Amazing Happenings In Room 11!

Parent Updates

• I hope you found conferences informative.  Please be sure to return the signed progress report envelopes
• Please be sure to send Booktime Books in to school on Wednesdays.  It is the only day we do this unless we run out of time, then we do it on Thursday
• The weather is getting cold, please be sure to send your child dressed for the weather.  We go out everyday unless the weather is poor

Specials

• In art the class worked hard on making pinch pots.  We then wrote "how to" stories to describe the process.  Here are some more explanations.
                    

               

Literacy

• We are working on being flexible readers.  When one strategy doesn't work, we try another.  We ask ourselves "Does it Look Right?  Sound Right?  Make Sense?"
• Worked on learning about "Glued Sounds".  These sounds keep their sounds but are "glued" together:  -all, -am & -an
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• Continued to work on trick words.  Please practice any missed words from the list sent home. In addition we have learned:  from, have, do & does
• Continued to work on having our characters come to life during writer's workshop
• Learned how to learn from mentor authors.  Discovered how to use:  bold words, movement in words, ellipses & exact words
• Finished all the "My Father's Dragon" books.  Started "Gooseberry Park".

Math

• Continued to solve story problems
• Worked on solving Addend Unknown story problems
• Worked on subtraction strategies:  "count back" on the number line, "count on" on the number line, "make 10" counting back, "make 10" counting on & think addition to solve subtraction
• Worked with fact families.  If you know how to fill a part-part-whole mat...you can use thparts and whole you know to solve problems 

Social Studies

• Learned about Veteran's Day.  Had guests come and teach us about the five branches of military and about the different jobs that people do.
                          
• Learned about the pilgrims and why the chose to come to the New World.  Watched Mrs. Paget's Thanksgiving Play.  Read Thanksgiving stories

Science

• Began learning about Solids.  So far we learned that solids have the properties:  color, shape, roll & stack and hardness

     

Happy Halloween!

Thank you so much to the room parents that planned and helped out to make our Halloween party a great one!  Can you guess who is behind the masks???

Flying Through October!!!

Parent Updates

• Be sure to send homework and the signed homework sheet back to school on Fridays
• Please send your child's halloween costume to school on Monday.  All makeup should be done at home.
• Memorial's Halloween Parade is scheduled for 9:30 on Halloween

Literacy Updates

• Continued learning to "tap to read" and "tap to spell" with CVC words
• Continued framing our sentences with capitals and end marks
• Learned how digraphs are two consonants that work to make one sound.  We learned wh, ch, th, sh & ck
• Focused on trick words.  Remember students need to be able to read and spell these words accurately.  They will come home on a list of other words.  Keep these and practice these words. (a, the, and, his, is, as, has, in & into)
• Learned how to make our small moment stories come to life by making our characters move and talk
• Finished Elmer and the Dragon.  Began The Dragons of Blueland.

Math

• Continued solving story problems
• Learned how to solve compare problems
• Continued learning addition strategies:  doubles, doubles plus 1 and addends in any order
• Here is an explanation of doubles 

                                                                                        

                                                               

 Social Studies

• Continued with Scholastic News
• Read several stories about Christopher Columbus
• Wrote facts about Christopher Columbus
• Talked about "calming down" strategies in Open Circle

Going Strong!

Parent Updates

• Don't forget to return poem notebooks to school
• Please send the red home/school folder to school everyday
• No school October 10th:  Columbus Day
• No school October 12th:  Yom Kippur

Language Arts

• Continued learning different centers:  listening center, word work center and many more
• Completed reviewing the consonants with v, x, y & z
• Began learning how to "tap to read" & "tap to spell" with short vowel (CVC) words
• Learned how to "frame our thought" with a capital and end mark
• Continued writing small moment stories; learned to write "seed stories" not "watermelon stories"
• Learned how writing partners can help plan and revise our stories
  
                        
• Finished "My Father's Dragon" and began "Elmer and the Dragon"

Math

• Continued working on "Add To", "Put Together" and "Both Addend Unknown" story problems
• Began working with "Take From" story problems
• Continued to work on ways to show our thinking
• Began focusing on strategies for solving addition problems.  Our first strategy is counting on; using numbers and number lines
• Used legos to show counting on                 
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Social Studies

• Talked about "expected" and "unexpected" behaviors and how it makes people around us feel
• Read scholastic news magazines on "friends" and author "Kevin Henkes"

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
  

An Exciting Day

Hi Everyone,

What a day!  The children did a phenomenal job during their flag day performance.  It was great to see all their faces so happy and proud.

I hope you enjoyed our presentation today.  Thank you so much for those who helped the room parents with the treats.

Here is the video version of our American Symbol Ebook.