Seventy-Fifth Day of School

Today we published and turned in our procedural writing sample. We also completed writing and sharing our gingerbread person stories (poor poor gingerbread people).

Reminder: please remember, leggings and a t-shirt does not constitute an outfit sufficient for the LAUSD dress code.

Seventy-Fourth Day of School

Reminder: school shoes should be fastened with ties or a Velcro strap. Socks should be worn everyday.

First graders are being asked to wear black (dark) pants and a red or green shirt for Friday's performance.

In Science we discussed air and wind. We discussed several things that wind can do (push, make noise). We used wind to move a variety of objects.

FYI: A book was read about Santa Mouse (a treasury from childhood) to the children. A child asked (as is always the case) after the second story was finished, 'Are you sure that's true?' Hmm....So the legend goes, that if you should happen to find a small (tiny) gift tucked somewhere in your tree, perhaps tied with a yellow bow, then you will know that Santa Mouse has been to your house. *Shrugs* I don't know, it's just what I've heard. Who knows how these stories get started? But maybe all first graders should check the branches of their trees on Christmas morning just to make sure.

Seventy-Second Day of School

We did not begin a new focus for this week but rather are catching up with things we didn't have time for in previous weeks.

Earlier this week we learned about possessive 's' (apostrophe 's') to indicate possession.

In Writing we have been working on editing. Today we edited for capitalization and punctuation.

In Music we learned an additional music element: harmony.

In Social Science we compared the past with the present. We learned that the recording of things that have already happened becomes history. We learned that many things that were made by hand in the past (clothing, baskets, etc.) are often made by machine now.

We will have our winter celebration on Friday, the 18th. Set-up for the celebration will begin at 11:30.

Chapter 4 Test Results

Of 23 students taking the test, 20 passed with an adjusted score if 12 points or more the modal average was a score of 15. Two students achieved a score of 18.

Sixty-Sixth Day of School

In Writing we added "hints" to our work as a revision step. Our process was to reread and decide if our audience would benefit from an extra bit of information in any given step. An example from our writing:

First, cook the macaroni. Hint: don't cook for too long.

The strategy for our Math homework (make 10 to subtract) may be a bit beyond some students. Let's try not to stress if the strategy is not mastered at this point.

December reading logs are in students' possession.

Sixty-Fifth Day of School

In Writing, we began the revision process on procedural writing. We learned that a good process for revising procedural work is to act the steps out to see if anything is missing. The revision steps we used today are:

1. Reread
2. Act it out
3. Add to the writing if necessary

We will likely have a Math test early next week.

Today we made predictions while reading the story The Stray Dog. We also learned how to confirm our prediction. This is a comprehension strategy. We also learned that it's okay to be incorrect with our predictions as long as we are making evidence based predictions. If we could predict everything, that would mean there are no surprises.

In Social Science we began discussing the important elements of map creation.

December reading logs will go home tomorrow and are due December 18, 2015.

Reminder: Please make sure 1st graders are in bed by 8:00.

Unit 3 Week 2 Preview

This week we ask the question: What do family members do with one another to have fun? Our comprehension skill focus will be to make and confirm predictions using the strategy of analyzing story structure. We will take a brief look at alliteration (consonance). We will continue our exploration with long vowel spellings in particular: long vowel-u spelled 'i_e' (bike, strike) and 'open syllable with i' (pilot, diver). In grammar we will examine present-tense verbs.

Our oral vocabulary words are typical, possessions, connections, relief, and support. Our high-frequency words are call, funny, how, more, so, there.

As you read with your child at home, please continue to predict and confirm as you read (What do you think will happen? Do you think Goldilocks will get caught?). When finishing a fiction selection or chapter, ask your child to confirm predictions and summarize what happened. When reading a nonfiction selection, have your child state the main idea and details.

In Writing, we will begin to revise our procedural pieces.

As part of this unit, we will collect favorite riddles for our "Riddle Wall." Students may wish to share riddles that they may have read or heard at home and write the questions for other students to guess on the wall. Last year, some students had time to make a riddle book.

We may begin learning and memorizing our vowel poem this week, time permitting.

In Social Science we will continue to compare the past and the present. We will also work towards understanding our location in the world while learning the continents and the oceans (tested). We will compare globes and maps.

In Visual Art, we will begin our exploration of the basic elements of art beginning with line.

In Drama, we are combining all the skills we have learned so far to tell a story using dialogue.

For one of our PE lessons we will practice tossing and catching.

Chapter 3 Math Test Results

Of the 23 students taking the Chater 3 Math Test, 21 students passed with an adjusted score of 13 or better.  Six students achieved a perfect score.

