Friday was the best day of all... OUR WRITERS' CELEBRATION!!
We published our stories and made them public by having a GALARY WALK. The kids rotated around the room and everyone was able to read each other's stories. They LOVED IT!! Take a look...
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2018-2019 |
The children have been writing lots of personal narrative stories for the last several weeks. This week, the kids selected one of their favorite stories to IMPROVE. On Tuesday, the children revised their work by adding details to their pictures & words. Rereading work is a VERY important skill!!! On Wednesday, the kids edited their work. On Thursday, the kids gave their story a title and created a cover for their book. Friday was the best day of all... OUR WRITERS' CELEBRATION!! We published our stories and made them public by having a GALARY WALK. The kids rotated around the room and everyone was able to read each other's stories. They LOVED IT!! Take a look... ![]() Now, our published work is on display for all to see!!! ![]() One of our students even shared her story with her 5th grade buddy & Mrs. Gardner! DAILY 5All 5 elements of our Daily 5 structure are up and running. This week, Listen to reading was introduced. The kids use the website RAZ-KIDS to listen to stories and answer comprehension questions at their reading levels. In a few weeks, I will send home log-in cards so you can access both RAZ-KIDS & i-Ready at home!! INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKSWe use interactive notebooks to build our learning in more interesting ways. These notebooks can be revisited to practice skills we have already learned. SPELLINGOne way we practice our high-frequency words is by taking them to fluency, which mean writing them quickly, erasing, and writing them again & again. First, we clap the words several times to make sure we've got the spelling down. Take a look at the kids in action! Here's What's Coming Up Next...
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Close reading is a strategy we use to really understand what we read by reading text over and over several times. Our new language arts materials have something called "My Shared Reading," which are stories we have read in our big books and have been written in a more simple version for the students to read in their own booklets. The children are learning to annotate in their booklets, just like adults do! There is also a place for the kids to draw & write how they connected to the text. Once we get through the booklet, the kids will take it home for further reading practice! Pretty cool! WORD WORK![]() Our fourth element of Daily 5 was introduced this week... WORD WORK! Word Work gives the kids an opportunity to make & build words and improve their spelling skills. The kids just love using all of the STUFF! READ TO SELFThis week, I introduced an awesome tool to help kids with their reading fluency... TELEPHONES. These are really cool little devices. Voices are amplified through the phones so that the children can hear themselves read. WEDNESDAY ROTATIONSEvery Wednesday, the children move through a rotation where they get instructed by different teachers in the first grade team. My lessons focus on Science & Social Studies, Mrs. Burns does directed art, they go to Ms. Mireles for math and to Mrs. Guzman for PBIS- learning how to follow the rules around school. Take a look at the art lesson the kids did this week... P.E. COACH!!!![]() Every other Friday, we have a coach that does P.E. with ALL of the students at our school. He is awesome and the kids get a nice, long 45 minute active workout! MUSICThis week in music, the kids learned a song and used shakers to go along with the rhythm. Check it out!
