News You Can Use!

Read below to learn about our fantastic week in 1-1.

Literacy

This week, we began our first literacy unit. The children did a wonderful job of working with short /a/ words. Their stories for the week consisted of fantasy pieces. They worked on identifying what makes a story a fantasy. The children enjoyed using sequencing cards to retell one of the fantasy stories. 

We did two close reading lessons this week with the books, Chrysanthemum and Shelia Rae, The Brave. The children worked on describing the characters and setting of each story. On our second reading, we focused on identifying character traits. The children used evidence from the story to support the character traits they identified. 

Grammar Packet:

We started grammar packets this week. The children worked with sentences. They worked on recognizing the difference between a complete and incomplete sentence and learned that all sentences must start with a capital. Their grammar packet came home in their take home folder on Friday. At the top you will see a note that says, Done Together. We will complete this packet every week as a class. The children will continue to focus on sentence structure next week. 

Making Words:

This week, the children were also introduced to our Making Words lessons. They use letter tiles at their desk to create different words that follow our spelling pattern for the week. The children take turns coming up to the board to spell the words on our interactive pocket chart. Their favorite part of the lesson is when the get to try and figure out the “secret word.” This word uses all of the letter tiles for the day. 

Daily 5 & Guided Reading:

The children did a great job this week during Daily 5 and guided reading. They were independent during their Daily 5 activities which allowed for very productive guided reading groups. In guided reading the children worked hard at learning some of our reading strategies and reading their books. On nights when your child brings home their book bag, please have your child read the book to you. If your child brings home a word ring or graphic organizer have them read these to you as well. 

Poetry Folder:

In your child’s backpack you should have noticed a purple folder, this is your child’s poetry folder. Attached was a note explaining what to do with the folder over the weekend. Every week, we will learn a new poem that goes along with our spelling pattern of the week. Please read the poem with your child and send their folder back to school on Monday. 

Spelling:

The children did a great job on their first spelling test this Friday. I am so proud of how hard they practiced all week long. Next week our spelling pattern will continue to focus on the short /a/ sound.  Thank you for helping your child review their words at home!

Writing

This week, the children finished publishing their last two autobiography pieces. They worked hard to rewrite their pieces in their best handwriting and draw illustrations that were careful, colorful, and detailed. The children also illustrated a front cover for their work. We bond their pages together to create their very own autobiography book. To conclude the unit we will have a celebration of their writing. Next week, we will join the other first grade classes and the children will get to read their autobiography to a group of friends. The books will then become part our classroom library. This will allow the children to enjoy reading each others writing. 

Math 

In Math, the children worked with ten frames, labeling numbers with units, finding sums of ten, using calculators, and telling time to the hour. To practice some of their math skills the children played the math game, 10 Frame Top-it. 

Social Studies

This week, we finished our Map unit. The children enjoyed taking an imaginary trip to visit different landforms. After we visited each land form location the children wrote about it in their landforms booklet. 

The children also worked with basic map skills this week. They looked at maps and globes and discussed how they are similar and different. The children learned about the compass rose and cardinal directions. They really enjoyed learning a special way to remember the cardinal directions: Never Eat Soggy Waffles. The children learned about map keys. They took turns coming up to the board and using the cardinal directions and a map key to locate different areas on a map. 

Royal Reader

On Friday, we enjoyed a visit from, Mrs. Trendel! The children were excited to listen to Mrs. Trendel read her book. She read the book, The Sneetches. Thank you Mrs. Trendel for coming and sharing this wonderful book with us!

Notes:

• In backpack mail, your child brought home a paper titled October 2013 R.E.A.D. Have your child set a reading goal for the month. If they meet the goal, sign the paper and return the slip to school. Your child has a chance to earn a ticket to Six Flags if they meet their reading goal every month from October - April. 
• Don’t forget to read and return your purple poetry folder!
• Thursday, October 3rd is Picture day! Don’t forget to say cheese. 
• Friday, October 4th is the Dryden Just Jump Challenge! Don’t forget to send in your Just Jump Challenge envelope, if you haven’t done so already!

Have a great rest of the weekend! 

News You Can Use!

We had a wonderful week here in 1-1!

Literacy

This week, the children finished learning the last components of the Daily 5. 

On Tuesday, the children learned about our word work activities. During word work the children will be: experimenting with words for learning and practicing spelling patterns, memorizing high-frequency words, generalizing spelling patterns, and adding to their knowledge and curiosity of unique and interesting words. Each day the children will engage in a different word work activity such as Rainbow Words, Spelling Code, Write Three Times, Word Sorts, and others involving their weekly spelling words and spelling pattern. The children will also have the opportunity to take turns at a hands-on word work station throughout the week. They will work with manipulatives such as magnets, stamps, and wiki sticks to practice their spelling words, word families, and sight words. 