Unit 3 Week 1 Preview

In our new unit we will be exploring fun and laughter. In the first week we ask what makes us laugh and how do we make other people laugh. Our oral vocabulary is amuse, delighted, humorous, mood, ridiculous. Our reading sight words are away, school, today, way, why. For spelling we will focus on 'long-a' spellings. We will listen to and generate rhyme. Time permitting we will use a Flow Map to generate a retell. We will incorporate time-order cues and words into our retell.

In Writing we will begin our unit on informational texts beginning with writing a "How to"

In Social Science we will discuss good sportsmanship and rules (HSS 1.1.2) In the coming weeks we will also learn the basic components of a simple map.

In Science we will soon begin studying the elements of weather.

Periodic Math Assessment Results

Of 23 students taking the test 20 students passed with 17 students achieving a perfect score. Results available in class or during Parent Conferences.

Fifty-Third Day of School

We will take our Social Science and Science tests on Friday. Please find exam review notes with your child today.

The children chose information on which to be tested for Social Science. The basic concepts are:

• In order of importance, what are a humans needs for survival?
• Compare the past with the present considering education, commerce (stores), transportation, and communication.
• What are some traditions we share?

The concepts for Science are:

• The 3 forms of matter
• How one form of matter transforms to another
• Examples of each form of matter
• Properties of liquids and solids

Fifty-Second Day of School

The 5 candidates for Class President delivered their speeches today. tomorrow we will vote by secret ballot.

Reminder: School shoes should be secured to foot by either a lace or Velcro strap.

Fifty-First Day of School

Today we discussed high and low notes in music and how different tones are made. We also discussed the song element of melody.

Tomorrow we will do our first round of filming. those wishing to run for class president or take part in the interviews should not wear any green tomorrow.

On Wednesday we will take the periodic math assessment.

Unit 2 Week 5 Preview

For the next few instructional days we will ask what neighbors do together for fun. Our oral vocabulary words will be: audience, entertain, brilliant, enjoy, perform. Our sight words will be: all, put, show, together, under, want. In phonics we will be introduced to the digraphs 'sh,' and 'th'. We will again generate retells and summaries of our selections using visualization.

Forty-Ninth Day of School

As discussed at Back-to-School this is the time the memorization of the doubles addition facts will come in handy. Up to 20 is ok; up to 30 is suggested.

Forty-Eighth Day of School

Please find with your child a sheet to cut and tape/paste a number line for use with tonight's and future night's homework.

Reminder:

Reading Logs are due on Friday.

Chapter 2 Math Test Results

Of 23 students taking the test 22 students passed with an adjusted score of  15 or better. The modal average was 21. The high score was 25.

Forty-Sixth Day of School

In Math we used the strategy of counting on 1, 2, or 3. Those children that needed them were given only 3 counters to complete the classwork.

Unit 2 Week 4 Preview

Continuing our exploration of families and neighbors, we ask the question: what is a home? Our oral vocabulary words are collapse, company, construct, entire, and material. Our high-frequency focus words are again, could, make, one, then, three. Our grammar rule will be proper nouns and capitalization. In phonics and spelling we will tackle the complicated idea of the open-syllable long-vowel spelling beginning with 'long-a'.

Reminders:

Every year Room 11 has the tradition of electing a class president. This supports the government portion of our Social Science standards. Those students interested in running for Room 11 Class President 2014-15 will work on a speech at home to be delivered to the class on November 3, 2015. Speeches will be filmed using chroma key technology and saved to flash drives.

Students who would like to have their videos edited, will make sure they are not wearing any shade of green in any part of their outfit.

On this day we will also try to film our expert interviews. Those students wanting their interviews to be edited will also need to remember not to wear green on that Monday. Make sure to practice these and these questions to improve oral fluency.

Forty-Fifth day of School

In Writing we wrote to extend the beginning by adding interesting details or character descriptions.

In Science we made observations of a substance to decide if it was a liquid or solid.

In Reading we worked on summarizing.

Forty-Fourth Day of School

We practiced inflectional endings on verbs with long and short vowels (hop, hopping, hopped; hope, hoping, hoped). 

We will take Chapter 2 Math Test either tomorrow or Monday.

Forty-Third Day of School

Some families have still not returned their lunch program application. Tomorrow is the deadline for next years funding. Mr. Brooks personally hand delivered an application today to those students whose parents have not returned an application. Please fill out your application even if you are not interested in participating in the program as the number of qualifying applications affects the school's budget and API scoring.

Forty-First Day of School

In Music today we compared the difference between the beat and rhythm of music.

Unit 2 Week 3 Preview

We begin looking at maps to find our place in the neighborhood, city, state, country, and world. We review the strategies of finding main idea and details to aid comprehension and continue our work with summarizing. Our oral vocabulary words are amazed, frequently, service, useful, variety. Our sight words are live, many, out, place. In spelling we take a look at blends with 's' and 'r' (spill, still, grab, drip).

Math Test Results

Of 23 students taking the mid chapter test all students passed with an adjusted score of 10 or better. One student scored perfectly and 2 students only missed 1 point.

