End of December

We have been learning more strategy games to help us plan ahead, build stamina, and figure out what is a challenge (not too easy and not too hard). The goal is to transfer these skills into all areas of school: reading, writing, math, science, PE, music, art, library, and into other areas like solving problems with our friends and family.

In reading we have been learning to make self to text connections with the books we read, especially understanding how the characters feel. This will help us understand the story better and good readers understand what they are reading and can explain it to someone else.

In writing we have been working on using punctuation (.!?) in our sentences. We have also been trying to fill up the lines on every page with long sentences.

In math we have been studying the number pairs that add up to ten and making up and solving story problems to go with number sentences when one number is missing. For example: 6 + ? = 10, I had six books in my backpack. I put in some more and now I have ten books in my backpack. How many more did I put in?

We are making some special presents for our families in the last few days before winter break. Pictures of those activities will be posted soon! Please remember there is early dismissal (1:25 pm) on Wednesday, December 23 and then no school until Monday, January 3.
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Hemos estado aprendiendo más juegos de estrategia que nos ayude a planificar el futuro, construir la resistencia, y averiguar lo que es un reto (no demasiado fácil y no demasiado duro). El objetivo es transferir estas habilidades en todos los ámbitos de la escuela: lectura, escritura, matemáticas, ciencias, educación física, música, arte, biblioteca, y en otras áreas como la solución de problemas con nuestros amigos y familiares.

En la lectura que hemos estado aprendiendo a hacer uno mismo a las conexiones de texto con los libros que leemos, sobre todo la comprensión de cómo los personajes sienten. Esto nos ayudará a entender mejor la historia y los buenos lectores entienden lo que están leyendo y lo puedo explicar a otra persona.

En la escritura que hemos estado trabajando sobre el uso de (.!?) puntuacion en nuestras oraciones. También hemos estado tratando de llenar las líneas en cada página con largas condenas.

En matemáticas hemos estado estudiando los pares de números que suman diez y que constituyen la historia y solución de problemas para ir con penas de número cuando el número uno se encuentra. Por ejemplo: 6 +? = 10, que tenía seis libros en la mochila. Puse en un poco más y ahora tengo diez libros en mi mochila. ¿Cuántos más lo puse en?

Estamos haciendo algunos regalos especiales para nuestras familias en los últimos días antes de las vacaciones de invierno. Imágenes de las actividades será publicado pronto! Por favor, recuerde que hay salida temprana (1:25 pm) el miércoles, 23 de diciembre y entonces no hay clases hasta el lunes, 3 de enero.

early December

I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated the blog! We have been very busy these past few weeks. We are learning how to solve problems by playing logic games in the Strategies Lab which help us to think ahead and build stamina when faced with a challenge. We are learning about punctuation (.!?) in both reading and writing. We are learning about schema (what we already know about something) and making self to text connections to help us better understand what we are reading. We are also learning the addition facts to ten (1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5) and about fractions (1/2, 1/3, 1/4). Finally we have been studying solids, liquids and gases. As winter break approaches we will learn about different holidays our families celebrate this time of year.

Siento que ha pasado tanto tiempo que no actualizo el blog! Hemos estado muy ocupado estas últimas semanas. Estamos aprendiendo cómo resolver los problemas al jugar juegos de lógica en el Laboratorio de estrategias que nos ayudan a pensar en el futuro y construir la resistencia cuando se enfrentan a un reto. Estamos aprendiendo sobre (.!?) puntuacion en la lectura y la escritura. Estamos aprendiendo acerca del esquema (lo que ya sabemos acerca de algo) y lo mismo a las conexiones de texto para ayudarnos a entender mejor lo que estamos leyendo. También estamos aprendiendo de los hechos además de los diez (un 9, 2 8 3 7 4 6 5 de 5) y de fracciones (1 / 2, 1 / 3, 1 / 4). Por último hemos estado estudiando los sólidos, líquidos y gases. En vacaciones de invierno se acerca vamos a aprender acerca de las diferentes fiestas nuestras familias celebran en esta época del año.

Mid November

Here are pictures of our web chat with a Veteran on Veteran's Day and our families visiting school for Thanksgiving lunch.

