Proper Nouns are Important

Our big focus this week in SWR and literacy is noticing proper nouns.  We notice them when we read and when we write.  Today we learned about nouns (people, places, things), and that there are two kinds- common and proper.  We talked about how common nouns are teacher, dog, football team, and book but proper nouns would be Mrs. Hershman, Tanner (a dog), the New York Giants, and Patches, Lost and Found.  We sorted common nouns from proper nouns and looked for them in sentences we read.

We are learning all about telling time in math.  We learned how to tell time to the nearest hour today.  Some of us even practiced telling time to the half-hour.  We learned that you can say times differently, but it means the same thing.  For example, you can say it is 1:30 or you can say, it is half-past one.  One of us even realized how to tell time to the nearest minute!  WOW!  She said, "Mrs. Hershman.  Someone asked me to show 3:33.  At first I thought I couldn't, but I put the hour hand on three, then I went to 3:30, then I went over THREE more spaces and I realized- that's 3:33!" We are always learning so much in our classroom.

In writing today our learning point was, "I can read my writing like I read books."  We practiced reading our stories with voice, fluently so it sounds just like a book!  We are excellent readers and writers.

Labeling Numbers

Our red word this week is, my.  The first graders were thrilled to realize they already knew this word!  It's easy to spell and write words correctly when you already know what they are.  We are learning all about the ___ap word family as well.  We know so many words with the a,p combination in them. 

We learned to always label numbers in math so we know what we're talking about!  We also learned how to skip count with calculators.  The first graders were THRILLED to use calculators and were so excited that they skip-counted to the THOUSANDS.  We are amazing!  In small groups, we learned about telling time on an analog clock.  Some groups told time to the hour, some groups to the half-hour and one group even learned that you can count by 5's around the clock to tell time to the minute.  Telling time is so important.  Encourage your first grader to read analog clocks as much as possible at home.

We read a passage about robins in reading and answered questions about what we read.  We realized how closely you need to pay attention to answer specific questions about books and texts.  We also realized the passage was non-fiction because it was telling us factual information about robins growing up.  We are beginning to notice so many things when we read! 

In writing we learned about using a writing partner to help us when we write. Our partner can listen to our stories and help us make them even stronger.  We love having writing partners! 

Celebration

We earned five whole-class Pax-It notes which means... we earned a Granny's Whacky Celebration!  Granny's Whacky Celebrations are even BIGGER and BETTER than Grannny's Whacky Prizes.  We worked hard as a class to be Safe, Respectful and Ready to Learn.  We are amazing!  To celebrate, we had free choice computer time.  Some first graders painted in Tux Paint, some used BookFlix, some read on RAZ-Kids and some practiced their typing skills. 

In your child's folder today, you will find information on how to access grade book online through the parent portal of Power School.  When you login, you will find your child's first math test.  If you have any questions, let me know!

Have a super weekend! 

2-Fisted Penny Addition

We learned a new game to practice making 10's today.  It is called Two-Fisted Penny Addition.  Ask your first grader to teach you at home.  If you don't have 10 pennies readily available, you can use ANYTHING!  We used cubes, unifix cubes and pennies in our room today.  We also learned how to play 10's Frame Top-It. 

(We even got to sit backwards!! GRANNY!!!) 

This morning we had our first lock-down safety drill.  We were amazingly quiet and waited patiently for Ms. Milham and a police officer to come to our room.  We were such great leaders and example setters.  We have been working so hard lately to do what's expected. 

Today we learned about BookFlix.  BookFlix is a web-based program we access at schools that pairs fiction texts with non-fiction texts.  We are learning all about fiction and non-fiction so we were SO excited to read to books together- one of each! 

In reading and writing we've been sequencing and using words such as first, next, then, last and finally to show time has changed.  We keep track of what's happening with those words.  We also have been writing those words across the pages to make sure we have enough of a story to tell.  

We are so proud of all of the work we have been doing.  The first graders in room 12 are simply the best!

Main Idea

We've been working in literacy to pinpoint the main idea of a story, article or video.  We are really good at remembering many events or ideas, but focusing in on the most important one has been challenging.  We've been working to keep track of the main idea and key details in texts we're reading.  We make sure the key details relate to the main idea every time.  

A few people have asked what to do with the SWR papers that are sent home.  Please have your first grader tap out the red words, and write all of the words and sentences on the paper.  Remind them to start sentences with an uppercase letter, leave spaces between words, and always finish with a period!(.) 

In math we worked today to make combinations of 10.  We used 10's frames to do this.  Our favorite activity was making a Tens Partner Rainbow.  Once we have all facts (combinations) of 10 memorized we can start working on other fast facts.  The most important point we realized was that... the answer is ALWAYS 10 when you start with 10 manipulatives! 