Thirty-Eighth Day of School

There is no homework tonight.

In Social Science we compared the past to the present and learned (tested) (HS 1.2.4):

• Streets were unpaved.
• There were no oil burning vehicles.
• Long distance transportation systems were dependent on beasts of burden.
• Schools often only had one room shared by students of all ages.
• It could take weeks to deliver the post which was carried by riders on horses.

Thirty Seventh Day of School

For discussion:

• Which elements of a narrative are generally presented at the beginning (of a story)? (the setting and the characters)
• What element of a narrative is contained in the middle? (the plot/problem)

Note: This is the traditional structure of the Western narrative whereas Eastern narratives often will not include conflict/problems to be surmounted but rather a twist or surprise which is presented in the third act followed by the reconciliation (fourth act).

Notes on the District Assessment

The November and January assessment questions have been selected and reviewed by the first grade team. There are no surprises on the test. The questions are very similar to the questions on the regular chapter tests.

Thirty-Sixth Day of School

We will likely take a mid-chapter test in Math on Wednesday. The district Math assessment questions will be finalized this week. Optional practice questions will be posted soon. If you would like to have your child's practice-test work reviewed before the assessment, have your child bring it to school along with their regular homework assignment.

In Social Science we compared the past with the present. In particular how many items (toys, candles, horseshoes) were made made by hand (tested).

For Oral Language we practiced our interview skills on the subject of Roberto Clemente.

Unit 2 Week 2 Preview

This week we discuss cooperation and our role in helping out. We discuss families and neighbors working together to help each other. Our oral vocabulary words are appreciate, partner, cooperate, responsibility, and delectable. This week we will continue with the comprehension strategy of summarizing. We will focus on short vowel 'e' (tell, went) in spelling and touch on long 'o' spelled 'o_e' (hope, note). Our sight vocabulary words are eat, no, of, some, who. For grammar we will pluralize nouns requiring '-es' (lunches, dishes).

In Writing are strategy will be to work on a number of settings for a collection of realistic fiction pieces. Then once we have some detailed beginnings, we will choose from among those some which will be developed into full stories.

In Social Science we will discuss at length how physical environments affect the way people live (food, shelter, clothing, transportation, recreation) (HSS 1.2.4) (tested). We will compare the environments of Alaska, Spain, and California.

In Science we will continue with our examination of liquids.

Thirty-Fifth day of School

For the first time we recorded in our Sort Journals today and took a dictation test on 'long-a' spelled 'a_e'

The Math homework was optional tonight. Some students who were originally not going to take the homework changed their minds when they were aware that parents would be told about it. Interesting.

In Writing we brainstormed settings for our realistic fiction pieces. We began the slow process of digitally processing our personal narratives from the last unit. This is where our flash drives come in handy.

In Science we observed a collection of 7 liquids and generated a list of properties for liquids. Among our vocabulary were: bubbly, viscous, translucent, and opaque.

We listened to a selection on the life of Alexander Graham Bell. We generated several questions based on the reading:

• What was Alexander Graham Bell known for?
• Why was he interested in studying sound?
• What were some things he attempted to do when he was young?

Soon we will record our interviews about the 2 famous people we have studied.

Thirty-Fourth Day of School

Students will be bringing home their word study collections today. Your child's collection is based on their individual spelling ability levels. If you like, the words can be recut at home and y our child can show you how they sort the words into their respective categories. The words may be kept at home.

A Scholastic article is being brought home with notes taken in class. Your child should be able to retell the selection by reading their notes.

In Writing today we started our own list of problems our realistic fiction characters might have in our stories we will write.

Thirty-Third Day of School

You should find a packet of ungraded personal narrative writing work from the last 5 weeks of school being sent home. Things to look for as you review work:

• Stories with a clear beginning which tells who, where, and when
• A story which tells two or more details of a single event being told in a logical order
• Stories with closure
• Time order words (next, then)
• Black ink writing with blue revisions and red ink editing (some children may have chosen blue or red pencil)
• Punctuation at the end of sentences and personal pronoun 'I's' and proper nouns capitalized.

For Health we discussed making wise decisions. The criteria for making a wise decision :

• Is it healthful?
• Is it safe?
• Does it follow laws?
• Does it show respect for others?
• Does it follow family rules?
• Does it show good character?  

Homework Reminder

As discussed at Back-to-School, homework will not be returned unless corrections need to be made. If this is the case, have your child make the necessary corrections and return the corrected homework to class.

Thirty-First Day of School

Today we took our personal narrative Writing test. Our next writing unit will be realistic fiction.