Over Thanksgiving break please make sure your student is reading the books from school for at least ten minutes every day. I will be sending home some writing paper to write a story for homework, too. Your child needs to read over his/her writing to make sure it makes sense.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Aquí están las fotos de nuestra web, chatear con un veterano en el Día de los Veteranos y las familias que visitan nuestra escuela para el almuerzo de Acción de Gracias.

Durante las vacaciones de Acción de Gracias por favor, asegúrese de que su hijo está leyendo los libros de la escuela por lo menos diez minutos cada día. Yo mandaré un poco de papel de escritura para escribir una historia para hacer la tarea, también. Su hijo necesita leer más de su escrito para asegurarse de que tiene sentido.

Disfrute de unas vacaciones seguras y felices!

Veteran's Day

Ramona the Brave

Counting by 2s, 5s and 10s video

Late October, 2010

We had Fall Fun Day this week! Had a beautiful fall afternoon to go outside and rotate through different stations that each had a game the students have been learning to play in PE. Ask your child to explain the games you see pictured here.

We have been working on reading on our own for 7 or more minutes and writing on our own for 15 minutes. The books your child brings home in a Ziploc bag are books they have practiced at school and should read to you or on their own every night. Please help your child remember to bring the books back to school every day.

In math we started studying ordinal positions (first, second, third...) and counting by fives. We are playing this counting game and using unifix cubes to help us practice.

This week we will cut open a pumpkin and count how many seeds are inside! On Wednesday students are invited to wear red to support the Red Ribbon stay healthy and drug free program. Thursday is dress like your favorite book character day. More pictures coming soon.

Tuvimos Otoño día de diversión de esta semana! Tenía una hermosa tarde de otoño para salir a la calle y girar a través de diferentes estaciones que cada uno había un juego que los estudiantes han estado aprendiendo a jugar en el PE. Pídale a su niño para explicar los juegos que ves en la imagen.

Hemos estado trabajando en la lectura por nuestra cuenta durante 7 minutos o más y por escrito por nuestra cuenta durante 15 minutos. Los libros que su hijo trae a casa en una bolsa Ziploc son libros que han practicado en la escuela y debe decir a usted o por su cuenta todas las noches. Por favor, ayudar a su niño a recordar para traer los libros a la escuela todos los días.

En matemáticas hemos empezado a estudiar las posiciones ordinales (primero, segundo, tercero ...) y contando de cinco en cinco. Estamos jugando a este juego de contar y el uso de cubos Unifix para ayudarnos a la práctica.

Esta semana vamos a abrir una calabaza y contar cuántas semillas hay dentro! El Miércoles estudiantes están invitados a vestirse de rojo para apoyar la Cinta Roja programa de estancia saludable y libre de drogas. El jueves es el día vestido como personaje favorito de libro. Más fotos en breve.

October 15, 2010

This week we took a nature walk outside to use our sense of sight, touch, hearing, and smell to experience signs of fall. We saw leaves changing color, felt the smooth wood on trees, heard leaves bring crunched under feet and crickets chirping, and we smelled the dirt. Then we used all 5 senses to experience popcorn popping, we even got to taste some! We didn't have butter or salt so most students said the popcorn tasted like "nothing."

We started working on making two digit numbers with unifix cubes so we can really understand how big those numbers are. We also explored math tools like measuring tape during free choice time. We sorted lower case and upper case letters, and we talked about how letters are related to words (they can make words and sometimes even be a word like a and I).

In the classroom library we are reading to the stuffed animals or using them to act out stories. We even read books to our class fish! Next week students will start bringing home books from school to practice reading at home. Just like we have been practicing at school, students can read to themselves, read to a family member, and read to their own toys and pets.

Esta semana dimos un paseo por la naturaleza exterior a usar nuestro sentido de la vista, el tacto, el oído y el olfato para experimentar signos de caída. Hemos visto las hojas cambian de color, se sintió la madera suave en los árboles, las hojas oído traer crujía bajo los pies y canto de los grillos, y olía la tierra. Luego usamos los 5 sentidos para experimentar palomitas de maíz, que incluso llegó a probar algunos! No teníamos la mantequilla o la sal para la mayoría de los estudiantes dijo que las palomitas de maíz sabor a "nada".

