Classroom Newsletter
5/29/13
We have 4 more weeks left!! Although I'm sure they will go fast; we still have quite a bit more learning to do :)
Reader's Workshop
We have been wrapping up our "Dramatizing Characters Unit". the children had really focused on getting to know the characters in the books. One activity we did to practice this was acting out and reciting Reader's Theatre Plays. Ask your child about his or her part in the play. I was watching for how well they read their part as well as how they "dramatized" their part. They all loved this activity and really got into the part that they were playing. For the next couple of weeks we will focus on reading Informational Texts and becoming Science and Social Studies experts. We wil compare two different texts on the same topic as well as continue working on using the text features to help us gain more information. We will also continue to work on retelling fiction texts beyond the text as well as discuss the author's message.
Writer's Workshop
In writing, we have been focusing on writing Opinion Pieces. The children have been working on stating their opinion as well as giving support for why they feel that way. We have written about some interesting things. ASk your child about their opinion on whether or not we should have rules in school ;) You may be surprised!! :)
Math
In math, we have focused on identifying fractions. The children have learned to partition circles and rectangles into halves and fourths. We have also been comparing these fractions and identifying which is larger. Along with fractions we have continued work on solving word problems daily. The children should continue to work on visualizing the story problem before solving it and really think about what the problem is asking them to solve. This week and next week we will be finishing up our unit on graphing. The children have learned all about bar graphs, circle graphs, picture graphs, and venn diagrams. We have focused more on picture graphs and bar graphs and how they are used to compare information.
Welcome Back!! Here are some things that we've begun to work on this week:
Reader's Workshop
In reader's workshop we are working on our "Dramatizing Characters Unit" We are getting to know the characters in the books that we are reading and really "getting into their heads". We have been having discussions about the character's actions, reactions, feelings, and how the other characters react to the main character! Please continue to ask your child the "beyond the text" questions each night as he or she is reading to you or during your nightly read aloud. This is the best time for asking higher level questions!
Writer's Workshop
This week we are reviewing what a good narrative story includes. We have reviewed the elements of a narrative, such as having a good beginning, events with details, transitional words, as well as a good ending or closure. Next week, we will be starting an activity that will help us be more creative and more descriptive with our writing. We are going to be looking at things with an "ant's point of view".
Math
In math, we have started our double digit addition unit. We have been learning to draw "ten sticks" and "circles" to represent the tens and ones of a number. We have begun to "regroup" or "compose" a new ten while adding a double digit to a single digit (28 + 9). The children need to be able to represent the numbers using pictures as well as circle the ones into a group if they make a ten.
Social Studies
We have begun to learn about the environment. Today, we discussed what an environment is as well as discussed the different types of environments. We focused on the difference between man-made environments and natural environments.
2/27/13
Thank you so much for donating books to our classroom! They are greatly appreciated!
Reader's Workshop
In reader's workshop we have been focusing on reading genres, such as nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. We have focused on the differences between the three genres and being able to explain how we know what type of genre it is. We've learned that fiction texts have characters, tell a story, and are read for enjoyment. We've also discussed how nonfiction texts give us real information and that we learn new facts about different topics. They have real photographs, diagrams and charts that help us learn the information. This week we've really been focusing on fiction texts and the characters' similarities and differences. Please make sure that you are asking your children the higher level thinking "beyond the text" questions that I have sent home to you to help build their comprehension.
Writer's Workshop
We've continued to work on narrative writing and adding details to our stories by using dialogue or using "sound words" to make our writing more exciting. We've continue to look at Ezra Jack Keats' writing to help us become better writers.
Math
In math, we have begun to focus on word problems involving fewer than and more than. We've been learning all about the equal sign and equations that are true or false. Ask your child about using the "equibeams" to see if the equations balance! We will continue to work on solving word problems as well as identifying true/false equations and ten more or ten less of a given number. We have also started "MINUTE MATH". This is a quick, timed, activity in which the children have one minute to get as many addition facts as they can completed. Once they finish one row of problems and they get them all correct, they move on to another row with more problems. They keep working on those rows until they master the next one. We started them last week and the children love it. This is a great way for them to become fluent with their basic addition facts up to 20. Practicing flash cards at home is also another great way to help with addition/subtraction fluency!
