News You Can Use!

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

Literacy

This week we did a close reading lesson with the book, Chester’s Way. The children worked on describing the main character in the story, Chester. Then, they turned and talked with a partner and identified Chester’s character traits using the evidence they had found in the text. 

On 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 finished publishing their last two autobiography pieces. They worked hard to rewrite their pieces in their best handwriting and drew illustrations that were careful, colorful, and detailed. The children also illustrated a front cover for their work. We tied their pages together to create their very own autobiography book. To conclude the unit we will have a celebration of their writing. 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 

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 Tuesday, 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 Wednesday. A note came home via backpack mail detailing the concepts that will be taught in this unit. 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, the children worked with basic map skills. They looked at maps and globes and discussed how they are similar and different. The children also 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. 

On Friday, the children enjoyed creating their own map key symbols. They used the symbols they created to draw a map of our classroom. Some of the children even included a compass rose on their map! They were very excited to show all the map skills they had learned.

Next week, the children will take a virtual trip around the world to learn about different landforms. Check in with your child each day to see what new landforms they visited!

Notes:

-Thursday, October 2nd is Picture day! Don’t forget to say cheese. 

-In the next week, I will send home a Scholastic Book order. Be on the look out for it in your child’s red take home folder. You can order on line using the link on our class blog.  

Have a great weekend! 

Word Work

Today, the children learned about the last component of Daily 5, word work. 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. 

 

Below is the I-chart we created as a class to go over word work.

Work on Writing

Today, the children learned about 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. 

Here are a few photos of the children practicing work on writing.

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. 

The children will also have the opportunity to reflect on the stories they listen to through different listening response sheets. Today, they reflected on how they felt about the story and drew a picture of their favorite part. I encouraged the children to also write a sentence describing their favorite part. 

The readers in 1-1 continue to make great progress on building their stamina. Today, they read for 6 minutes. The children chose if they wanted to Read to Self or Read to Someone. Some of the children are very proud of the fact that they are working on building their stamina at home as well! They have been reporting to me how long they have been reading at home each night.

Read to Someone

Today, 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 for read to someone.

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. 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

We started our introduction to the Daily 5 with a detailed discussion of 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 every day.

The children also learned about stamina. They learned that stamina is doing anything for a long amount of time without getting tired or giving up. 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). 

On Thursday, 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

To help the children remember what the acronym I PICK stands for they learned a song titled, I PICK Rap. You can watch a video of the children preforming the song below.

                   
I PICK RAP from Melissa Johnson on Vimeo.

On Friday, 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. View a picture of our I-chart below. After creating the I-chart, the children practiced Read to Self and worked on building their stamina. 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. 

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. On Tuesday, 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. 

Later in the 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, the children continued working on number sense. They practiced reading temperature ranges on a Fahrenheit thermometer. The children 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. On Thursday, the children practiced solving number stories using a variety of math strategies that we have learned. 

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 Tuesday, 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 later in the week. 

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. 

International Dot Day

On Monday, 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 a 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 to create their own dot.  We have some remarkable artists in our room! 

Constitution Day

On Wednesday, 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. The children also brought home a short poem to share with you about the Constitution. 

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.