On Wednesday, the children learned about the last component of the Daily 5, work on writing. During work on writing time, the children will spend time on writing that really matters to them. The children will often have a writing prompt and they can choose how they would like to respond. There will also be free write days where the children will be able to write about anything they wish. After discussing why it is important to work on writing, we created a work on writing I-chart together as a class. 

On Thursday and Friday the children practiced all of the Daily 5 routines: word work, work on writing, read to self, read to someone, and listen to reading. They are doing a great job of building their stamina and working quietly. We will continue to fine-tune the routines next week.  

This coming Monday, we will begin guided reading groups. The children will work on the Daily 5 while I meet with small guided reading groups. Your child will bring a book bag home at least one night a week. Please read the book with your child and send it back to school the next day. During curriculum night, I gave you handouts on reading with your child and a reading strategies bookmark. These will be helpful if you are looking for ways to help your child with reading or ideas for questions. If you have misplaced your copies please let me know - I can make you a new set! 

Writing

This week, the children started the publishing process. They will rewrite each part of their autobiography in their best handwriting and draw illustrations that are careful, colorful, and detailed. When they are finished publishing all of their pieces, they will compile them into a book. 

Math 

In Math, we wrapped up our first unit. The children practiced solving number stories using a variety of math strategies that we have learned.  

On Monday, the children had fun reviewing all of the math concepts from unit 1 with Mimio Vote. Our classroom was turned into the set of, Math Review Mimio Vote. The children became contestants in the game and answered questions using their own clicker. They enjoyed my performance as game show host! 

On Wednesday, the children took their first math test. I was so proud of how hard they worked on the test, they did a great job! 

We started unit 2 on Thursday. A note came home via backpack mail detailing the concepts that will be taught in this unit. On Thursday, the children worked with the number grid to locate numbers and solve math problems. They enjoyed playing the math game, Rolling to 50.

Social Studies

This week, we began our Map unit in Social Studies. The children learned about the seven continents and oceans this week. The children enjoyed two projects this week, Me On The Map and creating a map of the world using a paper plate and cut out continents. 

Next week, we will continue our Map unit. The children will learn about landforms and basic map skills including an introduction to the compass rose, cardinal directions, and map keys. If you have any books at home about maps or map keys, please send them in to share. Just make sure your child’s name is in the book. I will return them at the end of the week. 

Constitution Day

On Tuesday, we celebrated Constitution Day in our classroom. The children watched a short School House Rock video titled, The Preamble. Then, they listened to a short story titled, Our Constitution. I projected the story on our whiteboard and the children took turns highlighting important facts about the Constitution. After, they worked together to fill out a graphic organizer about the Constitution. 

Fire Safety Presentation

On Wednesday, Fireman Andrew from the Arlington Heights Fire Department visited our classroom. He shared a short fire safety video with the children. Then, he talked to the children about important fire safety rules to follow at home and at school. 

The children were excited to learn about his fire safety gear. He told the children that he has to be able to get into his gear in 1 minute when called for an emergency. After, he showed the children what he looked liked when fully dressed in his fire safety gear. They also had a wonderful question and answer session before he left. A special thank you to Fireman Andrew for teaching us about fire safety!

Royal Reader

On Friday, we enjoyed a visit from our first Royal Reader, Mrs. Sessler! The children loved listening to Mrs. Sessler read her book. She read the book, A Beasty Story. Thank you Mrs. Sessler for coming and sharing this amazing book with us!

Happy Birthday

On Friday, we celebrated Filip's birthday. Happy Birthday Filip! 

Note:

-I will place the Scholastic Book order Monday after school. It’s not to late to log into Scholastic and purchase good-fit books for your child!

Have a great rest of the weekend! 

Listen to Reading

Today the children learned about listen to reading. Every week, the children will have the opportunity to listen to books on CD or on the computers. This will help the children to become better readers and help in developing fluency and vocabulary. After, creating our I-chart as a class, the children practiced our listen to reading procedures. 

News You Can Use!

We had another busy week here in 1-1. Read all about our great learning adventures!

Reading

This week, the children began learning about the Daily 5. You can view our earlier posts from the week to learn about: what good readers do, building stamina, I-PICK good-fit books, and read to self. 

On Friday, the children were introduced to Read to Someone. Read to someone helps children read independently and grow as readers. The children enjoy, read to someone because they get to read and discuss books with a friend. It gives children a chance to share their thinking and learning. Read to someone also helps improve fluency. Below is a picture of our class created I-chart.

Enjoy a slide show of the children practicing Read to Someone.

We will begin guided reading groups in a week after we have finished our introduction to the Daily 5. I will continue to post information about the remaining areas of the Daily 5 as we learn the routines in class. 

Writing

This week, we continued working on our first writing unit, Autobiographies. The children wrote about their favorite thing to do and their favorite place to go. On Thursday, the children met with a partner to share their rough drafts. They took turns reading their writing to one another. After, they shared ideas for adding more detail to each others writing and illustrations. The children then returned to their seats and worked on editing their rough drafts. 

