First Glimpse

Today was our first opportunity to walk through Goldsmith-Schiffman Elementary School. May I just tell you that the school is bEAuTIFUl and pHENoMenAL?!?!?! You are going to love it! We toured the entire school, and teachers were shrieking constantly! We are all so excited for the big move (and I hope you're ready to assist). :-) Our classroom is conveniently located to the office, computer lab, library, recess area, lunchroom, and courtyard. In fact, we can see the courtyard from our windows! This is such an exciting time.

I know already that I will need help with making nice curtains, and I need some book shelves to fit under the windows. This classroom is a bit smaller than what we are in now, but it's so much prettier, and I have some ideas for how to maximize space. One way to maximize space is to have book shelves under the windows. We're not supposed to block windows, so putting the shelves under them will work perfectly. Please let me know if you can help with either of these tasks, as I would like to get them started soon. I will be happy to pay for supplies.

Without further ado, I give you your first glimpse of GSES!!!

***the lobby entrance, complete with bricks and stacked stones...

***Mrs. Kachelman 'washing' her hands; boys and girls will come out of hallway bathrooms to use common sinks

*** the huge, gorgeous gym

***the amazing cafeteria that resembles a lodge

***OUR CLASSROOM***

9/6-9/10

What a super terrific week. Thank you all for making my birthday so special! I was treated with muffins, rice krispy treats, flowers, two gift cards, a Vera Bradley purse, lunch from Steak-Out, ice cream, and Bath & Body Works goodies! We had a fun-filled day. All of my cards were incredibly special and brightened my day!!! I love your children dearly. It's a love so great, and it always saddens me when they leave at the end of the year!

We are continuing to learn our vowel sounds. Students are sounding out written words and learning to read and write sight words. Each student has a 'dictionary' in his/her desk, full of 1st grade words. When they need help spelling a word, I always tell them to look in their 'dictionary' first. If it's not there, I write it in for them. More and more I see students getting out their 'dictionary' before asking for my help. This sort of independence will continue throughout the year. It's amazing (and somewhat sad) how much they mature during 1st grade!

Spelling is going very well. On Mondays, we begin our spelling worksheets for the week. We do the front of the first page together. Then those worksheets become the first Job on the Job Board (to complete after Centers each day). If your child brings home spelling worksheets on Thursdays, then that means (s)he did not complete them during class. ALL students have more than enough time to complete these during the week, and as the year progresses, almost everyone will. It's just a matter of learning to use our time effectively. We'll get there!

This week we also began adding suffix -s to words. After discussing this concept, I wrote up singular naming words on the ActivBoard and students told me the plural form of the naming word. Then each student chose a naming word to write on his/her paper and then wrote the plural form. Students then illustrated each word (pictures below).

When you walk by the classroom, be sure to check out our big blue oxen in the hallway. The students did a fantastic job creating them! And, they loved reading The Big Blue Ox!!!

We have been studying place value in math. Right now we are learning about the tens and ones places. Students are given towers and cubes to represent numbers. We also have some fun flipcharts to go along with our place value study. I'll try to remember to take pictures this week!

During our unit of study, we are learning about farms. We watched two educational videos this week, courtesy of DiscoveryEd.com. One video was on farmers' jobs and the other was all about farm animals. I think we all learned something new (myself included). we are also working on a cute farm book!

We enjoyed going to the computer lab this week, where we typed capital and lowercase letters. I can definitely tell which students spend time typing. This is a great skill to learn. How about opening a Word document each week and letting your child type his/her spelling words?

This coming week we will enjoy music, art, and the Book Fair (Thursday afternoon). If you will not be at the Book fair, you may send money (in a labeled envelope).

Speaking of money, I can no longer accept money that is not in an envelope or Ziploc bag. This past week, I received tons of checks falling out of folders or being handed to me by students. This is just not good practice. I do not want any of your money lost! From now on, please place the money (and form, if required) in an envelope or Ziploc bag. Label the envelope or bag with your child's name and grade, GSES and my name, and purpose for money. For example:

Patrick Reagan-1st grade

GSES--A. Clark

re: Grandparents' Breakfast

I do not want any checks or cash lost or misplaced. Thanks so much for your help with this matter!

Have a great Sunday. I'm sure I'll meet lots of grandparents on Friday!!!!

8/30-9/3

Every day at school is such an adventure!

This week we reviewed the sound of short i, as in pig. The students love using the Making Words Tins to spell words related to our Phonics Focus each week. We also practice spelling words on our whiteboards almost daily.

In grammar we began to identify the naming part (or subject) of the sentence. This skill is a bit tricky, but after we find the action part next week, it will be easier to find the subject of the sentence. The order that these skills are introduced really needs to be switched in our grammar curriculum. To review before our test, I wrote a sentence on my whiteboard, with the subject missing. Then each student thought of a subject for the sentence and wrote it on their whiteboard. It’s always very interesting to see where their minds are!

