Hello Spectacular First Graders and Super First Grade Families!
Reminders:
1. Conferences are next week. Please return your conference sheet to me as soon as possible.
2. We have early outs Tuesday - Friday, October 4 - 7, for conferences.
This week we are doing a science/social studies unit on Johnny Appleseed and the life cycle of an apple tree. We had a fun day learning about Johnny Appleseed and why he is important! For guided reading, we learned about Johnny Appleseed's life and how he helped bring apple trees to many states in our country. Kids - can you remember the states where Johnny Appleseed planted his trees? Can you remember the abbreviations for each state? After we read about Johnny Appleseed, we got to have our very own apple tasting! We tasted Red Delicious, Granny Smith and Fuji. Thank you so much for all the apple donations! The kids had so much fun with the tasting. After we tasted our apples, we made an "I Like Apples" book. Each child wrote his/her favorite kind of apple and decorated a picture for his/her page. Once the book is finished, it will go in the Bee Quiet Corner so everyone can enjoy it! On Tuesday and Wednesday the class will divide into 2 groups to complete 2 different activities (watching a video about Johnny Appleseed and taking a comprehension quiz and reading a story about and apple tree and making an apple tree). On Thursday, we will learn about the life cycle of an apple tree and about the changes that happen to trees during the different seasons. Each table group will take a different season and the children will work together to represent an apple tree for their season. The kids are really looking forward to Thursday! On Friday the kids will read a book about the life cycle of an apple tree. The will sequence the apple tree's life cycle. The kids are really enjoying this unit so far!
In reading we are working on reviewing word chunks and the sounds they make to read more difficult words. We continue to use the Beanie Baby strategies daily to help in reading.
The kids loved centers today! The centers for the week include:
1. Arts and Crafts: Apple Masks - The kids created apple tree masks for summer and fall. The summer masks have leaves and the fall masks have apples. They got to be creative with their coloring and they even learned how to do some tricky cutting!
2. Science: Apple Painting - The kids had to guess how to cut an apple to get the seeds to make a star. They watched as the apples were cut to see if their guesses were correct. After the apples were cut, they painted apple pictures.
3. Writing: Apple Person - The kids got to make an apple person! They colored and cut an apple and attached strips of paper for arms and legs. They wrote facts about apples on the arms and legs. These turned out so great! They are hanging up in the room!
4. Arts and Crafts: Apple Masks - The kids created apple tree masks for spring and winter. The spring masks have flowers and the winter masks have bare tree branches.
5. Reading: Kids read different books about Johnny Appleseed.
We do not have new spelling words this week. Since it is the week before report cards, we will be doing a lot of testing in all subjects, including spelling. The children will take a test each day on spelling words we have already practiced. These tests will be used to have the most up to date scores for their report cards.
In math we are working on chapter 4, a subtraction chapter. We are also working on a variety of assessments (counting, writing numbers, addition, subtraction) for the report card.
MAP testing in the upper grades is now complete and we are able to get back in the lab this week! We will work on independently going to the class blog, using the features of the blog and completing the assignment.
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
September 26, 2011
September 19, 2011
Weekly Update, September 19 - 23
Hello Awesome First Graders and Amazing First Grade Families!
Updated this week: Reading Logs
Reading logs can now be turned in weekly, on Friday. The children should still keep their reading logs in their folders, as I will check in with them throughout the week during reading group time.
Reminders for the week:
1. Our zoo field trip is on Friday! Please have your child wear his/her blue “Johnston’s Busy Bees” shirt. Please send in a completely disposable, labeled lunch and drink with your child.
2. Picture day is this Wednesday, September 21.
What a fun day we had learning about zebras and getting ready for our zoo field trip! The children were so focused during our science guided reading and they can't wait until Friday's field trip! It is so great to see all of their excitement! Today we learned the word unique and why zebras are unique. Kids – be sure to tell you parents why zebras are special! Tomorrow we will learn about lions. We will learn the word “distinguishing” and we will learn how to distinguish between male and female lions. On Wednesday we will learn about polar bears and we will learn about the arctic climate. On Thursday we will learn about monkeys and we will learn the characteristics of spectacled langurs, snub nose monkeys and owl monkeys. Each day the children will write three facts about the animal and then draw a picture. On Friday, the kids will put all their animal pages together to make a book! It’s going to be a wild week!
In writing we are working on non-fiction writing by writing animal facts. We will also get practice at the end of the week writing thank you letters.
