Winter Party - This Friday

Dear 1st Grade Parents,

The Winter Party is right around the corner, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, from 2:55 to 3:55 p.m. We are going to create paper plate globes and snowflakes out of pipe cleaners and beads. We are also going to play a few fun games - hungry snowman and winter dress relay. Please make sure to send your child with his/her jacket, hat and gloves/mittens. Kids are going to have a race to wear them at the end of the party :)

Please let us know if you are able to come help setup, clean up, or run the party. Party setup starts at 2:40p.m. Contact your room parent if you have any questions.

Mrs. Wolk's room parent: Shilpa Rao shilpasalil@gmail.com

Mrs. Cacioppo's room parent: James Johnson hootenjohnson@gmail.com
Billie Conger billie.conger1@gmail.com

Mrs. Koenig's room parent: Brianne Dorn briannedorn@hotmail.com
Missy Bredbenner missyjane6@gmail.com

Mrs. Eufinger's room parent: Claire Frakes thirzaclaire@gmail.com
Dana Delap ddelap@gmail.com

Mrs. Lafata's room parent: Emily Witcher familywitcher@gmail.com

Challenge List

The next few weeks there are some challenge words that go along with our spelling patterns. I will share them with you in case you are interested in working on these at home. I would like to emphasize the importance of your child using what they know about the particular pattern in spelling these words, not simply memorizing them. ;) If your child has been consistently getting 8/8 on the assessments, this might be a good way to challenge them!

Here is this week's list:

pumpkins
forgets
scissors
munches
babies
bushes

Book Orders

The December book orders are coming home today. Please place orders by this Friday, December 9th. Each students has earned a coupon which is attached to the order. Happy shopping!

Cold Weather

I wanted to remind you all that during winter months we do still go outside for recess. Please help your child to remember appropriate outerwear including hats/gloves as the temperatures drop. We want everyone to stay warm!

Word Work

This week we will be learning about plurals - adding s/es to the end of a word. Our accountable words are:
or   has

Learning in action...

We can use data to construct picture graphs!

Help Wanted

Volunteers-

I can always use help around the classroom. I know schedules are busy, but if anyone has any time to dedicate to helping us out that would be great! My time slot for parent helpers during the day is 1:50-2:50 while students are in specials.

I also have things I can send home to be completed and sent back if that works better for your schedule.

Any ounce of help is always appreciated!

Balance and Motion

The students were excited to be beginning a new science unit - balance and motion! During this unit of study, students will explore stable (balanced) and unstable systems, using counterweights to change the center of mass of the systems. This week our focus is balance. Students are experimenting with various objects and discovering how they can be balanced. Yesterday we introduced the idea of counterweights being used to balance objects.

Later on they will also explore two types of motion--spinning and rolling--first through trial and error, and later through more systematic explorations.

Through the experience-based investigations, students begin to develop a sense of variables, which they control to produce desired outcomes.

Word Work

This week's spelling pattern is -ing. Our accountable words are : you   your

Today partners worked to create sentences using words with this pattern.

Math Vocabulary

We started our data unit today. This week we are introducing some new vocabulary terms.

Data, survey, tally marks, tally chart, graph, bar graph, picture graph

During this unit, students explore concepts of data analysis involving up to three categories of data.  Students collect, organize, represent, and interpret data.  Many of the problems about data are structured to represent a variety of addition and subtraction situations like those they worked with in Unit 1.  A Big Idea that connects most of the work in this cluster is that data can be presented in graphs and charts, and a variety of questions can be answered by collecting and analyzing data.

Essential Questions

Writing: How can I share my opinions? Why do people share their opinions?

Math: What is data? How do we use data?

Reading: What makes a story? How do readers use story elements to stay engaged with the text?
How do changes in story elements influence the story?

Science: Why do things move? What are different ways to change the motion of an object?
What is balance?

Homework/Word Work

Since it is such a short week, there is no homework packet. Also there are not new chunks this week for our spelling work. We will be reviewing ones we have already done and doing some work with consonant blends.