(transformer)

I loved this subject!

We read Pig in a Wig and discussed fantasy vs. realism. To cap off the week we make the cutest pig cookies. I appreciate everyone who donated supplies for our edible project! The class LOVED making the cookies!!! They followed directions so well the entire time, and they even got to (carefully) lick their knives when they finished.

Our class has really caught on to addition! Please buy flash cards and begin flashing addition cards at home. Students should know that any number plus itself equals the same number (identity property) and that the addends can be in any order and will have the same sum (order property). For example, 6+4 is the same as 4+6. I have taught them to draw dots beside each number and to count the dots. I have also taught them to put the bigger number in their head and count on for the smaller number. For instance, if the problem is 7+2, they would put 7 in their head and count on two times, which would sound like 8,9 they may even stomp each time they count forward). At this point, the process, not the speed, is more important. If students know how to solve an addition problem, that’s great. Speed will come! We are also beginning to learn about fact families, which we will delve into even more in a few weeks when I introduce subtraction.

We finished up our Nursery Rhyme unit of study this week. After reading Hickory, Dickory Dock, we learned about analog clocks. We even made cute clocks with mice running around them. Throughout the day, while transitioning, we sing Nursery Rhymes to help our minds stay focused on our task (and to keep ourselves from talking to our neighbors). We also dance to get our bodies and minds awake! Just ask your child how great of a dancer Mrs. Clark is. Ha!

8/23-8/27

This week brought changes that will now be routine. We began our Reading Street series, which entails a WHOLE LOT! Monday is the busiest day, which is why I choose to not do centers on Mondays. I really want to concentrate on introducing and extending our new skills for the week. Each Monday, after journals and calendar, we have a read aloud, learn a new phonics skill, practice our new spelling words, learn a new grammar skill, practice our listening comprehension, read our new story, and answer questions about the story (all before recess!). The rest of the mornings during the week, we practice our phonics, spelling, grammar, and comprehension skills. We also have centers. During centers I meet with my small reading groups. I just love to meet with these small groups because it really gives me a chance to get to know each student better!

This week in math we learned more about addition. Students were introduced to the addition and equals symbols. We practiced writing addition sentences, using fun manipulatives. One day I gave each student two dot cubes (or dice) and they rolled one at a time to fill in the blanks in the number sentences. Mr. Scott came in and observed another lesson, during which we used tokens to solve story word problems. He was very impressed at how each student was actively engaged in the lesson. They were listening and raising their hands so excitedly, but they were not yelling out answers, which impressed Mr. Scott the most. I love math. It's probably my favorite subject, and I want my 1st graders to love it too! I try to always make math hands on and fun. And, I have some more candy this week for edible math! The class will be beside themselves!

Our unit time was devoted to Nursery Rhymes this week. It is so fun to learn new skills while singing Nursery Rhymes. For instance, after singing Humpty Dumpty, we glued the rhyme into our Poetry Notebooks, and discussed the /all/ sound. We then brainstormed and wrote words with the /all/ sound. We also made a cute sheep after singing Mary Had a Little Lamb, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and Little Bo Peep. We even watched a video on the computer about how and why sheep are sheared.

Our Second Week

We had so much fun this week, reading books written by Kevin Henkes. We read Chrysanthemum, Sheila Rae the Brave, Bailey Goes Camping, Owen, Julius the Baby of the World, Wemberly Worried, and Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Each story had a fun follow-up activity or writing. We graphed the number of letter sin our first names and counted how many syllables there are in our names. We drew pictures of ourselves being brave. We made a purple paper purse (pouch for the boys), and we colored blankets for Owen. We wrapped up the week by graphing our favorite Kevin Henkes character.

Please read at home with your child. Remember, your child needs one AR book at school each day!

In math we reviewed and built on our knowledge of patterns. We learned about pattern units (what the pattern is before it repeats) and what it means to extend the pattern. We used M&M’s to make patterns. What a yummy way to enjoy math!

During our unit time we discussed families. We know that all families are special and that all families are different! We made picture frames for our family pictures and we wrote about our families. These early writings are precious!

I can not get over how wonderful our class has been! These students are just amazing!

Our First Week

I feel so blessed to teach this new group of students. I must say they rank at the very top of my first grade classes! These delightful boys and girls are staying on task, completing assignments, following directions, making friends, and entertaining their teacher VERY WELL!!!! I know it is going to be a FUN year! On the first day of school they were treated to 'Magic Play-doh." It started out with no color, but after a little kneading, it changed color to reveal that we are going to have a terrific first grade year!