Week 13

It was a short, but exciting week in Room 112. Here are some highlights...

In writing this week students had a chance to share their writing with their classmates in what we call "partner, share, scramble." The students got to share with 3 other classmates and we also had some students share their writing with the whole class. It is great to see students excited about sharing their hard work and writing with each other - photos below!

For science, we continued reviewing igneous rocks this week. The students got to see what happened to their rocks (basalt, scoria and tuff) when they put them in water. They made great observations about the changes that not only happened to the rocks, but also to the water! The first grade geologists are doing a great job and I am excited to continue our study of rocks!

In math we practiced our counting by 5's and 10's, addition and repeated addition (multiplication) with sea creature story problems. The students are getting more comfortable using multiple strategies to solve a problem. We ended the week by making our "tens turkeys." It was a fun and festive way to reinforce our counting by 10's fluency!

I know that grandparents and special friends day was last week, but Room 112 had a special visitor on Tuesday...my brother! He was in town from New York and because he shares a birthday with one of my favorite authors, Dr.Seuss, I thought it would be extra special for him to come in and read The Cat in the Hat! 

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Week 12

It was a busy week in Room 112!

Science is off to a great start! We have started our Rocks, Pebbles, Sand and Silt Unit and the Room 112 geologists got their official rock journals. On Friday, they explored and sorted 3 different igneous rocks (basalt, scoria, tuff) and learned the first part of our rock song! We will continue exploring rocks and learning how they are formed. The first grade geologists ROCK -- pun intended :)

This week in literacy we continued to work on picking IPICK or Just Right books, and we added a fluency strategy to our CAFE menu. The students had an opportunity to tally the words in their "Just Right Books" that they could read in a snap. It was exciting to see students recognizing and acknowledging when books might be too easy or too hard for them!

In math we completed our counting by 10's crab chart, and our Room 112 ocean is filled with some pretty adorable crabs! The students made observations about the pattern and the counting progression that helped deepen their understanding of counting by 5's and 10's. We also built on our understanding of addition and number sentences. We discussed that the equal sign means "the same as" and that both sides of a number sentence need to be equivalent and balanced (ex. 4 + 2 = 3 + 3).

And of course, we ended the week with Grandparents/Special Friends' Day! It was truly special to see and meet all of the guests in Room 112, and the first graders were absolutely beaming! What a great way to end the week :)

Check out some photos of the Room 112 readers and geologists below...

Week 10

Here are some highlights from the week in Room 112...

This week we reviewed what an IPICK - or in the words of our first graders "Goldilocks book" is. These are books that are not too easy, not too hard, but just right! The IPICK acronym helps students go through a mental checklist when they pick out a book (written below). After going over the acronym, the students went on a scavenger hunt to find their "Goldilocks Book." The first graders did an excellent job identifying when a book might be too hard or too easy. After they found their books, we practiced reading to someone (an upcoming Daily 5 job). It was really exciting to see students take pride in their reading and share it with a friend - check out the adorable pictures below! 

I - I can choose a book

P- Purpose -- Why am I reading it?

I - Interest -- Does it interest me?

C - Comprehension -- Do I understand it?

K - Know -- Do I know the words? *** 

*** Our current focus when picking books that are just right. 

In math, we are focusing on being able to fluently count by 5's and 10's. Sea creatures are a great way to help us visually represent these numbers, so this week we learned about sea stars and made our own to help us with our counting and understanding of 5's. As another model for 5's, we worked with tally marks. We had a table tally challenge where the students worked together to make the mystery number using our popsicle stick tally marks. This next week we will be moving on to counting by 10's and using crabs as a representation. 

We ended the week by writing letters to veterans to send to the VA Hospital. We had a great class discussion about why we don't have school on Tuesday - Veteran's Day, and I was blown away by the thought and love that each of your first graders put into their letters. I know that the veterans will appreciate it too!

The First Grade Gazette will be going home tomorrow in the homework folders along with the information and paperwork for Grandparents/Special friends day!

Hope you all had a nice, long weekend!

Previews for the week:

11/12 -- Art Literacy @ 10:00

Week 9

The first graders had a short week and I am sure very fun-filled weekends! I loved getting the chance to meet with all of you and I am looking forward to continuing to work together to make this a successful year for your students!

This week in writing we discussed telling our reader not just the outside story (what happened, who was there, where it took place), but also the inside story (how you felt, what you thought, what you wondered). We will continue to work on writing small moment stories and really stretching them across pages!

Book clubs will continue to meet and focus on different strategies to apply when they read. We will be focusing on fluency, accuracy, comprehension and vocabulary. Each student will get a book club book to keep at their desk to read for Daily 5 time and to support their independent reading.

We had our subtraction fluency check-in and we will be focusing on different strategies that can help build our subtraction confidence! By using the number line, counting up and visuals, students can continue to build their understanding and fluency with both subtraction and addition.

Also, a big thank you to the fabulous parent volunteers who helped with the Fall Party on Tuesday! I really appreciate your help and support and could not have done it without you!


Some photos from the week: