Mrs. Wallach's Firstie Flyer
Friday, December 18, 2015
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FIRST GRADE FAMILIES!
I hope you all have a warm and cheery holiday with your families! I'll see you in 2016!
News and Events
Recent News and Events
Hour of Code: We participated in the school wide hour of code last week! We used the ipads to try our hand at computer programming. You can join in the fun at home at code.org
Community Playing: Last week we turned our classroom into a mini community, complete with grocery store, restaurant, bus station, doctor's office, and much more!
Dreidel Games: We learned how to play dreidel with our 4th grade buddies on Tuesday!
Holiday Concert: The concert was beautiful and the music was lovely - thanks to all of you who came to watch!
Home Depot project: As part of their community outreach efforts, a member of the home depot team came to school today and provided us with tools and a kit to make a wooden holiday toy. Rick does these kids demos at the home depot in West Lebanon on the first Saturday of every month at 9am. Kids can bring in their orange aprons and earn a new pin! http://workshops.homedepot.com/workshops/kids-workshops
Book Publishing Celebration: This morning we bound our books and each got to sit in the author's chair to read them to the class. Then we had a lemonade toast and added our books to the library. Non-published stories from this first writing workshop unit went home today, too!
Upcoming News and Events
School begins again: Monday, January 4th
Academic Updates
Mathematics Focus
Making sense of and developing strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems with small numbers
- visualizing and retelling the action in subtraction situations involving removal
- developing strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems
- seeing that subtracting the same two numbers results in the same different regardless of context
Using manipulatives, drawing, tools, and notation to show strategies and solutions
- recording solutions to a problem using numbers and standard notation
- connecting written numbers and standard notation to the quantities and actions they represent
Representing numbers by using equivalent expressions
- generating equivalent expressions for a number
Developing Strategies for accurately counting a set of objects by 1s
- estimating a counting a set of objects
- accurately counting a set of objects by 1st up to 60
- practicing the oral counting sequence to 100
- writing the sequence of numbers to 100 and beyond
- identifying and using patterns in the sequence of numbers to 100
- seeing the 100 chart as a representation of the counting numbers to 100
Grammar
- capitalizing the first word of a sentence
- ending a sentence with punctuation
- writing in complete sentences
Writing
Writing Workshop has begun!
- thinking about a story from real life
- drawing and writing all about that story
- adding more to pictures and words
- starting a new piece when finished ("when you're done you've only just begun!")
- using writer tools appropriately
- "stretching out" tricky words and writing all the sounds you hear
- writing for at least 15 minutes without stopping
- using the word wall and phonics wall to help with spelling
- choosing appropriate paper or booklet for story
- "fixing up" writing (intro to editing)
- "fancying up writing" (illustrations and choosing a title)
- publishing books!
Writing about reading
- writing events that happened in a reading group book
Journal writing continues...
- generating ideas
- writing a sentence to tell about something true from your life
- adding one or two more sentences to tell more details
- drawing a picture to match the words
- sharing with the class in a loud clear voice
Phonics and Snap Words
- glued sounds: an; am
- intro to baseword and suffix -s for pluralization
Snap Words
- from
- have
- do
- does
- were
- are
Guided Reading Groups
- Red Jaguars: Clouds; The Picnic; Look!; The Three Little Pigs; Snap!
- Orange Iguanas: Jump; Looking for Taco; Swim; Mrs. Cat Goes Shopping; Meli on the Stairs; The Sky
- Green Monkeys: Just Wait and See; Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish; Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble
- Blue Barracudas: The Surprise; Play Ball; The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf; A Box
- Silver Snakes: A Rainy Day; The Good Dog; My Friend; What Am I?
Social Studies
How are the different places and people in the community connected?
How can we make a difference in our community?
Read Alouds
December Author of the Month:
Jan Brett
Classroom Needs
Right now we need...
You have been so generous with the giving tree gift card to help make sure our classroom has what we need! THANK YOU!
Contact
Email: kathleen.wallach@marioncross.org
Website: www.marioncross.org
Phone: (802) 649-1703