Important Dates and Reminders: Tuesday: Library October 26: Author Jarrett J. Krosoczka is coming to visit! October 30: School Spirit Day - Mismatched clothing! November 11: No school
It is getting cold. Make sure you send warm clothes for recess. We go outside everyday unless it is raining.
Thanks to everyone who has sent in family photos.
Our family wall is getting big! Please feel free to send one in if you
haven't yet. I would love to have a photo from every student on the
wall.
Literacy:
Another week of great read alouds! We read some of Jarrett Krosoczka's books to get ready for his visit on Monday. Books we read: Peanut Butter and Jellyfish, Baghead, It's Tough to Lose Your Balloon, and Punk Farm Band on Tour.
Here is the book trailer for his newest book, It's Tough to Lose Your Balloon:
Math:
We worked hard on refining our mathematical thinking. As mathematicians, we look for patterns to help us solve story problems. The students worked with a partner to discover the pattern in solving for 10. We then worked on applying this learning for solving for other sums.
We are also working hard on learning our math facts. We call this time of day Fact Power. More information about Fact Power next week!
Important Dates and Reminders: Tuesday: Library October 21: Late start. School starts at 8:40 on this day. Students are still welcome to come at 7:30 for breakfast. October 26: Author Jarrett J. Krosoczka is coming to visit! November 11: No school
It is getting cold. Make sure you send warm clothes for recess. We go outside everyday unless it is raining.
Thanks to everyone who has sent in family photos.
Our family wall is getting big! Please feel free to send one in if you
haven't yet. I would love to have a photo from every student on the
wall.
Exciting Classroom News: Last week, Grammy DeDe started in our room. She will be here for a 2 week period to see if working in our first grade class is a good match for her and for us. The students have been very welcoming to her and Grammy DeDe has been a huge help. Thanks Grammy DeDe!
Literacy:
Our read alouds this week were books by Mo Willams. It doesn't get much better than that! We read The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, Don't Let the Pigeon Stay up Late, and The Duckling Wants a Cookie. As a class, we talked about how the pages connect together and connect to the title. There is always something to find that adds to the story. We loved how the characters in his books are talking directly to us, the reader. Math: It was a big review this week of all the math concepts we have been working on this year. On Friday, we took our first math assessment. The students worked so hard! I'll share the assessment with you during parent/teacher conferences in November.
Wellness: Jaycie Puttlitz, our school's wellness coordinator, let me borrow a copy of books from her. We read the interactive book Star Pose by Tove Ohlander and Susan Cline Lucey. As a class, we did the yoga poses described in the book. After reading, I had the students go back to their seats and think about the part of the book they liked the best and then draw a picture of how they felt during that part of the story.
Important Dates and Reminders: Tuesday: Library October 21: Late start. School starts at 8:40 on this day. Students are still welcome to come at 7:30 for breakfast. October 26: Author Jarrett J. Krosoczka is coming to visit!
Thanks to everyone who has sent in family photos.
Our family wall is getting big! Please feel free to send one in if you
haven't yet. I would love to have a photo from every student on the
wall.
Literacy:
The students are increasing their independent reading. This week, we focused on character
in our read aloud, mini-lesson, and then in our independent reading. We read two books by Kevin Henkes because he has such fun characters: Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and Chester's Way. During our class discussion, Bway made a great connection between Chester's Way and The Rainbow Fish, a book we read a few weeks ago. Great thinking Bway!
Math:
We learned about another type of story problem. This story problem has multiple combinations of answers. In these story problems, we are given the sum and the students have to figure out the addends. Super work mathematicians!
Social Thinking:
We continued work on learning about our engines by finishing up our word wall and writing our own books about our engines.
Important Dates and Reminders: Tuesday: Library October 5-9: Book Fair Thursday, October 8: Coffee with Sara Rabbe in the library. Stop by from 7:45-8:15 and introduce yourself. Sara would love to make connections with our wonderful community! October 12: No school October 21: Late start. School starts at 8:40 on this day. Students are still welcome to come at 7:30 for breakfast. October 26: Author Jarrett J. Krosoczka is coming to visit!
Thanks to everyone who has sent in family photos.
Our family wall is getting big! Please feel free to send one in if you
haven't yet. I would love to have a photo from every student on the
wall.
Students working on their projects.
Literacy:
We read one of my favorite books this week! One, by Kathryn Otoshi is about acceptance and
courage. Everyone counts is the repeated phrase in the book. We spent several days reading the book and digging deep into the theme. We watched a video of children acting it out and we acted it out ourselves! Finally, we worked on a project to show how we were accepting to others. I'll get these projects hung up in the classroom this week. Taliah came up with a great quote about acceptance: That's the power of friendship!
