We are off to a “super” year in room 19! The first graders are trying to get in the swing of our very busy daily routine. I love that they are arriving happy and are ready to learn! We are working on getting in the classroom and completing our morning jobs. These jobs include: turning in our purple communication logs and any notes for the teacher, returning any library books, making our snack milk choices and lunch choices, completing seatwork while waiting to hear Mr. Frost’s announcements, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Tibbets Character Pledge.
We begin our day with WIN time. This is “What I Need” Time for reading some days and for math on the other days of the week. Each week, we will complete some reading & math Odyssey lessons in addition to other lessons that are focused on our first grade essential skills for both subject areas. The goal of WIN time is to help your child reach proficiency in the first grade essential skills in reading and math and to provide challenging material if the goals have already been met.
Reader’s Workshop: This is MY favorite part of the day! We are working on reviewing our read to self, and very soon, our read to someone procedures. We have started our first unit, “Building Good Habits for Reading”. The children come to the carpet and take part in a short (10 minute) mini-lesson and then practice that skill during our reading time. All of the children have a book box with books at/near their reading levels and a few extras that might not be at their current reading level. We are learning about some good “habits” that readers have and we are making them our habits, too! Examples: Readers take a sneak peek at the beginning and they check their sneak peeks, readers do SOMETHING at the end of a book, readers read more and more and they keep track of how many books they read. They also set goals for reading more books. Good readers push themselves to read more and find time during the day to sneak in another book! Readers reread books to smooth out their voices. They also “scoop” up words in phrases rather than reading one word at a time. Good readers also reread to notice MORE. (Look at picture details, etc.) During independent reading time your children are practicing these habits and they are doing a great job! I hope that you notice some of those habits when they are reading at home, too!
While the students work independently, I will conference with individuals some days and work with small groups, at the table, other times. It is always helpful to have one-on-one and small group time with the students. I also love to look around the room and see 6 and 7 year olds working on their reading so independently! They are engaged in their reading and growing as readers! At the end of Reader’s Workshop each day, we will share what we have learned and discuss how we should use these strategies, every day, to become stronger readers!
After reader’s workshop we have snack and recess. (10:15 - 10:30)
Various other reading, word work, language, and writing activities are sprinkled in during our mornings. These activities might include: Shared Reading, interactive reading, writing about reading, etc. We often read and discuss poems and/or stories. The focus for each text ranges from comprehension strategies, strategies to solve tricky words, reinforcing phonics, cross-checking meaning, fluency, as well as high frequency word recognition and responding to the text.
Each day we spend 15 minute on a Phonics and Word Study Lesson. To begin the year these lessons will focus on letter names and sounds, beginning and ending sounds and high frequency words. We will review kindergarten words before we move on to first grade words. We will also work on some Phonemic Awareness activities where we focus on clapping syllables in words, reviewing letters and sounds, rhyming, etc . We will review long and short vowel sounds and also the digraphs (sh, ch, wh, and th). Be ready for your first grader to get up and dance for you as they share some phonics songs/dances. Most first graders love these and will begin to notice the digraphs, word parts, and endings as they remember our phonics dances to help them read those tricky words! Our word study lesson will move into . . .
Writer’s Workshop. We have just finished working on an introduction to sketching and drawing unit. This will help the students with making “quick sketches” to go with their writing. During our writer’s workshop the students will hear and take part in a short (10 minute) mini-lesson and then they will hear me say, “Off you go, writers!” I am excited to watch the growth in writing this year! The main focus, to start the year, will be writing “small moment” stories. We will learn that a trip to the zoo is a BIG idea but we have several “small moments” that we can write about within that BIG idea. The task is to stretch the story out through pages and add as much detail as possible to give the reader a picture in their mind about what is happening.
Lunch is from 12:25 - 12:50 and Recess takes place from 11:50 - 12:05.
Calendar/Math review is done on the smartboard after lunch and recess. We add the date to the calendar and discuss such things as the weather (graphing), money (names of coins, counting groups of coins), even and odd numbers, tally marks, # of days in school (place value - hundreds, tens, ones), time (o’clock and half past the hour), and lost teeth! (This is a monthly graph of teeth lost.) Lots of tooth wiggling happens right about this time of the day!
Math lessons - We have been working on some number sense activities and reviewing concepts familiar to the first graders. You will soon see math lessons coming home in your child’s take home folder. We will work to get through as much of the lesson as we can at school. A good amount of the work will be done together on the smartboard and with students using manipulatives. I always try to give the students time to work independently so that I am able to walk around and see how they are doing with the concepts/strategies taught. It is my hope that you take some time to review what comes home each day and have your child discuss the day’s lesson to the best of their ability. Please help them through the remaining work and let me know if you have any concerns. The work does not need to come back to school unless you think your child wants me to see it or needs some extra help. In addition to the pages coming home, I would recommend purchasing some + and - flashcards to review on a regular basis. We are hopeful that the students are able to memorize their facts to 20 by the end of the school year. 10 minutes of review a night would be fantastic and very helpful!
Our specials classes are next:: (1:35 - 2:35)
Monday - Music & P.E. Tuesday - Technology & Library Wednesday - Guidance & Music Thursday - P.E.& Olweus (Olweus is a half hour in the classroom with me!) It is like a “class meeting” and I have a curriculum to follow that teaches about the prevention of bullying and various other topics centered around feeling happy, healthy, and safe while at Tibbets School. Character traits like respect, honesty, kindness, empathy, and patience are topics of discussion. It is our class “family” time. Friday - Art
We end our day with Science and/or Social Studies.Science - We will be working with a variety of fun and engaging PLTW (Project Lead The Way) Units the year! They include: Designs Inspired by Nature, Animated Storytelling, Animal Adaptations, Light & Sound, and Light: Observing the Sun, Moon, & Stars. Social Studies - Our Units are Celebrating Me and Everyone...Birthdays Around the World, Myself, My School, My Community, Finding My Way in the World (Geography), Our Life Then and Now (History), Presidents & Our Government (Political Science), How Do People Meet Their Needs and Wants?, and Celebrating Earth Day.
The day really moves along and your children are probably exhausted by the time they get home. Now you know why! Once home, after they have had a chance to relax a bit and just play and be kids, I hope that all are able to review sight words, math facts, the math pages from the day, and nightly reading for at least 20 minutes.
First grade is a year of so much learning and growth! I am getting to know your kids more each day and I am so glad that I can call them mine! It’s going to be an amazing year!!
HAPPY SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS to Owen and Maia!
I would like to thank you for all that you do at home! We will work together to make it a fantastic year for your first grader!
Fall/Halloween Party - If you are interested in sending in paper plates/napkins, juice boxes, a healthy treat, a salty treat, or a sweet treat, please let me know! Note: We have 21 students and we do have a student who is lactose intolerant. Also, we may have time for a quick game or craft if you have any ideas or if you would like to come in and share that game or craft just let me know! We have a short window of time after specials. (2:35 - 3:10)
You can contact me via the communication log, email: [email protected], the Remind app, or leave a phone message (extension 1119). Remind (texting) app - code: mrsmarzah If you haven’t already joined, please consider! It’s a quick and easy way to communicate last minute reminders and information without sharing phone numbers.