September 22-26

It has been a very busy week of learning!  Check out all we discovered as we moved through our days!  Be sure to ask your child the learning questions at the bottom of each overview to learn more about your child's thinking this week.

Reading:

This week's focus was on how readers help themselves.

-Eagle Eye - Look at the pictures

-Lips the Fish - Get your lips ready

-Stretchy the Snake - S-t-r-e-t-c-h out the word

-Chunky Monkey - Chunk the word/sound

Question:  How can these reading strategies help you read tricky words?

Writing:

In writing we began our first book of the new unit "Telling Good Stories"

-Hook your reader by beginning stories with a strong feeling, sound effect, or dialogue

-Added details with buddy sentences

-Sequenced stories with transition words

Question:  What kind of hook did you use in your story?

Math:

This week our focus was on Subtraction.

-Subtraction story problems 

-Subtraction strategies

-New game: Roll and Record Subtraction 

Question:  What new subtraction strategy did you learn?  Which subtraction strategy do you like best?

Science:

We continued to study Weather and charted daily weather outside.

-Compared inside and outside temperature

-Measured hot cold, and mixed water temperatures

Question:  What happens when you mix hot and cold water?

Word Work:

Students are working on individual words sorts and will bring one sort home each week.

Question:  What sounds or words were you sorting this week?  

Reminders:

Late Start Wednesday - 10/1/14

Book Fair Starts - 10/7/14

Parent/Teacher Conferences - 10/8/14

Barretts Bistro 10/10/14

Experimenting With Hot and Cold Water

The Cheetahs have conducted their very first science experiment with hot and cold water!  We asked ourselves, "What happens to the temperature of the water when we mix hot and cold water together?"

Take a look of us at work!

Class Cheer!

I had a couple requests from our students to put the class cheer on the blog so they can practice at home with you :)

Cheetah spots, Cheetah spots on our backs
We follow the 7 Habits to help us stay on track
Cheetahs, Cheetahs, we are here to say
We are fast learners
Hip-hip hooray! 

The students largely created our cheer.  I think they did a great job!

September 15-19

We had a busy week of learning in first grade.  Check out all we discovered as we moved through our days! Be sure to ask your child the learning question at the bottom of each overview to learn more about his/her thinking this week.

Reading:  

This week our focus was on working in partnerships.  We learned:

-The things partners talk about when looking at books (how to use strategies to help each other)

-How to share a book with a listening partner and a talking partner (I read, you read, we read)

-How to understand the meaning of our books (making sure each partner understand what he/she is reading)

-How to think about our reading (retell and revisit details of the story)

-How to know if we are doing our jobs as partners (reading a reading rubric and self-assessment)

Question:  How does have a partner help you as a reader?

Writing:  

In writing we took a closer look at the first grade writing process of think, plan, sketch, add detail and revise/edit/publish.  We learned:

-How to sequence a story (Beginning, middle, middle, middle, end)

-How to plan using a graphic organizer

-How to sketch across the pages of a book to remember the most important parts of the story

Question:  Why do you think writers plan before they write?

Math:  

Math this week was more exposure to making and breaking number values.  We practiced:

-Working with the values of 7 and 9 with peas and carrots word problems

-Combination number games to represent values in multiple ways

-True/false equation problems

Question:  How many ways can I make/break the number 5 (Play the game how many am I hiding with items from home)?

Science:

We continued exploring our new weather unit this week.  We learned:

-How to record the weather

-The meaning of words like cloud cover, precipitation, temperature, and wind speed

-How to read a thermometer

Question:  Talk about how your wind flag helped you learn about wind?

Word Work:

This week we started individual word study groups.

Question:  What sounds were you sorting this week?  Can you find three items at home that have the sounds you’ve been practicing? 

Homework:

Weekly homework will come home each Friday.  The main part of your child's nightly homework will be reading twenty minutes five days a week and returning the reading log each Monday.  The Friday homework assignment should completed sometime during the next week.  All Friday homework is due by Friday of the next week.  Please make sure you sign the homework slip and have your child return it during the next week with any homework that needs to be turned in.  Some homework is just for practice and will not need to be returned. There is a direction sheet on the front of Friday homework explaining everything you need to know and have your child complete.   

Class T-Shirts!

 Hi Cheetahs and Parents!

Our classroom t-shirts came in!  I will send these home before Field Day next week. :)

Picture Day Tomorrow!

Hi Parents and Cheetahs!

Please remember that Picture Day is tomorrow, September 16!  Send in any necessary paperwork for pictures with your child tomorrow.  I have sent out an email reminder, too.

Thank you!!

Busy, busy!!

The Cheetahs were very busy today!  Check out some snapshots from our newest math game, 'How Many Am I Hiding?', and from our first FGIF day!

The students had SO much fun, and I appreciate all of the parent help and support.  It was a great success thanks to YOU!

Have a fantastic weekend.

How Many Am I Hiding?

FGIF Day!

Writing Celebration!