Math

We are nearing the end of our first math unit. This week we have focused on fact families so students understand how addition and subtraction are related. It took several days of practice for some to realize exactly how these number relationships work. For instance with the numbers: 8  4  12  these four number sentences can be constructed: 4+8=12  8+4=12  12-8=4  12-4=8

We have also done some work with equality and moving the equal sign. This was sort of tricky for some of us! Students learn that 8=4+4  says the same thing as 4+4=8. Students should understand that no matter where the equal sign is, they can still find the solution.

Students worked on finding whether an equation was true or false. For instance: 4+3=6+1  would be a true statement. We learned that the equal sign can sometimes be in the middle and we can add or subtract each side to see if they are equal. If not, the statement is false. This is definitely a new concept that we will revisit later this school year.

More practice with story problems and showing their thinking and explaining their strategy was also done.

Our next unit which will  begin after Thanksgiving break is our Data unit. The essential questions are: What is data? How do we use data? These are the skills the students will be learning:

- organize and interpret data with up to three categories
- represent data with up to three categories
- ask and answer questions about the total number of data points.
- ask and answer questions about how many in a category.
- ask and answer questions about how many more or less are in one category than in another.

Reading

We are finishing up our talk unit which has put an emphasis on partner reading and comprehension skills. I have been impressed with the students' ability to talk about a text. Students have had the opportunity to work with various partners and put their conversational skills to use! Students have learned that talking about a text is much more than one partner saying something and another partner listening. Students understand the back and forth flow which can include asking questions, clarifying understandings or misunderstandings, sharing ideas and reactions to a text. Here are some prompts you can use at home to talk about books with your child:

-When you were reading what were you thinking?
-I think __________. What do you think?
-Why do you think character ____ acted that way?
-How do you think the character feels and why?
-Why do you think the character keeps doing that?
-What do you think the character wants or needs?
-What is the problem in the story?
-How do you think the character will solve the problem?

-Share with your partner when a character reminds you of someone in real life
-Share with a partner when the story reminds you of something from your life.
-Share with your partner when a character reminds you of another character of another book.
-Share with your partner when something in the book is funny, surprising, or confusing.
-Share with your partner what is resolved or unresolved at the end of the story.

Fall Party Pictures!

Here are a few pictures from our fall party. We had a great time! Thanks to Avery and Claire's moms for helping plan and organize everything!

Book Orders

I know it feels like book orders just came home - it has been a month though! WOW! Where is the time going? I don't know about you, but I have some holiday shopping to do, so I wanted to get an order in by next week. The order form is coming home today. If you have an order, please place it by next Wednesday, November 16th.

Math - Addition and Subtraction

We are still in our first unit of study. The first unit thoroughly builds a foundation for the remainder of our work in first grade. Students continue to work on addition and subtraction fluency and problem solving with various concepts.

The last big concept we are working on in this unit in the coming days is subtraction. Students are learning how subtraction problems are related to addition problems and how they can use that knowledge in problem-solving. Students are using and discussing a variety of strategies to solve problems. Some of the strategies we are using are: number line to count on or back, part-part-whole model, using facts we know to help us add or subtract more efficiently, and some still benefit from drawing pictures or models to represent a problem.

Another concept which many of the kiddos find more challenging is finding the missing addend in an addition or subtraction problem in any position.

Continue working on math facts up to 20 at home. Remember the link: http://www.aplusmath.com/flashcards/  for flashcards

Formative assessment information for this unit will be available in the progress report.

Reading - Talk Unit

We are in our Talk unit of instruction. Essential questions for this unit are: Why do readers talk about books? And... How do readers talk about books?

During this unit we work with partners each day to discuss books and deepen comprehension. The students are enjoying getting to know their partners as readers, help with decoding, and have deeper conversations about what they are reading! 

We are really focused on the back and forth conversation skills that are key to productive partner interactions. Students are learning to say something to their partner, listen, take turns, and ask questions back to get more information from a partner. Here are some of the prompts we have been working on:

I can say something to my partner. This means I...
- notice my thinking as I read.
- retell my books.
- share my thoughts that include:  questions, wonderings, predictions, visualizations, etc.
use evidence to support my thinking.


I can say something  back to my partner.  This means I...
- ask my partner questions.
- listen closely.
- use phrases that help keep conversations going.

Persuasive Writing Unit

We are working on our persuasive writing unit. The essential questions for this unit are: Why do people share their opinions? And, How do people share their opinions?

