News You Can Use!

We had a short but busy week here in 1-1. Read all about it below!

Literacy

This week, the children worked with short /e/ words. We started the week with a close reading lesson using the book, Samuel Eaton’s Day. As we were reading, the class worked together to fill out a Venn Diagram comparing Samuel Eaton to Sarah Morton (we read about her life last week). They had to support their comparisons and contrasts with evidence from both texts. 

Later in the week, we did a close reading lesson using the book, Tapenum’s Day. As I was reading, the children had to draw an illustration that depicted the main idea of the book. When they completed their illustration, they had to write a sentence or two explaining why they chose to draw that image. The children enjoyed sharing their main idea illustrations with the class.

Grammar Packets:

The children were introduced to plural nouns this week. They learned that a plural noun names more than one person, place, or thing. The children learned that you add -es to form the plural of nouns that end with s, ss, sh, ch, or x. They also continued to work on proofreading sentences, checking for capitals at the beginning and a special end mark (period, question mark, or exclamation mark). 

Writing:

This week, the children wrote a piece about what they are thankful for this Thanksgiving. Each child wrote about three things they are thankful for and why. They glued their writing to a turkey that they created using construction paper. You can view their writing out in the hallway during conferences. 

Math 

In Math, the children finished up Unit 3. On Tuesday, they worked with dominoes. They began by placing them in order according to their dot pattern. Then the children sorted the dominoes by even and odd numbers. After, they found the total of different dominoes using the parts and total diagram. The children enjoyed playing Domino Top-It to practice their addition skills. 

On Wednesday, the children enjoyed using Mimio Vote to review all of the concepts they learned in Unit 3. Our room once again turned into the set of a game show as each child answered questions using their very own clicker. The children completed their unit 3 test on Thursday. I will send home the tests next week. 

Social Studies

This week, the children continued to learn about Pilgrims. On Tuesday, they practiced talking like a Pilgrim. We also, began learning about the Wampanoag Indians. The children researched about the Wampanoag way of life using the Scholastic web site. They also completed graphic organizers listing details about the Pilgrims and Wampanoags homes, clothing, games, and food. They will use these organizers to help them complete a final project next week. 

The children also worked together to create a large then and now Venn Diagram. They listed similarities and differences between Pilgrim and Wampanoag children’s lives to their own lives today. 

On Friday, they created a pilgrim project using a photo of their face. They wrote a sentence about something they have or can do but the pilgrims did not have or could not do. 

Art Appreciation

On Friday, Mrs. Wascher, Mrs. Kaddatz, and Mrs. Misner came in and lead the children in an Art Appreciation activity. The children learned about the Gelede Mask. They learned that it is an African Mask created by the Yoruba Tribe. After discussing the mask, the children created masks of their own. Thank you, Mrs. Wascher, Mrs. Kaddatz, and Mrs. Misner for coming in and sharing the presentation with us!

Star Student

Gabi was our star student this week. Thanks Gabi for sharing all about you!

Royal Reader

A special thank you to Gabi’s Mom, she joined us this week as our Royal Reader. The children really enjoyed listening to the story that Mrs. Picicco read, Daisy’s Crazy Thanksgiving. 

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend! 

News You Can Use!

Literacy

Treasures: 

This week, the children worked with short /0/ words.  We read books about Thanksgiving and Pilgrims. The children worked with determining the main idea and supporting details of each book. They learned that the main idea is the most important point of the selection and that the details give the reader more information about the main idea. The children were often able to identify the main idea early in the selection and then go back and discuss the supporting details. We will continue to work with main idea and details over the next couple weeks.

Grammar Packets:

The children were introduced to nouns this week. They learned that a noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing. The children identified nouns in sentences. They also continued to work on proofreading sentences, checking for capitals at the beginning and a special end mark (period, question mark, or exclamation mark). 

Math 

In Math, the children worked with the dime. They identified the characteristics of a dime and its value. The children showed equivalent amounts of money using pennies and nickels. They worked with exchanging pennies for nickels and dimes. On Tuesday, they found the values of combinations of dimes, nickels, and pennies. On Wednesday, we had a Data Day. We created a tally chart and then turned it into a line plot. The children used the line plot to answer questions. 

The children enjoyed playing two games this week to help them practice counting coins: Coin-Dice and Dime-Nickel-Penny Grab.

Social Studies

We started our Thanksgiving unit this week. Over the next couple weeks we will talk about Thanksgiving. The children will learn about the Pilgrims, Wampanoag Indians, Mayflower, and what the very first Thanksgiving was like. 

This week, we began the unit by filling out a KWL on Thanksgiving. The children shared facts they already know, recorded questions for what they would like to learn, and then at the end of the week added to the learned section. They listened to the book, The Very First Thanksgiving Day and watched the Brainpop video, Thanksgiving. They were able to create a long list of facts they learned just from these two sources. 

This week, the children also began learning about the Pilgrims. Using resources on the Scholastic web site, the children researched what it was like for the Pilgrims on their journey to America. They learned about the different parts of the Mayflower and the difficulties the Pilgrims faced along the way. The children then used their knowledge to pack a suitcase with 5 items they would have taken, had they been a Pilgrim on the Mayflower. Next week, we will continue to learn about what life was like for the Pilgrims. The children will work together to create a then and now venn diagram on our back bulletin board.

Weather Or Not Field Trip

On Friday, the scientists enjoyed an in class field trip from HighTouch HighTech. Scientist, Mrs. Anne, came in and presented, Weather or Not. The scientists engaged in different weather experiments. They took an up close and hands-on look at a real tornado. Watched as clouds were made indoors. They discovered all the amazing properties of air and air pressure. The scientists were very excited to touch lightning! Their favorite experiment was making the conditions change so they could lift ice cubes with a string. Each scientist also got to take home a bag of snow! Enjoy the slideshow below of all our wonderful weather experiment photos.

                                  

                                                            

Star Student

Xander was our star student this week. Thanks Xander for sharing all about you!

Royal Reader

A special thank you to Xander’s Mom, she joined us this week as our Royal Reader. The children loved listening to the three stories that Ms. Scriven read, Xander’s Panda Party, Too Many Daves, and Cloudette. 

Reminder:
Scholastic book orders are due Tuesday by 4pm. I will be placing the order right after school. If you would like the books to be a surprise please email me and I will arrange to get them to you secretly. Thank you for placing your orders online. You are helping us earn free books for our classroom!

Notes:

-Monday, November 11th: No School (Veterans Day)

-Thursday, November 14th is a Monday Schedule. We will have Music.

-Friday, November 15th is Dad's and Donuts at 8:30. 

-If you would still like to donate items for the Dryden Food Drive, please send them in by November 15th. Thank you to those of you who have already donated!

Have a great rest of the weekend! 

News You Can Use!

Literacy

Treasures: 

This week, the children worked with ending blends(nd, st, nt, nk). They enjoyed a sorting activity called, “Stop Those Silly Blends.” The children had to place soccer balls (with words containing blend endings) into the correct net (labeled with one of the four blends). 

We continued our work with Author’s Purpose this week. The children listened to books about wind and determined if the author wrote the book to persuade, inform, or entertain. They had to support their reasoning with evidence from the text. The children filled out a graphic organizer and shared their evidence with the class. 

Super Sentences:

On Friday, the children turned into super sentence heroes! Each child created their own super sentence hero mask. Using their graphic organizers from earlier in the week, they chose one telling, asking, and exciting sentence to glue onto their mask. The children had a lot of fun with this activity and enjoyed sharing their sentences with one another.  

Grammar Packets:

The children continued to work with writing sentences in our grammar packet this week. They had to proofread sentences and check for capitals at the beginning and to make sure that each sentence had a special end mark (period, question mark, or exclamation mark). They even had to unscramble a few sentences and write them in the correct word order.

Guided Reading:

I have almost had time to meet with all of my readers one on one. I will finish up running records this week and then guided reading groups will resume. I am so proud of how hard our 1-1 readers have been working, it shows in their growing instructional reading levels!

Math 

In Math, the children worked with telling time to the hour and half hour on their tool kit clocks. They also took turns telling and recording a variety of different times. The children were also introduced to frames and arrows. They had to fill in the missing numbers based on a given rule. Later in the week, they had to identify the rule based on the numbers in the frames. The children also had a chance to create their own frames and arrows problems, they traded with a partner and completed the others problems by identifying the rule and filling in the missing numbers. On Friday, the children worked with their calculators. They practiced reading and entering numbers and symbols on the calculator. They programed their calculators to count forward and backward by counts of 2s, 3s, 5s, and 10s from a given number.

Science

This week, we wrapped up our Weather Unit. The scientists watched a short video about the different tools that meteorologists use to measure the wind strength and speed. Then, they took their own wind tool, a wind sock outside to test the wind strength and speed. They were excited to use the wind scale to help them determine the strength and speed of the wind. While they were outside, the scientists noted that the wind strength ranged from gentle to moderate. They also observed the wind direction by looking at the trees, flag, and their wind socks.

