Unit 1 Week 4 Preview

During week 4 we will tread lightly on the subject of pets. We will read/listen to various selections about pets including a nonfiction selection about White House Pets. Our oral vocabulary words are adorable, dear, needs, sensible, and train. We will continue the comprehension strategy of analyzing story structure using the skill of recognizing parts of the plot. Our sight words will be come, down, good, pull. In spelling we will focus on words having an initial consonant blend with the letter 'l' (fl-, pl-, cl-). We will continue working our way through seminar. Those students who are ready may start working on publishing their pieces. At this point it would be helpful for some students to have access to a personal flashdrive for the purpose of publishing their work and creating a digital portfolio. I can hold onto flashdrives or they can be kept in backpacks. They do not need a large storage capacity. It is helpful if they have some identifying characteristic (label or keychain).

In Social Science we will discuss traditions in a variety of contexts, for example, the classroom, community, and family. (HSS 1.5.1) We will also begin comparing the past with the present (tested) reading a nonfiction selection titled Learn About the Past. 

In Math we will begin topic 5. Our focus will be the number 10 as we use physical models, diagrams, tables, and expressions to form equivalencies (NS 1.3).

Last week's Science lesson will become this week's lesson.

At Home Suggestion

As I mentioned at Back-To-School, when reading your selections at home, try to locate together the exact point in a story where the middle begins. Make a game of it-see who can locate it first. Have your child retell the story using sentence frames such as, "In the beginning of the story...,The story takes place...The main character of the story is...In the middle of the story...The problem that the main character faces is...At the end of the story..."

Parent Conferences

Parent conference notices were sent home today. Please tear off, sign, and return.

Twenty-Seventh Day of School

Today we discussed the difference between rights and responsibilities in social studies. All students were unfamiliar with the concept of rights which is to be expected for 1st grade.

Two students were able to complete seminar today. In order to complete seminar a student has finished their personal narrative rough draft. The students have now had 90 minutes total to write their rough draft. The next step of the process is to revise the draft and then to proofread it. The final step will be to publish.

Topic 4 math test on Thursday

For discussion: What responsibilities do you have as a citizen? as a student? as a family member? What is a right? Can you give an example of a right?

Twenty-Sixth Day of School

We thought it more important to take the time to go outside and see if we could catch a glimpse of the space shuttle rather than do our science lesson. We were very glad we did so when we were treated to a direct fly-over right above our heads. We probably will remember that for many years to come.

Once again students have an optional math assignment to complete this weekend.

Conference scheduling notices will be sent this coming week for conferences on the following week.

Twenty-Fourth Day of School

I have completed the initial beginning of the year reading battery. The battery is composed of 4 tests. The beginning battery does not have a comprehension component. I have posted results for the fluency portion of the test in the classroom if parents would like to stop by and take a look. If we compare scores normed to all first grade students we would see that students scoring at 30 WPM at this point in the year would be ranked at the 75th percentile. One requirement for a 3 on the first progress report in reading is a fluency score of 30 WPM. For future academic success, 45 WPM at the 12 week mark would be desirable. For a 4 on the first progress report 80 WPM is required.

Thank you to all parents taking an active role in their child's first grade year. I can definitely tell which parents are discussing classroom activities with their children at home. Thank you to those parents who have shared pictures with us this week.

We now have 9 students completed with the 2nd math report.

There is currently a 2-way tie for first place on the star chart with a total of 6 stars each. In past years, the winning star total has usually been around 28 stars.

If a math homework paper is sent back home to be corrected, please make sure your child makes the necessary corrections and returns it to school for complete credit.

Unit 1 Week 3 Preview

In this week's instruction we focus on  how we will change and how we have changed as we grow. If your child would like to bring in a photo showing themselves as a baby, we could display these and guess who they grew into. We will also explore how animals change as they grow. We will draw conclusions about animals that change greatly and those that may only change in size as they mature. We will analyze text for character, setting, and plot. We will focus on spelling patterns: ,-in, -it, -iss. Our oral vocabulary words will be change, adult, learn, imitate, and practice. Our reading sight words will be be, ride, and run. In grammar we will distinguish between statements and questions. We will continue writing our All About Me books and begin to work on our narrative piece to wrap up this unit's writing task.

In Social Studies, we will discuss the difference between rights and responsibilities and what they mean for United States citizenship (HSS 1.1).

In P.E. we will toss and catch.

Last week in Science we generated a list of properties for various solids that we observed. This week we will decide which of those properties are most useful for various tasks.

In Math we will continue with topic 4 and building our understanding of subtraction and its relation to addition.

In Health we will discuss why it is important to keep our bodies healthy. We will discuss trustworthiness, caring, and responsibility.

Twenty-Second Day of School

Eight students have completed the 2nd math report. Five students have shown the entire American Sign Language alphabet for the class.

Topic 3 math tests went home today.

Topic 3 Math Test

Some definite patterns begin to emerge as 22 of 24 students pass the topic 3 math test with a score of 16 or better. Six students earned a perfect score while 16 earned a score of 20 or greater.

Desk Faerie

Room 11 has already been visited by the desk faerie twice this year. The desk faerie will only enter neat desks to leave a treat. In this way he helps out the teacher by providing an extra motivation for keeping students' materials organized. The desk faerie knows how important this is for a smooth running classroom. Lessons can only move as fast as the least organized child. Organizing materials is a graded study habit on the report card. Consider asking your child how often their desk has been visited.

