Ninetieth Day of School

We have reached the midpoint of your child's 1st grade year today.

Unsatisfactory Notices will be going home again soon. It is good to report that every single child has made growth in Reading and Language Arts in some way and the numbers are there to substantiate the claim. However, while this is good, not every student has made the requisite strides necessary to reach the standard goal for this point in the year. Let it be restated that an Unsatisfactory Notice does not mean that your child will be repeating 1st grade; it's just meant to inform you that your child could be receiving a rubric score of a 1 or 2 on the next progress report in the subjects of Reading, Writing, and/or Math. Your child does not need to be made aware of this information.

In Writing we began construction the text feature Table of Contents for our informational pieces.

Eighty-Ninth Day of School

Today's Writing lesson should have been to add audience attention grabbers to the beginning of each chapter. An attention grabber can be an interesting fact or question, a quote, an exclamation or sound, or some humor (just to name a few).

At-Home Project: Social Science

For Social Science we have been working on neighborhood maps. At this point in the year it is suggested that parents direct students to a mapping program (Google Maps) on the Internet and locate their home's satellite photograph. Magnify the view to 100ft/inch. Size to show their block and a portion of surrounding blocks. Have your child make a simple map (a sample is available in the classroom) with legend (key) under your direction but in their hand. On your child's map, buildings could be shown as simple rectangles. Print a view of the satellite picture (preferably w/o address and real estate information, which can be blackened out if necessary) and attach to the hand-drawn map and send with your child to class.

Eighty-Eighth Day of School

In Writing today, we drew on previous skills to learn how to incorporate procedure writing into our informational text.

In Social Science we began work on a map of Caroldale.

There is no homework tonight as we took our mid-year Math assessment.

Unit 3 Week 4 Preview

We will be discussing how we can be creative and resourceful and likewise how the characters in our selections exhibit these characteristics and what it is that inspires them. Our vocabulary words for this week are create, hobby, inspire, resourceful, structure. Among our selections this week is a fantasy by Harry Horse called A Friend for Little Bear, in which a resourceful toy bear learns the importance of friends over collecting possessions. Another selection is Karen Lynn Williams' story Galimoto about a resourceful child in Africa who has to make his own toys from found objects.

Our comprehension strategy will be making inferences in order to draw conclusions, our comprehension skill. Our sight words will be after done, find, old, new, work.

We will continue with final silent 'e' long vowel spellings for the remaining vowels along with open syllable long vowels as well as the remaining stanza of our vowel poem.

In Science we will be continue our unit on weather by taking a look and experimenting with air pressure.

In Visual Arts we will continue our study of line as an element of art.

In Social Science we will discuss using maps to find our way around town.

In P.E. we will work on strength exercises and learn strategies and skills for the fast paced game of 4-square.

Eighty-Seventh Day of School

Today's Writing lesson was identical to yesterday's lesson.

In Science we experimented with air resistance and made parachutes to test.

Mid Chapter 5 Test Results

Of 23 students taking the test, 18 students passed it he an adjusted score of 13 or better. 15 students scored 17 or better.

Eighty-Sixth Day of School

For Writing we had the option of starting sentences for our first chapter or starting a plan for another chapter.

In Visual Art we took to the outdoors to find subjects for practice using different types of lines.

There is no written homework today.

Eighty-Fifth Day of School

In Writing today with guidance from our notes and questions we began planning our first chapter with sketches and labels.

In Social Science we began work on our last interior map.

Optional At Home Project: Poster Contest

Due Date: 02/19/16 (Send submissions to Room 11)

Theme: What I Like About My School

Guidelines:

• Open to K-5th grade LAUSD students
• Posters should be on 12"x 18" quality poster board or white heavy construction paper
• Students should create posters using original artwork and lettering, illustrating the contest theme.
• Must be student's original idea, design and execution.
• No copyrighted characters, photographs, or illustrations. No stenciled or stick-on lettering. No wood, metal, or plastic objects allowed.
• Any choice of color, using colored pencils, pens, markers, water colors, chalk, crayons, or acrylic paint allowed.
• Each poster should have an entry form attached to the top right back of the entry. (See your teacher for this form ((or send a request note with your child))).

Each age category is made up of 2 grades. One poster from each age category will be submitted by the school.

Prizes:  1st Place: $150  2nd Place: $125  3rd Place $100

Winners will be notified by mail and will be invited to the AEOE Annual Awards Luncheon to be held on Saturday, March 5th, 2016

Eighty-Fourth Day of School

In Writing we wrote down questions which we thought people may ask about our writing topics. We were asked to write at least 5 questions beginning: why, what, how, where, and when. It was thought that this strategy would help to focus our writing and would help us to find sub-topics. Some example questions include:

• Why is organic gardening important?
• What tools are important to have in the garden?
• How do you compost?
• Where is the best place to start a garden?
• When is the best time to plant seedlings?

In reading, we deconstructed an informational piece on art from around the world. We reconstructed what the author's brainstorming sheet may have looked like. Then game sub-topic heading/chapter names to the different sections. We were then given the name of a chapter from an informational piece and had to come up with 2 different possibilities for an All About book based on that one chapter.