We also completed our class Weather RAN graphic organizer. The scientists looked at our What We Think We Know notes and moved them to the correct column: We Were Right or Misconceptions. The scientists also added additional notes to the New Information column. Lastly, we took a look at our Wonderings. The scientists answered the questions they had learned the answers to during our unit. They left up the ones that they would like to research further. 

Next week, the scientists will enjoy a visit from HighTouch HighTech. A scientist will bring in a variety of weather experiments for the scientists to engage in. Check back next week for our post and pictures!

Halloween Fun!

The children had a wonderful fun filled Halloween day! In the morning, each child completed a Halloween writing titled, Who Is Hiding Behind the Mask? They turned a graphic organizer they had filled out earlier in the week, into a written paragraph about themselves. To go along with their writing, they made a portrait of themselves wearing a mask. Their name is hidden at the bottom of the page allowing everyone to make a guess at who the writing is describing. You just lift the black flap to see if your guess is correct! 

In the afternoon, the children kicked off the Halloween festivities with a parade around the school. Thank you to everyone for coming out! After the parade, we headed back to our classroom for our Halloween party. The children enjoyed some delicious treats, made two crafts, played a pumpkin bean bag toss game, and listened to a Halloween story. Thank you to everyone who sent in supplies for our party: treats, drinks, paper goods, and crafts!  A very big thank you to our three party volunteers, Mrs. Wilkin, Mrs. Wilt, and Mrs. Picicco! Thank you for your incredible job planning and running our party. The children had a great time!

                                     

Star Student

Filip was our star student this week. Thanks Filip for sharing all about you!

Royal Reader

A special thank you to Filip’s Aunt, she joined us this week as our Royal Reader. The children loved listening to the two stories that Ms. Sowa read, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything and Pete The Cat Pete At The Beach. 

Notes:

-Thursday, November 7th is picture retakes. If you would like your child to have their picture retaken, please return your child’s entire picture packet (with the exception that you can keep the class photo).

-The Student Council is sponsoring a food drive to benefit SERVPRO of Arlington Heights. They are collecting canned goods, paper products and other non-perishable food items. If you would like to donate, please have your child bring in an item before November 15. Thank you!

Have a great rest of the weekend! 

News You Can Use!

Literacy

This week, the children worked with words containing r-blends (cr, gr, tr). We read books about storms this week. Before reading the book, Thunder Cake, the children made a prediction about what thunder cake is. After reading, the children wrote about what thunder cake actually is and if their prediction was correct. On our second reading of Thunder Cake, the children worked with rich vocabulary from the text. As I was reading, they identified the rich vocabulary words and we recorded them on our vocabulary organizer. The children then worked to define the word and use a key at the bottom to show how they figured out the meaning of the word.  

This week, we also worked on determining the authors purpose. Why did they write their story? Was it inform, persuade, or entertain? The children learned that it’s as easy as PIE to determine the authors purpose. After reading, the children looked back in the text for evidence and came up with the authors purpose. 

Grammar Packets:

The children continued to work with sentence structure in our grammar packets this week. They worked with question and exclamation sentences. They are working really hard on beginning their sentences with capitals and ending them with either periods, questions marks, or exclamation mark.  

Guided Reading:

We will be taking a short break from guided reading groups next week. I will be meeting with the children one on one to do a second round of running records. Reassessing allows me to make sure that each child is receiving reading instruction that best fits their instructional reading level. 

Writing

This week, the 1-1 authors published their narrative writing pieces. They worked extremely hard at rewriting their story in their best handwriting and adding careful, colorful, and detailed illustrations to support their writing. The children also added an opening an closing sentence to complete their small moment piece. These will be on display in the hallway at conference time so you can enjoy them!  

Math 

In Math, the children worked with their number grids to describe and compare number patterns. They looked at number patterns for counts of 2s, 5s, and 10s. They also worked with the number line. They found skip counting patterns and practiced counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, and 10s. The children used the number line to find the answers for addition and subtraction number stories. On their white boards, they practiced writing the number model that represented each addition or subtraction number story. Remembering to use the correct number symbols: +, -,  and = to complete each number model. 

Science

This week, the scientists continued their exploration of Weather. They learned that air is all around us and that the air that covers the earth is called the atmosphere. The scientists learned that the atmosphere is where weather happens. They did an experiment where they dropped objects into water. While observing, they noted that air bubbles were escaping from the objects. 

The scientists also went outside and observed the direction of the wind by looking at the trees, flag, and grass. The scientists learned that wind direction is the direction the wind blows from. Tomorrow, they will create their own wind tool, a windsock. Next week, the scientists will use their windsock to determine the strength and speed of the wind. 


