I hope we get a chance to enjoy some SPRING weather this week!!
We are changing things up a bit this week in first grade. We are no longer going to be sending home weekly spelling lists. We will continue to have weekly word wall words that we work on in class. We will also be working on a certain phonics skill each week that goes along with our reading story. With that we will build and work with words and practice spelling in class. I will be assessing spelling during that word building time, as well as in their everyday writing. I want to see that in this point of the year the kids are using the word patterns and phonics skills we've learned to spell words in their writing.
This week we will be reading a story called Tumbleweed Stew and practicing with words that end in "Y" or "IE" with the long "I" sound. Some examples include pie, tie, fly, sky, etc.
In language we will continue discussing adjectives. We have been looking and listening for adjectives in our reading and trying to use more adjectives in our writing.
The students have been doing a GREAT job on their weekly math facts check ups!! I'm really proud of them. We'll continue to check these facts each week. We will also continue to work a little more on subtraction facts, so we can get just as good at knowing those. In unit 8, the kids have been introduced to making equal parts, and we've even started talking about fractions!
It's hard to believe there are only 7 weeks left in first grade! We will continue to work hard to the end. Please continue reading every night with your child. Your support at home is an intregal part of their success in school.
Mrs. Halon
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Robots, Robots!
Our first graders were back into the swing of the routine this week and with it came a story from our reading book titled My Robot. It was a cute story about a boy who got a robot for his birthday. This robot did all kinds of things for the boy. We had a great time reading books about robots, talking about if WE had a robot, and even doing a little writing about it too of course!
We also finished up our story Charlotte's Web. Each of the students completed a Character Web of one of the main characters of the story. We had so many indoor recesses this past week that we were able to watch the entire movie as well.
In phonics/spelling, we worked on the soft C sound.
In language we have been learning about adjectives and how they describe. We have been having fun pointing out adjectives in our conversations, our read alouds, and in our reading books.
In Math, we are moving into Unit 8, which will focus a lot on more money counting, addition and subtraction number problems and stories, and fractions.
Let's hope for some warmer weather this week, or at least a week without rain so we can get some much needed play time outside throughout the day!
Enjoy your week!
Mrs. Halon
 | |
| The kids wrote stories about if they had a robot. They had lots of fun with it and were quite creative. |
We also finished up our story Charlotte's Web. Each of the students completed a Character Web of one of the main characters of the story. We had so many indoor recesses this past week that we were able to watch the entire movie as well.
In phonics/spelling, we worked on the soft C sound.
In language we have been learning about adjectives and how they describe. We have been having fun pointing out adjectives in our conversations, our read alouds, and in our reading books.
In Math, we are moving into Unit 8, which will focus a lot on more money counting, addition and subtraction number problems and stories, and fractions.
Let's hope for some warmer weather this week, or at least a week without rain so we can get some much needed play time outside throughout the day!
Enjoy your week!
Mrs. Halon
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Charlotte's Web and MAP testing
Spring is here!!
This is the time of the year I love for so many reasons. Of course I am enjoying the warmer temps, sunshine, and everything else that comes with spring. As a teacher though, spring is the time of year that I love to look at how far "my kids" have come this year. It brings a smile to my face to think about what our little first graders were doing back in September and compare it to what I am seeing them do now. I still have a couple months left with these little ones and we are planning to continue to work hard to get prepared for the big move upstairs to 2nd grade.
Last week we took our reading and math MAP tests. MAP stands for Measure of Academic Progress. It is a computer based test that assesses a various level of skills in math and reading. It gives us as teachers a nice look at the progress each child has made this year and what skills are stronger or weaker for each student.
Because our schedule was a little off last week with MAP testing, we didn't have our normal literacy block for guided reading. I decided to do some activities during that time to coincide with the story Charlotte's Web, which I have been reading aloud to the children the last few weeks. Students made spider webs with vocabulary words, created story cubes with different elements of the story on it, and began an ABC book of Charlotte's Web. We're still working on that project, but look for it to come home in a couple weeks. It was fun to get out of the normal routine and do some fun activities with Charlotte's Web. Maybe we'll even take some time in the next week to watch the movie now that we have finished the book.
In Math, we have begun switching teachers and have put our kids into flexible groups according to ability. Therefore, I may not see your child for math instruction anymore. We are working with our math groups to really focus in on skills needed with each particular group. The kids are enjoying moving around through the day and even having some time with other first grade teachers. All of us at varying levels are continuing to work on our basic first grade skills which include basic addition and subtraction facts, number stories, money counting, and telling time.
As spring is so very unpredictable, please keep an eye on the forecast each day and send your child with proper clothing for outside recess. Thank you:)
I am pleased to see how many kiddos have been taking home books each night to read for the Read At Home Program. I LOVE giving away all these free books to my readers!!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Halon
This is the time of the year I love for so many reasons. Of course I am enjoying the warmer temps, sunshine, and everything else that comes with spring. As a teacher though, spring is the time of year that I love to look at how far "my kids" have come this year. It brings a smile to my face to think about what our little first graders were doing back in September and compare it to what I am seeing them do now. I still have a couple months left with these little ones and we are planning to continue to work hard to get prepared for the big move upstairs to 2nd grade.
Last week we took our reading and math MAP tests. MAP stands for Measure of Academic Progress. It is a computer based test that assesses a various level of skills in math and reading. It gives us as teachers a nice look at the progress each child has made this year and what skills are stronger or weaker for each student.
Because our schedule was a little off last week with MAP testing, we didn't have our normal literacy block for guided reading. I decided to do some activities during that time to coincide with the story Charlotte's Web, which I have been reading aloud to the children the last few weeks. Students made spider webs with vocabulary words, created story cubes with different elements of the story on it, and began an ABC book of Charlotte's Web. We're still working on that project, but look for it to come home in a couple weeks. It was fun to get out of the normal routine and do some fun activities with Charlotte's Web. Maybe we'll even take some time in the next week to watch the movie now that we have finished the book.
In Math, we have begun switching teachers and have put our kids into flexible groups according to ability. Therefore, I may not see your child for math instruction anymore. We are working with our math groups to really focus in on skills needed with each particular group. The kids are enjoying moving around through the day and even having some time with other first grade teachers. All of us at varying levels are continuing to work on our basic first grade skills which include basic addition and subtraction facts, number stories, money counting, and telling time.
As spring is so very unpredictable, please keep an eye on the forecast each day and send your child with proper clothing for outside recess. Thank you:)
I am pleased to see how many kiddos have been taking home books each night to read for the Read At Home Program. I LOVE giving away all these free books to my readers!!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Halon
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