2/5/13
Third quarter has begun and we are in full swing!!Here are a few things we've been working on since we tracked back in:
Reader's Workshop
In word work and reader's workshop we have been focusing on the long vowel patterns with magic "e" as well as the vowel teams (ai, ay, ee, ea, ie, oa, etc.) We've learned that "when 2 vowels go walking, the first one does the talking". During reading time, we've been reviewing our reading strategies and what we do when we get to a tricky part. We've focused on taking a picture walk to help with using the pictures to figure outan unknown word, as well as skipping the word and thinking about what makes sense. We call that strategy Cross-checking. Ask your children about our body movements that help us remember that strategy. In the next couple of weeks, we will be exploring all different types of genres, such as fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We will be working on telling the difference between the genres, as well as explaining how we know! We will be reading different types of text about the same topic and comparing the information. Please keep asking your child questions about the texts their reading and making sure that they can explain their thinking beyond what is exactly happening in the text.
Writer's Workshop
In writer's workshop we have been focusing on writing narratives about small moments in our lives. We've been trying very hard to add details to our stories to make them more interesting. We've also been studying and learning about Ezra Jack Keats. We've looked closely at his stories and how we can use his ideas to make our stories more exciting. We've learned that good writer's use good story starters, dialogue to show when someone is speaking and prepositional phrases to show when something is happening (Before, During, After...)! We will continue to work on making sure our writing has closure as well as c
correct capitalization and punctuation!
Math
In math, we have started our unit on Geometry. We've learned all about plane figures, such as circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, trapezoids, hexagons, octagons, and parallelograms. We've learned to describe the shapes by explaining their defining attributes, such as number of sides, vertices, closed/open figure, flat/solid shape, as well as straight or curved sides. We just began to learn about solid figures, such as a cube, rectangular prism, sphere, cylinder, cone, and pyramid. We will also continue to work on using our strategies to solve word problems with unknowns as well as fewer than and more than.
Social Studies
In social studies we have been talking about different celebrations and how they are celebrated around the world. We've discussed celebrations such as birthdays, losing a tooth, the birth of a baby, and will also be discussing wedding celebrations.
12/17/12
Wow! I can't believe how fast this quarter has gone by! Here's an overview of some things we've been working on!
Reader's Workshop
In reader's workshop we have been working on reading non-fiction (informational) texts. We have learned that reader's read nonfiction texts to learn information about a topic. We have learned how to identify the main topic and facts. We have also talked about the text features that informational texts have, such as photographs, diagrams, maps, table of contents, index, and a glossary. We have learned that authors use the text features to give us information about a topic.
Writer's Workshop
In writer's workshop, we have been focusing on writing "how-to" stories and informational peices. We've learned that good writer's have to be clear and specific while writing directions on how to do or make something. Last week we began to incorporate our nonfiction unit in reading into writing time in which the children have chosen a topic that interests them. They used nonfiction texts to learn about the topic and started to write an inormational peice of writing to tell about what they learned.
Math
In math, we have been focusing on solving word problems that involve addition and subtraction as well as finding the unknown partner. We also have been learning to tell time to the hour and half hour. We have also been working on identifying numbers and representing numbers up to 120.
Science
In science we just completed our unit on Balance and Motion. We talked about how we can balance items using a counterweight. We also made our own spinning tops and discussed how things spin and rotate on an axis. Ask your child about the experiment they did and they made their own "zoomer"!
Thank you for helping your children with their science and social studies projects! I absolutely loved seeing all of the timelines with their baby photos! :) I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing track-out and New Years! Thank you for all that you do at home with your children! They are so wonderful to work with each day!
10/31/12
Second Quarter has begun and we are in full swing! I just want to thank all of you who donated to our Donors Choose project! We have received our books, as well as our magnetic letters and whiteboards! The children have loved using them to make their "snap" words in the morning! Here's an overview of what we've been learning so far and what's to come!
Reader's Workshop
We are focusing on describing the characters in fiction stories. We have learned that we can describe characters by telling about what they look like, how they act, and how the other characters react to them. As we are reading, we are paying attention to the picture clues, actions, and how the character is feeling. We also have discussed how we can relate or connect to the character's feelings. We will also continue to use the 5 Finger retell strategy to show our understanding of the events of a fiction text. Please make sure that your child is talking about the characters in the text that he or she brings home and how they can relate to the feelings the character has.