Unsatisfactory notices will be sent this week. This notice is for parent information only. It does not need to be discussed with your child. The good news is that for the first time ever, no notices will need to be sent for the subject of Math. Keep in mind these notices are only for those subjects which have been assessed to date (Writing, Reading, and Math). Bear in mind, the reading notification is for measurements which do not necessarily reflect instruction for the present school year. They are basically an indication of where your child may be beginning the year relative to beginning of the year standards for first grade. You will receive an unsatisfactory notice for your child's reading scores if they performed below standard on 2 or more beginning of the year reading assessments.

We began word sorting exercises today based 3 different student ability levels. We also took an in-depth look at the 'long-a' sound spelled 'a_e' (bake, take).

In Music, we discussed the elements of a song with an emphasis on beat (rhythm to be discussed soon).

Unit 2 Week 1 Preview

Our weekly themes in this second unit will center around our families and our neighbors, (having already examined ourselves) our abilities and our growth. Our last idea about teams was that families are the most important kind of team. This week, we will explore the idea of families taking care of each other. Our oral vocabulary words are guide, protect, provide, separate, wild. Our sight words are her, our, they, two. Our comprehension strategy this week will be to focus on summarizing a selection. We learn to summarize by developing the skill of distinguishing main ideas from details. Summarizing a selection is a different skill than a retell. Where a retell would be to tell a story in our own words with as much interesting detail as possible, a summary isolates only the most important ideas answering the basic questions of who? what? where? when? why? and perhaps how? This story is about a girl walking in the forest who seeks food and rest in the home of 3 bears. In phonics and spelling, will take a more detailed look at some long vowel spellings this week beginning with 'a_e'  (cane) and 'i_e' (ride) along with inflectional ending '-ed'. In grammar we will discuss sentence subjects and nouns.

In Writing we will test our understanding of the genre personal narrative and begin work on the genre realistic fiction.

For Social Science we will continue comparing and contrasting the past with the present (HSS 1.1.4) (tested). We will examine photos of schools long ago.

In Science we will begin our exploration of liquids.

In PE we will combine several skills practiced so far to play a fast-paced, high-energy game of sockball.

Twenty-Ninth Day of School

In Writing today we began "publishing" our best personal narrative.

New Reading logs were sent home today.

Twenty-Eighth Day of School

Today we practiced using a checklist for reviewing our writing. The checklist is a tool devised as a means for writers to check to see if they have everything required in their writing sample in order to pass a writing examination. We will be taking our narrative writing exam next week. Students may be interviewed by their parents so parents may learn which story a child is most likely to tell during the writing exam.

In Social Science today we learned about the United States Independence Day. We learned facts such as:

• Before having an elected President, who ruled what is now the United States?
• From which country was it necessary to declare our independence?
• What did George Washington do before becoming our first President?
• On what day do we celebrate our independence and why that day?

On last night's some students were confused with the part/part/whole when they went to construct the model on their own. When performing subtraction, the model remains with the two parts being above the whole. The difference between subtraction and addition is that with addition, the whole (sum) is the unknown (so the lower space is empty), with subtraction, a part (addend) is unknown and one of the upper spaces will be empty.

In Drama we practiced collaboration on one-scene tableaus.

Twenty-Seventh Day of School

In Writing we revised for closure (CCSS W.1.3).

We listened to a selection on Roberto Clemente and generated the following questions on his life:

1. Where was Roberto Clemente born?
2. What was Roberto Clemente known for?
3. What kind of person was Roberto Clemente?
4. How did Roberto Clemente die?
5. How was Roberto Clemente honored following his death?

Additionally:

• What did Roberto Clemente want to accomplish in Puerto Rico?

Chapter 1 Test Results

Of the 23 students taking the test, all students passed with an adjusted score of 13 or better. One student scored 100% and one student missed only one point.

Twenty-Sixth Day of School

Student writing samples were reviewed this week for progress. Key characteristics were noted which need further teaching. Today we revised for story beginnings as many beginnings failed to include a complete setting. We discussed the strategy of beginning the first sentence of a story with a time:

• One day,
• Last week,
• When I was 5,
• On my 4th birthday,

In tomorrow's writing lesson we will discuss endings/closure.

We completed our Math test. 

The homework sent today is review work.

Reading logs are due Wednesday.

Unit 1 Week 5 Preview

We close out the unit discussing what we like to do with our friends and what we can accomplish with teamwork. Our oral vocabulary words are challenging, charity, admire, focus, offer. We will read, discuss, and generate question for a non-fiction selection about baseball and humanitarian great, Roberto Clemente. We will use our generated questions to conduct expert interviews about Roberto Clemente. Our sight words are help, now, use, very. We will develop our skill of identifying the author's purpose to develop the comprehension strategy of analyzing text structure. We will analyze texts where authors use description to give information. We will focus on final consonant blends (eg. -nk, -nt, -sk, -st, etc.) for decoding, and spelling.

For Social Science we will discuss the significance of Independence Day (HSS 1.3.2) and some national iconic symbols (HSS 1.3.3) (tested).

