Mrs. Friedman's Flyer
February 1, 2016
News and Announcements
Upcoming events:
- February 4th: Global School Play Day- our class will be participating in a half hour of unstructured play-no screen time!
- February 12th: Valentine's Day party at school with room parents
- February 15th: No School
- February 16th: No school for students, teacher Professional Development
- February 17th: Save the date for our 100th day of school celebration! Time to be announced soon- most likely in the afternoon.
- February 18th: Scholastic book orders due online please. Use code P8RC8. You can also use the coupon attached to the magazines, which will be sent home this week.
- February 19th: Class picture day! Pizza with the principal
- February 25th: Book fair
Fun Facts
- Thank you to the parents who ordered from our Scholastic book order last month! Your generous purchases enabled each student in our class to receive one free book! I also acquired a Pete the Cat Valentine's Day book, a pack of books about space, and a tens frame math game for the class. I have extra points to use on future orders as well. It was really neat to see the students' excitement when the books came in the mail. It made my teacher heart swell to see them get enthusiastic about books. Thank you!
- We are trying a different way to share during Morning Meeting. Previously, the helper of the day shared. Now, students can sign up to share . This will enable the sharing to be more authentic, and students will not have to wait so long in between sharing. Students will be able to sign up when they have something exciting happening, For example, if someone gets a new puppy and wants to show pictures, they will not have to wait 19 more school days to share. Students are able to sign up for sharing on a calendar that I have posted on the board. Helper of the day will still get to lead morning meeting, be the line leader, and do special jobs throughout the day. We just started a new cycle of helpers last week. We go alphabetical order by last name, and students can keep track of this at school by thinking of our number order on the mailboxes.
- Our class has 77 SeeSaw posts, 176 Homeroom photos, weekly Remind texts, and twitter! If you have not signed up for these amazing tools and need further instruction, please contact me and I am happy to help. Due to the constant communication through these tools and through weekly reminders on the homework packet, I will be sending newsletters only at the beginning of each month.
- Keep an eye on our eagles and their 2 eggs! The eggs will hatch sometime around Valentine's Day.
- If you have an extra flashlight at home, we could use a few extra for Flashlight Friday! Thank you!
- Do you feel like you've missed something from a previous newsletter? I have all of the newsletters up on my eBoard.
Curriculum
Fundations
We recently finished Fundations Unit 5. In this unit, students created and recognized words with the glued sounds all, an, and am. Students marked up these words by putting boxes around them. Students practiced word work in fun ways! Students spun a spinner, or paperclip, to create real and nonsense words. Students also sorted and glued words into different categories, which helped them become more familiar with the endings.
Reader's Workshop
First graders have been becoming better readers by identifying the author's purpose. We use the acronym PIE for a yummy way to remember why author's write stories. PIE helps us remember that the author's purpose is to either persuade, inform, or entertain. Students continue to practice reading fluently. They keep their reading club books for over a week so they can practice reading the words with smoothness and expression. Readers have been recording themselves on SeeSaw so you can see their progress! It is also helpful for students to listen to themselves reading. They may hear where they could add more expression!
Math Workshop
The mathematicians in our class have begun a unit on place value, number stories, and basic facts. Place value can be explored through practice with base 10 blocks. As students solve more number stories, they will compare numbers using the language greater than, less than, and equal to. Students have increased their knowledge of math facts through written practice, practice on the iPads, fun games on abcya, and by becoming more familiar with their tens facts. Please see below as students enjoy math centers!
Our new ten frames game from the Scholastic order!
Students spin a spinner and use the little pigs and wolves to fill up a ten frame according to the number on the spinner. If they recite the correct math fact to go with the ten frame, they get to add bricks to their house!
Ten Frame Fill iPad game
Exploring number riddles through base 10 blocks
Writer's Workshop
Writers have completed their nonfiction chapter books! They will share their stories this week. Students have created a cover page, a table of contents, and how-to chapters within their books. Most recently, students worked together to edit their writing to make it easier for readers to read. They pulled a slip from an envelope for an idea of how to edit their paper, such as checking for punctuation. As soon as they mastered that slip, they pulled another slip from the envelope. This was a fun way to edit stories other than using their usual checklist!
Science and Social Studies
The scientists in our class are learning about weather. Students have asked some wonderful questions about weather, such as, "Why do clouds get dark right before it rains?" We have had productive and interesting conversations, read books about weather, and watched weather videos.
First graders are learning about the 7 Habits of Happy Kids. These are good character traits which our school recognizes and promotes. We have learned about the first and second habits now: to be proactive and to begin with the end in mind. Students realized that they already begin with the end in mind, like when they make lists. Students also discussed their big goals of what they want to do when they grow up. We discussed steps they can take to reach their goals.
Mrs. Friedman
Email: mfriedman@haddonfield.k12.nj.us
Website: mfriedman.haddonfield.site.eboard.com
Location: 1 Glover Avenue, Haddonfield, NJ, United States
Phone: (856) 429- 0902
Twitter: @Tatem_friedman