School is SNOW much fun

I has been a while since I last posted but SNOW many things are happening in the class.  Do you remember the day that the snowlfakes came down as big as dinner plates?  No, we were not in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 movie.  They actually were that big.  We took full advantage of it and got on our coats and went outside to try to catch snowflakes.  Sometimes it is great just to be 6 and 7 years old.  We even had Mrs. Tenner and Ms. Black come out and join us.  It was SNOW much fun that Ms. Black changed her mind about indoor recess and let us go OUTSIDE. Check out the pictures below.

When we came back inside after lunch we wrote about our experiences in the SNOW.  Our work is proudly displayed in our school's main lobby.

Other things that are happening in class that is SNOW much fun was our winter pictures using our word study words.  Look how creative our students are.

Has your child mentioned MAD Math?  It stands for Mueller and DeSantis Math.  Once a week we team up with Mrs. DeSantis class and practice our math facts with one another.  This week we took our learning into the hallways.  Here is what it looked like.

As we say goodbye to January we also learned about the Year of the Horse.  It is Chinese New Year time.  Here we are hard at work.

Next week:  Olympics, Black History month begins and Bubble Gum Math starts.

A FULL week of school

So we finally made it for a WHOLE week in school. It looked like Friday was going to be a tough one, but with patience we all made it in on Friday.

I am curious with how your first week of the new word study was at home.  If you have a chance, send me an email with your initial first week thought.  Did your child enjoy it,  was there less moaning and groaning about completing the work?

I am hoping that your child continues to complete their work more and more independently as the year progresses.  I am asking that you please check over their work before it is sent back.  I am still seeing that the students are not using capitals properly and their handwriting is not neat. I understand that these are developmental skills but I feel that the students can be more consistent. We have completed more than 1/3 of the school year and need to begin our preparation for 2nd grade.  The 2nd marking period will be ending at the end of the month.  Report cards will be issued.

In math we have been using 6 inch, 12 inch and measuring tapes to measure various objects in the classroom.  Next week we will begin our more in depth study of math fact families.  As part of the Common Core Standards in Mathematics first grade students need fluency and automaticity (how fast one can recall) of math facts from 0-20. At home, feel free to practice math facts with flash cards in addition and subtraction.  Accuracy and speed are key.  It is my hope that with more instruction in class coupled with practice at home, math facts will become easier.

In word study we have begun our long vowel sound study.  Next week we will look solely at long a words and some of their patterns in words including ai, ay, and long a with silent e at the end.

In Writer's Workshop, we have begun our writing about our collections.  It is amazing the opinions and reasons that the students can write about.

In Reader's Workshop characters in books is our focus.  We are looking at the character's like and dislikes in order to learn more about them.

Welcome to 2014.... Happy New Year...

As the new year brings snow, and lots of it, to our community, it has given me time to rethink some instructional approaches to the class.  The first change will come with our word study homework.  I will continue to teach a different word study pattern per week but the homework will be slightly different.  It is my hope that these changes will be more positive and more meaningful.  I am planning more hands on learning with word study also in class.

Each week your child will be completing the same activities with their weekly word study homework.  Each day a different activity will be done.  You will have the entire week to complete the tasks.  It is important to do one each day rather than all in one day because continued exposure will make the learning meaningful and transferable. At the end of the week I will assess the students on the words provided.

Papers will be send home on Mondays and returned attached in your child's word study journal notebook on Fridays.

Let's give this a try and see how it works.  As I have told you before, I am always trying new things and I have heard from many of you that the word study (old way) was not working..... so ..... let's change it.  I am up for.  I think your child will be up for it too.