Comenzamos a trabajar en la fabricación de números de dos dígitos con cubos Unifix por lo que realmente puede entender lo grande que esos números son. También exploramos las herramientas matemáticas como la cinta de medir en el tiempo libre elección. Estamos ordenados minúsculas y mayúsculas, y hablamos de cómo las letras están relacionadas con las palabras (que pueden hacer que las palabras ya veces hasta ser una palabra como una y yo).

En la biblioteca de aula que estamos leyendo a los animales de peluche o su utilización para representar historias. Incluso leer libros para nuestros peces clase! La próxima semana los estudiantes se empiezan a traer a casa los libros de la escuela para practicar la lectura en casa. Al igual que hemos estado practicando en la escuela, los estudiantes pueden leer a sí mismos, de lectura a un miembro de la familia, y para leer sus propios juguetes y mascotas.

Beginning of October

This week we opened our classroom library! We have been looking at our library books one basket at a time, and now it’s very exciting to be able to browse through ALL of them during reading time. The students enjoyed reading to our class fish and acting out some of the stories with the stuffed animals. We also learned where to record things we wonder about the class fish, like why does he have such big bubbles under his eyes? We have started our independent writing time using pens, which allow me to see all the ideas a student comes up with (not just the ones that don’t get erased). We are writing about real things that we have seen or done before, and many students are choosing to write nonfiction books about animals. In math we are continuing to work with numbers 1-100 so we can learn their names and where they are on a 100 chart. We opened the Smartboard center with the math game linked on the right called “100 chart game (park the spaceship).” We have also been enjoying some free play time at the end of the day that students earn by being quiet and polite during lunch in the cafeteria. Enjoy the beautiful sunshine this weekend!

Esta semana abrimos nuestra biblioteca! Hemos estado buscando en nuestros libros de la colección de la misma canasta en un momento, y ahora es muy emocionante para poder navegar a través de todos ellos durante el tiempo de lectura. Los estudiantes disfrutaron de la lectura para nuestros peces clase y calidad de algunos de los cuentos con los animales de peluche. También aprendimos que para grabar cosas nos preguntamos acerca de la clase de peces, como por qué tiene él como grandes burbujas en los ojos? Hemos comenzado nuestro tiempo escribiendo independiente con plumas, que me permiten ver todas las ideas que un estudiante se le ocurre (no sólo los que no se borran). Estamos escribiendo sobre las cosas reales que hemos visto o hecho antes, y muchos estudiantes optan por escribir libros de no ficción acerca de los animales. En matemáticas se sigue trabajando con los números 1-100 para que podamos aprender sus nombres y dónde están en un gráfico de 100.Abrimos el centro Smartboard con el juego de matemáticas vinculados a la derecha llamado "100 juego gráfico (parque de la nave espacial)." También hemos podido disfrutar de algún tiempo libre juego al final del día que los estudiantes ganan por ser tranquilo y amable durante el almuerzo en la cafetería. Disfrute del sol hermoso este fin de semana!

End of September

We have been looking for leaves changing colors and other signs of fall. We have been learning to play new math games with each other and how to use new materials in the classroom. We are also learning how to take care of each other and everything at school. We are learning to type in the computer lab two times a week. We have been learning about writing on our own: sounding out words we don't know or can't find, staying quiet so everyone can concentrate, and writing what we know about. We will be using pens for writing this year, which show me all of the students' thinking since they can't erase their mistakes. This can be frustrating for some students and is a big adjustment. We are focusing on nonfiction (real, fact books) right now.

Hemos estado buscando hojas cambian de color y otros signos de caída. Hemos estado aprendiendo a jugar nuevos juegos de matemáticas entre sí y cómo utilizar los nuevos materiales en el aula. También estamos aprendiendo a cuidar el uno del otro y todo lo que en la escuela.Estamos aprendiendo a escribir en el laboratorio de computación dos veces a la semana. Hemos estado aprendiendo sobre la escritura en nuestra propia: la pronunciación de palabras que no saben o no pueden encontrar, permanecer tranquilo para que todos puedan concentrarse y escribir lo que sabemos.Nosotros vamos a usar plumas para escribir este año, que me muestre todo el pensamiento de los estudiantes, ya que no puede borrar sus errores. Esto puede ser frustrante para algunos estudiantes y es un gran ajuste. Nos estamos centrando en no ficción (real, los libros de hecho) en este momento.