5th GRADE BUDDIESHere's What's Coming Up Next...Our class has become a Kindergarten/First Grade combination class with the addition of 5 amazing kindergarten students. Everyone is adjusting well and this is a great opportunity for the first graders to be models and big buddies to our younger students. We are so happy to have these excited, fresh faces in our class!!!! MUSICIn music this week, the kids learned to read, create & perform rhythm patterns using dots. Each dot represents a clap (syllable) and the first graders have a page in their homework to create their own rhythms at home. Take a look... FICTION v. NONFICTIONWe are learning the difference between fiction & nonfiction texts. We sorted & described books together and then the kids sorted their own books. When reading at home, have a conversation about if the book is fiction or nonfiction & WHY. SHARED READINGShared reading is an important part of our literacy block. It is a time when everyone can see the text we are reading, either with a big book, something displayed on the screen, or a chart. Shared reading teaches young readers how to track words, high frequency words, punctuation, phonics, and so much more! The following is a chart we created together about our STAR NAME OF THE DAY. DAILY 5 REVIEWWith the addition of our new classmates, we spent this week reviewing the rules for Read to Self, Work on Writing, and Read to Someone. Next week we will learn WORD WORK & LISTEN TO READING, our last two elements of Daily 5! BRAIN BREAKS -In between lessons, the kids get restless and need to get up and move. We do this through yoga, songs, and exercises. We call these "brain breaks" and the kids just love them! Check out this one called the "CRISS CROSS REVOLUTION." 5TH GRADE BUDDIES!!!!!!!!!!!!Our class partners up with Mrs. Gardner's 5th grade class for buddy reading time. Each child has a 5th grade buddy, which he/she will have for the entire school year. We will try to meet twice a month. At each meeting, the little buddies read to their big buddies for 10 minutes and the big buddies read to the little buddies for 10 minutes. The kids love having an older friend at school and many of the big buddies were in my class in first grade and are so excited to finally be a big buddy. Take a look at our first time getting together :) Here's What's Coming Up Next...This week I introduced writing partners to the class. We discussed the value of sharing our writing ideas and having a partner help us add details to make our stories better. I assigned partners, which they keep from some time. Talking before writing is crucial. It really helps to organize one's ideas!! Writing partners also get to sit together during writing time, too!!! MathThe kids are continuing to learn more math games, so to be played with a partner, others by themselves. The game on the video is called "Roll & Write." It's really simple. They roll a die and write down the number rolled. I want the kids to be able to count/know those dots quickly!!! Take a look... Reading![]() This week the kids jumped into READ TO SOMEONE! We have been sailing along with READ TO SELF & WORK ON WRITING, so they were ready! READ TO SOMEONE is often a favorite choice, but we still need to discuss and practice the rules in order to remain productive and improve our reading skills. We have learned 3 of the elements of DAILY 5, so next week we will add WORD WORK to our list of choices. The last one is LISTEN TO READING. Read further on the Daily 5 structure on the Daily 5 tab on this website. I-ReadyAt the beginning of the year, all 1-5 grade students are tested through an online program called "I-READY." The children will be tested 3 times during the year so that we can chart their progress. Once our initial testing window closes, I'll send home log-in cards so your child can access the website at home, too. It provides lessons in READING & MATH. The cool part is that it provides learning right at your child's level, based on how the questions are answered!! Not bad :) LibraryWe visited the library on Thursday & the kids were really excited to check out books. Remember to return them, along with the homework, on THURSDAY. Here's What's Coming Up Next...The children have long term goals ... and short term goals... I will meet with the children often to help them set learning goals so that they can track their own progress. Writer's Workshop is up & running!![]() Our first unit of study is on writing small moment stories. This week's mini-lessons were on what to do when you don't know how to spell a word. *Snap words are words you know quickly or can find posted on the word wall or somewhere in the room. The class had time to share their decorated Writer's Workshop folders. The kids were excited to show their friends a little piece of them! Thanks for doing a great job helping your child!!! Math :)The children have been challenged these past few weeks with many different types of story problems. The goal is for them to persevere and not give up! The kids have math tubs filled with all sorts of math tools. I don't tell them what to use, it's up to them!!! At the end of the math session, I select children to share the tools they used and how they solved the problems. So often, it's the children that make the BEST teachers!!!! Take a look...
Puzzles & games are a great way to build mathematical thinking. I encourage you to use these at home, especially games that use dice! It makes learning FUN!!! MUSICWe have a new music teacher this year and she is excellent! Her name is Mrs. Higgins and we will have music class every MONDAY. This week's lesson was on copying a rhythm pattern correctly. Research shows that there is a link between music and reading!! LIBRARY![]() We will visit the library on THURSDAYS. This week, Mrs. Ocon reviewed the library rules and next week the kids will check out books. Make sure your child keeps his/her book in a SAFE place. (Backpacks are a perfect home!!!) Here's What's Coming Up Next... |
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