The Classroom is Busy!

Parent Updates

We have been working hard setting our class routines.  I hope you found PIN night informative.  A lot goes on during our first grade day.

• Thursday, September 22 is Dot Day....wear your polka dots to school
• September 27th is picture day

Language Arts

• Continued to work on building our stamina for "Read to Self".  We are up to 9 minutes.
• Worked on "Read to Someone".  Reviewed expectations and learned what "EEKK" reading looks and sounds like.  Ask your child what "EEKK" is.

• Continued reviewing consonant sounds and letter sounds in our Fundations program"  s, e, r, p, j, h & k
• Learned that "When we're done we just begun" in writer's workshop.  We learned to go back and revise our stories by asking questions.
• Talked about spelling strategies that we can use when we are writing:  tap and write, word wall, use small words we know, and got our green word dictionaries.
• Began taking our Poem Notebooks home
• Continued reading stories
• Started our first chapter book "My Father's Dragon"

Math

• Continued working with "add to" and "put together problems"
• Began working on "Both Addends Unknown" problems

• Played the games "How many am I hiding?" and "Counters in a Cup"

Social Studies

• Created our classroom rules
• Read a Scholastic News about feelings in the classroom

First Days of First Grade

Parent Notes

• Please return the class directory.  As soon as everyone completes this I will be able to send it home.

• Please send an art smock to school.

• Be on the look out for the scholastic book order.  You can place your order online by clicking on the tab on the top of this page.  Please place your order by no later than September 16th.

Language Arts

• Learned how to do "read to self".  Practiced the right way and the wrong way.  Build our stamina to 7 minutes
  
• Began our phonics program; Fundations.  Focused on reviewing letter sounds and formations.
• Focused on the letters:  t, b, m, n, o, u, a, i, g, d & c
• Began writer's workshop with the unit "small moments"
• Worked at how to brainstorm a small moment, plan it on the pages and write.
• Looked at how touching the pages and sketching can help plan our stories
• Read many back to school stories

Math

• Learned what math centers look and sound like while exploring math tools
• Played "roll & record" and "compare"
• Began looking at how to solve story problems.  Worked with "add to" and "put together" problems
• write your starting equation
• show your work
• write and ending equation
• label your answer

Social Studies

• Played get to know you game in Open Circle
• Began brainstorming classroom rules
• Did our Scholastic News magazine focused on school rules
• Reviewed the "whole body listening look" that they learned in kindergarten