November 14, 2014

Classroom news:

• I'm looking forward to meeting with everyone on November 24 for parent teacher conferences. - Please let me know if the time I scheduled doesn't work for you.
• Library is on Monday - don't forget your library books
• Homework is now going home on Mondays. Make sure to send it back on Friday. 

Literacy:
We had a teacher from the Flynn come in this week and run an acting workshop to prepare us for the shoe we are going to see this week on the field trip: Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Chester's Way, and Julius Baby of the World. 

The kids did a great job participating and we all had so much fun! We are definitely ready for the show on Tuesday. 

 
We also started reading some books by Jacky Davis and David Soman. We read Ladybug Girl goes to the Beach. This coming week we will ready about Bumblebee Boy.  

Math: 
The question we have focused on this week: How do mathematicians use addition to solve subtraction? 

The mathematicians in the room have figured out that we can use fact families and adding on to help solve subtraction problems. We will continue working with this throughout the week. 

Special Performance:
We had a trio from the VSO called Symphony Reel come and perform for the school on Thursday. One of our students was picked to waltz with one of the musicians! 

November 7, 2014

  Classroom News:

• Permission slips went home on Friday for our field trip. Please send back on Monday
• Parent/teacher conference forms went home on Friday also. Please fill out and return.
• Library is on Monday - don't forget your library books
• Homework is now going home on Mondays. Make sure to send it back on Friday. 

Literacy: The children are doing so well discussing the characters, problems, and solutions in their own independent reading! I'm so proud of them! We model the thinking and talking about books during our read aloud, then they apply it to their own reading.

Books we read this week:
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Rosco Riley: Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs, by Katherine Applegate (this is a chapter book we have started reading each day)
 
Want to know about great books? Check out our librarian's YouTube channel.  Laura Abbene, our librarian has books trailers for picture, tween, upper elementary, and young adult books. A great resource!

PBL:  Project Based Learning 
Driving Question: What kind of classroom do we need to help us learn?
We finished our list of questions and experts! Next week we start our group work and set up interviews with our experts.
 
Math:
This  week we sorted addition, subtraction, and combination problems. Then we worked on proving true/false equations. Our mathematicians are really pushing their thinking and love challenging problems!
 
Social Thinking:
One game the class loves playing during transitions is our Pass the Ball game. This game actually works on some social thinking skills. We often talk about how you need to let people know you are thinking about them. One way is to look at them when they are talking. The class has also discussed how facial expressions and body movements can change the meaning of what you say.

We  play this game in complete silence. You only communicate through your eyes and facial expressions/body movements. We sit in a circle and one child has a ball. That child passes the ball to someone who is looking at him/her. Before passing, they make eye contact and nod heads to let each other know they are thinking about each other.

The class does a great job with this game!

October 31, 2014

 Classroom News:

• Library is on Monday - don't forget your library books
• Homework is now going home on Mondays. Make sure to send it back on Friday.

It's been a busy 2 weeks since my last website update!

The class did so well on Halloween! They worked hard all day and I surprised them at the end of the day with zucchini eyeballs! It was a healthy Halloween treat that was also delicious! The kids loved them!

Literacy: We are still thinking about characters and now we are also thinking about the problems and how the character tried to solve the problem.

Books we read this week:
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, by Kevin Henkes
Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes 
Vanishing Pumpkin, by Tony Johnston

Big Pumpkin, by Erika Silverman

Shake dem Halloween Bones, by W. Nicola-Lisa


We love Big Pumpkin! The children will be taking turns bringing home a copy of the book and the CD. 

 

 
 PBL:  Project Based Learning 
Driving Question: What kind of classroom do we need to help us learn?
We are developing our list of experts and interview questions. We can't wait to start the interviews!

Math:
The students spent this week analyzing story problems and sorting them into addition and subtraction problems. Then they used the appropriate strategies to solve each problem. This week we will be adding a third type of problem!

Wellness:
Diane Polson came in and taught us how important our teeth are to us. She talked about brushing, flossing, and going to the dentist. 

 Officer Dean came in and talked about Halloween safety. I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

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.