January Update News

Reading:

As readers we are continuously practicing and using the skill of self-monitoring. This means that students are thinking about what they are reading and checking to make sure that what they read matches the words on the page. This includes recognizing any errors made and fixing them right away when reading. When reading, students are not only self-correcting, but also making sense of and understanding the story. Students are learning it is okay to reread a book several times to build fluency, or being able to read smoothly with expression. 
Next we we  will learn about Comprehension in reading. 
Comprehension is another key to reading. Can your child tell: 
Who is in the story
Where the story takes place
When the story takes place
What happened in order 
What are the characters feeling
Who is talking

Some additional Comprehension questions: What is the author's message? What is the author trying to teach you? What is your favorite part and why? What was the most important in the story and why?

Writing:  We finished our unit on Non-Fiction Reports. Students wrote all about an animal. They are experts on so many animals. They organized the writing into: What the animal looks like, lives and eats with a table of contents and a glossary. An author craft move we practiced in this unit was a TWIN SENTENCE. A twin sentence uses a vocabulary word and then explains it. For example: e 
Groundhogs hibernate in the winter. Hibernate means to sleep all winter. 

Our new unit will be Opinion Writing. 
We will give our Opinion with reasons for the best on many things we like. We will be writing about our  collections first. We will also review favorite restaurants, food, movies, and games.

Math: 
We are finishing Chapter 10 Addition and Subtraction to 20. 

Being able to compose (add) and decompose (subtract) Facts Fluently is a key skill in first grade.

One way  is to make a ten and then add or subtract.
Example:
9 + 8 = 
Take one from the 8 and give to the 9 to make a 10 so it is 10 + 8 = 18

Another way to add is to think of Doubles facts.
We know that 8 + 8 = 16 and 9 is 1 more then 8 so 8 + 8 + 1 = 17

Fact Fluency: Knowledge of basic facts to 20 and development of the number sense around 20 is essential to all areas of math. We continue to practice our math addition facts to 20 daily with games. 
Please practice at home as well. 


Science: We are starting our scientific study of Solids and Liquids. We will observe the properties of many solids and liquids, comparing how solids and liquids are alike and how they are different. Some key words you will hear children describe liquids are: viscous, bubbly, foamy, colorful, transparent, and translucent. Some key words you will hear children describe solids are: rough, smooth, rigid, flexible, and has color. We will continue our exploration of solid and liquid materials for a few more weeks. We hope children understand that the world is made of matter that comes in Solids, Liquids and Gases.

Look Ahead: 


Friday, February 14th- Valentines Party and Early release
All students need a decorated box and enough valentines for 18 students.
See note being sent home. ***Parents Welcome****

Monday, February 17th- No School, President's Day

Book Orders Due: 
Scholastic Book Orders will be coming home. Orders are due: Friday, January 24th.

If you order, there are 2 ways to pay:
A) Return order sheet and a check made out to Scholastic.
B) Online order with your credit card.
1. go to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
2. use my class activation code: fmr3g
3. shop and pay.

Mittens, Mittens, Mitterns

First grade students have been reading and comparing the two Mitten books:
The Mitten by Alvin Tresslet and The Mitten by Jan Brett.
Both books have a little boy who looses a mitten in the snow and animals that decide to get warm by climbing inside. The books differ by the kinds of animals and the way the mitten is made.
We enjoyed reading, discussing and thinking about the story last week.

In addition, we read the Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg. We imagined what a mitten could be for the forest animals. Some ideas were a nest for a bird, a sleeping bag for a mole, or a blanket for a mouse.

In addition the main character imagines that mittens can be planted and grown on trees!

This will lead to a discussion on which is best:
gloves verses mittens.

Looking Ahead

Important Dates:

First Grade Field Trip: Thursday, January 16th. We go to see Click, Clack Moo at Florissant Civic Center. 
Early Release: Friday January 17
No School: Monday January 20th- MLK Day
Early release and Parties for Valentines Day: Friday, February 14th.
No School Monday February 17th- President's Day

Math Information

Here is a video from Math Guru, Graham Fletcher, that help  explain Math Progression Understanding.


