Mrs. Madden's 1st Grade News
May 22, 2016
Hello 1st Grade Parents & Friends!
In Reading...
*We use many "tools" to read tricky words. We think about the story, we think about what kind of word would fit, we slow down to break up long words, we use what we know, and we try many sounds. We ask ourselves, "Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense?"
*Not only do we use tools to read hard words, but we use tools to understand our books. We reread if we don't get it, we make movies in our mind, and we keep track of who's talking in stories. We play, "This just in..." and we act like reporters to share what's going on in our stories.
*We are getting ready for our "Recording Studio" next week. We will practice our fluency and ways to sound like a "Reading Star" as we record our voices reading books from the kindergarten classroom libraries to help create a listening library for our younger friends.
In Writing...
*We will conclude our Narrative Fiction Writing unit with a publishing party next week. The kids are so excited to share their books! Some even wrote a book series, carrying the main characters through a number of adventures in different books!
*We created characters, described adventures, and attempted to get our characters out of trouble.
*We included a beginning, a middle, and an end in our stories.
*We wrote "meet the author" pages.
In Math...
*We learned mental math strategies to help us add and subtract quickly.
*We revisited addition and subtraction methods with and without regrouping.
*We learned about repeated addition (much like multiplication) and sharing equally (just like division!)
*We are currently working on identifying, counting, adding, and subtracting money including pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. This is so much fun! You can practice at home by having your 1st grader grab handfuls of mixed coins, put them in order (starting with the highest value), and counting on. You can set up a "store" and have your 1st grader "shop" using coins. Practice addition by purchasing multiple items and practice subtraction by giving change!
In 2nd Step/Social Studies...
*Check out the travels of our flat friends on our blog at: blog.d30.me/jmadden. Mrs. Rich helped us record narrations and fun facts describing our adventures! So cool!
In Science...
*We enjoyed a special presentation on Monarchs and Milkweeds by members of the Northbrook Garden Club. Our special guests taught us about the Northbrook Monarch Way Station and ways we can help support the migrating monarchs. Did you replant your milkweed at home?
Guest Presenters...
In Other News...
Mystery Readers...
Thank you, MYSTERY READERS:
*Mrs. Harford
*Mrs. Moise
*Mr. Karchmar
*Mr. Schweihs
*Mr. Carr
*Mrs. Shinsky
*Mrs. Kaplan
*Mr. Tattersall
*Mrs. Kroll
I believe ALL of our 1st grade families have now participated in our Mystery Reader tradition. THANK YOU for making our Friday afternoons so special this year!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to...
*Ella & Julia 3/19
*Nicholas 3/28
*Owen 4/18
*Kimmie 5/4
WB Wonders...
Character Counts Awards!
1st Grade Flag Raisers!
Butterfly Release!
The Grove!
More Animal Research- Just For Fun!
Amazing Artists!
Upcoming Dates to Remember...
*Fri. 5/27: Walking School Bus & 11:45am Dismissal
*Mon. 5/30: No School- Memorial Day
*Fri. 6/3: Field Day
*Wed. 6/8: Willowbrook Recital- 9:30 K-2nd grade, 1:30 3rd-5th grade
*Fri. 6/10: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL- 10:00am Dismissal!
Mrs. Madden's 1st Grade
Email: jmadden@district30.org
Website: blog.d30.me/jmadden
Phone: (847)498-1090
Twitter: @wbmadden