Fourteenth Day

We continued our discussion of comparing and contrasting. We discussed synonyms such as alike, different, difference, and similarity. We had our first blending lesson with the short vowel 'a'. We discussed proper protocol and behavior expectations for blending. We continued work in our All About Me Books and began work on our ABC books.

In Social Studies we discussed ideas for being a good friend. I have failed to mention previously that in our Second Step training (violence prevention program) we are learning how to identify people's feelings. We are on our 5th lesson.

We continued our sockball game.We will try to finish up tomorrow. Whew.

The first monthly reading log was due today. Not everyone turned one in. I will not mark them late if they are turned in tonight at Back-to-School. Please remember that all reading logs are required for a minimum of a 3 in homework on the report card. Late reading logs are accepted until grades for the semester are due.

Tonight is a free homework night unless you would like to review the practice math test with your child. Nothing has to be turned in tomorrow. I will explain what happened with the homework tonight.

When you or a designated adult comes to room 11 tonight, please make sure to sign in. Your attendance goes on your child's permanent record with me (essentially this is a non-optional meeting). I will try to begin talking as close to 5:oo pm as possible. I will probably stop talking at 6:30. I will pause frequently for questions. Pencils and paper will be provided for taking notes. This is not an informal meeting. Much information will be given. Children of parents who do not attend Back-to-School night are at a serious disadvantage to those whose parents do.

Thirteenth Day

Today we reviewed our second thinking map, the Double Bubble. This allowed us to compare and contrast ourselves with a friend. Four quick workers were able to satisfactorily complete this task. The date on which the first student completes a particular class assignment is the date in which I enter into the grade book. When parent conference time rolls around and a particular assignment is incomplete for your child you will be able to calculate the difference in time it takes your child to work on a task and the fastest child. Learning the Double Bubble will allow us to apply compare/contrast skills to other subjects as well. When we examine different forms of transportation both across time and by type of energy consumed the Double Bubble will be particularly handy. Additionally, we worked on another page of our All About Me books. Tomorrow we will begin our Alphabet Books.

By the way, one of the reasons I'm keeping you updated on our in-class projects is so that you can use very specific language when speaking to your child in the afternoons, for example: "How much were you able to get done on_________?"; "Have you completed your ________? "When do you think you'll reach completion on your ________?"; etc.

In science we continued our exploration of forms of matter by choosing two solids and a list of properties. We practiced recording our observations in table format. Again, about five children were able to complete this task satisfactorily. The next step will be to pair-share our findings by using sentence frames to compare and contrast the two objects by using the information from our table.

For P.E. we began a game of relay sockball. We will continue the game tomorrow until all have had an opportunity to sock.

In math we completed the topic sheets together as there was a considerable amount of reading to be done. We did not complete the "at home connection" front page. Parents may complete this at home and the page may stay at home. I won't be collecting it. For homework please have your child complete the math homework page 19 and 20 (I think that's the page I don't have it in front of me).

Twelfth Day

Today we read a poem with 1st grade style wordplay. We experimented a little with wordplay of our own and a couple of students were able extend some of the ideas. Still working on All About Me books.

We completed the math lesson in class today including the home extension because I wanted to send home the two corresponding homework sheets for at home work.

Please remember that Back-to-School night is Thursday for parents. I look forward to seeing a member from each family on that day. What I've done in past years is talk and answer questions through all 3 sessions because there has been so much material to cover. I feel a bit less constrained for time this year because I have this blog and the Website to fall back on in case I forget anything. I hope everyone will feel comfortable enough to ask questions as we go along, even if they are simply clarifying questions, because I have a tendancy to talk fast to try and get everything in.

Also, please remember that the citizenship assembly is Friday afternoon. The kids will be seated in the sun. I'm sure you are aware that even if it is overcast, it is still possible to get a sunburn. Please remember to send some protection with your child Friday to minimize sun exposure. The School Site Leadership Council is the body responsible for scheduling these types of events and takes feedback from parents if you have any opinions to express. They meet once per month.

Eleventh Day

I'm having to redo this post because believe it or not the school computer ate the first one-they are not that reliable.

Back-tracking a bit, we created our first circle map (thinking map-more on Thursday night). The topic of this map is ourselves.