Math 

In Math, the children continued working on number sense. This week they compared pairs of whole numbers, used the calendar to answer questions about days, weeks, months, and dates, and practiced reading temperature ranges on a fahrenheit thermometer. They made the connection that the degrees on the thermometer go up, just like numbers on the number line. The children were also introduced to math explorations. They learned about base-10 blocks, pattern blocks, and geoboards.  

We will wrap up our first math unit next week. The children will review all of the math concepts we learned in this unit. They will enjoy using Mimio Vote as our review tool. Our classroom will turn into the set of a game show during our math block time as the children apply their math knowledge and answer questions using their very own clickers. On Wednesday, we will have our first math test. The children will have all problems read out loud to them. This will ensure that I am testing their math skills and not their reading skills. The tests will come home via backpack mail on Thursday. 

Social Studies

We finished our first social studies unit this week on communities. The children learned about how firefighters, police officers, doctors, and letter carriers help our community. They listened to a book about each community helper and then brainstormed ideas about how they help our community. The children completed their community helpers packet and brought it home to share with you today. 

We will begin our next unit on Maps this coming week. If you have any relatives or friends that live in other states or countries please encourage them to visit our blog. The children we learn next week about ClustrMaps and Live Traffic Feed on our blog. They will be excited to check in during our Map unit and see all the places that people are visiting us from.  

Patriot Day

On September 11th, we celebrated Patriot day in our classroom. We read the story, America Is... After, we had a discussion about what America means to each of us. The children, created heart shaped flags and on the back they finished the sentence starter, America is... Some of the finished sentences were: America is a safe place to live. America is freedom. America is beautiful. America is my home. America is my family. America is a wonderful place to live. 

International Dot Day

On Friday, the children had a wonderful time celebrating International Dot Day. They listened to, The Dot, by Peter Reynolds. We talked about how each of us can make our mark. The children shared ways that they will make their mark this year by doing something brave or something creative. The children also enjoyed creating their own dot art. They started with a blank canvas and used crayons and water colors to create their own dot.  We have some remarkable artists in our room! 

Notes:

-Please be sure to check your child’s red take home folder nightly.  Encourage your child to show you the work they are bringing home. 
-I will send the first Scholastic book order home on Monday. If you would like a sneak peek, click on the Scholastic link on our blog. Please place your book orders by Monday, September 23rd.

-Next Wednesday, September 18th the children will enjoy a Fire Safety presentation from the Arlington Heights Fire Department. Be sure to ask your child what useful fire safety tips they learned!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Read to Self

Today the children learned about the Read to Self component of the Daily 5. We began by creating an I-chart. The children came up with appropriate Read to Self behaviors to write down on our chart. We not only talked about the role of the children during Read to Self but the role of the teacher. After creating the I-chart, the children practiced Read to Self and worked on building their stamina. They made it to 9 minutes today! View a picture of our I-chart below. 

I PICK Rap

Today the children learned the I Pick Rap to help them remember the 5 steps we use to choose a good-fit book.  

Enjoy a video of the children performing the rap below!

 

                   

I PICK Rap from Melissa Johnson on Vimeo.

I PICK Good-Fit Books

Today the children learned how to choose a good-fit book. They learned how to look for a good-fit book in five ways using the acronym I PICK. We will revisit this frequently in the next couple weeks and throughout the school year. Picking a good-fit book is one of the most important things to do in order to become a better reader. 

I PICK

1. I choose a book

2. P urpose - Why do I want to read it?

3. I nterest - Does it interest me?

4. C omprehend - Am I understanding what I am reading?

5. K now - I know most of the words

The children also practiced building their reading stamina again today. This time they made it to 5 minutes. We will continue to build our reading stamina every day. Ask your child to explain what stamina means. Tomorrow we will review the Daily 5 components we have learned so far: what good readers do, stamina, and I PICK good-fit books. 

Introduction to the Daily 5

Today the children had their first introduction to the Daily 5. The Daily 5 is a way of structuring the reading block so every child is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks. These research-based tasks are ones that will have the biggest effect on each child's reading and writing achievement, as well as help encourage children who love to read and write. The children receive explicit whole group instruction and then are given independent practice time to read and write independently while I provide focused, intense instruction to individuals and small groups of children.

When it is up and running smoothly, the children will be engaged in the Daily 5, which is made up of the following:

-Read to Self

-Work on Writing

-Read to Someone

-Listen to Reading

-Word Work

This morning we discussed in detail what it means to be a good reader. Together we created a chart titled, Good Readers... Below is a picture showcasing all the ideas the children came up with that good readers do everyday.

The children also learned about stamina today. They learned that stamina is doing anything for a long amount of time without getting tired or giving up. Today we worked on building our reading stamina. The children practiced reading and training their bodies and brains to read in the appropriate way (staying in one spot, read the whole time, read quietly, work on stamina, get started right away). They did a great job and met our goal of reading to three minutes. Each day we will work on increasing our stamina and building the length of time we read for. Enjoy the photos below of our class hard at work on building their reading stamina.