In Kindergarten, the writers told, drew, and wrote their opinion or likes and dislikes about a topic or book. This year, writers will compose by sharing opinions or likes and dislikes and provide evidence to support those opinions. They will learn that effective opinion pieces include a stated opinion with supporting reasons and contain a sense of closure. This unit is unique from other first grade units in that students will publish two times. During the first 2-3 weeks, students will publish a book on a persuasive topic of their choice. The second publication (2-3 weeks) will be a book review on a book chosen by each student. This unit provides a great opportunity for students to have their voices heard. Students are expected to publish at least one of these pieces digitally in order to share their opinions with others. Students will record each other sharing their book reviews. Students always really enjoy our "book review viewing event".

This week we have learned about what is fact vs. opinion. Students have used a graphic organizer to write down some opinions they have (I've found they have many!), and used a template to begin planning out the evidence they will use as they begin writing.

Spelling Bee Information

There is some spelling bee information coming home this afternoon. Look for a gold letter and the Scripps National list which is on white. If your child enjoys spelling this might be a fun opportunity for them!

Coming Home Today

Veteran's Day parade permission slip - On 11/11 we will be walking across the street to view the Veteran's Day parade. Please sign and return the form ASAP.

Kids Voting

Today the students got to participate in "Kids Voting". They got to log in and vote for presidential candidates and a few other elected offices. It will be fun to see who Shenandoah Valley elects president!

Veteran's Day Forms Due

Veteran's Day forms are due this Friday 10/28. If you need another, it can be found on the SV website. :)

Fall Party This Friday

Greetings parents!

Please join us for the First Grade Halloween Party on Friday, October 28, 2016, from 2:40 to 4:00 p.m.!

Here's the schedule for Friday's party:

1. Class parents and volunteers arrive at 2:40 for set up. Rest of the parents arrive at 2:55. Kids arrive dressed after specials

2. Class pictures in costumes 2:55 - 3:00pm

3. Halloween-themed story reading while kids eat their snack (what they bring from home) 3:00 - 3:10pm.

Kids are going to eat the snack they bring from home (instead of their regular snack time). we suggest you send something fun but just enough for 10 minutes.

4. Crafts/Games- 3:10 - 3:40pm - kids are divided in 3 groups and rotate

---A) Picture Frame decorating - craft

---B) Fine Motor Monster - craft

---C) Pin the Tail on the Cat - game

5. Hot Pumpkin game with music 3:40 - 3:50pm

Halloween toy "treat" given to everyone (eyeball erasers or spiders)

6. kids get to wrap an adult volunteer or their teacher in to a mummy with toilet paper roll if time permits.

Please let us know if you can come help during the party.

We also need few supplies for each class room:

1. 20 eye ball erasers

2. 20 party favor spiders

3. Halloween and fall themed stickers for 20 kids(to decorate photo frames)

Let your room parent know if you can send these items with your child by Thursday.

Do not reply to class teacher. If you have any questions, do contact your room parents...

Mrs. Wolk : Shilpa Rao shilpasalil@gmail.com

Mrs. Cacioppo : Billy Conger billie.conger1@gmail.com

and James Johnsonhootenjohnson@gmail.com

Mrs. Koenig : Brianne Dorn briannedorn@hotmail.com

and Missy Bredbenner missyjane6@gmail.com

Miss Eufinger : Claire Frakes thirzaclaire@gmail.com

Miss LaFata : Emily Witcher familywitcher@gmail.com

and Annu Sial annuanand@hotmail.com

Thanks

Shilpa, Billy, James, Brianne, Missy, Claire, Emily, and Annu (room parents)

Passport Night

Share any photos with me from passport night! Here are a few I've received.

Food Drive

Next week, the Student Leaders are sponsoring a Canned Food Drive. It will take place Monday, October 24^th through Friday, October 28^th. Students may bring in canned foods or boxed foods. All donations will go to the Circle of Concern.

Red Ribbon Week

Next week is red ribbon week here at school. A flyer is coming home with your child tomorrow with details. Pay close attention as each day is a "spirit day" and students can participate by wearing different types of clothing.