In reading we are working on non-fiction reading with our animal study. We will focus on strategies for reading more difficult text.
The kids loved centers today! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The children listen to "Going to the Zoo." They have a monkey match to complete and then they write their favorite part of the story.
2. Science - The children learn about the names of different animals by completing an animal word search. After the word search, they write about their favorite animal in their science journal.
3. Writing - The children write about their favorite zoo animal. They are using lots of great detail to describe why it is the favorite.
4. Math - The children are preparing for our upcoming assessments by completing addition practice. They are also working on number formation. The children also worked in pairs with flash cards to practice addition. They really enjoyed this!
5. Reading - The children learned self selected from a variety of animal/zoo books and they read in the Bee Quiet Corner.
We practiced our spelling words. The children came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. This week we are working on the "en" family. We got in some more homophone practice and we have 2 tricky homophones this week: for and four. The children have had exposure to these homophones over the last few weeks, so this should be review for them.
In math we are working on chapter 4, a subtraction application chapter. Subtraction is traditionally much more challenging than addition and so I am excited to see how well the kids are doing with this concept. We will also completed a zebra glyph today. The kids are getting very proficient at glyphs! Way to go!
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
Updated this week: Reading Logs
Reading logs can now be turned in weekly, on Friday. The children should still keep their reading logs in their folders, as I will check in with them throughout the week during reading group time.
Reminders for the week:
1. Our zoo field trip is on Friday! Please have your child wear his/her blue “Johnston’s Busy Bees” shirt. Please send in a completely disposable, labeled lunch and drink with your child.
2. Picture day is this Wednesday, September 21.
What a fun day we had learning about zebras and getting ready for our zoo field trip! The children were so focused during our science guided reading and they can't wait until Friday's field trip! It is so great to see all of their excitement! Today we learned the word unique and why zebras are unique. Kids – be sure to tell you parents why zebras are special! Tomorrow we will learn about lions. We will learn the word “distinguishing” and we will learn how to distinguish between male and female lions. On Wednesday we will learn about polar bears and we will learn about the arctic climate. On Thursday we will learn about monkeys and we will learn the characteristics of spectacled langurs, snub nose monkeys and owl monkeys. Each day the children will write three facts about the animal and then draw a picture. On Friday, the kids will put all their animal pages together to make a book! It’s going to be a wild week!
In writing we are working on non-fiction writing by writing animal facts. We will also get practice at the end of the week writing thank you letters.
In reading we are working on non-fiction reading with our animal study. We will focus on strategies for reading more difficult text.
The kids loved centers today! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The children listen to "Going to the Zoo." They have a monkey match to complete and then they write their favorite part of the story.
2. Science - The children learn about the names of different animals by completing an animal word search. After the word search, they write about their favorite animal in their science journal.
3. Writing - The children write about their favorite zoo animal. They are using lots of great detail to describe why it is the favorite.
4. Math - The children are preparing for our upcoming assessments by completing addition practice. They are also working on number formation. The children also worked in pairs with flash cards to practice addition. They really enjoyed this!
5. Reading - The children learned self selected from a variety of animal/zoo books and they read in the Bee Quiet Corner.
We practiced our spelling words. The children came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. This week we are working on the "en" family. We got in some more homophone practice and we have 2 tricky homophones this week: for and four. The children have had exposure to these homophones over the last few weeks, so this should be review for them.
In math we are working on chapter 4, a subtraction application chapter. Subtraction is traditionally much more challenging than addition and so I am excited to see how well the kids are doing with this concept. We will also completed a zebra glyph today. The kids are getting very proficient at glyphs! Way to go!
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
September 12, 2011
Weekly Update, September 12 - 16
Hello Super First Graders and Stupendous First Grade Families!
Reminders:
*The ice cream social is this Thursday, September 15 from 7:00 - 8:00.
*Our zoo field trip is Friday, September 23. Please have your child wear our blue class t-shirt (your child will receive his/her t-shirt later this week). Please send in a completely disposable lunch with your child.
*Please turn in your paper for our class directory. Thank you!
We had a fun day learning about the grain food group to kick off our science study on nutrition! Today we learned about grains and the kinds of foods that are in the grain group. We even learned a fun song to sing to help us remember the foods in the grain group. Kids - can you remember the song and sing it for your parents? This week we are going to be restaurant owners! We will create our own menu with foods from each group. Today we completed the grain portion of the menu. This week we will learn about vegetables, fruits, meats and dairy, and each day we will complete a new section of the menu.
