Royal Reader!

Today, Andrew's mom surprised us as a Royal Reader! She read facts from the book, "Weird but True" by National Geographic. The students loved guessing the answers to the questions she asked before revealing the correct answer! Thanks for coming in to read to us!

Weekly News!

Can you believe tomorrow brings the month of May?! Where has the time gone? We continue to work so hard every day as we finish out our first grade year!

Last week, Luciana was our photographer, and she was snapping photos left and right! One hundred eighty seven photos to be exact! Wow! Below are a few of her favorites, along with the captions she wrote to go with them:


Gertrude and her ducks are walking outside our classroom.


Isabel is doing Making Words on the board.


Jill is trying to do the number grid thing. (We were filling in missing spaces on our number grids to practice using the number grid patterns to help us determine which numbers were missing!)


Lily is working hard on her math boxes.


Emilia and Kate are playing a number grid game.


Literacy:
Last week, our Treasures theme was "I Can Do It", where we read stories about people or other characters who keep trying until they are able to do something they originally found difficult. As we read our stories for the week, we continued to work on our questioning skills, and revisited the concept of making inferences as we read. Our spelling and word work pattern of the week focused on r-controlled vowels, specifically the /or/ pattern. During grammar instruction, we focused on adjectives that describe how many, or number words! We continued to work on our persuasive writing skills during writing workshop time, and worked on ways to make our writing more convincing.

This week, our Treasures theme will be "How Does it Grow?". Our first grade scientists already have schema, or background knowledge on this topic from our Collecting and Examining Life science unit, so I'm eager to see them build upon that schema! We will continue to practice our questioning skills, and will practice classifying and categorizing information as we read. Our spelling and word work pattern will be r-controlled vowels, specifically /ur/ sound words, formed by the -er, -ir, and -ur combinations. Grammar instruction will focus on synonyms and antonyms, and generating words that mean the same or mean the opposite of a given word.

Math:
Last week in math, we began Unit 9 by identifying tens and ones patterns on the number grid. Next, we practiced adding and subtracting with tens. Later in the week, we learned about number grid puzzles, which help us use number grid patterns to solve problems. Finally, we did a bit of work on adding and subtracting two digit numbers.

This week in math, we began with Explorations today. The students measured their heights and compared their height today to their height when we measured it back in December, and compared the two. They also explored symmetry with pattern blocks, played the number grid game, and worked on math boxes in their math journals. Tomorrow, we will learn about fractional parts of a whole, which will be followed up on Wednesday by comparing fractions. We will round out the week by learning about many names for fractional parts. We continue to take our timed tests on those addition facts for our "Gumball Math". Keep practicing those facts at home so that they become automatic, or "snappy quick"!

Science/Social Studies:
Last week, we finished our Magnets unit by learning about how magnets can be attracted to one another, or repel one another. We tested these forces by putting doughnut magnets on a pencil, and turning them over to see the difference in forces when the magnet is turned a different way. Finally, we explored a compass and discovered how the compass uses the earth as a magnet to find north. We discovered that a magnet can force the compass to turn a different direction, but that when the magnet is pulled away from the compass, it will correct itself.

This week, we are switching gears to begin our Cultural Comparison study on China. We will learn about many different aspects of the Chinese culture and the land of China. We are starting with the Chinese flag, geography of China, and the Chinese calendar.

Other:
Don't forget that our Reading Passports are due each Monday! Because our LMC day is also on Monday, this works nicely if your child wants to check out their next book from another genre this same day. While they do have the opportunity to choose a book from the LMC for their passports, they are certainly not limited to books from the Dryden LMC. They can use books from the public library or books they have at home if they prefer to use other books!

**This week is a bit different, as our LMC time is canceled due to MAP testing in the older grades. We will be checking out books tomorrow morning during Daily 5 time instead! Don't forget to bring your books tomorrow!

I'm already enjoying another week of first grade fun!

Mrs. Glaser ☺

Weekly News!

We are cruising through the month of April, and learning so much along the way! This week, Mick was our photographer. He did a great job capturing a wide variety of activities from the week. Below are his favorite photos and captions:

Joe is writing his acrostic poem.

Luke is erasing.

Mykolas is writing.

Leilani is using the magnets to see if the paper clip can stick through the plastic.

Some kids were reading about volcanoes during Daily 5 time while they were buddy reading, so they were looking up some more stuff about volcanoes on the computer.

This is the book they were reading.