In P.E. we will be using teamwork to accomplish various goals as well as chasing and learning base running.

In Science we continue our exploration of matter with an investigation of liquids.

Twenty-Fifth Day of School

For your information: Friday afternoons are set aside for Science lessons and there is no make-up. There is often no make-up for math tests either due to the time required to administer. In order to leave time for the Science lesson today, the Math test was cut short and will be continued on Monday.

Reminder: Students should wear socks every day with shoes that either tie or close with Velcro. Shoes with elastic straps are insufficient for safety in our P.E. lessons.

Nice to see familiar faces at our Arts Family Night tonight.

Twenty-Fourth Day of School

Today we edited for punctuation.

In Reading we took a reading comprehension test for a baseline score.

Students including a model on homework problem #11 received a bonus point for their table.

Math test was postponed until tomorrow due to absences.

Twenty-Second day of School

In Writing we revised by adding adjectives.

In Math we made a report for the parts of 10. We also learned how to find a missing addend for 10 as a whole.

Unit 1 Week 4

During week 4 we will tread lightly on the subject of pets. We will read/listen to various selections about pets including a nonfiction selection about White House Pets. Our oral vocabulary words are adorable, dear, needs, sensible, and train. We will continue the comprehension strategy of analyzing story structure using the skill of recognizing parts of the plot. Our sight words will be come, down, good, pull. In spelling we will focus on words having an initial consonant blend with the letter 'l' (fl-, pl-, cl-).

In Social Science we will discuss traditions in a variety of contexts, for example, the classroom, community, and family. (HSS 1.5.1) We will also begin comparing the past with the present (tested) reading a nonfiction selection titled Learn About the Past. 

This week we will test for and comprehension and the first chapter in Math.

In P.E. we will be learning to cooperate as a team to accomplish a goal.

Twenty-First Day of School

Today was a busy day. We worked on our Unit Project in the  morning. For Writing we revised to add interesting words which may help to give our writing more style.

We listened to a non-fiction article called Munch Crunch about the eating habits of various animals and examined it for structure. We concluded that it was categorized information. We learned (among other things) that large plant eaters will often eat for most of the day whereas large meat eaters may only eat every 4 days.

In Math, we built physical models for the numbers 8 & 9. On Monday (time allowing), we will record our results and make a report which will be posted in class.

In Science, we learned about the term classify. We sorted objects by common properties and tried to guess other's sorting property or rule.

Some suggestions about story telling at home:

• When a child starts a story, listen for the who, when, and where of the beginning (set/introduction).
• Listen for an action which follows the beginning.
• Listen for a transition (then, later, suddenly) to what happens next (CCSS WS.1.3).
• If you feel motivated, have your child dictate the story to you as you print in black ink.
• Revise the story in blue ink adding details for completeness and interest.
• Edit the story in red as a final practice step.

Twentieth Day of School

Today we learned to add dialogue to our stories to add interest.

We examined 5 different non-fiction pieces for structure. We learned that two ways to structure a non-fiction piece is by time (timeline) and by categorizing subtopics.

You will find a Scholastic News article in your child's work about scientists which uses categorization for its structure. Examining an author's structure helps to improve comprehension.

Nineteenth Day of School

Reminder: Kids' tops worn to school should have sleeves.

We listened to a non-fiction selection about the life cycle of tigers in the wild. Tomorrow we will retell the selection using our oral vocabulary words. Comprehension questions:

• Why do male tigers have to leave the pride when they are 2 years old?
• Why are the playing activities important for tiger cubs?

Please continue to have your child retell small moment stories at home in order to develop oral language. It would also be wise to occasionally ask them how they know a particular answer is correct on their homework. Ask them to show you how they know (tested skill). Or, ask them to teach you how to do a particular problem. Have them walk you through the steps so they are articulating their strategy.

In Science today we examined a collection of solids and generated a list of properties for solids.

In Drama we worked on developing our skills in tableau. It was easy to see which students are able to maintain a clear focus (standard).

Eighteenth Day of School

We started revision of our personal narratives today. This marks the real excitement of writing and giving our pieces a voice. Our first revision lesson was on revising for clarity and completeness of message. this lesson was particularly important to satisfy the basic requirements of the narrative writing standard (CCSS 1.W.3). Tomorrow we will begin revising to add interest (the best part of revision).

We took a practice timed test in math today. Later on we will take actual "timed" tests which will earn us stars on the chart.

We discussed the two particular long-vowel word families: -ost (most, post), -old( old, gold). Tomorrow (time allowing) we will discuss -ild, -ind. This is a part of our current study of consonant blends.