The kids loved centers today! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The children listen to "More Spaghetti, I Say!" They complete a story map with the name of the book, characters, setting, their favorite part and any new words they learned.
2. Science - The children complete a food group graph. Students group the foods from their dinner into the correct food groups. Students answer questions about the food groups.
3. Writing - The children choose from a word bank of different foods to complete a story about lunch. The children write about the lunch.
4. Math - The children work to figure out how many ways they could order ice cream. There is a plain cone or a sugar cone, and there is mint, blueberry and grape ice cream. The children work to put different scoops on different cones to figure out how many choices there are in all.
5. Reading - The children learned how to play spill and spell. Letter dice are "spilled" onto the table and they spell as many words as they can make before the timer runs out. This was a lot of fun for them!
We practiced our spelling words. The children came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. This week we are working on the "in" family. There are also three tricky homophones: are, hour and our. Because there is only room for 10 words, the children can write these on the back of their Rainbow Words.
This week in reading we are continuing to focus on independently using reading strategies. It is so neat to watch the kids use these strategies on their own! We are continuing to work on "tricky" letters and pairs, such as tricky c, bossy r and vowel combinations. The kids have made SO much progress in reading!
We finished chapter two in math last week and we began chapter 3, a subtraction chapter. The kids will use manipulatives and color to practice horizontal and vertical subtraction. We will also complete a food group glyph.
In computers we will practice finding the blog, commenting on the blog and going to Raz-Kids. Raz - Kids. The kids had a great time exploring the site and reading!
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
Reminders:
*The ice cream social is this Thursday, September 15 from 7:00 - 8:00.
*Our zoo field trip is Friday, September 23. Please have your child wear our blue class t-shirt (your child will receive his/her t-shirt later this week). Please send in a completely disposable lunch with your child.
*Please turn in your paper for our class directory. Thank you!
We had a fun day learning about the grain food group to kick off our science study on nutrition! Today we learned about grains and the kinds of foods that are in the grain group. We even learned a fun song to sing to help us remember the foods in the grain group. Kids - can you remember the song and sing it for your parents? This week we are going to be restaurant owners! We will create our own menu with foods from each group. Today we completed the grain portion of the menu. This week we will learn about vegetables, fruits, meats and dairy, and each day we will complete a new section of the menu.
The kids loved centers today! The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The children listen to "More Spaghetti, I Say!" They complete a story map with the name of the book, characters, setting, their favorite part and any new words they learned.
2. Science - The children complete a food group graph. Students group the foods from their dinner into the correct food groups. Students answer questions about the food groups.
3. Writing - The children choose from a word bank of different foods to complete a story about lunch. The children write about the lunch.
4. Math - The children work to figure out how many ways they could order ice cream. There is a plain cone or a sugar cone, and there is mint, blueberry and grape ice cream. The children work to put different scoops on different cones to figure out how many choices there are in all.
5. Reading - The children learned how to play spill and spell. Letter dice are "spilled" onto the table and they spell as many words as they can make before the timer runs out. This was a lot of fun for them!
We practiced our spelling words. The children came home with Rainbow Words and they are due tomorrow. This week we are working on the "in" family. There are also three tricky homophones: are, hour and our. Because there is only room for 10 words, the children can write these on the back of their Rainbow Words.
This week in reading we are continuing to focus on independently using reading strategies. It is so neat to watch the kids use these strategies on their own! We are continuing to work on "tricky" letters and pairs, such as tricky c, bossy r and vowel combinations. The kids have made SO much progress in reading!
We finished chapter two in math last week and we began chapter 3, a subtraction chapter. The kids will use manipulatives and color to practice horizontal and vertical subtraction. We will also complete a food group glyph.
In computers we will practice finding the blog, commenting on the blog and going to Raz-Kids. Raz - Kids. The kids had a great time exploring the site and reading!
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
September 6, 2011
Weekly Update, September 6 - 9
Hello Spectacular First Graders and Super 1st Grade Families!
***Webmail, our email server has not been working properly since Friday. I sent home a hardcopy version of the weekly email. I have been unable to receive/send emails all day. I apologize to those parents who have sent emails to me. I will respond to your emails as soon as it is back up and running. Thank you for your patience!
Welcome back from the long weekend! I hope everyone had a great time and enjoyed the extra day off. I was SO impressed with what a wonderful job the children did today (especially after being gone an extra day!). The kids were so focused and worked so hard. Way to go!!!