Monday - Pajama day

Tuesday - Wear tye-dye

Wednesday - Superhero theme (shirts, not costumes)

Thursday - Wear jerseys

Friday - Wear red

Social Studies

This week we began our new social studies unit -  families now and long ago. During this unit we will learn about how life is different and the same as it has been in the past. We will learn about how all families are unique and different. We will learn about family traditions and will notice how they may be the same or different among our classmates.

We will also be studying the pilgrims, Native Americans, and the first Thanksgiving.

Coming home with your student tomorrow will be 2 papers I need your help with. One is about family traditions and one is a Thanksgiving survey. We will be sharing and comparing family traditions in class. Please help your child fill these out and return them to school as soon as you can.

A Special Guest

We welcomed Mr. Grant Alter (Jackson's dad) into our classroom yesterday morning for our writing lesson. He is a writer and editor in chief for a comic company! He was able to talk to us about what he does for his job and this was related to much of our work this year in writing. We also noticed some things he discussed that we have learned about in reading.

He talked about:

-deciding what to write about and brainstorming ideas
-sequencing a story with a beginning, middle, and end
-adding details in our words and pictures
-using dialogue and speech bubbles to enhance the pictures and tell the story
-writing with our reader in mind
-using punctuation to add meaning

Thank you so very much for coming in!

Powell Hall

We had a very enjoyable time at the St. Louis Symphony today!! The program we went to discussed the four seasons, so not only did it fit into our music curriculum, but our science curriculum also! The children did a great job with behavior while we were out of the school building.

Word Work

We are resuming our regular schedule this week with word work. That is chunks and accountable words. This week's chunks are -in and -it. Our accountable words are will/if. :0)

Friday and Monday

FYI -- I will be out Friday 10/14 and Monday 10/17 for my brother's wedding in Kansas City! Ms. Shockley (who was here in Mr. Augustin's absence earlier this year) will be my guest teacher. She knows the children from music class. I will share my expectations with the children this afternoon about behavior while I am out. :0)

Science

Students are enjoying learning about weather with many different learning tools! This week students got to play a weather bear game to practice reading a thermometer, read some weather non-fiction books, and learn some map reading skills with a weather map!

Scholastic Book Order

Please submit October book orders by 10/17 at 4:00 PM. Our class code to order online is: J6ZT4 

Math

This week in math we are working with the part-part-whole model and noticing similarities between subtraction and addition equations. For instance, we notice that knowing the fact 8+2=10 can help us solve 10-2=8. As students become more fluent and confident in their facts, these relationships should become more clear and students can use them as a tool in their every day problem solving. We continue to work mostly on facts within 10, but in the next couple of weeks will be moving to higher facts up to 20.

We also continue to work through a variety of story problems together, with increasing rigor. Students are learning that not all story problems are a basic add or subtract problem. They need to think carefully about what the question is asking and make a plan to solve it using addition, subtraction, or sometimes both!

This link is a great resource for practicing math facts up to 20. We will be using it some at school. Feel free to practice at home, too! http://www.aplusmath.com/flashcards/

Reading - Strategies

This week in reading we are focusing on how good readers pay attention to punctuation as they read. We learned that punctuation adds meaning to the story. We are practicing reading punctuation with fluency and expression and thinking about how the author uses it to convey their message. Students noticed how different it sounds to read a statement versus a question.

I love how I have seen all readers becoming more confident problem-solvers during this unit. I hope you are seeing this transfer to home. Now that we have learned so many strategies, I really put the responsibility back on them when they get stuck on a word and appeal to me for help. They are using their strategy resource from their book box to select and use multiple strategies when needed.

In addition to decoding strategies we continue to practice comprehension strategies as well. We are working on retelling a story with details and answering questions about a text. Continue having conversations about what your child is reading at home!

Writing Personal Narratives

We continue to work on our 'small moment' writing unit. During this unit students are choosing personal experiences to write about. Students are encouraged to zoom in on particular 'moment'. For instance if they want to write a story about their trip to Six Flags, I would encourage them to zoom in on one particular memory from the trip such as their favorite ride. Students are practicing stretching their small moment over several pages using a beginning, middle, and end.

We are learning that sharing personal experiences helps us to continue to build our classroom community. We are doing some sharing of our stories. Sometimes we are taking turns sharing on the document camera with the whole group, and other times partnerships are sharing. Through questioning we can help our friends add even more details. When friends ask us "wh" questions about our experience, it helps us think of other details we can add.