Preview Unit 1 Week 3

In this week's instruction we focus on  how we will change and how we have changed as we grow. If your child would like to bring in a photo showing themselves as a baby, we could display these and guess who they grew into. We will also explore how animals change as they grow. We will draw conclusions about animals that change greatly and those that may only change in size as they mature. We will analyze text for character, setting, and plot. We will focus on spelling patterns: -in, -it, -iss. Our oral vocabulary words will be change, adult, learn, imitate, and practice. Our reading sight words will be be, ride, and run. In grammar we will distinguish between statements and questions.

In Writing, we will begin the revision portion of our process.

In Social Science, we will discuss the difference between rights and responsibilities and what they mean for United States citizenship (HSS 1.1).

In Math we will continue our work with chapter 1.

In Health we will continue our overview of the concept of "good health."

In Science we continue comparing properties of various solids. We use our insight into these properties to perform an investigation.

In Drama we will begin our work on tableau.

In PE we will begin to work with team members to accomplish goals. Due to weather considerations we may have indoor PE on Monday and Tuesday.

Mid-Chapter 1 Test Results

Of 22 students taking the test, 1 student achieved a perfect score and 1 student missed only one. Twenty-one students passed with an adjusted score of 11 points. The modal average was a score of 16.

Sixteenth Day of School

You should find a Scholastic Article about making friends in your child's belongings. We read and took notes to be able to retell this article. Taking notes with pictures helps to create lasting images in memory. A retell of the article may sound something like:

This article is about making friends at school. You can meet a friend at your table and share a book. You might meet a friend in the hallway and say hello...

Some parents may want to check in backpacks for child photo ID money which was not turned in.

Fifteenth Day of School

We will have our first Mid-Chapter Test Friday afternoon.

Today we practiced pantomime in Drama.

We began drafting our second personal narrative. We also took a dictation test focusing on short vowel spellings including a surprise spelling of the 'short e' sound spelled 'ea'.

Tomorrow we will retell The Great Rope Tug with our oral vocabulary. 

Fourteenth Day of School

Instead of continuing on to the revision process, we restarted the writing process to develop a second story for drafting. We will then have at least more than one piece from which to choose for the revising process.

We read a pattern book about moving and generated a list of movement words. We sang a song in English and Spanish about moving and music.

We learned a partner moving game and took our P.E. indoors.

Preview Unit 1 Week 2

During week 2 we discuss how physical activity is an important part of our lives. We learn how activity keeps our bodies healthy and strong. Our oral vocabulary words are movement, energy, express, exhausted, and stretch. Our sight words are: it, over, too. We will analyze story structure to discover selections with patterned text. Examples of famous patterned text are Monday, Monday, I like Monday (Bill Martin Jr.), and The Important Book (Margaret Wise Brown). Ask your librarian for other examples. Patterned texts often become bedtime favorites and re-reading them is a good way to build fluency. We will not often use a patterned text for retelling purposes. We will read the West African folktale The Great Rope Tug and diagram the story together using a Flow Map to highlight the beginning, middle, and end. We will continue to encode and decode single syllable words with short vowels (a, e, i). We will listen to rhyme, movement, and rhythm in poetry.

In Social Science we will look briefly to the original people of Australia and learn that a tradition is a special way of doing something. often repeated annually that becomes part of a people's culture.

For discussion: What is a tradition? What traditions does your family share?

For Math we will continue our exploration of addition.

In Science, we will continue our exploration of matter. We will focus on solids by identifying various properties of solids.

In PE we will continue with balance.

Thirteenth Day of School

Today we learned two tested concepts. The first was a Social Science and Science combined concept of wants vs. needs (tested). We discovered that in order to survive, humans (and other living creatures) need in this order:

• Air
• Water
• Food
• Shelter
• Clothing
• Companionship

In Science we learned that there are are 3 forms/states of matter:

• Solid
• Liquid
• Gas

We learned that one form can be transformed into another form by adding or removing heat (tested).

We listened to the fable Town Mouse and Country Mouse whose moral was that everyone has different preferences.

We read a fantasy called Pam and Sam and learned that our abilities are a part of what makes us unique.

In Writing, we began the drafting process of our first personal narrative (CCSS 1.W.3). Next week we will begin the revision process.

In P.E. we practiced techniques of handball.

In Math we reinforced the idea that numbers can be deconstructed in more than one way. We did not take home homework.

Next week we will take our first publisher's math test.

Twelfth Day of School

Today we had our first Drama lesson (Theatre Art).

We retold the story Princess and the Pea using our oral vocabulary words. We also took our second dictation quiz.

In Writing we worked on our plan for our first personal narrative. Tomorrow we will begin drafting.

In Math we worked on problem solving. We had to identify the information being asked for. Choose a strategy, and then write a number sentence (also a strategy). The strategies discussed were:

• Draw a model.
• Make a table
• Write a number sentence (math sentence/equation)
• Act it out (with manipulatives)

We completed lesson 7 of the violence prevention training.