Pumpkin Math and Pumpkin Carving

The children had a great time on their pumpkin fun Wednesday. In the morning, they enjoyed a trip to the Dryden Pumpkin Patch to select their very own pumpkin. Then, they became a pumpkin investigator as they used their pumpkin to complete a pumpkin math packet. The investigators began by estimating the height, weight, measurement, and number of lines on their pumpkin. Then using their investigative tools they found out the correct height, weight, measurement, and number of lines on their pumpkin. They also drew a picture of what they wanted their carved pumpkin to look like.  

In the afternoon, the children loved having a family member or volunteer come in to help them carve their pumpkin. What a sight it was to see the children and volunteers hard at work carving so many pumpkins. Thank you to everyone for coming and making this an enjoyable event for the children. The pumpkins looked great! Enjoy a slide show below of the day’s activities. 

                                              

Star Student

Jackelynn was our star student this week. Thanks Jackelynn for sharing all about you!

Happy Birthday

Today, we celebrated Mia's birthday. Happy Birthday Mia!

Note:

-Thursday, October 31st: The Halloween Parade will start at about 1:15. We will parade out the front doors and head north on  Dryden to Fairview, west on Fairview to Bristol, south on Bristol to Rockwell, east on Rockwell to Lincoln, returning to the school  playground area. Following the parade, the students will have a brief recess period, then return to our classroom for some fun  activities. For more information on Halloween lunch procedures and costume questions read this weeks Dolphin Splash. 

Have a great weekend! 

News You Can Use!

We had a short, but busy week here in 1-1!

Literacy

This week, we read books about snow. The children started the week with a Picture Aloud. I showed the children a photograph that was covered up. Slowly, I removed the covers one at a time. The children turned and talked to a partner. They discussed the information they could gather from each part of the photograph. At the end, they realized it was a photograph of a snowstorm. Then, the children worked together to create a caption to describe the photograph. The children are working with gathering additional details from photographs and illustrations that they did not read in the text. On Thursday, we read the story, Snowy Day. After, the children completed a Setting Guru page. They chose one illustration from the text. Then, they drew the illustration and explained how the illustration helped them learn more about the setting of the story. 

Writing

This week, the children continued to work on their narrative writing pieces. They reread their story and worked on adding detail. The children have worked very hard to be “brave spellers” and stretch out the words that they don’t know how to spell. They also had a chance to meet with a writing partner. Each partner had the opportunity to share their story, after they discussed what they liked about each others stories and shared ideas for zooming in even further. Next week, the children will publish their small moment stories.

Math 

In Math, the children worked with recognizing, describing, and creating visual patterns. They found patterns around our classroom and then worked with a partner to create their own patterns using craft sticks. 

The children were also introduced to even and odd numbers. They worked with counters to explore even and odd number patterns. The children noticed the following patterns:

-Even numbers end in 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8.

-Odd numbers end in 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9.

-Even numbers are counts by 2s, starting with 0.

Science

This week, the scientists continued their exploration of Weather. They continued to explore the idea that water can be part of the air. They watched as water condensed out of the air and formed droplets on a cold surface. 

The scientists learned all about the water cycle. We read an online article about the water cycle. Then, the scientists took turns coming up to label the three parts and explain them in detail. 

To help them remember the parts of the water cycle, they learned a water cycle song. Ask your scientist to sing it to you!

Water travels in a cycle, yes it does!

Water travels in a cycle, yes it does!

It goes up as evaporation

Forms clouds of condensation

Then comes down as precipitation, yes it does!

Today, the scientists learned about dew and frost. They learned that dew is liquid water droplets that condense out of the air during the night. The scientists learned that frost is ice crystals that cover a cold surface when water comes out of the air and it is below the freezing point.

Star Student

Cathryn was our star student this week. Thanks Cathryn for sharing all about you!

Royal Reader

Thank you to Cathryn’s Dad, he joined us this week as our Royal Reader. The children enjoyed listening to two wonderful books, Olivia Forms a Band and Don’t Call Me Pig! 

Notes:

• If you have not done so already, please send in your Pumpkin Carving slip and money by Monday. Thanks!
• Next week is Red Ribbon/ Character Counts week. Each day we will review one of the six pillars. The children will learn that the week is about making safe and healthy choices for our minds and bodies and about treating others in a way that is safe and healthy for them, too. On Tuesday, the children will learn about Caring. Please have your children wear red to show they care about the Dryden community. 
• I look forward to seeing you at Pumpkin Craving this Wednesday, October 23rd at 1:00. Please bring a big spoon to scoop out the pumpkin seeds! 
• Friday, October 26th is Mix-Not-Match day. Have fun mixing up your outfit, be creative!

Have a great weekend!