We have also been reading some mentor texts that model how authors stretch a small moment story.

We continue to work on spelling, mechanics, and punctuation in this unit also.

Scholastic

In case you missed the book fair last week, a Scholastic flyer will be coming home with your child. Please place orders by 10-17.

Essential Questions Refresher

We are continuing work with our current units of study. I wanted to remind you the essential questions we are working on for each unit.

Writing: How do people help readers understand their life experiences?
How do people use stories to build community?

Reading: What do readers do when their reading doesn’t make sense?
What do readers do when they make mistakes?
Why is reading fluently important?
What do readers do when they come to a word they don't know?

Math: How does knowing many strategies help me to be a better problem solver?
How can the relationship between addition and subtraction help me to solve problems?
How can I communicate my math thinking?

Science: Why is it important for people to know about weather?
How do temperature, wind, cloud cover and precipitation help us to understand the weather?
How do we get information about the weather?

Friday we will begin our new Social Studies unit - Families now and long ago. The essential questions for this unit are: How has family life stayed the same and changed over time?

Scholastic Book Wizard

At conferences I will be sharing with you what your child's independent reading level is as well as their instructional level. Parents often ask me how they can choose appropriate books for home. This tool from Scholastic is great. It helps you find titles at particular levels. At home it is ideal that they are reading at their independent level. Keep in mind the independent level is always a level or two below where I am instructing them in the classroom. Here is the link to the scholastic book wizard:


http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/

Symphony Trip - Chaperones

We are getting excited about our trip to the symphony on October 19th! I have more than two parents interested in attending but only two parent tickets. SO... early next week we will do a "raffle" to choose the parents attending. I will send out a communication as soon as that is done so you can plan ahead. Thanks! :)

More Vowel Practice

We are working on introducing long vowel sounds this week and next. We have done a lot of work with short vowels this year. We continue practice with short sounds also. Learning these vowels and vowel patterns can really assist in decoding in reading!

Lunch Menu - October

http://www.edline.net/files/_UeBdz_/95f7a2576648fda13745a49013852ec4/elem_Oct_2016_2.pdf

Conferences...next week!

Remember next week if conference week! Thanks for finding time to sign up. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's progress.

There won't be many curriculum updates on the blog next week because I will be spending time preparing for and conducting conferences. Check back the following week for curriculum updates :)

Coming home today

This afternoon keep an eye out for:

1. Book fair brochure
2. Veteran's Day information
3. Box top info.

Abilities Awareness

This week as a school wide focus, we are learning about individuals with different abilities. Each grade level has particular area they are learning about. First grade's is communication. We are learning that some people may use different ways to communicate than we do. Tomorrow bwtween 9:15 and 11:15 the students will be participating in a variety of activities around this topic.

Some of you have volunteered to help - thank you! We look forward to you joining us for this special learning time.

Reading - Book Bags

Book bags will begin coming home this afternoon. Each evening the children will be able to bring home one book from their book box to read at home. Keep in mind that the level they will be bringing home is 1-2 levels below where I am actually instructing them. Their independent level is where they should be able to read fluently without errors. If at any time your child brings home a book that just doesn't seem right, please send me an e-mail. It's been known to happen from time to time! Book bags should be returned each day so the child can bring home a new book each evening.

Symphony Field Trip

On October 19 we are heading to the symphony at Powell Hall. Please return field trip forms along with $10 by next Thursday the 6th. Due to limited tickets only 2 parents will be able to join us. Let me know if you are interested and if there are more than 2 parents wanting to attend, a raffle will be held to determine which parents will chaperone. Keep in mind our next two trips are not limited, so if you are unable to come this time there will  be other chances! Thanks!

Book Fair!

Next week Scholastic Book Fair is coming to Shenandoah. Stay tuned for hours of operation. :0)

Word Work This Week

Our chunks this week are: -est    -ent
Our accountable words this week are: am   did

I hope you are able to take time to look over your child's pre and post assessments for these spelling patterns. I have begun pulling strategy groups for students who are not improving their scores. Any additional practice at home would be helpful! We work with these chunks each day of the week.