Twentieth Day of School

To date, students have been assigned two in-class math reports. All but 3 students have completed the first math report (pattern report). Four students have so far completed the second math report (train report). All completed reports are currently displayed.

Today we examined 4 distinct biomes and and the creatures who inhabit them. We also took a look at various geographical features and made observations.

As a part of our movement theme-of-the-week, we learned a song called Mi Cuerpo Hace Musica.

On Friday we finished learning the American Sign Language Alphabet and are waiting for the first person to sign the alphabet in front of the class.

Unit 1 Week 2 Preview

During week 2 we discuss how physical activity is an important part of our lives. We learn how activity keeps our bodies healthy and strong. Our oral vocabulary words are movement, energy, express, exhausted, and stretch. Our sight words are: it, over, too. We will analyze story structure to discover selections with patterned text. Examples of famous patterned text are Monday, Monday, I like Monday (Bill Martin Jr.), and The Important Book (Margaret Wise Brown). Ask your librarian for other examples. Patterned texts often become bedtime favorites and re-reading them is a good way to build fluency. We will not often use a patterned text for retelling purposes. We will read the West African folktale The Great Rope Tug and diagram the story together using a Flow Map to highlight the beginning, middle, and end. We will continue to encode and decode single syllable words with short vowels (a, e, i). We will listen to rhyme, movement, and rhythm in poetry.

In Social Studies we will look briefly to the original people of Australia and learn that a tradition is a special way of doing something. often repeated annually that becomes part of a people's culture.

In Science we will continue with the states of matter by observing a collection of solids and generating a list of properties.

In Math we will finish up our introduction to addition and begin topic 4 on an introduction to subtraction. We will see how closely subtraction is related to addition by finding missing parts (addends) of a whole number.

Eighteenth Day of School

We had to have different homework today because the math lesson is just taking longer than expected. This also means the math test will be pushed up to Thursday.

Seventeenth Day of School

Students have an optional page of homework for the weekend. If you decide to have your child complete the page, I will collect it on Tuesday.

Discussion focus: What are the 3 states of matter? What liquids and solids do we have present in our house? What is your favorite liquid? How can a solid be transformed into a liquid? (add heat) How can a liquid be transformed into a solid? (remove heat).

You may be interested to see your child open their "magic box" and put on their clown costume (Drama).

Math test Wednesday.

Fifteenth Day of School

Some students were sent home with extra homework in reading or math based on recent test score performance. This will continue until those students show consistent satisfactory performance on tests or other performance measures. Additionally, all students have in their possession a reading log for the month of September.

Some students should be able to describe the characteristics of a fairy tale and relate details from the story The Princess and the Pea. Some students will have a working knowledge of the words: cheerful, unique, interest, prefer, and genuine.

Last night's math homework had the perfect example of a question I spoke about at Back-to-School. A variety of answers were acceptable; a concise answer would look like: "I know this is true because 8 + 0 = 8." Some answers were actually better and more descriptive. When writing lines are provided for a response, make sure your child responds with a complete sentence. Grammatically, it is unnecessary to spell out numbers unless a number is beginning a sentence. For example: Eight is the answer because 8 - 0 = 8. Sentences should begin with a capital letter and end with a period; otherwise, they do not qualify as sentences.

Discussion questions: What activities do you prefer? What makes you unique as an individual? How did the prince know that he had found a genuine princess? 

Unit 1 Week 1 Preview

As a part of our theme: What Makes Us Special, our focus questions are: What do we like to do, and how do the things we like to do make us special? We will discover that the things we like to do help to make us who we are. Our vocabulary words for the week are cheerful, interest, unique, prefer, and genuine. We will analyze story structure for the beginning, middle, and end (comprehension strategy). We learn that this is the way that most realistic fiction stories are structured and that good readers pay attention to these parts (R 1.3.1). We will also pay special attention to the characters and setting of stories (comprehension skill). In phonics we will blend words and identify rhymes with short 'a' and short 'i'. Our reading sight words for the week are jump, not, up. In grammar we will discuss how a sentence tells a whole idea. We will continue with our Unit Project while referring to our 2 previously constructed Thinking Maps. We will analyze the structure of the fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. We will analyze how an author develops character by what they say and do. In writing we discuss and practice how using describing words adds detail and interest. We will listen to the fable, Town Mouse and Country Mouse, and discover how preferences make characters unique. We will read an informational text and use structure to deduce main idea.

In Science we will make a connection between what we have been learning in music and what we know about Alexander Graham Bell and discuss the discipline of acoustical science and engineering. In life science we discuss basic needs of people and animals using the vocabulary: shelter, energy. We will also begin our physical science unit on matter.

In P.E. we will work on balance, catch and toss to ourselves and to a partner.

In Math we will continue with our notion of parts of a whole and joining groups to come to an understanding of addition and how to relate those ideas in standard notation. Special note to parents: In past years, 1st grade students have not only been asked to find the sum on the right side an addition sentence, but to also balance equations presented in somewhat unexpected manner for 1st graders. For example: find the missing part in:

• 2 + _ = 7 
• 7 = 2 + _
• 2 = 7 - _
• 7 __ 2 + 5  (choose the correct symbol)

Topics for discussion:

• How are you different than other people in your family/class? How is your family different than other families?
• What are the states of matter?
• What does an animal need in order to survive?