There is a book fair this week at school! The dates are October 5-9. Feel free to send in money with your child in a labeled envelope. I will send your child down with an adult to shop for books.
Math: Wow! We started working with number lines this week. I can't believe how well the students are doing with the tricky concept. We talked about the importance of showing your thinking in more than one way. We call this multiple pathways. The class has been solving story problems by making a representation using circles. But now, they have a second way to represent their thinking by using a number line.
Social Thinking: All of us have an engine. Are engines can be high, low or just right. Becoming aware of our engine, helps us become better learners. We can use our mindfulness techniques to calm an engine that is too high. We can take a movement break to wake up an engine that is too low. As a class, we have worked on engine sorts and now we are developing vocabulary to help describe how we feel when our engine is high, low, or just right.
Wellness: We had Officer Dave come in and talk about safety. He talked about the importance of knowing the names of your parents, phone number, and street address. I was impressed with how many students could answer all those questions! Thanks for coming in Officer Dave!
Thanks to everyone who has sent in family photos.
Our family wall is getting big! Please feel free to send one in if you
haven't yet. I would love to have a photo from every student on the
wall.
The visit of author Jarrett J. Krosoczka has been changed. He is now coming Monday, October 26. I sent home the order form again in case anyone would like to order his books.
Sorry for the short update this week! I was away this weekend cheering
on my nephew and his soccer team in the big Nashua South versus Nashua
North battle. We won!
Literacy:
We have been working on increasing our independent reading time and also learning how to read and discuss books with a partner. I read books about friendship to the class:
Math:
Wow! The students are working so hard during math! I see an increase in the amount of independent practice. I also see a huge improvement in how the students share their thinking with a math partner. Here is a picture of some student work. As mathematicians, we want to show our thinking with a representation, write an equation, and have an answer with a label.
Social Thinking:
We have been focusing on Space Respector and Space Invader. Space Respector is the Thinkable that helps us to defeat Space Invader. Space Invader is the Unthinkable that encourages us to get into other people's space and not respect the bubble around each person.
Important Dates and Reminders: Tuesday: Library Wednesday: no school
Thanks to everyone who has sent in family photos. Our family wall is getting big! Please feel free to send one in if you haven't yet. I would love to have a photo from every student on the wall.
The visit of author Jarrett J. Krosoczka has been changed. He is now coming Monday, October 26.
Routines:
The class is really getting into our routines! Every morning, the students go over the the easel and
answer the daily question. The questions range from do you like white milk or chocolate milk to do like to camp or not? These questions lead to a discussion and sharing during our morning meeting. The questions also help us continue to get to know each other.
Literacy:
The class is starting to getting into the groove of our literacy routines! I love our independent reading time and seeing how excited the students are about the books they have chose to read! We also learned how to use our large classroom library. We discovered how the books are organized and spent one morning putting books into the correct baskets. We have also talked about the importance of rereading books. Rereading helps us develop fluency and deepens comprehension. The students use reading mats to organize their books as they read. We also enjoy reading with a friend! Books are written so that they will be discussed and enjoyed with others! I know when I read a great book, I can't wait to talk about it with others!
Math:
We've started working on solving story problems! As mathematicians, we have to figure out what the story problem is about (addition or subtraction), write an equation, and then come up with a representation of our thinking. I see the mathematicians becoming more willing to take risks in their work!
Wellness:
This YouTube video has become a favorite this week! Our class can dance!
This coming week is a very busy week. Here are some important dates:
Tuesday: The author Jarrett J. Krosoczka is coming to talk to the first graders! Tuesday: Library Wednesday: Delayed start: Students are welcome to come to school at 7:30 but they don't need to be here until 8:40. Wednesday: Picture day!
Literacy:
We are continuing to develop our classroom routines and build our learning community. It is so fun getting to know the students in our class. One way we are getting to know each other is through sharing what we like. We are working on posters that will be shared and displayed. We are also learning how to choose book based on topics we like. Some popular topics are: weather, animals, Harry Potter, princesses, castles, and dragons.
We love looking at books! We are learning how to read our just right books and talk with a partner about our books. We read in the classroom and we even went to read outside. It's fun to read books anywhere!
Math: During math time, we are learning the habits that all mathematicians use. So far, we have worked on private reasoning time and representation. The mathematicians have been counting and representing their objects in an organized way. They also have been learning some math games. Through math games, we can build our math concepts and also learn how to work together to solve problems. This week we played the game Double Compare. The students worked so well together! I saw and heard partnerships using kind words and helping each other to add the numbers together.
Wellness:
We love to move during the day and it's good for you too! One of our favorite sites is Go Noodle. It's a great site with movement and calming activities. Check it out! I know you will be glad you did!.
