First homework assignment!

First Grade Homework:

Please help your children to learn the following: 

1. home address

2. phone number (cell phones may be the best choice these days)

3. how to his/her shoes 

These videos may help with the shoe-tying task:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unK3uLilTws  http://video.about.com/childparenting/Teach-Kids-to-Tie-Shoes.htm 

The children will get a special certificate when they learn their address/phone number and a special pencil when they can tie their shoes (relatively) independently.

Thanks!

How did May get here?

It's hard for me to believe that we are in our last month of school. This year has been a magical one for me. It's been so gratifying watching the children grow and learn.
Recently, we have been part of some "big ticket" events with our play, The Little Red Hen, and the successful run of our longstanding first grade business, Critter Creations. However, behind the scenes, we continue to work on reading, writing, spelling and math.

In math, we just started unit 8. The first five lessons in Unit 8 review money and place value. The rest of the unit deals with fractions. Unit 8 has three main areas of focus:

*to extend work with money to include dollars,
*To extend place value concepts to hundreds, and
*To continue to develop an understanding of fractional parts of a whole.

We have also been working on continuing to develop number sense with a variety of activities that involve the hundreds number grid. The children also LOVE using our new cash registers in our "store."

I have been spending more time working one-on-one with each child in math. Once we review our lesson for the day, the children work in independent math centers. This set-up allows me the chance to work in small groups or with individual children on math concepts. I love being able to "touch base" with each child several times a week.

I hope you all have marked Thursday, May 16th on your calendars. Come start the day with us from 7:50-8:30 a.m. The children will share some of their work with you (and I'll provide coffee and goodies).

March 29, 2013

Our last update focused on our polar research project. Since that time, we have completed another big research project: biographies! Each child chose a famous person (preferably found on our kid-friendly search engine called Pebble Go). Using some of the skills introduced in the polar research project, the children read about and then took notes on their famous person. They used what they learned to create a life-size (well...let's call it "first grader size") replica of the chosen person. We had a wonderful time tracing, drawing, cutting, measuring, and painting our people. Currently, they are hanging around (literally) our classroom.

We are in full play mode now. Almost every morning, we can be found in Estes Multipurpose room rehearsing for our play, The Little Red Hen. The play is a true, hands-on way to develop both gross motor skills (we do a lot of dancing) as well as  reading/speaking expression (also known as prosody). In addition, the children have to use their ability to follow directions and work cooperatively.

In math, we have taken the last two weeks to slow down our pace and go more in-depth with our numeration skills. We have also worked on fact families, which show the relationship between addition and subtraction. We were especially lucky to schedule four extra sessions with Mrs. Coleman in the math lab last week.

Finally, here is a short snippet of grandparents & special friends day. It was wonderful.

Polar research - complete!

It has been awhile since I last updated our blog. We have been a busy crew! We completed our polar research projects, which you may view by clicking on this link.

When viewing the link, you will notice that each child has his/her own file that includes a picture created in Hyperstudio. We created these pictures with Mrs. Hurd in the computer lab. Our next step was to organize the information collected by each child. This was the most challenging part! It takes a lot of planning and thought to organize research information in the form of notes into clear sentences. Each child wrote a short book about either a penguin or a polar bear. Once the book was finished, the children practiced reading them to a partner. The children worked on reading with expression and fluency. The final step was to be audio taped. Thanks to Mrs. Hurd and Mrs. Gunn, we completed the audio taping quickly (and painlessly!)

While the project seem fairly simple, the skills each child practiced were actually quite important in terms of learning. This project focused on: early research skills, determining the importance of facts, converting research facts into clearly written information, fine motor skills (via the artwork), and reading expression. Most importantly, however, was the excitement the children showed about research.

Polar Research - phase 1

After a week or two spent building background knowledge of the polar regions of the world via books and a movie, we jumped into our research last Friday. We began the process in the special research room connected to the library. Each child came equipped with paper for note taking, a clipboard and, most importantly, curiosity about polar bears and penguins. After a brief introduction from Susan Overton, our librarian, the children began researching in earnest.

To make it easier to access materials, half the class worked on the computers while the other half of the class searched in books (and then they switched halfway through the period).

After the "information gathering phase" is complete, we will move into the project part of the research. This is where the real fun begins. Stay tuned!

Mrs. Overton helps one group search for key words in the glossary.

Interactive learning via technology

Prepping to take notes on key information

Some very focused learners

Listening and learning

Now that is one hard-working little guy!

Discussing penguins

Working on math facts

     One of our first grade goals is to introduce our students to learning math facts.  We want our students to have fun with the process – yes, fun!   With this in mind, I am excited to introduce a program called Mastering Math Facts (a.k.a. Track Math) to you and your children.  This program only takes a few minutes each day of class time and minimal practice at home.   Basically, students will learn to practice addition and subtraction facts in order to pass timed tests.  In first grade, this is a LOW-PRESSURE and positive process.  Each student will try to achieve individualized goals based on their handwriting & processing speeds.  Mastering Math Facts is unique because it teaches only a few addition and subtractions facts at a time.  The program allows each child to go at his or her own pace. 
     You can help at home by practicing at home.  On Thursdays, your child will have a few practice sheets in his/her green folder.   When you have time (and I know how difficult this can be), practice with your child for five minutes with the practice sheets. Here’s how:

¬Your child should have the top half of the day’s practice sheet (without answers written in) in front of himself or herself.  Work only on the top half of the sheet.

¬Have your child read each fact aloud and then say the answers to you.  If you hear a hesitation or an error on that fact, give your child some extra practice on that fact.  The best way to give extra practice is by immediately giving your child the correct answer, then ask him or her to repeat the problem and the answer once more.  Next, back up three problems and have your child begin again.  If there is no hesitation or mistake when the problem is reached this time, be sure to praise your child and let him or her continue.


¬Work until finishing the top half of the page, but no more than five minutes in one session.  If you wish to do a second session, wait at least an hour, or try it again in the morning.  When memorizing facts, two short sessions hours apart are far more helpful than one long session.
   
    
     Future success in math is dependent upon knowing facts so well that the answers come automatically.  More emphasis will be placed on this important skill in second grade.   Again, we strive simply to introduce our students to the process of learning and mastering facts.  The success they experience will boost their confidence and increase their motivation for future learning.  The first graders are very excited about Track Math, so let’s cheer them on!  Thanks so much for your support and encouragement.  As always, feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.

January!

We are back in action! Generally, January is a very quiet month at Collegiate. It's a nice change of pace after the hustle and bustle of December. We spent much of last week completing mid-year assessments in math, reading and spelling. It's amazing to see how much progress the children have made since September. We will soon begin research on the polar regions of the world.

Our week wasn't all work, though. We celebrated the incredible success of quarterback Russell Wilson on Friday. The children wore Collegiate or Seattle Seahawks gear. Check us out!

It's true. This class always looks cute! Here we are gathered around the picture of Russell in Burke Hall. We enjoyed some delicious cake at lunch, too. It was such a fun day!