If you haven't sent your PIO fundraiser folder back, please do that.  Thanks! 

Numbers are Everywhere

We learned about all kinds of numbers today in math.  We discussed phone numbers, addresses, finishing first, second or third in a race and also how we use numbers to order items.  We continued to practice our fast math skills by rolling and adding, rolling and subtracting, and signing on to xtramath.  We are getting to be such fast mathematicians! 

One thing that became very apparent is that the first graders do NOT know their parent's phone numbers.  Please, please, please, practice your phone number(s) with your children.  It is so important that they have them memorized.

In writing today, we learned about snap words.  Snap words are... words you know in a SNAP!  Like our word wall words, word family words, or names of people in your family.

It was another fabulous day in first grade.  We are learning so much! 

Counting on a Number Grid

We have a lot of new information in SWR this week.  Our red words are look and am.  Our word family is the __ab family.  We had a lot of fun thinking of words that could fit in that family.  Our WOW word is evacuate. 

In math we practiced counting up and back on a numer grid today.  A number grid is different from a number line in many ways.  Ask your first grader to tell you about some of the differences this afternoon.  We played a new game called Roll to 50.  We also used the finger strategy to subtract numbers.  We are really learning so much!

In literacy we discussed character (the WHO) and setting (the WHERE) in stories.  We read our own books and shared with our classmates about the character(s) and setting in our own books. 

Our learning point in writing today is, "I can tackle tricky words by say it, slide it, hear it, write it!"  We are learning so many strategies in writing and you can tell that we're using them because our writing is becoming more clear.  The stories we've written are so impressive!

Today was another amazing day!  Your first graders are the best! 

Technological Friday

It was so great to see everyone last night!  Thank you so much for taking the time to visit our classroom.  I know the first graders were excited to share their work with you. 

We spent time today learning about some technology tools we will use throughout the year.  We learned about the ipads and netbooks and spent some time working on them.  We were especially excited to have earned over 20,000 stars on RAZ-Kids which means we were able to use RAZ Robot and RAZ Rocket!  Everytime we earn 20,000 stars as a class, we get to decorate our rockets and build our robots!  

It looks like it is going to be a beautiful weekend... enjoy it!

Unit 1 Math Assessment

Today we took our Unit1 math assessment.  Our very first one!  We felt so grown up using privacy shields and taking a test.  We also did a FABULOUS job!  You can check for your child's score through the CSD Parent Portal.  If you don't have access to that, or have never accessed it, please let me know.  Things are still being set up on the backside of the portal, so don't expect to see any scores until next week. 

Tonight, finally, is Open House! The first graders are very excited to visit school with their families and to show them all of their hard work.   Open house begins at 6:30.  There is transportation available from Holy Cross church.  We hope to see you tonight!

Happy Constitution Day

Today is Constitution Day.  We learned about our constitution (and what a constitution is) as well as our rights and responsibilities.  We watched an informational (non-fiction) BrainPopJr. video about rights and responsibilities and thought about the rights we have in our own lives and the responsbilities we have in order to keep those rights.  Ask your first grader to tell you about Rights and Responsibilities tonight!

Tomorrow, Thursday is Open House at 6:30pm.  We hope to see you then!
 

Strategy Tuesday

Today we focused on strategies that help us learn.  We discussed how we use strategies in football, soccer, gymnastics and art to help us accomplish a goal.  We realized that we can use strategies to help us in reading, math, and writing too. We thought it was so funny that we can tackle in football and also tackle tricky words in writing.  We use strategies to help us succeed. 

We practiced using manipulatives as a class to help us subtract. We even had a few first graders who showed us how they use manipulatives by thinking aloud.  Thinking aloud helps all of us understand what one person is thinking.  

We were reading a story this morning and the sentence said, "Tomas peered in the window.  The library was huge!"  One first grader raised her hand and said, "Hey!  The author could have used the word immense instead of huge!"  We were so excited to realize that we are recognizing where our WOW words could be used!  We are so impressive.

We earned two whole-class Pax-It notes today.  Whole class Pax-It notes are earned when the entire class is caught doing exactly what is expected.  Our two favorite Granny's Whacky Prizes were rocking out our air guitars to Born to Be Wild and singing Let It Go and Motorboat while plugging our noses.  We are so funny.  (We think.) 

Please remember  that Thursday is Open House at 6:30pm.  Bussing is available from Holy Cross church.  We hope to see you there!

Marvelous Monday

We got right to work this morning in room 12.  We were all rested from the weekend and ready to learn.  We can accomplish so much when we're all ready to learn! 

Our WOW word this week is immense.  We practiced using this word in sentences.  Some of us even ate immense pieces of pizza this weekend.  The red word this week is see.  We were excited to learn about our first word family this year, the __at word family.  We couldn't believe once we could spell at, we could also spell cat, hat, fat, chat, that, and even flat, splat, drat and sat!  We thought of so many words in the __at word family.