Today we read the classic cummulative English nursery rhyme The House That Jack Built. We recalled another cummulative story: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. We created group presentation posters for The House....

We had our first VAPA dance lesson with Ms. Marrin. I was very impressed with Room 11's dancing ability.

In math, we ordered 3 values (mama, papa, and baby) from least to greatest. Homework is to finish the two math sheets. Some students did not follow directions and took a math sheet home on Friday, but most students still had both sheets which I stapled together.

Thank you to parents for your generous donations. We now have a complete set of mats for citizenship assemblies and a collection of resealable (ziploc) bags.

Just to remind you I am not allowed to release a child to a parent whose car is not parked against a curb.

Question 1

For those of you following the blog, was the test results information of any value in Friday's post? Would you like me to include similar information for future tests?

Tenth Day

We just love Fridays.
We used visualization while listening to a poem called Twinkle Twinkle Firefly. We then drew what we visualized in our heads. We then compared our visualization drawings to the artist's illustration of the poem.

Since today was the tenth day of school, that led to a conversation about the connection between the idea of ten and how ten is constructed in written form.
In math, we played the game of Towers. We took turns drawing a number tile (1-13), built the number, compared our tower to our neighbor's tower. If our tower was taller than our neighbor's tower we removed the difference and that was our winnings for the round. We repeated the steps until all numbers had been drawn. We then began the math chapter on comparing numbers.

Parents should find their child's math test in their homework folder. For comparison purposes here are a few facts. A score of 15 or more qualifies as passing this test. Consistent passing scores are signified by a mark of 3 on the report card. Of the 24 students taking this test from room 11, 3 scored 19, 7 scored 18, 6 scored 17, 3 scored 16, 3 scored 15, and 2 scored 14.

Congratulations to table 4 for accumulating 55 grams. The goal for next week will be 60 grams.

Ninth Day

I hope parents are finding this daily information useful. I realize it may not have been entirely scintillating reading as yet, but I'm feeling better about letting parents know things I think they should know on a daily basis. I love that the Internet provides this forum.

Anyway, we took our first publisher's (as opposed to district quarterly, or standardized) math test today. Comparing this to our last math program, the questions now allow for more open-ended response and really do reveal the difference between good understanding of the material and a mastered deeper understanding. I was pleased with the results overall and will provide a few statistics in tomorrow's post for your information.

In P.E. we did some fun two-person cooperative relays.

I'm sending home a family math game to begin the next unit as well as our last simple letter writing sheet. There are a few questions on the reverse of the math game. If your child returns it to school, I will look at it and send it back home so you'll have the game in case anyone wants to play it again.

Please keep in mind Back-to-School Night is coming up quickly. This is a good time to bring any general questions you may want to ask about 1st grade and for us to get to know each other a little better. My preference is that children not attend this meeting as it really is intended for parents/guardians to get deeper insight on how the year will unfold. I usually get 95%-100% attendance and room is limited in the classroom and often I find the parents are distracted by children being in the room. Having said that, though, I would rather that if both parents are interested in coming and there is no other way than to bring the kids, then by all means-bring the kids.

After working hard to get our citizenship assemblies moved back to mornings, this past year our leadership council decided to change most of them back to the afternoon. Because of this I suggest that on those days you send your child with some sort of sun protection, whether it be a hat or umbrella because we will be sitting in the afternoon sun for a time. I will have a sports umbrella myself. In years past I have just decided not to take my class out to the afternoon assemblies, but I guess I can play along this year if I have an umbrella. I will feel better if the kids have some protection themselves.

Eighth Day

Today we learned and practiced the important science concept observe or observation. We learned the different forms of matter (solid, liquid, and gas). We then observed a collection of 8 solids and came up with a list of properties to describe them. On another day we will choose two objects and record properties on a table.

Tomorrow or Friday (depending on attendance) we will have our first math test. The test questions will look very much like the questions on the math page that is going home today. That paper may stay at home. For homework have your child complete the letter writing page.

Seventh Day

We worked a lot with rhymes today. In our journals we completed the sentence frame: Let's make a rhyme for______, ______. (eg. hat, sat) and then illustrated our rhyme.