Literacy:
Last week, our Treasures theme was "Inventions". As we read our stories for the week, we worked on our questioning skills, and identified the causes and effects in each selection. We also learned about various inventors and their inventions that help make life easier today. Our spelling and word work pattern of the week focused on r-controlled vowels, specifically the /ar/ pattern. During grammar instruction, we focused on adjectives that describe color! We continued to work on our persuasive writing skills during writing workshop time, and worked on writing letters to convince Dr. Jares and Mr. Robinson to improve something in our school. To honor Earth Day, we did a few writing projects to brainstorm ways we can help the earth. We also wrote an acrostic poem using the letters in "Earth Day" to describe the holiday. Those are now hanging outside our classroom for all to enjoy, so be sure to take a peek if you find yourself in our hallway anytime soon!

This week, our Treasures theme will be "I Can Do It". We will continue to practice our questioning skills, and will revisit the concept of making inferences as we read. Our spelling and word work pattern will be r-controlled vowels, specifically /or/ words. Grammar instruction will continue to focus on adjectives, but this time on adjectives that tell how many, or number words. We will continue to work on our persuasive writing during writing workshop time, and think about ways to make our writing more convincing.

Math:
Last week in math, we worked on finding fractional parts of collections. We practiced sharing groups of pennies among small groups of people to divide them equally. On Tuesday, we had math explorations, and rotated to math centers to strengthen our math skills in a fun way! Finally, we reviewed Unit 8 with the Mimio Vote system on Wednesday, and took our Math test on Thursday. The kids did a great job on this math test- they should be so proud of themselves! We continue to work on our Gumball Math as well, taking the timed fact tests and graphing our progress in our folders. Please remember to keep practicing those math facts at home to help your child memorize them! We are working towards being able to automatically identify the answers to each addition problem without using a number grid.

This week in math, we will begin Unit 9 by identifying tens and ones patterns on the number grid. Next, we will practice adding and subtracting tens. This will be followed by number grid puzzles, which help us use number grid patterns to our advantage and really make us think about counting by tens and ones on the number grid. Finally, we will work on adding and subtracting two digit numbers.

Science:
We continued our science focus on magnets this week, and the children loved the exploring they were able to do! First, we broke into groups and experimented with various materials to test whether or not magnets would work through those materials. We tested things like plastic, paper, cardboard, fabric, and foil. We discovered that the magnets were able to work through these materials! Next, our groups made their own plans for ways to test the strength of magnets. They tested three different types of magnets- donut, bar, and horseshoe magnets. Each group developed a plan, listed the materials they needed, and then presented their plan to me. I helped them gather their materials, and then they were off to conduct their experiments! We found that some of our results were the same, but some were different, and this is why scientists must do many different tests in many different ways before they are able to form a hypothesis. Our first grade scientists LOVED the chance to create their own experiments and did a fantastic job of carrying out their plans! Nice work!

Other:
Don't forget that our Reading Passports are due each Monday! Because our LMC day is also on Monday, this works nicely if your child wants to check out their next book from another genre this same day. While they do have the opportunity to choose a book from the LMC for their passports, they are certainly not limited to books from the Dryden LMC. They can use books from the public library or books they have at home if they prefer to use other books!

I look forward to another productive week in first grade!

Mrs. Glaser ☺

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANDREW!

Happy birthday to our friend Andrew! We are excited to celebrate with you today!

Weekly News!

I am happy to report that we had another successful week of learning in first grade! Our photographer this week was Andrew, and his favorite photographs and captions are below:


We read a story in Treasures about Frog and Toad.


We found the problem and solutions.


It's a magnet! Those things on it are all magnetic!


We made predictions and tested the materials when we did our magnetic scavenger hunt.


This is our calendar.

Literacy:
Last week, our Treasures theme was "Watch it Go". As we read our stories for the week, we visualized what was happening in the story. We also worked on identifying the problem and solution in the stories. Our spelling and word work pattern of the week focused on the long /i/sound with –i, -y, and -igh. During grammar instruction, we focused on comparing adjectives! We began a new writing workshop genre this week as we introduced persuasive writing. We learned that it is important to state your opinion, and then back up your opinion with strong reasons why your opinion is a good one.

This week, our Treasures theme will be "Inventions". We will identify cause and effect in our reading selections, which will tie in nicely with questioning as we read. Our spelling and word work pattern will be r-controlled vowels, specifically –ar words. Grammar instruction will continue to focus on adjectives, but this time on adjectives that describe color. We will continue to work on our persuasive writing during writing workshop time, and will also complete a few special writing projects in honor of Earth Day, which is coming up on April 22nd.

Math:
Last week in math, we began the week by reviewing making change with coins. Next, we introduced fractions and learned about equal shares. We also continued to take our timed math fact tests for our Gumball Math. Don’t forget to practice those math flashcards that come home each Monday, and continue to add those to your stack of flashcards to practice. Flashcards should be practiced a few times a week to keep building that automaticity we are working towards, so that the children are able to recall their math facts “snappy quick”.

