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. 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 made it to 10 minutes today! Below is a video clip showcasing the children engaged in appropriate Read to Self behaviors. 

First Day Photos

Enjoy our first day photos!

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 4 1/2 minutes. We will continue to build our reading stamina everyday. 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 for 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. 

News You Can Use!

This week the children were very busy despite our short week. At the end of the week the children worked together to create a news clip of what we learned this week. I will post it here as soon as all the media releases have been turned in. Thank you, we now have all media releases turned in! 

***If you still have any sign and return papers from your curriculum night folder please send them in as soon as possible. Thanks!***  

Reading

This week, the children listened to the story, Cookies Bite Sized Life Lessons. After reading, we discussed the six pillars of Character Counts. Our Character Counts pillars are: Responsibility, Citizenship, Respect, Caring, Fairness, and Trustworthiness. The children also read our character counts promise, each child signed a copy to bring home. The children connected that by following the six pillars they are also being a bucket filler. 

I have almost finished meeting individually with all of my first grade readers and assessing them using Fountas and Pinnell running records. The running records along with AIMSweb scores help me to understand where each child is as a reader and to create meaningful guided reading groups. We will begin guided reading groups in about two weeks after our introduction to the Daily 5. I will post information about each area 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 pet, favorite toy or game, and their favorite thing to do. They are working very hard at using the writing process: Think, Draw, Label, and Write. I am proud of our authors for using their “brave spelling” to stretch out sounds in tricky words. 

The children also began practicing, work on writing and word work this week. These are two parts of the Daily 5. The children will learn more about these procedures in the next two weeks. This week they were introduce to journal writing, the children received a journal prompt and then decided how they wanted to respond. The children wrote some interesting things about what they would do if they were the teacher and what they would do if they lived in outer space. These journal writings will be kept in their writing binder. In word work, the children learned about rainbow words and spelling code. When we begin spelling, these are some of the ways the children will practice their words in class. Currently, the children are reviewing their kindergarten sight words. 

Math 

In Math, the children worked with number sense. This week they practiced using the number line, compared numbers, practiced writing numbers correctly, and worked with beginning number stories. The children also enjoyed playing the Bunny Hop game to practice their number line skills and Top-it to compare numbers. We ended the week by learning about tally marks. The children were excited to create a class pet chart using tallies on the mimio. 

The children did a great job of returning their first homelink on tally marks. We will begin having homelinks on Monday- Thursday nights this week. Please return them the next day unless otherwise noted. 

Social Studies

We began our first social studies unit this week on communities. We kicked off the unit by learning about our school rules and our Dryden School Helpers. Below is a list the children created featuring our school helpers.

After we finished with Dryden School Helpers we began a KWL on community helpers. This week the children learned about: crossing guards, doctors, and nurses. We watched a short video titled, Community Helpers on BrainPOP jr. and read the books, Watch Out! and Doctors in Our Community. As we learned new facts we added them to our Community Helpers KWL.  

Royal Reader

We had our first Royal Reader this week. The children were very surprised and excited to see Mrs. Sessler in our room wearing a crown and royal robe. She read the children, It Looked Like Spilt Milk and I Want to Be an Astronaut. Thank you Mrs. Sessler for coming and sharing these wonderful books with us!!

International Dot Day

This coming Friday, the children will celebrate International Dot Day. The children will hear the story, The Dot, by Peter Reynolds and have a chance to create their own dot art. The importance of this day is for the children to learn that each person matters, has genius, and has the potential to make a positive impact on the world. For more information on International Dot Day, please visit: http://fablevisionlearning.com/dotday/

Our First Full Week!

Curriculum Night

It was nice to see all of you this week at Curriculum Night, thank you for coming out. I hope you enjoyed hearing about all the wonderful adventures that we are going to have this year! The children were very excited to read the notes you had left on their desks. 

What did we do this week?

The children have learned a lot in their first full week of first grade. They continue to familiarize themselves with our classroom routines and procedures. The children can now go through: arrival, lunchtime, and stack and pack routines with few reminders of what they need to do. 

We took a room tour and learned where everything is located in the classroom. This will help the children to solve daily problems that arise on their own, such as: What should I do with a broken pencil? Where do I put my writing folder when I am done? 

The children worked together to brainstorm a long list of things that they need to be successful as first graders. After, the children each created a paper backpack. In it they placed their own personal list of what they need to be successful. 

We also talked about our hopes and dreams for first grade. The children each wrote down a hope or dream that they have for this year. We turned their writings into a cute bulletin board at the back of our classroom.  

Reading

During whole group reading this week the children listened to, A Bad Case of The Stripes. After, they created a picture of themselves with a bad case of something they love. We also read, First Grade, Here I Come. We compared and contrasted all the things that were similar and different about our classroom at Dryden and the mouse's classroom in the story. 

Currently, I am assessing the children using running records. This will help me get to know the children as readers. I will continue working on these assessments this week until I have had time to read with everyone.

Writing

This week, we started our first writing unit, Autobiographies. The children learned that an autobiography is a writing about the author. They each have started their own autobiography packet, where they will write all about their favorite things. The children also learned about the writing process that authors go through. We will practice and use this process throughout the whole year. The children will: Think, Draw, Label, and Write. 

Math 

We began our first everyday math unit this week. Our lessons focused on learning about our math routines. The children were introduced to our calendar procedures, their math tool kit, and their math journal. They also played two math games this week: Monster Squeeze and the Penny Dice Game. The children had the opportunity to play these games both as a whole class on the Mimio and with a partner using their own manipulatives. 

~ Thank you for all your support at home and your help in making the start of this school year a great one! Please let me know if you have any questions. ~

Our First Days!

We had a great first few days in 1-1! The children enjoyed getting to know one another through the sharing of their "All About Me" bags. There were big smiles and lots of excitement when the children shared an interest that others also had.

This week the children listened to the stories: First Day Jitters, and The Night Before First Grade. The children engaged in discussions about the emotions they felt about starting first grade. It made the children feel better to know that other children and even the teacher had some jitters before starting school!

We also read the book, Have You Filled A Bucket Today? The children learned that everyone carries around an invisible bucket and that we can fill others' buckets and our own bucket by being kind and considerate. The children shared examples of ways that they fill buckets while at school and at home. They worked together to create a class book titled, Our Bucket Filler Book. We will keep this in our classroom all year long for the children to enjoy. 

You would not believe what a great job the children did during the first few days of lunch. I am so proud of everyone for their hard work on learning the lunchroom routines and for following the lunchroom rules. We will continue to go down a few minutes early next week so we can fine-tune our lunchroom routines. 

As a teacher, one of my goals is to create a classroom environment where all students feel safe and valued. This week we worked together as a team to come up with our classroom rules. Discussing the rules together gives the children ownership and lets them actively decide what they want our classroom community to look like. The children did a wonderful job of coming up with rules that will make our classroom a safe and happy learning environment. 

Our Classroom Rules:

1. Be Kind.

2. Be respectful to others and their property.

3. Use good manners at all times.

4. Be safe.

5. Work as a team!

I look forward to seeing everyone at Curriculum Night on Thursday at 6:30.

***Check back soon for pictures of our first few days of school. I will post them as soon as all the media releases have been signed.***