Eleventh Day of School

Today we listened to the story The Princess and the Pea. We discussed the characteristics of the genre of fairy tale. We discussed the 5 oral vocabulary words. Tomorrow we will retell the story using those  words. We will use this same process every week to practice retelling, use new oral vocabulary, and practice listening and speaking skills.

Yesterday we completed the "thinking" (brainstorming/idea collecting) portion of the writing process (CCSS 1.W.3). In addition to the ideas which cover our yellow writing folders and the list of memorable moments which we practice telling with our parents at home, we also made categorized lists of topics which we can refer to in our writing folders. Having these resources will help ensure that we will always have a cache of ideas from which to draw for inspiration. Today we began the planning portion. The planning portion steps of the writing process involves:

1. Touching and talking
2. Drawing and labeling

Our first step today was to touch (the pages) as we told our story to a partner. We listened for a beginning (which answers the questions: who, where, and when?) a middle (which tells what happened) and an end (which may tell what happened next and may indicate a change of emotional state).

Tomorrow we will begin the drawing and labeling stage.

In addition to your child's Math homework, you should find a Reading Log which has your child's number and the first due date of September 30th. As discussed at Back-to-School, the Reading Log may be completed in a parent's hand and should be signed by a parent at the bottom.

Composite Reading scores, and raw spelling scores are available in the classroom to interested parents. 

Unit One Week 1 Preview

As a part of our theme: What Makes Us Special, our focus questions are: What do we like to do, and how do the things we like to do make us special? We will discover that the things we like to do help to make us who we are. Our vocabulary words for the week are cheerful, interest, unique, prefer, and genuine. We will analyze story structure for the beginning, middle, and end (comprehension strategy). We learn that this is the way that most realistic fiction stories are structured and that good readers pay attention to these parts (R 1.3.1). We will also pay special attention to the characters and setting of stories (comprehension skill). In phonics we will blend words and identify rhymes with short 'a' and short 'i'. Our reading sight words for the week are jump, not, up. In grammar we will discuss how a sentence tells a whole idea. We will continue with our Unit Project. We will analyze the structure of the fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. We will analyze how an author develops character by what they say and do. In writing we discuss and practice how using describing words adds detail and interest. We will listen to the fable, Town Mouse and Country Mouse, and discover how preferences make characters unique. We will read an informational text and use structure to deduce main idea.

In Math we will continue with strategies for addition and model making (CCSS 1.OA.1 & 2)

In Science we will make a connection between what we have been learning in music and what we know about Alexander Graham Bell and discuss the discipline of acoustical science and engineering. In life science we discuss basic needs of people and animals using the vocabulary: shelter, energy.

In Writing we will continue with ways to come up with a topic as well as how to plan a personal narrative.

In P.E. we will work on balance.

• How are you different than other people in your family/class? How is your family different than other families?
• What are the states of matter?
• What does an animal need in order to survive? 

Ninth Day of School

There is no homework tonight.

We have been learning the American Sign Language Alphabet and are up the letter 'k' to date.

Today we segmented words into syllables. We discussed homonyms and homophones.

Eighth Day of School

In Math, the important concept was that the equals symbol (=) means: the same as (CCSS 1.OA.7). Additionally, students should also understand that a + b = c can be stated as c = a + b and because of the commutative property a + b = b + a (CCSS 1.OA.3).

In P.E. we learned basic handball rules.

Seventh Day of School

On the Math homework, have your child create their own part-part-whole (PPW) model for question number 7.

In P.E. today, we finished learning our first class dance.

Quick Note

Thank you to all parents for taking the time to listen their 1st grader's teacher drone on for a couple hours.

There was no homework sent tonight other than the School Handbook.

It is now 8:10; Do you know where your first grader is?

Answer: In bed!

Fifth Day of School

Thanks to those parents who have returned their homework already. I will speak more to that tomorrow evening. Reminder: Folders and Memorable Moment Lists are due tomorrow.

Today we discussed the structure of narratives. We learned that most narratives have a beginning (which often answer the questions of who, where, and when), a middle (containing the basic plot or conflict/problem), and the end (resolution).

We continued work on our Unit Project.

There was homework tonight. Students are to complete the reverse side of the classwork. The last question should be answered in a complete sentence.

We completed our 4th violence prevention lesson today.

In P.E. we worked on moving in open space and maintaining personal space. We moved in high middle and low space in 3 speeds using different locomotion.

Reminder: Tomorrow night is Back-to-School night.

Fourth Day of School

Our math journal question today:

The Dawson's want to go on a bicycle trip. All of the tires on their bikes are flat. there are 7 bicycles in all. How many tires will they have to inflate? Make a model to solve. Write a math sentence.

Third Day of School

Today we continued letter formation and letter study and well as work on our Unit Projects. We also took our first spelling inventory.

In Math we worked in our Math Journals on this question:

Phillip had a 21 piece puzzle in a box. When he dumped the box out, he counted only 16 pieces. How many pieces were missing? Make a model for your solution and write a math sentence.