September 13 - 17

We have been learning each other's names and the rules of school this week. We have also been exploring the different books and materials in our classroom. We took a walk outside to collect leaves and then made leaf pictures by rubbing them with crayons. We went to the computer lab and learned how to get on the computers and start a typing game. We went to the library and got to check out four books! We have library on Tuesdays so please return books on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Hemos estado aprendiendo de los demás nombres y las reglas de la escuela esta semana. También hemos estado estudiando los diferentes libros y materiales en nuestro salón de clases. Tomamos un paseo para recoger hojas y luego hizo fotos de la hoja frotándolos con lápices de colores. Fuimos al laboratorio de computación y como hacerle para que en los equipos y comenzar un juego que mecanografía.Fuimos a la biblioteca y se puso a cuatro echa un vistazo a los libros! Tenemos la colección de los martes así que por favor devolver los libros los lunes o martes.

Happy New School Year!

We started the year off with a lot of excitement this past week as we brought in our new school supplies, made new friends, and learned about a few things that make first grade different than kindergarten. This year I am going to use Google Translate to make web posts in both English and Spanish for the families of my students. Please let me know if any of the translations don't make sense. Enjoy these pictures of the students and our tour of the school!

Empezamos el año con mucho entusiasmo la semana pasada como hemos traído nuestros útiles escolares nuevos, hice nuevos amigos, y se informó sobre algunas cosas que hacer primero diferentes grados de jardín de infantes. Este año voy a utilizar Google Translate para hacer puestos de web en Inglés y Español para las familias de mis alumnos. Por favor, hágamelo saber si alguna de las traducciones no tienen sentido. Disfruta de estas imágenes de los estudiantes y nuestro recorrido por la escuela:

End of the year!

It's hard to believe that summer is here. We have learned so much this year. I hope you continue to use this website over the summer to practice reading and writing skills. Enjoy these pictures from the last two weeks of school. School starts back on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7!

Subtraction Stories

More pictures from the Nature Center

Thanks to the parent volunteer who helped chaperone and shared these great pictures from our field trip a few weeks ago!

May 17 - 21

We went to see Knuffle Bunny the musical on Friday!!



We have also been studying coins and learning coin songs this week!

May 10 - 14

What an exciting week! We went to a local nature center where we learned about how tadpoles change into frogs and more about the parts of a seed. We even got to plant a seed and release a ladybug into the woods.

We reviewed reading a bar graph and measuring length. We practiced making number stories based on a number sentence and comparing coin values.

We also wrote and talked a lot about showing self-control this week. Here are some strategies the class came up with to help you calm down when you are upset:

1. take deep breaths (like you are blowing bubbles)
2. blow your nose
3. count (by 1s, 2s, 5s...)
4. lay down
5. wipe your eyes
6. drink some water
7. be by yourself
8. rock in the rocking chair
   

May 3 - 7

We had a wonderful Mother's Day concert on Thursday! Thanks to all the family members who came to support our singers and readers. I don't think I got a picture of everyone who attended but many are in this week's slide show. Check out the short video of the performance and some practice in the classroom while making Mother's Day cards and flowers.

Most students are able to read to themselves independently for ten minutes each morning. We are trying to build up our stamina so we will be ready to read to ourselves independently for twenty minutes in second grade! We worked on retelling what we can remember from nonfiction books to a buddy. We also worked on making self-to-text connections and text-to-text connections:

We are very excited about our field trip next week to a local nature center where we will learn more about seeds and insects.

April 26 - 30

We took this picture for the yearbook. This week we got to go bowling in PE! We also learned about how seeds change when they get wet and about the parts of a seed. We are making good progress on our typing skills in the computer lab. We are learning how to tell subtraction stories and how to show data in different ways in math. We are working on retelling books we have read to include details like characters names and the setting. We also watched a Mo Willems video on how to draw Cat the Cat! That book inspired some writers to create similar books this week.