Optional At-Home Project: Speech Contest

Due Date: Open

The 1st grade will be hosting the Citizen of the Month Assembly at the end of February. One child from the 1st grade classes will be chosen to read an essay they have written on the subject of sportsmanship. All students wishing to be considered for reading a speech to the student body at the end of the February need to submit an essay to their teacher by Friday, February 12. A winning essay/student will be chosen by the 1st grade teachers. Parents of that child will be notified so they can make plans to be at the assembly. This is good public speaking experience and an excellent opportunity for video memories.

Eighty-Third Day of School

Our Writing task today was to arrange our notes into related groups that might become the kernel of a chapter. We attempted to make 2-4 groups. We accomplished this by choosing 2-4 crayons and circling related ideas/notes with matching colors.

In order to avoid weekend Math homework, we postponed today's Math lesson to Tuesday. This will push our Math test to either Wednesday or Thursday.

In today's Science lesson we learned that weather is made of 3 important elements, heat, air, and water. These elements are strongly influenced by the earth's geography/land (tested).

Eighty-Second Day of School

Our activity in Writing today was a continuation of yesterday's activity. We added to our pre-writing notes.

In Health we discussed the meaning of respect.

The mid-chapter Math Test will be early next week.

A reading fluency/comprehension by oral response score graphic (as discussed at Back-to-School Night) will be available in the classroom at the beginning of next week.

Eighty-First Day of School

In Writing today we took a double-wide sheet of paper and began taking notes (we wrote all of the related words we could think of) on our chosen topic. Tomorrow we will continue with this step of the process.

For Visual Art today, we studied the first element of line. We looked at and tried our hand with various types of lines visual artists use. We then took a look at artwork sing each of these types of lines.

Eightieth Day of School

Our task in Writing today was relatively simple. We had to decide which topic from our list we would choose to write our informational piece. As you choose from your list, reflect out loud to your child your decision making process. For example, 'I really like this topic but I don't think I know enough to write a book on it. This topic I know a lot but I'm not sure it would make a good book', etc.

Alternatively, make a list of topics you and your child know a lot about together and consider making a book together as well. Additionally, know what your child's topic is for their piece they are writing at school.

Seventy-Ninth Day of School

In Writing today we made a list of topics of which we felt expert enough to write an informational piece. We categorized our knowledge by things (nouns), actions (verbs), and people/places. We learn that our past genre study of 'How-to's' was actually a smaller part of an Informational (All About) piece.

In Social Studies we looked at a map without a title, author, key, or date to learn what possible impact that has on it's decipher-ability. Then, we created a map of our tabletop.

Preview Unit 3 Week 3

Our focus this week related to the theme is having fun while creating. In past years some students created a riddle/joke books for an additional Unit Project. We will encode and decode with the digraphs ch, tch, wh, ph. Our sight words this week are every, from, into, people, soon, your. Oral vocabulary words are original, talented, astonishing, complicated, continue. We will summarize for a comprehension strategy using main ideas and details for a comprehension skill.

In writing we begin our Informational Writing Unit.

In Social Science we continue to compare the past and the present while continuing our unit on maps.

In Science we learn the elements of weather and continue our observation of air.

We will begin our mid-year reading evaluation this week.

Winter Break Notes

When we return to school on Monday, we will begin our informative writing instruction. In past experience it would be a good idea for you to know in what topic/subject your child feels they are an expert. Some examples from past projects include:

• Weather
• Theater Arts
• Tigers
• Football

Our first step of the writing process will include:

1. Brainstorming possible topics for writing
2. Choosing and charting information regarding the topic
3. Organizing the information into chapters

A good example of what the above first steps may look like when completed may be:

Sharks

• The Life Cycle of the Shark
• Shark Habits
• Threats to Sharks

Additionally, as part of your child's homework across this unit, have your child describe for you the daily writing lesson. This will help to cement the learning in their memory and facilitate their work in class (the lessons will also be outlined in the daily messages here). As they describe the lesson to you try out what they describe for yourself. This will help them to see an expert writer involved in the writing process close up. You will be on the same writing step as they are and they will see your project grow as theirs does. It will also inform you as to their ability to repeat information they learn in class. It is best that your subject of expertise NOT be the same as your child's. Let them have their own area of expertise as you will  have your own. You might draw upon your current or past work experience for ideas or even take some time to research a new topic you are interested in. Examples may include:

• Cooking
• Organic Gardening
• Exercising
• Driving
• Sewing

Also, you have probably seen by now your child's world map that they will use to study the for this reporting period's exam. To clarify, your child does not need to know the the boundaries of the continents. They will only need to label the continent with its name (i.e. get the correct name in the correct spot on the map). They will also need to label the oceans and Los Angeles as discussed on Back-to-School Night.

Your child also has 2 of the 5 stanzas (written in their own hand) of a poem we are memorizing for individual recital. The other stanzas will be forthcoming (SL.1.4.a).