The yellow writing folders have already started to come in and look great so far. Only 3 students are missing their emergency information.

Reminder: Back-to-School Night is on Tuesday at 5:30. Information will be presented this evening that will not be repeated at any other time this year. Please make a point to have an adult representative present from your family.

Tomorrow we will take our first Writing assessment.

Second Day of School

Today we continued with letter formation and began phonics review. We have begun our initial battery of reading tests. Soon we will begin Math and Writing assessments. We began our first Unit Project which will be to author a book about ourselves.

In Math we worked on another constructed response. A larger number of students were able to accomplish this task with greater success. the question was:

There are 3 students sitting at a table. How many fingers do all of the students have in total. Show how you arrived at your solution . Write a math equation.

We continued our violence prevention training. In P.E. today we learned the beginning of our first dance for the year.

You should should find in your child's possession a yellow folder with which to complete the 2nd parent homework assignment.

Thank you to those parents who were able to complete the numerous forms brought home yesterday. All of the forms were returned by a majority of the students. Thank you as well to the parents who have already donated supplies to the classroom.

Mandatory Parent Assignment #3

The Memorable Moment

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be working on the genre of personal narratives.

Your Task:

With input from your child, over the course of the next few days, construct a list of memorable events. These individual events should be about moments which occurred across a time span of approximately 20 minutes maximum in length. Each event should have an identifiable emotion (or two) attached to it (fear, happiness, surprise).

Examples of events which will not work:

• My Day at Disneyland
• Christmas Morning
• My Birthday Party
• The Winning Game

Examples of events which will work:

• Meeting Cinderella
• Opening My Favorite Gift
• Breaking the Pinata
• Scoring the Winning Goal

Try to make a list of at least 10 memorable moments. Make a copy of the list for you to keep at home. Send one copy of the list to school with your child by Tuesday August 25th (sooner than that is fine if not better). We will refer to this list as our list of Memorable Moments. Hopefully your child will be able to construct at least 3 narratives from events in the list. They will eventually be choosing from among those narratives one which they focus on for elaboration, revising, and editing for publication.

For your child's homework over the next few weeks, choose one event from the list each day and have your child tell the story to you orally. Listen for the following characteristics/items in their speech:

• Complete sentences (not run-on sentences or phrases)
• A beginning, middle, and closure to the story
• Details or examples of dialogue

Please finish your lists up this weekend. If all goes as planned we should begin work with our lists next week in class. Again, if you have any questions regarding this important assignment feel free to post in the comment section. If you would like to post an example for comment I will be glad to review with my thoughts.

First Day of School

First day went by fairly smoothly. A great majority of the students set very good behavior examples for the balance of the children. It was nice to see so many well-behaved children.

Today we began to lay the foundation for our writing program. We also practiced some letter formation. In Math, we discussed behaviors for problem solving  and we worked in our constructed response journals on the following question:

There are 10 students in a classroom. How many student eyes are there? Draw a picture and write a math sentence. 

A few students were able to complete the task with minimal guidance. Some students found the correct answer but were unable to explain their work in writing. A majority of the students were unable to complete the task with the correct answer but had the beginnings of a correct model.

Additionally, we began our violence prevention training (Second Step) today.

As I mentioned earlier, the students do not have homework tonight except to pressure their parents to fill in the emergency cards so they can be sent to the office ASAP.

I will be sending home your child's yellow writing folder tomorrow. Your second and third homework assignment relates to this yellow folder. Your task:

With you child's input, decorate all surfaces of your child's folder with some or all of the following items:

• Pictures of memorable events form the child's life
• Pictures or advertisements of your child's favorite items
• Pictures of topics which particularly interest your child (your child may have an interest in machines, space, dinosaurs, soccer, etc.)

 Return the decorated folder to school with your child by Monday August 24, 2015.

You might notice that the folders are not very substantial in quality. After the folder is decorated you may consider adding a bit of clear packing tape over the items which you have attached. We will (hopefully) be using these folder the entire year.

Please post any questions you may have in the comment section below.

Welcome to Room 11

This blog has been created to keep parents and guardians of the students in Room 11 at Caroldale Learning Community informed about daily activities in our classroom and school. Please discuss what you read here with your children when appropriate. Ask them clarifying questions. They don't necessarily need to know how you know what happened during their day, they should simply know that you are informed.

Feel free to  respond to what you read by posting a comment or question. Avoid including students' names when responding to posts. General comments and questions are best in this arena.

Please remember the most efficient way to communicate with me on timely issues is to write a note on or attached to your child's homework. For convenience, you might consider linking to this page through an rss feed or through the google reader application.

I am also available for conferences after school most days except Tuesdays. It is okay to drop by without an appointment with questions and concerns.

Thank you,

Mr. B