Writer's Workshop
In writer's workshop we have begun our unit on Persuasive/Opinion writing. The children have learned the basics of writing a letter and how to persuade someone into getting something or doing something for them. Today, we started to write opinion letters about books that we enjoyed. We will continue to work on writing opinion pieces for the next couple of weeks!
Math
In math, we have begun our unit on Place Value. We are learning how to group objects into tens and ones. We have learned that "5 tens is 50" and when you have "10 ones, you have one ten". We have also learned a new addition strategy and how we can "make a ten" to help us add more efficiently. Please ask your child questions, such as, "If I have 4 tens and 7 ones what is my number?"
Social Studies
In social studies, we have been learning about "Goods and Services". We learned about different jobs that people have in the community and whether or not they provide a good, service, or both. We will also be learning about maps and globes as well as the election.
9/24/12
Wow! It's hard to believe that the first quarter of school is coming to an end! We have worked very hard this quarter and I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your children's progress so far!
Reader's Workshop
We have continued to discuss the main idea of a story and how that helps us to better understand what we are reading. We learned all about using our "Reading Tools" when we come to a "tricky" word or a "tricky" part in the text that we are reading. Ask your child about our "Reader's Toolbox" that we have in our classroom. Also-Please see our Reading Strategies Page. These are the strategies your child should use when they come to a tricky word or part.
Writer's Workshop
In writing, we have been working on writing narrative stories with events and details. We have been writing about things that we have done or have happened to us. We have been using our "5 finger" retelling hand to help us make sure we have at least 2-3 events with some details.
Math
In math, we have been practicing a lot with our number sense, addition, and subtraction. We have been focusing a lot on solving word problems with unknown partners and how we can use subtraction or counting on to find that "unknown" or "missing" partner.
Science
In science, we are wrapping up our Unit on Organisms!! I'm sure your child has shared with you about our "little critters" that we've had in our classroom for the past couple of weeks. We've planted seeds, observed freshwater and woodland plants, as well as observed freshwater and woodland animals! Ask your child about how a pill bug compares to a millipede! :)
Don't forget to check out some of the great websites I've added to our student links page :)
8/22/12
Hello! We have had a great 4 weeks of school!! I have added some great websites on our "Student Links" page for your children to practice at home! Check them out!!! :)
REader's Workshop
We have continued to work on using good reading habits while we read. We have been working on retelling a story using the "five finger retelling strategy", identifying the author's message or main idea of a text, as well as using our "schema" to help us to begin to connect to our books. Please ask your child about what "schema" means? He or she should tell you that "it's all of the things that we already know". We have also just begun to talk about how to choose "Just Right" Books.
Writer's Workshop
We are continuing to work on writing complete sentences and stretching words out. We also learned how to use our "Writing Offices" to help us spell words correctly. We will be working on telling a story across five fingers, as well as across three pages. This will help with writing a complete story that has a beginning, middle, and end.
Math
In math we have begun our unit on addition. We have learned all about equations and what it means to be a "partner" or a "total". We have begun to use tools and strategies to help us solve addition equations, such as using a number line and counting on from the greater number.
Social Studies
We are finishing up our Unit on Being a good citizen! Soon we will be talking about what it means to be a "Bucket Filler" and a "Bucket Dipper". We will also be starting our science unit on Organisms in the near future.
Please continue to discuss your child's behavior with him or her nightly!
8-7 -12
Welcome to Ms. Connors First Grade!
Reader's Worshop
We are focusing on developing good reading habits. We have talked about "Why we read?, What and where we read?, As well as What a reader should look like? The children have chosen their "reading spots" and have begun to practice good reading habits.
Writer's Workshop
In writing we have begun to write sentences to match our picture. We will be talking about how a good writer uses spaces between words, starts sentences with a capital letter, stretches out unknown words, and ends a sentence with a punctuation mark.
Math
In math, we are starting to represent numbers in different ways, identify even and odd numbers, and identify partners of ten.
Science and Social Studies
In social studies we are focusing on "Being a Good Citizen" in school, at home, and in our community.
Thank you for discussing your child's behavior grade each day and the importance of SOARing at school. Please remember to sign the agenda each night!
THANK YOU for all that you do!!