1B Update #4
November 13, 2015
This week in 1B!
A big thanks for classroom donations! We greatly appreciate the books and building materials that have been donated to our classroom! The kids have been very excited to read new stories that interest them. Also, thanks for the shoeboxes and other building supplies.
Reading
Our text-to-self connection are going strong and we have begun making text-to-text connections! Just as in making connections to ourselves, the text-to-text connections help us to deepen our understanding of a book by finding the similarities and differences among texts. These connections help us to identify and compare components of books, such as characters, setting, plot, topic, or message.
Questions we ask ourselves are:
Does this text remind me of another book? How?
How is this book similar to one that I’ve read before?
How is it different?
If you have the following books by the following authors at home, you can practice comparing texts using the questions listed above.
Kevin Henkes
Ezra Jack Keats
Tomie de Paola
Donald Crews
Writing
In writing, we are narrowing our focus on our small moment stories. We made a plan using a Story Planner that helped us to keep our story small and capture the details. Now, we are onto writing the beginning! Encourage us to tell you stories about moments that we have shared. When we do, have us focus on the details! For instance, at the beginning of our story we should include who is in the story and where it takes place as well as details to describe. And of course, have us write down our ideas!
Math
Addition, Subtraction and Number lines...Oh my! 1B families, we are becoming mathematicians more and more each day. Your children have been learning new strategies to solve math problems. We have been working on turning addition problems into subtraction problems using number lines as a strategy to help us solve these problems in another way. This helps us see how subtraction is related to addition by using the same numbers but in a different way. The number lines we have created in class helps us count on and backwards. To support your child at home have them work on change unknown problems. For example 6+__=10 and 10-6= __ or 12+__=22 and 22-12=___. Also have them explain their strategies to you.
Phonics
We have been working on identifying the single sound the two letters can make -- digraphs -- as a way to help us both in our spelling and our speaking. The ones we have focused on are /th/ as in thumb, /sh/ as in ship, /ch/ as in chin, and /wh/ as in whistle. A game you can play while wandering around is called “Talk Like a Robot.” You say the letter sounds of a word (sh-i-p) and we have to say the word (ship). Reverse the roles and have us be the robot and you guess the word.
Cool Down Corner
Cool Tools
Some of our "cool tools" are:
- Take three deep breaths
- Count to 10 slowly
- Read a book that connects to our feeling
- Use Todd Parr's "Feelings Flashcards" to help us switch from a negative feeling, such as angry, to the opposite feeling on the back of the card, such as peaceful.
These moments to ourselves help us to learn ways to manage our emotions. When we feel calm, then we're able to problem-solve or address the event that made us feel that way.
Building our Special Spots!
We recently read The Hello, Goodbye Window and talked about how the character described a special spot in her grandparents home. We started building our special spots in class and discussed what makes this spot special.
Big Thanks
At-Home Connection
Great questions to get us thinking at home are:
Where is your special spot?
What is the most important thing in your special spot?
Who might you find in your special spot?
Why is this spot special to you?
1B Monster Mashing
The Monster Mash is a Graveyard Smash!
The Monster Mash caught on in a flash!
A Science Update From Ms. Rosabal!
¡1B canta, baila y hace teatro en español!
1B continues to explore the Spanish Language through Immersion. At the beginning of November we celebrated el Día de los Muertos by creating an altar for those who pass away. We learned that this tradition is part of cultural experience in some Spanish Speaking countries but mostly in Mexico. We also learned and understand that is not a sad celebration but instead a happy one that remember happy moments with those who are not longer with us.
Now we are learning different types of casas (houses) and we are so excited with our new song. (Check out the lyrics and the video below.) We also created a puppet show based on one of our favorite classic story: Los tres cerditos.
Please continue practicing at home our song and new vocabulary words.
Casa Song
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz-v6fgxb3FmSDREY0JmRW1kZW8/view?usp=sharing
Muchas Gracias,
Ms. Rosado
Notes for Parents
Weekly Schedule
Below is a general schedule of what happens daily in the classroom.
M- Lit Block, Dance, Recess, Spanish
T - Math Block, Park, Spanish, Art, PE
W - Lit Block, Science
Th- Math Block, Music, Recess
F - Lit Block, Art, Recess, Spanish
Weekly occurrence of other subjects:
Math occurs daily
Phonics occurs daily
Writing craft and handwriting practice occur 4x a week
Reading occurs daily
From Admin:
Food Policy
Brooklyn Prospect Charter School believes that no student should go hungry throughout the school day. As such, if a student requests any meal (breakfast, snack, and/or lunch), that student will be served and their meal account will be charged with the expectation that all charges be paid in full by the student's family each billing cycle. To stay apprised of your student's meal account, families may log into TeacherEase to obtain up-to-date information. We strongly encourage families to prepay for meals and/or provide students with meals each day to avoid any unexpected charges. In addition, if you believe that you qualify for free or reduced meal status, please complete and submit an application as soon as possible. To request an application, contact our main number at 718-722-7634.