March will bring us Read Across America, St. Patrick's Day, and the first day of Spring, which we are ALL looking forward too! We will learn about Dr. Seuss and the contributions he made to helping children learn how to read. We are reading Fairy Tales this month. If you have any at home, they still make great bedtime stories!
During the month of March, our whole school is continuing the character education work out. We are spending time with lessons on courage, optimism, respect, responsibility, empathy, citizenship, and trustworthiness. These are great qualities to reinforce at home.
This month I will travel to Columbia Teachers College for their Reading and Writing Project Saturday reunion. This is an amazing event, free to all teachers, and thousands of teachers will be there. I can't wait to try all of the new things I will learn there with my group of first graders.
We will conduct a science unit on Balance and Motion. We will use the FOSS kit to explore balance, motion, counterweights, rolling, spinning, axles, wheels, rotation. This is a fun, hands on unit using various manipulatives. Look for a parent letter to come home. Students will want to share all we are doing in class with this unit!
In math, we are beginning Unit 7. This unit is on Geometry. Key concepts include sorting attributes blocks according to attribute rules, extending familiarity with polygons, identifying 3 dimensional shapes, and exploring symmetrical shapes. Please continue to practice basic addition and subtraction facts.
Writing Workshop will focus on narrative stories. The students have been working so hard in Writing Workshop, this unit will be a little more "free" for them to express themselves.
Have a great month!
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
February 2014
We kicked off the month of February with a fun study of Groundhog Day. The students enjoyed learning about this holiday and making their own groundhogs.
The 100th day of school will be this month. Students are asked to create a display of 100 items. These displays will be on the bulletin boards in the first grade hall.
We will begin Unit 7 in Math. It is a Geometry unit. The students will learn about attributes, patterns, 3 dimensional shapes, polygons and non-polygons, symmetry and congruence.
Writing Workshop is continuing to focus on opinion writing this month. We are writing Book Reviews of our favorite books, trying to convince others to read them.
We will celebrate Valentine's Day on Tuesday, February 14th. Students can bring in Valentine cards to give to their classmates. We will also have some treats and make a pretty Valentine bag to hold our cards.
I will be testing the students DRA levels for reading this month. I will also be administering the DIBELS test this month.
Remember, there is a no school on Monday, February 17. Enjoy President's Day!
The 100th day of school will be this month. Students are asked to create a display of 100 items. These displays will be on the bulletin boards in the first grade hall.
We will begin Unit 7 in Math. It is a Geometry unit. The students will learn about attributes, patterns, 3 dimensional shapes, polygons and non-polygons, symmetry and congruence.
Writing Workshop is continuing to focus on opinion writing this month. We are writing Book Reviews of our favorite books, trying to convince others to read them.
We will celebrate Valentine's Day on Tuesday, February 14th. Students can bring in Valentine cards to give to their classmates. We will also have some treats and make a pretty Valentine bag to hold our cards.
I will be testing the students DRA levels for reading this month. I will also be administering the DIBELS test this month.
Remember, there is a no school on Monday, February 17. Enjoy President's Day!
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Happy 2014!
The new year brings us to the half way point of first grade. Students will be tested for mid-year progress in math, DIBELS, and DRA at the end of January and beginning of February. Look for report cards to come home at the end of the month. The students are growing and learning so much each day, it is very exciting!
Writing Workshop this month focuses on persuasive writing, or opinion writing. We will start by writing a list of things we really love, and would love to persuade others to like. The students have been able to write on their own for longer periods of time, and are becoming very convincing in their writing. Watch out parents! This can be a powerful tool!
Our phonics lessons will reinforce short vowels, hard and soft c and g, r,l, and s blends, and contractions. We are doing an author study of Jan Brett. We are also reading The True Story of Balto.
Social Studies will focus on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We will tie this in with our character education lessons and discuss how it feels to be excluded and what we can all do to be part of a solution to the problems of prejudice and stereotyping.
Math skills to focus on this month include basic addition and subtraction facts, and a review of temperature and time to the hour and half hour. Please keep working on basic facts. We are up to subtraction to 6. Students should be very fluent in all addition facts (to 20) and subtraction to 6.
In Science, we will be discussing how the weather affects us and how animals adapt to their environment. We will do some experiments with ice, snow, and water. We will make frost and compare that to how snowflakes are made.
There is no school for students on January 20. Our therapy dogs will visit on January 15. We will have our Spelling Bee on January 13. Our school wide Spelling Bee will be on January 17.
A special thank you to the PTA for the Lenne Lenape Assembly on January 14. It was fantastic! The students learned so much and were interested in everything Mr. TwoSteps had to say.
I am looking forward to a great month with these awesome first graders! Stay warm and healthy!
Writing Workshop this month focuses on persuasive writing, or opinion writing. We will start by writing a list of things we really love, and would love to persuade others to like. The students have been able to write on their own for longer periods of time, and are becoming very convincing in their writing. Watch out parents! This can be a powerful tool!
Our phonics lessons will reinforce short vowels, hard and soft c and g, r,l, and s blends, and contractions. We are doing an author study of Jan Brett. We are also reading The True Story of Balto.
Social Studies will focus on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We will tie this in with our character education lessons and discuss how it feels to be excluded and what we can all do to be part of a solution to the problems of prejudice and stereotyping.
Math skills to focus on this month include basic addition and subtraction facts, and a review of temperature and time to the hour and half hour. Please keep working on basic facts. We are up to subtraction to 6. Students should be very fluent in all addition facts (to 20) and subtraction to 6.
In Science, we will be discussing how the weather affects us and how animals adapt to their environment. We will do some experiments with ice, snow, and water. We will make frost and compare that to how snowflakes are made.
There is no school for students on January 20. Our therapy dogs will visit on January 15. We will have our Spelling Bee on January 13. Our school wide Spelling Bee will be on January 17.
A special thank you to the PTA for the Lenne Lenape Assembly on January 14. It was fantastic! The students learned so much and were interested in everything Mr. TwoSteps had to say.
I am looking forward to a great month with these awesome first graders! Stay warm and healthy!
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