This week in math, we will begin the week with finding fractional parts of collections by sharing pennies. Next, we will finish up Unit 8 with an explorations session on Tuesday, followed by a math review using the Mimio Vote system on Wednesday, and our Unit 8 math test on Thursday.

Science:
We introduced the topic of Magnets this week, and our scientists are so excited to be back to work. First, we discussed what we already know about magnets, as well as what things we wonder about magnets. Next, we explored what happens when we move a magnet closer and closer to a magnetic object. The students worked together in groups to make observations and recorded their observations in their science journals. Then, they conducted a scavenger hunt around the classroom to test various objects and determine whether or not they are magnetic. Finally, we drew conclusions about magnets based on what we observed. I know the students will be eager to do more exploring with magnets this week as well!

Other:
Don't forget that our Reading Passports are due each Monday! Because our LMC day is also on Monday, this works nicely if your child wants to check out their next book from another genre this same day. Please rest assured that the books do not have to correspond to the continents on the passports! So, for instance, if Asia is the realistic fiction genre, it does not have to be a realistic fiction story about a character in Asia. Any realistic fiction story that your child is able to read and respond to will do!

Have a fantastic week!

Mrs. Glaser ☺

Weekly News!

How quickly we were back into the swing of things in 1-1 after Spring Break! I'm so happy to have all of our first grade friends back- I missed them over the break! Last week, Ellie was our photographer. She enjoyed taking many abstract photos of her friends and the classroom, and did a great job of capturing some other moments as well! Below are a few of her favorites, along with her captions.


Isabel is working on her math book.


Lily is working on her math book too.


Leilani is smiling and working on math.


We played this game with money.


Matthew is reading Olivia in our Treasures book.


Jill was drawing a box to put her number in on her dry erase board.


Joe is working.

Literacy:

Last week, our Treasures theme was "Express Yourself". As we read our stories for the week, we determined whether the story was fantasy or reality. We also touched on visualizing as we read to strengthen our comprehension of the story. Our spelling and word work pattern of the week focused on the long /o/ sound with -oa or -ow. During grammar instruction, we focused on identifying and using adjectives in sentences. Now that we have learned about nouns (person, place, or thing), verbs (action words), and adjectives (describing words), we can compare the three and identify them in sentences! These skills will also help us to form better sentences as writers! Speaking of writing, last week we did a writing exercise about how "Egg-cellent" we are. Students wrote about a few ways in which they are egg-cellent and why. They came up with some great reasons!

This week, our Treasures theme will be "Watch it Go". We will continue to work on visualizing as we read, and we will also identify the problem and solution in each of our reading selections. Our spelling and word work pattern will be the long /i/ sound, made with an -i, -y, or -igh. Grammar instruction will continue to focus on adjectives, but this time on comparing adjectives, for example big, bigger, biggest. We will dive into our next type of writing- persuasive. We will be learning about stating our opinion and backing up our point of view. All the while, we will continue to practice writing complete sentences with correct punctuation and capitalization so we can really solidify those skills before we become second graders!


Math:
Last week in math, we reviewed coin counting (quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies in combination), introduced the dollar, and played coin exchange up to one dollar. We also reviewed making exchanges with base ten blocks, practicing identifying the digits in the hundreds, tens, and ones place in a number. Finally, we worked on coin counting in a real life application, where we pretended to buy items from a school store and wrote number stories to go with our purchases. We also began our math facts timed test practice with our new Gumball Math system. The kids are so motivated to earn these little gumballs for the gumball machine on their individual folders, and have been graphing their progress, so even if they do not earn their gumball just yet, they are still motivated by the improvement they can see in their graph! I have been so pleased with their progress so far. Keep practicing fact practice at home, I promise all of your additional hard work does pay off!

This week, we will practice a bit more with making change before jumping into lessons on equal shares and fractions. Yes, fractions! In first grade! We will also continue our Gumball Math testing.

Science:
Our newest science unit will begin this week as we begin studying magnets! I cannot wait to share what exciting discoveries our scientists make this week with our new focus.

Other:
Don't forget that our Reading Passports are due each Monday! Because our LMC day is also on Monday, this works nicely if your child wants to check out their next book from another genre this same day. Please rest assured that the books do not have to correspond to the continents on the passports! So, for instance, if Asia is the realistic fiction genre, it does not have to be a realistic fiction story about a character in Asia. Any realistic fiction story that your child is able to read and respond to will do!

Have a fantastic week!

Mrs Glaser :)