Conferences

Conference week is next week already! If you haven't done so yet, please sign up for a conference time. I added a few more during the day on the 6th. It's a tricky week to fit them all in with late start being Wednesday and Friday being off school. Hopefully everyone can find a time that works! Here is the link to sign up: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4fa5ae22a4fa7-mrs5

Coming Home Today

1. Shenandoah Valley Buzzbook order form: This is the school directory. I get many inquiries about sharing e-mails and phone numbers with parents to arrange play dates and birthday parties. I am unable to share this information. Please purchase a buzz book for this type of information.

2. Walk/Bike to school info

3. Symphony Fieldtrip Form: On October 19 we will be attending a program at Powell Hall. Please sign and return the forms by Thursday, October 6th with $10.00 cash. We have very limited space for parent chaperones on this trip. 2 parents will be able to join us. If more are interested we will do a raffle to determine who will come. Our other two trips later in the school year do not have a chaperone limit, so if you don't get to join us this time there will be more opportunities!

Reward

Remember, our class has earned a pajama day on Monday, September 26. Children may wear pajamas to school and bring a reasonably sized stuffed animal friend. Please send tennis shoes for PE activities and recess. Thanks!

Screen Awareness

Thanks for your help with our screen awareness week! We enjoyed hearing all the things the children did instead of playing on their devices or watching television. Our class exceeded the goal of 100 hours total and have earned our extra recess!

Math

We continue to work in our addition and subtraction unit. We have been working on developing fluency with facts 1-10 and reading and solving word problems with effective strategies.

Last week the students took a 26 problem addition fact "quiz". When they finished, we wrote the time in which they completed it. Using a graph, the students will keep track of how many problems they got correct and the amount of time they completed it. Their goal each time will be to improve their number correct and lower their time a bit. Many students are still relying on their fingers when solving simple addition facts. Increased fluency will support future learning this school year as topics become more complex. Practicing facts is always something fun and quick that can be done at home, too.

We have been working on a variety of story problems. We are working on first identifying what the problem is asking us to find. Many students see two numbers and jump to add or subtract them without thinking about what the problem is asking. We are using the math practices to identify what the question is asking, make a model to represent the problem, and attend to precision in problem solving.

Additional concepts we have been working on in conjunction with what is mentioned above:
1. Missing addend: setting up number sentences with a missing piece and then working to figure out what the missing addend is.
2. Using a number line to solve addition and subtraction problems
3. Doubles facts (i.e. 3+3=6      4+4=8)

Students have had the opportunity to work some on our chrome books to play math games related to our content. Students will learn to use the chrome books to complete some short assignments and online assessments which may be used as an additional data point once in awhile throughout the school year.

Good readers help themselves

Last week we started our next reading unit: Good readers help themselves. During this unit students become familiar with a variety of strategies good readers use to decode while reading. One of our main goals in first grade reading is to help the children become independent problem solvers in their reading. We are working on an anchor chart of these strategies and will re-visit it throughout the school year. Throughout the year we work on developing a strong sense of self-monitoring and stopping at the point of difficulty to figure out new and unknown words. I have been bringing some of our habit 1 "be proactive" into the teaching as well because it fits in nicely!

Here are the essential questions we are working on in this unit:

- What do readers do when their reading doesn’t make sense?
- What do readers do when they make mistakes?
- Why is reading fluently important?
- What do readers do when they come to a word they don't know?

So far we have learned that good readers...
1. Look carefully at the cover of a book
2. Take a picture walk before reading
3. Study the pictures carefully
4. Think about what is happening in the story
5. Get their mouth ready to say the first sound (and look through the word to middle and end sounds)

In the next few lessons we will be adding to our chart:
6. Go back and re-read
7. Skip the unknown word and come back to it
8. Use what you already know to help you figure out new words (our spelling patterns and vowl knowledge)
9. Use multiple strategies when needed

At some point I will send our strategies "cheat sheet" home so you can have a copy to use with your child. It is helpful when we use common language as we coach our emerging readers. :)

Coming Home Today

1. Nutrition information
2. Screen Awareness Week information (slips begin coming back to school TUESDAY of next week)
3. Community Education information
4. Panther Pledge Donation Envelope
5. Walk/Bike to School information

Rainy Day

We still have fun at recess when we're stuck indoors!