The Cheetahs published their first writing pieces, and we celebrated by reading them to some partners!

September 8-12

Reading:

-Compared two texts for similarities and differences

-Learned how partners read together 

-Learned how partners move to and act in their reading spots

-Learned how to use reading strategies with their partners

Question:  Name one way reading partner can read together?

Writing:

-Reread stories to make sure they make sense and are readable

-Selected a story draft to publish

-Added a title page and cover to story

-Revised and edited stories 

-Celebrated published stories

Question:  How did you celebrate your published piece?  What was your published piece about?

Question:  what kind of word sort did you do this week?

Math:

-Took a pre-assessment over the types Kindergarten and First Grade of story problems

-Learned a new math game 'How Many Am I Hiding'

-Studied story problems with combination answers i.e.  I have 10 crayons, some are red and some are blue. How many combinations of blue crayons can I make?

Question:  How do you play 'How Many Am I Hiding?  What math strategy do you use in this game?

Science:

-Began weather unit

-Learned how to use our Science Notebook 
-Brainstormed what a scientist does

-Observed rocks and shells and studied their characteristics with our senses

-Studied how we use our senses to study weather

Question:  How do you use your senses to observe weather?

Homework:

Weekly homework will come home each Friday.  The main part of your child's nightly homework will be reading twenty minutes five days a week and returning the reading log each Monday.  The Friday homework assignment should completed sometime during the next week.  All Friday homework is due by Friday of the next week.  Please make sure you sign the homework slip and have your child return it during the next week with any homework that needs to be turned in.  Some homework is just for practice and will not need to be returned. There is a direction sheet on the front of Friday homework explaining everything you need to know and have your child complete.   

Picture Day is Next Week!

Cheetahs, 

Please remember that Picture Day is next week on Tuesday, September 16.  Make sure to have your orders done!

Thanks :)

Buddies

Here's some snapshots of The Cheetahs with our 4th grade buddies, The Dragons!

Updates

Hi Cheetahs!  I just wanted to remind everyone of our first FGIF day coming up this Friday, September 12.  Your child was sent home with a flyer last week.

Also, we have logged over 1,500 reading minutes from last week!  Please make sure that your child brings their reading log from last week back to school so I can get their minutes logged in.  They also got a new reading log today, so please be reading and logging minutes with your child nightly.

September 2-5

Happy Friday, parents!  Here is a quick update on the happenings in our classroom:

Reading
This week has focused a lot on making predictions.  We learned to make a prediction that we need to:
1. Read the title/cover.
2. Look at the pictures.
3. Read a little of the story.
4. Think...what do I already know? What have I already learned?
5. Make a prediction: "I know___________, so I predict ________________."

We have also discussed making sure our reading makes sense, and we have also practiced making connections with our books.

Question:  What do you do if your reading does not make sense?  Why is it important to predict with evidence?

You have also seen your child's reading folder come home for the first time this week.  Please make sure that your child is reading nightly for 20 minutes, and that you are consistently filling out our reading log.



Writing
We have been working hard this week to make sure that our writing is readable by making sure that we have enough space between our words and that we use punctuation and capitalization.  In addition, we have also practiced recognizing when we end and begin sentences.

Question:  What does spaghetti and meatball spacing mean?  What kind of end punctuation did you learn about this week?


Word Work
This week we introduced the routine of word work with Words Their Way.  We have worked on what to do when we get new words, how to sort them, and how to work with them in our word work notebook.


Math
This week we have continued to work on addition story problems and discuss addition strategies, such as drawing pictures and counting on.  We have introduced a new game, Roll and Record, and we continue to work in our math stations.

Question:  What are some helpful strategies you can use to help solve word problems?


Social Studies
We have wrapped up our What is a Citizen unit this week.  Topics of our lessons have included teamwork and problem solving.  Next week we will begin our first science unit over weather.

Question:  What did you learn about teamwork this week?

Homework:

Weekly homework will begin today (9/5) and come home each Friday.  The main part of your child's nightly homework will be reading.  Beginning this week, home reading folders will be sent home each night.  This will contain a reading log and a leveled book.  Please have your child keep the book and the reading log in the folder and return it to school each day.  

A Note about Reading levels:

Your child will bring home a leveled book each night.  Most of the books that your child brings home will be at your child's independent reading level.  Your child's independent reading level is a level at which your child can read with 97% or above accuracy and with deep comprehension.  At times, your child may bring home a book on his or her instructional reading level.  Your child's instructional reading level is the level at which your child can read with support.  Often, these are books I introduce to the children during guided reading.  I typically preview the book with the children and help them through tricky spots.  Your child's instructional reading level will most likely be one or two levels above his/her independent reading level.

Compliment Party!

Remember that our first compliment party is tomorrow (September 5)!  The Cheetahs have been working hard to earn compliments from other teachers and staff members in the building, and now we get to celebrate!  Our class has chosen to celebrate with a video with one of our stuffed animals.  Please remember to send your child to school with a stuffed animal that is small enough to fit in their backpack.