Rockin' October!
I hope you are enjoying this blog as a glimpse into our classroom and your child's day at school. There is so much to share with you from last week! I'll start off with a little video of our writing workshop time. We have written our first small moment story! It takes a lot of time for these young students to pull together all the things it takes to be a great writer. They are pretty much brand new at this writing gig----after all, they've just come out of kindergarten as brand new readers and writers. Our skills are still so very new! In first grade, we are working on handwriting, stretching out sounds to spell words the best we can, using finger spaces between words, learning what gets a capital letters, and what doesn't, how to use ending marks - and a variety of them, on top of writing cohesive sentences and stories with a beginning, middle, end. It is A LOT to pull off; and they are off to a great start! As the year goes on, we will learn to revise and edit more...but for now, we are learning to put our thoughts on paper and re-read to make sure it makes sense. Here's a peek into our writing time. It is our most quietest time of the day. It is so important for writers to be calm, focused, and working in an environment where they can constantly work to stretch their sounds without others bothering them, and to be creative and skillful in their work. Listen carefully, and you will hear the instrumental music that is played during writing time. The kids love it, and so do I! I am SO VERY PROUD of their efforts! I can't wait to read their stories this week.
We've had some fun with our math and kicking off Chapter 2, which is all about addition and subtraction strategies. It was fun to learn the new word "false" - and make up equations that were NOT true! Everyone really got the hang of the equal sign, and the not equal sign! This really makes us think about numbers and their value (number sense). We know that 6 = 6, and 4+1 does not equal 7, for example. We learned that the equal sign is like a balance---what is on one side of the equal sign, must also be the same/true on the other side, unless you use a not equal sign.
Are you in need of a FUN, educational app for your tablets at home? Check out this app called Math Tappers Finding Sums. It is an individual game, but we've turned it into a relay game for the classroom. You can easily make it a relay game for home, or just let your child play around with it. It is really great for developing number sense, working with ten or twenty frames, and addition! Find it in the app store here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mathtappers-find-sums-math/id353582286?mt=8
It is FREE and it focuses on relevant math skills! What's not to love?! At school, students can work together as a team to have the quickest time, but more importantly the highest accuracy score. At the end of each round, we stop to talk about the importance of accuracy vs. speed! We aim for fluency, but we draw the line at carelessness! ;)
This past week, students were also introduced to a super fun app that we will use all year long. It is called magnetic alphabet. Find it here in the app store. The free version is nice, but for $1.99 you get lowercase letters, too. Those are nice for your young writer who is learning when to use capital and lowercase letters! We use this app to build our spelling words. We play a game that Mrs. Powell calls "Mix it, Make it". Students build a word such as, mop. Then we change only the necessary letters to make a new word. This is a super challenge for our brain. So, we might change mop to map, map to mat, mat to rat, rat to rut, etc. We play around with the beginning, middle, and endings of words. This is a GREAT way to practice your spelling words.
Students are loving up the writing station at Daily 5! They are busy delivering mail to me, their friends, and other teachers/staff members throughout the building. It is so fun to write for a purpose. I enjoy seeing all their cute letters and notes floating around. Finding these things at the end of the day definitely puts a smile on my face!
Yes, Kendra....it's true. I DO like to make sure that the kids are on track! And thank you for the long, very purple-ish/blue hair. Maybe I will try that color out someday! If only I could balance my coffee and books so well, life would be really grand! ;)
Well, we did it! We were finally able to bust out the math station games this week! Everyone is LOVING the games that extend our learning and practice time for the lessons we do in whole group together. Marlee and Alyssa are playing a counting on game.
Kendra is playing "pumpkin poke". This is a self-checking game where students add two numbers, put the pencil through the hole with the answer they think is correct, and then look on the back to check their work. It's a fun one!
Cashton is playing a Clip It Game. He's adding two numbers and putting a clothespin clip over the correct answer.
We also had our Fire Safety assembly from Cherry Grove Twp. We hope that all families have reviewed their safety plan with their children. Where will you go in case of a fire? Remember, DO NOT make your meeting place in the backyard or in the road! Find a common place like the mailbox, or in the neighbor's driveway. Crews must be able to see you out front!
Here we are looking pretty knowledgeable about fire safety with Chief Miles!
Reading groups are up and running! This is where Mrs. Powell meets with several small groups/day to work on reading that is just right for each group of learners. This instruction, paired with independent reading and at home practice will help your child sky-rocket as a reader! Please be sure to join me in teaching your child to read by utilizing their leveled reader book bags that come home, and reading with your child for enjoyment often. We are building foundational skills and creating a love of reading. Now is the time to really invest in your child's reading abilities!!
I look forward to seeing everyone at conferences this Thursday! Many of the children are very excited to lead their conference! I am excited to watch them take charge of their learning experiences and share them with the most important people in their lives! Together, we make a great team!