I have assessed all of the students in their sight-word vocabulary. Only four children scored exceptionally. This is considerably fewer than I would have expected and fewer than in past years. Twice that many were unable to pass the pre-primer or kindergarten level. Some students will be receiving sets of books to take home and practice which will highlight site word vocabulary. They will go home in ziplock bags. Please practice the set and return with your child.
The homework is light tonight. The basic idea was being able to represent various objects with one-to-one correspondance to math counters.

Sixth Day

No internet connection today, so posting from home.

We experimented with changing intitial consonants to create rhyming word families. We briefly discussed parenthetical marks and one of their purposes. We continued work on our All About Me books. We worked on balance in P.E. and discussed melody, words, and beat in music. We then identified recordings of random sounds and decided whether or not they had a beat. We discussed showing larger numbers using number patterns of two smaller numbers.

Our homework is the Home Connection for the last two math lessons and a letter writing sheet.

Fifth Day

Table 1 had enough points at the end of the day today to surpass the standard and win a premium prize with weight to spare for a good start next week. Sixty grams of points will be required to win next week.

Some interesting answers were offered for the open-ended response homework question: tell what you know about 12. Some remarked that 12 is an odd number, that it is made up of a whole ten and two left over (great answer), that 5+5+2=12, and that it is made up of two digits. Some students gave 3 responses which filled up their box. Some only gave one and a few responses I did not accept at all as they were factually incorrect. If a student was expected to know something notable about the number 12 as mentioned in the previous examples and they were able to record it in the box perhaps following a discussion with a parent, this might be considered a "3" response. A box filled with information with multiple significant ideas might be considered a "4" response to give you an example of how assessments might be graded. Something which parents may not know, but students will is that I often give a "Chance Ticket" (chance to win a raffle prize) for the "best homework in the world!" when a homework should happen to stand out.

There is no homework tonight. I do not collect or record homework on Mondays. Make-up homework is collected along with regular homework on Tuesday-Friday.
Enjoy your weekend.

Fourth Day

Today we discussed how every word needs to have at least one vowel sound and how it's possible to determine how many syllables a word has by counting the vowel sounds and vice-versa. We began our All About Me books. We created and drew a pattern using colored tiles and renamed elements of the pattern.

For homework there are two math pages similar to last night's and letter writing sheet.

Third Day

I apologize for the late posting yesterday; I simply ran short on time. I can't guarantee that won't happen again, but I will try to post as soon as I can every day.

Today we began discussing our plans for our first project which will be a book telling all about ourselves. This book will have a title page and a table of contents when complete. We will soon begin an alphabet book project which we will work on concurrently.

Thank you for your prompt return of all the many office information forms. Some students did not receive credit for their writing homework due to improper letter formation. Homework today is to complete the math pages. Please have them correct (rewrite below or above) the circled letters and return the page to school. Most lowercase letters are made without lifting the writing tool (eg. a, b, c, d, e, g,...).

Second Day

Today we discussed possible ways to communicate if spoken word or writing was not possible. As a result we learned the first 4 letters of the American Sign Language alphabet. We will continue to learn the entire alphabet as we review proper letter formation.

We very briefly began discussion on our Universal Theme of Patterns (more to be discussed at Back-to-School). Actually, it was a few observant students who turned the discussion in that direction. I suggested everyone be prepared to share a simple movement (eg.touch your head, lift your right foot) that could be added to a movement pattern tomorrow.

We used visualization to try and think of other reasons people read or write. A "field trip in our head" turned into after school errands with a parent which led us to add the suggestion of "writing to give instructions" to our list. We will be developing our abilities in visualization as the year progresses as a reading comprehension strategy.

For homework a 2-sided letter writing page was assigned as well as the remaining two pages of math. Please remember to read as well.

First Day

Whew! Busy day. Today we read a poem by Gilette Burgess called The Purple Cow. We brain-stormed reasons someone may need to communicate in written form. We will be exploring the idea of the written message in the next 10 days. Also during this time, we will be working on correct letter and number formation and the proper way to hold various writing implements.
Along with the math homework, I am asking that all families try to return the Emergency Cards to school as soon as possible. I have promised bonus table points to the table with 100% return Tuesday morning.

In order to win a table prize at the end of the week, tables will need to earn 55 grams of points.