Progression of Addition and Subtraction

Gingerbread

At the end of the last semester we read about the folktale, The Gingerbread Man. We  read many different versions looking for similarities and differences. Then we made gingerbread felt men to put on the refrigerator.

by Karen Schmidt

by Jan Brett

by Jan Brett

by Lisa Campbell Ernst

Happy Holidays

At the end of the first semester, we celebrated with a Holiday sing and read-in party on the last day.

November News 2019

Reading: We finished our NonFiction unit and started Readers Have Big Jobs to Do: Word Detectives.  Children will learn to use all they know to help them read multi-syllabic words. One  of the teaching points is STOP at the first sign of trouble and try a strategy.
Some of the strategies are:
cover and slide-look at all parts,
start with the blend or digraph
see a word you know in the middle,
take off the ending,
pull off the blend,
flip the vowel,
silent e rule,
two vowels rule
At every point we emphasize that all words should make sense. In addition, I am teaching students to not rush their progress. If they are making more than 3 errors, then they need to find a just right book. Reading should be fun and not a struggle. I am also teaching that good readers go back and fix mistakes and are careful readers. Students should notice when they make a mistake and want to go back, fix and learn the new word. Students are shopping in the level library at least once a week along with going to the library. Please make sure they are taking home the BLUE reading bag every night. Reading at home is a first graders' homework.

Writing: We are finishing Nonfiction Reports, All About. The students have written all about a topic and include many features of nonfiction books. They included captions on pictures, a table of contents and/or a glossary.We have been working on spelling words that are "no-excuses". These are words must be spelled correctly. We continue to learn about spelling patterns and how words work. We have finished short vowels: a, o, u i, e and R blends. Next up: digraphs (ch, sh, th, wh)  and S Blends.

Math:  We Started Ch. 5- Addition and Subtraction to 20. We will learn  strategies to add to 20. They include:

1. Making a 10 and then adding: 9+4 is the same as 10+3
2. Counting on: Adding by starting with the bigger number. 12 +3.
       Say 12 and count on 3 more to get 15.
3. Knowing Doubles, 3+3, 4+ 4, 6+6, etc
4. Knowing Neighbors, since 3+3 = 6 then 3+4 = 7
And using all the tools we have to help us until we understand and know fluently the answers.
Fingers, number lines, cubes, drawing dots, number bonds, ten and twenty frames.
These are just strategies to help them know their math facts fluently. The goal is be able to add and subtract up to 20 in their head. Being able to see the numbers in their head and manipulate them to get the answer they need will help them later with word problems. A computer math site that reinforces these skills are:
www.gregtangmath.com


Social Studies: We spent time before Thanksgiving learning about the Pilgrims. We learned that 100 Pilgrims came to America, but only 40 survived the winter. Most of these were children. We talked about why people immigrate to another country like the Pilgrims. Many of our activities focused on how hard the Pilgrims had coming to this country, and we related it to how hard immigrants have coming to a new place. We learned about Maps and Globes. We studied: a map key, compass rose and how to make and read a map. We are learning about Rules versus laws.  Up Next will be the different celebrations in December and how we respect all that are in our school and community.
Looking Ahead:

Early Release: Friday, Dec 6th and Dec 20th. 

Winter Holiday Sing: Wednesday, December 18 at 2 p.m.

Winter Holiday Read-In: Friday, December 20, Early Release day
                                        Kids wear PJs to school, bring a blanket and pillow.
                                        All school Read-in. starting at 9:30 a.m
           
 Winter Break- No School- Dec 23 through January 2rnd. School Resumes January 6th

THANK YOU to all who shopped at the Captain Library Book Fair. All books donated to my room were read to the students. I really appreciate the extra books for the kids to read.