We wrote a poem about Moms to read on the Mother's Day Tea on Thursday, May 6 at 9:30 AM in the cafeteria. All family members are welcome to attend!

How Seeds Travel Video

The first time we watched this the narration was lost to many a "Whoah...." and "Did you see that?!? What is that?!?" but students were still able to recall many facts:

We will watch it again, just like we reread a book, to learn more. We will also drop some maple seeds ("helicopters") to learn how seeds can travel in the wind.

April 19 - 23

This week we have been reviewing the months of the year and the days of the week. We have been challenging each other with questions using the words before and after.

We have also been working on being a more independent writer. Students have been exploring writing nonfiction, fiction, narratives, instructions and poetry. Next we will focus on the different steps of the writing process and self-monitoring which step we are on:

1. Picking an idea and planning
2. Writing a draft
3. Revising a draft (making it longer, more interesting, or make more sense)
4. Editing a draft (checking for space between words, capitals, punctuation, and spelling)
5. Publishing a final draft (sharing with an audience)

We have been doing a lot of seed research in science, including starting a class garden. We worked in partners to sort out a group of small items into what we thought was a seed or was not a seed. We planted one of each and will see what grows. If it grows, it is a seed. If it does not grow, it is probably not a seed. We have observed some seeds falling outside our window, too. We also did an Earth Day activity in which we simulated polluting a river. Look for the picture of the yucky final result!

April 12-16

Welcome back! We have been working on remembering all of the rules and routines of our classroom this week. We took a test to see which students already know the order of the days of the week and the months of the year. Most students knew a song that helped them remember the days of the week but we will be learning the months of the year over the next few weeks!

We have also been working on retelling what we learned in nonfiction books and the parts of a nonfiction book to really pay attention to like bold words and picture charts/graphs.

We started studying the value of coins and played a few new math games on the Smartboard: Whack a Mole and Funky Mummy. We also played a spelling game that has many levels.

We are starting to edit our writing for Capital Letters and so far we have three rules for when to use them: Names, Beginning of a sentence, and the word I.

End of March

This last week before spring break we went to the computer lab and played two math games: Save The Whale and Shark Numbers. Both were a big hit and helped us practice important skills of finding numbers that add up to ten and understanding the place value in two and three digit numbers. We also practiced our typing skills.

We celebrated the writing we have been doing this year with a special celebration, too! Thanks to all the families who came to hear our authors read their work. We also enjoyed two birthdays this week!

In reading we continue to work on retelling what we have learned in nonfiction books and building up our stamina to read independently for ten minutes. In science we have been observing our bulbs growing and went outside to inspect crocus and daffodil bulbs planted in the ground. We have also been learning about how the seasons are based on the tilt of the Earth towards/away from the sun. We even learned about the perspective that makes it look like the sun is rising/setting up/down even though the Earth is revolving horizontally.

Have a great break! Regular school resumes on Tuesday, April 13.

The most recent pictures have been added to the slideshow in the last post:

late March

This month we have been working on retelling a story we have read without looking at the pictures in the book. Students took home a reading strategies card that had sequencing words like "first, next, then, finally..." on them to help them practice at home. We are just starting to use this strategy to organize the events/information in a book to help us remember what we have read in nonfiction books now.

Students have also been using laptops in the library to find information through online databases like go.grolier.com We have also been making comments about what we are learning in science and practicing reading our writing on this voicethread when we go to the computer lab:

March

We are studying light in science right now. Here are some links to websites we used this week:

What produces light?

Light and shadows:


Earth, sun and moon:

February

What a crazy month with many, many snow days and still snow on the ground! We celebrated the 100th day of school and learned a lot about retelling a story using details and telling things in order from the beginning to the end. We have also been learning a lot about shapes and weight.

I Heart Writing Day has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 25th. Families are invited to school that morning for coffee in the Parent Center and then a chance to hear their student read a story/poem they have been writing in the classroom. Invitations and reminders will go home soon.

Enjoy all the pictures of students who lost teeth, experiments with water, reading and math centers, and even the snow on the playground!

January 25 - 29

We started this week off with a power outage! We were still able to start our day normally and went into the hall where we read books to a Kindergarten class and we talked a lot about what needs/doesn't need power. Later in the week we read a book about electricity.