The children are really doing well working in centers. The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The children listened to "A Bargain For Francis.” They completed a sequencing page to practice identifying what happens in the beginning, middle and end of the story.
2. Science - The children are working with texture words. There are eight cards with texture words (bumpy, smooth, rough, etc.) and the children need to find items in our room that match those textures.
3. Writing - The children are writing about the best birthday party ever. They get to pretend that they can plan their perfect birthday party; they write all the details down for their special party.
4. Math - The children are working with unifix cubes. They explore different ways to make 5 and then write the addition sentences down for their findings.
5. Reading - The children explored the bee quiet corner to learn how to find books at their “just right” level.
This week we are doing a social studies unit on mapping. Today we learned what maps are and how they help us. We went on a search of the room to find the map in our room! Kids - see if you can find a map at home! Tell someone at home how maps help us. Tomorrow we will be learning about the elements of a map and on Thursday and Friday we will be creating a class map.
In reading we are working on understanding and independently using reading strategies. We are continuing our work with sequencing.
We practiced our new spelling words. The children came home with Rainbow Words for homework and they are due tomorrow. This week we are working on the "ap" family. The children learned about homophones and what it means for words to be homophones (two or more words that sound the same, the words are spelled differently and the words mean different things). This week's "ap" family words include the homophones rap and wrap.
Today in math we did a house glyph. The kids are really getting great at following multi-step directions and correctly completing their glyphs. Today the children practiced collecting data from the glyphs in small groups. They did a great job working collaboratively!
Reminders and Information
1. Kids - please bring your homework folder to school every day. Remembering to bring your homework folder helps you follow our class rule of being responsible.
2. Library is on Monday. Kids - please remember to bring your books back!
3. Our zoo field trip is Friday, September 23. I have 5 parent volunteer spots. If you would like to come on the trip, please let me know! If I receive more than 5 responses, parent names will be drawn randomly.
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
***Webmail, our email server has not been working properly since Friday. I sent home a hardcopy version of the weekly email. I have been unable to receive/send emails all day. I apologize to those parents who have sent emails to me. I will respond to your emails as soon as it is back up and running. Thank you for your patience!
Welcome back from the long weekend! I hope everyone had a great time and enjoyed the extra day off. I was SO impressed with what a wonderful job the children did today (especially after being gone an extra day!). The kids were so focused and worked so hard. Way to go!!!
The children are really doing well working in centers. The centers for the week include:
1. Listening - The children listened to "A Bargain For Francis.” They completed a sequencing page to practice identifying what happens in the beginning, middle and end of the story.
2. Science - The children are working with texture words. There are eight cards with texture words (bumpy, smooth, rough, etc.) and the children need to find items in our room that match those textures.
3. Writing - The children are writing about the best birthday party ever. They get to pretend that they can plan their perfect birthday party; they write all the details down for their special party.
4. Math - The children are working with unifix cubes. They explore different ways to make 5 and then write the addition sentences down for their findings.
5. Reading - The children explored the bee quiet corner to learn how to find books at their “just right” level.
This week we are doing a social studies unit on mapping. Today we learned what maps are and how they help us. We went on a search of the room to find the map in our room! Kids - see if you can find a map at home! Tell someone at home how maps help us. Tomorrow we will be learning about the elements of a map and on Thursday and Friday we will be creating a class map.
In reading we are working on understanding and independently using reading strategies. We are continuing our work with sequencing.
We practiced our new spelling words. The children came home with Rainbow Words for homework and they are due tomorrow. This week we are working on the "ap" family. The children learned about homophones and what it means for words to be homophones (two or more words that sound the same, the words are spelled differently and the words mean different things). This week's "ap" family words include the homophones rap and wrap.
Today in math we did a house glyph. The kids are really getting great at following multi-step directions and correctly completing their glyphs. Today the children practiced collecting data from the glyphs in small groups. They did a great job working collaboratively!
Reminders and Information
1. Kids - please bring your homework folder to school every day. Remembering to bring your homework folder helps you follow our class rule of being responsible.
2. Library is on Monday. Kids - please remember to bring your books back!
3. Our zoo field trip is Friday, September 23. I have 5 parent volunteer spots. If you would like to come on the trip, please let me know! If I receive more than 5 responses, parent names will be drawn randomly.
Have an A+ week!
Mrs. Johnston
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