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!

September 5, 2014

Classroom News:

• Picture Day is Wednesday, September 10
• Delayed start Wednesday, September 17 

 Literacy:

How do readers choose books? What do readers do to start reading a new book? These are some of the questions we have focused on during read aloud time. As readers, we share our thinking throughout the read aloud and then the students go back to their seats and apply the same strategies to their independent reading. This week we've shared different topics that we like to read about (these range from cats, tornadoes, and Star Wars). Then, we've read books and talked about the books we've looked at with a partner.







Some of our read alouds:

• Dream Big Little Pig, by Kristi Yamaguchi
• Chester's Way, by Kevin Henkes

Math  Focus:

How do  mathematicians organize collections in order to quickly count them?

How do mathematicians write equations and represent their thinking?

I've seen so much growth in these two concepts. Counting and organizing objects was tough at first, but now we are able to do that and start to represent our counting on a piece of paper. Some students are even writing equations to explain their thinking. Good work mathematicians!

Wellness:

Nurse Liz came in and taught us all about germs! Ask you child about this lesson. We learned a lot!

Mrs. Puttlitz (our school's wellness coordinator) came in and worked on  mindful movement with us.

Our First Book Order

Today I sent home our first book order of the year. 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 September 9. Please let me know if you have any questions!


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

August 29, 2014

Classroom News:

•  No school on September 1 
• Picture Day is Wednesday, September 10
• Delayed start Wednesday, September 17  

It's been a productive first week! I'm looking forward to next week!

 Literacy/Social Thinking Focus:

This first week, we have spent a lot of time reviewing the basics of our social thinking curriculum. We've been setting green thought goals each day, talking about expected/unexpected behaviors, and creating social behavior maps of different parts of our day. 

We also have been working on creating our classroom culture. This means we need to become a team that works and learns together. Learning involves trust. You have to feel comfortable to make mistakes and push your thinking. This trust develops as we get to know each other. The children and I are sharing information about ourselves, what we like, things we do, etc. This will continue for the next few weeks. 

We also have been working on acceptance. Acceptance, is also important in building a classroom environment that celebrates learning. Two books that we have read that deal with acceptance are:


Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes
Two Eyes, a Nose, and a Mouth, by Roberta Grobel Intrater

Math  Focus:

How do  mathematicians organize collections in order to quickly count them?

This is a HUGE concept. We have been counting collections, or large groups of objects. The mathematicians need to figure out a way to organize the objects in order to count them accurately and efficiently. We have figured out that we can group the objects by 5's and 10's to make it easier for us. 

 

First Day of First Grade!

There is nothing like the first day of first grade! We had a great first day. We focused on routines and expectations, which we continue over the next few weeks.

In your child's home folder, I put a notice with some more info about first grade. One thing I forgot to mention is feel free to send in a water bottle for your child to leave on their desk. Please make sure it is a water bottle that can close to help prevent spills. Also, please put your child's name on the water bottle.

Remember, if you need to get in touch with me, feel free to send me an e-mail or note (njohnson@wsdschoolsorg). I'm sure the children will sleep well tonight. In our closing meeting of the day, many students said they were going to take a nap when they got home. We were all tired by the end of the day!

Have a super night!