs. calming). We are having so much fun with it!


Special Guests:
Mrs. Puttlitz, our district wellness coordinator, came in and did some  more mindful movement with us. We learned a new way to do Row, Row, Row Your Boat and some new breathing techniques.

September 26, 2014

Classroom News:

• We have library on Mondays. Make sure to send in your books so new ones can be taken out. 
• There is a book fair at school from September 29-October 3. The hours are 8:30-2:30. Checks can be written out to John F. Kennedy School.

Literacy:

We focused on the big concept of acceptance during our read alouds this week. The week started with Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes. During our accountable talk read aloud, the reading buddies worked on making predictions and backing up their predictions with evidence from the text. Reading buddies shared ideas using turn and talks. Finally, we worked on sharing our thoughts about the big idea, or what the book is really about. The students are showing growth in these reading habits of mind. Good work readers!

Then we were able to read one of my favorite books:  One by Kathryn Otoshi. This book has some big themes in it. We will continue discussing this book next week while we work with another one of Kathryn Otoshi's books.

Here is a a video of Kathryn Otoshi reading her book: 

Catalanotto

Catalanotto
Math  Focus:

Math Focus:

How do mathematicians represent their thinking in more than one way?
We have been comparing two ways of representing mathematical thinking: counting on and counting all. Mathematicians are working on making sense of these two methods of representation and justifying that both ways are true. 


Special Guests:
JFK had 2 special visitors this week!

First, we saw the UVM women's soccer team. They spoke to the school about perseverance and how to overcome challenges to reach  your goals. It was a fun assembly with many JFK students trying out some soccer tricks.

On Friday, Sean McMannon, our superintendent, introduced a Special Olympian to the class. Josh has participated in the Special Olympics for many years and was the speaker at last year's Penguin Plunge. He spoke to our class about all the sports he plays, his travels for the Special Olympics, and the importance of accepting others. The kids loved listening to him and had tons of questions!

September 19, 2014

Classroom News:

• We have library on Mondays. Make sure to send in your books so new ones can be taken out.

 Literacy:

This week I've been listening to each child read in order to determine their instructional reading level and help them set reading goals. The instructional reading level is used to form our reading groups. Every child in first grade is in a reading group with one of the classroom teachers and other students at that same level.  During reading groups, we work on specific strategies to help students reach the next reading level. 

Every day, students spend time reading from their bags of books. The bags of books are the books at their "just right" level or independent level. These are books that the students can read on their own. The readers have been really enjoying reading and talking about their books!


Some books we read this week:
The Little Red Hen by Brenda Parkes
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Here is the story of Rainbow Fish online.

Catalanotto

Catalanotto
Math  Focus:

Math Focus:

How do mathematicians write equations and represent their thinking when solving story problems?
Wow! These mathematicians have been working hard! I'm so impressed. First, the students had to use representations to show what is happening in the story problems. Then they write equations. Finally, they have to reflect on their work. Good work mathematicians!

September 12, 2014

Classroom News:

• Delayed start Wednesday, September 17  
• PTO Fundraiser packets  went home on Friday

 Literacy:

How do readers choose books? How do readers do a book walk? 
These are two questions we focused on this week. We continued to discuss what books we like and  discovered new books! All students have book bags in their desks so they can read "just right books" through out the day. Several reading groups practiced books walks. Book walks help readers prepare themselves for reading. We love reading!

We also had a blast with our poem of the week. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Some books we read this week:
Alphabet Adventure by Audrey Wood
Matthew ABC by Peter Catalanotto
Miss Nelson is Missing by James Marshall

Catalanotto

Catalanotto

Catalanotto
Math  Focus:

Math Focus:

How do mathematicians write equations and represent their thinking?

The class has pushed their thinking and worked hard on writing equations this week. Mathematicians played double compare with a partner to build this concept. They had to add their cards together, draw a representation to show their thinking, and then write equations. As the week went on, many students started to reflect on their work and caught some of their own errors. Good work mathematicians!