We had explorations for the first time in math this year.  Explorations is when we explore math materials on our own.  Today we explored geo-boards, base 10 blocks, and pattern blocks.  We had a lot of time to use the materials and were able to create some impressive things.  During this time we also practiced our fast math skills with xtramath and even came to the strategy table in small groups to learn about subtration strategies.  Today's strategy was to use manipulatives to model taking away.  Ask your first grader to show you how they take away using manipulatives.  

In literacy our I can statement was, "I can reread and touch each word."  This is important because when we make a mistake it helps us find it when we touch the words.  We practiced this with books from our book boxes and even worked on a special project. 

In writing we continued to work on our stories and spell tough words by stretching them out.

Thursday is Open House.  We will see you at 6:30 if you're able to make it!

WOW! WHAT A DAY!

Oh my gosh.  We had the absolute BEST day in room 12 today!  We worked hard to be safe, respectful, and ready to learn. We were all Pax leaders. We are so proud of ourselves!  We also earned all FOUR Granny's Whacky Prizes, PLUS some beat the timer prizes!  We couldn't BELIEVE Granny would suggest skipping through the hallways (and by the office!), having a dance party to Taylor Swift, standing on our chairs and yelling, and taking a 30 second nap in the middle. of. Guidance.  Needless to say, we're convinced Granny is completely whacky. 

We learned how to work in small groups in math today.  We established ground rules for small-groups and showed that we knew how to be a cooperative member of a group.  We also had some very proud first graders who earned many smiley faces in a row during xtramath.

In Reader's Workshop we learned what it looks and sounds like to be respectful of other readers.  We had the most successful Reader's Workshop we've ever had.  We were reading, responding, listening to stories and even sharing our favorite stories with our friend.  One lucky reader even got to read a story to our Principal!   

We are ready for Friday and to finish the week strongly.  Please tell your first grader how proud you (and me!) are of them and their fabulous work today at school.  We are having a great year in our classroom together.   

RAZ-Kids

We are so excited because we learned all about RAZ-Kids today!  RAZ-Kids is an online reading program we use at school and at home.  Please look for the informational paper about RAZ-Kids in your child's folder.  You can visit the website and keep track of your child's progress by visiting:

www.raz-kids.com/login

Username: mhershman

Tomorrow is PICTURE DAY!  Our photos will be at 9:30am.  Please send in any order forms tomorrow.

We have enjoyed our writing time so much lately that the first graders come in, first thing, and ask when writing time is!  We couldn't WAIT until 1:45 for writing today and are so proud of all of the stories we have written so far this year.  Today, we practiced writing long and strong for 8 entire minutes.  WITHOUT. STOPPING.  We are so impressive! 

Tallying Tallies

Today in math we used tallies to keep track of data.  We learned a new game called, "Roll and Tally."  We rolled dice many times and kept track of which numbers we rolled the most.  We also reported this information to our classmates and kept track of whole-class data on a tracking sheet.  We had a lot of fun trying to guess which number we would roll the most.

Our fast math skill today was +1.  We realized when we add 1 it is simply one MORE than the number we're adding too.  We timed ourselves and did a great job finishing our fast math sheet in three minutes or less.  We have also been using xtramath to practice our fast math skills.

In literacy we learned about our learning partners.  Our learning partners come to the rug with us and sit next to us. Sometimes, we turn and talk to our learning partners to discuss the book we're reading.  We will use our learning partners in math, reading and writing.  We also used our book boxes and reading response notebooks today.   

In writing, we learned how to tackle difficult pictures and words.  We learned that we never put our head in our hands and yell from our seat, "I CAN'T DOOOOO THISSSS!" Instead, we can sound it out, tap it out, do our best, or stretch it out!  We have so many strategies to help us tackle difficult pictures and words.

First Monday

We were so excited to finally have a Monday at school!  It makes keeping track of the days much easier.  Today we learned about the sound s and the red words I and can.  You will see a SWR sheet in your child's homework folder.  Help them practice writing red words and letters.  

We practiced using tally marks today in math.  We tallied the types of pets we have at home.  Your child will have math homework in their folder this week.  Please only complete one worksheet per night for Monday-Thursday.  Please send them to school Tuesday-Friday mornings. 

Our WOW word this week is sweltering.  We used sweltering in a sentence and thought of instances in our lives when we were sweltering. 

During Reader's Workshop we make a list of why we like to read and we also practiced using our book boxes for the first time.  We recorded the date and title of the book and then sketched or wrote about it.  We had one Pax game today without ANY spleems!  We were so proud of ourselves for our hard work. 

Picture day is Thursday.  Order forms will go home tomorrow!