In reading we have been talking about having mental images when we read, and how students may have different mental images because they have different schema or background knowledge. We also talked about how our mental images may change as we read because we get more information from the story and new ideas. Next month we will focus on retelling a story with a beginning, middle, and end. It can be hard for some first graders to distinguish between the main events to retell, versus every detail they can remember.

In writing we have been working on writing instructions for how to log on/off the computers in our computer lab so that other first graders who have never used the computers will know what to do. Having that audience in mind really helped students give more detailed steps. We have also begun to prepare for our school-wide writing day in mid February when we will share a piece of our writing with families and a buddy class!

In math we set aside some measurement activities and have been busy counting all the coins that families have sent in for the Haiti fundraiser. So far we have counted $37.75 and there are many more pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters more to go! Thank you for your generosity. We divided the pennies up into groups of ten to make the counting go faster. You can see many of them in the slideshow. Next week we will be using scales to compare weights and we will celebrate the 100th day of school on February 4th.

Here are some students working with Spanish/English puzzle vocabulary cards at a reading center:

January 18 - 22

Hear students reading this poem! (recorded independently during reading centers)



This week in reading we focused on looking at the end of words, especially finding endings like "s," "ing" and "ed." We practiced changing word wall words with these endings (play, plays, playing, played) and finding these word endings in poems and books. We also studied these word chunks: ug (rug, hug, bug), et (pet, jet, set), and ip (ship, lip, flip). We also did an assessment to see how many of the 100 first grade words students could read and write on their own.

We wrote directions for how to play a board game from the Strategies Lab and lists of what we noticed are on the coins at each table and our new name plates. We also received our new agendas for 2010 and wrote directions for what to do with them each morning when we come in the classroom.

In math we reviewed working with numbers 1-100 by making puzzles out of a 10x10 number grid, coloring in a number grid by 2s and 3s, and playing more than/less than number games. We also reviewed coin values and features, and worked on measuring length with nonstandard units (cubes, tiles, dominoes...).

When we went to the library students used laptops to access the Grolier online database. See hand-out sent home on Friday for student login information. Enjoy these pictures from the week!



Please remember there is no school on Monday, February 1. Thank you!

January 11 - 16

Happy New Year! We spent this week playing many word wall games and reviewing what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like when we read to ourselves. We also made snowpeople by reading and following specific directions (like drawing an odd/even number of snowflakes depending on if our first name has an odd/even number of letters in it).

In math we reviewed how to make 2D and 3D shapes using mini marshmallows and toothpicks. We reviewed the 100s grid by making puzzles out of a 100 grid copied onto cardstock, and we practiced counting by 2s and 5s, then looking for numbers that are 2 more or 2 less than a certain number. We also solved some story problems and practiced making a number sentence (equation) to represent our ideas.

In writing we finished mini books about pets that we had started before the winter break and we started learning about how to write instructions. We wrote directions for how to play a puzzle game from the Strategies Lab and we will continue to write more about other things we know how to do. We went to the computer lab and worked on typing comments for the pictures taken in late December.

On Friday we read two books about Martin Luther King Jr. and students wrote and drew about their dreams for the future. Here are some excerpts, edited for spelling: "I dreamed there were no more twisters." "I hope everybody will be friendly and be friends and they care about each other." "I wish no earthquakes." "I wish everybody was safe." "I wish everybody was nice." "I wish the city was clean."


We got a new fish this week and voted on what to name him. The winning name was Mike, which complements our other fish, Michael. Before putting him in his home I showed students how to change the water in the fishtank and how the filter works.

Next week we will complete the mid-year word wall reading and writing assessments and we will be focusing on looking at the end of a word when reading. We will also work on measuring length both with a ruler and with nonstandard units (hands, cubes, etc).

Digital Storytelling Class

This week during intersession I am working with first and second graders on making a version of the Three Little Pigs Story on the computer. To learn more and see their work please visit:

http://wewrotethesestories.blogspot.com

December 2009 Activities

We will add our comments when we return to our classroom next week. You are welcome to add your comments anytime (it's free to join voicethread, all you need is an email address)!