I can feel it in the air and I'm sure you can too. Fall is right around the corner and that means a few things for me; I get to start wearing sweats around my apartment, the leaves have begun turning color and baseball pennant races start heating up! The major league season started all the way back in April and so much has happened to bring all the teams to their current standings. I'm sure if you think all the way back to April about where your child was, it may seem like so much has happened to bring them to the point they're at now. I know I am seeing progress in Room 108 every day and it is still so very early in our academic "season!" Here we go...
Unit 1 is wrapping up this week in both math and reading with numbers and letters looking evermore familiar by the minute. What once was an 'a' is now the first letter in 'and' or 'apple'. What looked like an 'E' is now a backwards '3' and 9 is thought of as one less than 10. Soon students will see more than letters and words and sentences will become commonplace. As numbers grow larger and place value is recognized, addition will become more clearer as well. Unit 1 laid the foundation for instruction, lessons and purpose with Unit 2 going deeper into the discovery and introduction of new skills with better understanding and recognition for both subjects. Open-Court Reading's second unit title is "Animals." Everyday Math begins investigations with time and clocks, dominoes, rulers and the number grid (aka the hundreds chart).
A few reminders...
Students will soon be utilizing Time For Kids as a compliment to the Social Studies curriculum. Please turn in your check for your child's subscription if you have not already. TFK offers great issues in current events, themes, and trends along with excellent teacher and student resources, all age appropriate. Check out the website here for more information or to see more closely some of the topics we will be discussing.
There is a site I found recently that is definitely worth checking out with your child and it's called The Fact Monster. It offers a buffet of various resources for that insatiable academic appetite some of your children possess. Even if your child has one area he/she loves investigating, The Fact Monster will feed you information from a multitude of angles. Plus, its a great way to encourage reading!
Speaking of reading, Scholastic Book Orders are due next week (9/27/08). New books are always an exciting way to encourage enthusiasm for reading. Scholastic offers titles from all content areas and authors. You might be surprised at some of the incredible deals on some very familiar authors. I have been reading poetry from Shel Silverstein to the students during snack time and poems were a big part of the first unit in Open-Court Reading. May I suggest a book or two of his? Or maybe check out author/illustrator Eric Carle. He really has a talent that kids catch on to and love!
All in all the year is rolling and each day brings better attention, behavior and more effort. The more enthusiasm and participation each child offers to the class, the stronger our learning community will be. Thank you for reading and I will see you on the black top!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Week Three Came and Week Three Left
Hello Readers! Room 108 routines are getting polished and students are beginning a much closer investigation of their surroundings. Patterns are being identified all around us in the form of letters, words, numbers and people. We are locating important reference points in the room such as name tags on our desks, along with letters, words and punctuation marks posted on the walls. We are also getting to know our classmates much better. Independent work time has become one of the early favorite parts of the daily schedule because it affords students the freedom to explore more thoroughly the classroom, their classmates, and themselves. Free exploration is a great way to encourage creativity, identify individual special interests and execute individual choice.
Here's what else this week brought for Room 108 students:
Phonics is in the early stages of letter sounds and identification. Much of this is review but new letter stories and combinations are introduced each day along with more letter writing practice. Letter sounds are being combined to practice the skill of blending. Blending is an early reading strategy used to decode new, unfamiliar words. Phonics skills will be isolated in "Decodable" books. These books will be coming home in your child's mail folder when we have finished with them in class.
Open-Court Reading introduces children to a whole class reading approach and envelopes all children in one story or reading each day with comprehension at the focus. The first unit is titled "Let's Read" and uses word repetition and rhyme schemes to promote motivation for all readers. Many of the readings thus far have been very short and simple while isolating one comprehension skill such as prediction or visualization.
University of Chicago's Everyday Math begins with the first unit emphasizing number sense and tally marks, along with exploration of tools students will be utilizing in future investigations. Some of these tools include dominoes, pattern blocks and templates, tangrams, and geoboards. Writing of numbers and number sentences was also introduced and will be groomed in the future.
The Social Studies' theme for the beginning of the year is "School and Family." Children have been engaged in defining and relating to terms like community, family, helper, and caring. So far students have been able to determine what makes up a community and can describe aspects of successful communities. Students are also demonstrating what family and community look like daily with Mann school's Mustang Motto and Room 108 Rules.
The science curriculum starts out with a theme of "Matter" and puts an emphasis on the properties of different kinds of matter. Students are naming descriptive words and have begun organizing different objects according to their characteristics and properties.
Sandwiched in between the demands of curriculum and special area classes is an assortment of early school year requirements like fire drills and bus evacuation procedures. Children have been forced to experience indoor recess during some rainy days and cope with the unfortunate scenario of a substitute teacher. (I had to attend a required Handwriting Without Tears training session at the district office.) All in all I would say Room 108 is adjusting pretty well to the intricacies of first grade. I am looking forward to the coming weeks and diving deeper with the students into the great sea of learning.
Here's what else this week brought for Room 108 students:
Phonics is in the early stages of letter sounds and identification. Much of this is review but new letter stories and combinations are introduced each day along with more letter writing practice. Letter sounds are being combined to practice the skill of blending. Blending is an early reading strategy used to decode new, unfamiliar words. Phonics skills will be isolated in "Decodable" books. These books will be coming home in your child's mail folder when we have finished with them in class.
Open-Court Reading introduces children to a whole class reading approach and envelopes all children in one story or reading each day with comprehension at the focus. The first unit is titled "Let's Read" and uses word repetition and rhyme schemes to promote motivation for all readers. Many of the readings thus far have been very short and simple while isolating one comprehension skill such as prediction or visualization.
University of Chicago's Everyday Math begins with the first unit emphasizing number sense and tally marks, along with exploration of tools students will be utilizing in future investigations. Some of these tools include dominoes, pattern blocks and templates, tangrams, and geoboards. Writing of numbers and number sentences was also introduced and will be groomed in the future.
The Social Studies' theme for the beginning of the year is "School and Family." Children have been engaged in defining and relating to terms like community, family, helper, and caring. So far students have been able to determine what makes up a community and can describe aspects of successful communities. Students are also demonstrating what family and community look like daily with Mann school's Mustang Motto and Room 108 Rules.
The science curriculum starts out with a theme of "Matter" and puts an emphasis on the properties of different kinds of matter. Students are naming descriptive words and have begun organizing different objects according to their characteristics and properties.
Sandwiched in between the demands of curriculum and special area classes is an assortment of early school year requirements like fire drills and bus evacuation procedures. Children have been forced to experience indoor recess during some rainy days and cope with the unfortunate scenario of a substitute teacher. (I had to attend a required Handwriting Without Tears training session at the district office.) All in all I would say Room 108 is adjusting pretty well to the intricacies of first grade. I am looking forward to the coming weeks and diving deeper with the students into the great sea of learning.
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