December 19-22

We have a short 4 day week left before our Winter Break.  Here are some highlights of our week.  We will be studying penguins this week and asking ourselves this BIG question:  How can living things work together and survive in a harsh climate.  Here is one of many interesting websites about penguins:
http://www.penguinscience.com/classroom_home.php?gclid=COi7tKXTia0CFQLrKgodTlTolg

Tuesday, December 20th--We have earned a special "Yak Snack" time in the AM.  Your child may bring a healthy snack for a 10 minute snack time.  We will continue working to earn the letters YAK SNACK throughout the school year and I will inform you when our next special healthy snack comes up.  WHAT is a healthy snack?  Something that fits in the food pyramid.  No candy, drinks, etc. please.
Wednesday, December 21--Happy Feet the Movie Day--please let your child wear their pajamas to school and in addition they may bring one of the following items:  slippers, pillow, stuffed animal, small blanket, robe. Also, please turn in all of your Guided Reading books/book baggy.  A simple book report form will be sent home for your child to fill out and return on January 3rd using books you have at home!
Thursday, December 22--We will be finishing our penguin study and also making some special Penguin Projects.

Please let me know if your child is going to be absent from school before Winter Break starts as I have some items I would like them to have for the Winter Holiday.

If you have some still photos of our class from the Christmas Program, please e-mail them to me at:  gail.aadland@k12.sd.us as the class would love to see them!

Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings!

Gail Aadland

Delightful December

Our word wall words for December:
Week of December 5--who, what, when, where, why
Week of December 11--some, eat, all, me,zoo
Week of December 18--jump, that, quit (quiet)

Some Dates to Mark on your Calendar:
Thursday, December 15 Corral Drive Christmas Program @ 9AM and 1PM
Wednesday, December 21--First Grade Pajama Day
Thursday December 22--Last day of school before Winter Break

Turkey Time

Our Grand Finale Song for our Grandparents Day Program:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fmRT53hhNU&NR=1 

We sure had a lot of fun teaching the 'Turkey Time' dance to the Grandparents!

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Writing in the First Grade Classroom

Writing Workshop is a daily activity in our classroom.  We are currently working on a unit in our writing curriculum called: Writing for Readers.  Our focus in writing is to write short personal narratives that other students can easily read.  The student's work needs to be neat, legible, have word wall words spelled correctly and write as many of the sounds in a 'tricky' word written down as the child can hear. Within the format of writing easy to read pieces students record their idea, go back and reread their writing to add content and to make their writing clear and understandable. It is exciting to see how all students consider themselves as writers as they record Small Moment stories.  For another perspective on writing in the First Grade link to:  http://www.education.com/magazine/article/first_grade_writing/

Grandparents/Special Friends Day and some Websites

Grandparents/Special Friends Day
Tuesday November 22
1:45 PM in the First Grade Classroom
We will share the ABCs of the First Thanksgiving and sing some songs.
Students and their guests can shop at the Corral Drive Book Fair after the program.
See you there!

Some websites to check into:  Especially helpful IF we all get snowed in this weekend!
http://www.raz-kids.com/
Teacher Name;  gaadland
Click on the icon for your students name
Student Password:  your students middle name

http://www.sumdog.com/
To log on check out the Username and Password that is taped in the front of your child's Friday Folder.

Veteran's Day/ Another Math Problem

Today we discussed Veteran's Day and the concept of the meaning of the colors of the American Flag.
A fun and informative site we explored is:  http://www.va.gov/kids/k-5/games_activities.asp

Students are bringing home our first grade Thanksgiving Family Project in their Friday Folders.  Please help your child disguise the paper turkey and return on Monday November 14.  We will display the disguised turkeys on a bulletin board for Grandparents day on Tuesday November 22.

And now....another Mathematics Problem:

Kim bought ___ (9 or 19 or 29) pencils at the store.  She gave 7 of the pencils to Sam.  How many pencils does Kim have now?

Please choose the beginning number according to the level of challenge you child would like to solve or solve the problem 3 times using the different starting number each time.  Use the comment box below and have your child explain their thinking about how to solve the problem.  Students who post to the comment box will pick from the treasure box at school on Monday.

Have a great 3 day weekend with your child!

Triangles...triangles...TRIANGLES!!!

Today's mathematics lesson was to assess that the student's understand the attributes of triangles.  Attributes include:  3 vertices (or points), 3 sides, equal sides, unequal sides, straight sides, diagonal or slanty sides. We combined an art lesson and had the students create a repeating triangle design using the color and background to show as many triangles as possible.   Have your child identify their work in progress in these pics of triangles!

Our class triangle quilt

 We learned about how triangles can be connected to each other to leave the green space as a triangle also!  It was a challenging project that really made us think about the attributes of triangles.

 

A fun video to view is:
Triangle Juggler

and for more math/art go to
Math Cats Gallery

Community

Today we discussed the concept of 'Community'.  We defined community as a place where people live, work and play.

We are bringing home a project about our neighborhoods around Corral Drive.  Please help your son or daughter label their picture with the house number and street address and return the picture tomorrow.

  Tomorrow, we will be creating a large map showing where we live in relationship to Corral Drive.  Thanks! 

Pizza Hut Book-It Program

We are participating in the Pizza Hut Book-it Program.  Your child will be bringing home the yellow form for the November minutes of reading.  Please list how many minutes each day that your child reads or is read to at home!!  This can include the Guided Reading Book Baggies!  The October Calendar can come back to school and I will get your child's Pizza Hut personal pan pizza certificate to him/her!!!

Who knew?....Reading is fun and TASTY!
Pizza Hut Book It Website

Mr. Sisson's Site

Did you know that an excellent resource to support learning for your First Graders can be found on the Corral Drive website?
https://public.rcas.org/el/cd/Pages/home.aspx Link to Teacher Site: Dave Sisson then use the menu bar on the left to link to First Grade or go directly to: https://public.rcas.org/el/cd/teachersites/sissodav/Pages/FirstGrade.aspx Mr. Sisson has created links that support learning as prescribed by the South Dakota state standards and our lessons in First Grade. The paw print on a link indicates a lesson that the students have worked on while in the computer lab. Check it out!!

(image courtesy of Hungary Year of Festivals 2010)

Autumn Party!!!

We are in disguise!!! Happy Halloween!

Now on to some November News!
November Word Wall List:
Week of Oct. 31 very, come, had, they
Week of Nov. 7 you, friend, we, us
Week of Nov. 14  your, if, them, thing
Week of Nov. 21  Review week of all word wall words
Week of Nov. 28  here, him, her, his, as

In reading groups, we are focusing on the use of multiple strategies to help us decode those tricky words when we are reading.  We will introduce the strategy of; Does that make sense.  When reading students are learning to stop and think about what they have just read...if it does not make sense they should reread and fix and words that they miscued.  Also, this is a great comprehension strategy to help students really think about the meaning of the story.

In Mathematics,  we continue in our unit of Making Shapes and Designing Quilts.  More resources for your Homework Activities pack will be coming home soon! 

Have a great weekend and safe Trick-or-Treating with your First Grader!!!

T. Bear Day Pic

Our group picture on Teddy Bear Day; October 21, 2011

Getting Ready for the Class Party

We will have our Autumn class party on Friday, October 28 from 8:30-9:30 AM. Your child should wear his/her costume to school and then have their school clothes on under the costume or in their backpacks. We will change out of the costume after the party. Thanks to all the parents who are helping with the party! I am sure that we will have a wonderful time. Today was Teddybear Day in first grade. Students went to 3 different stations between the First Grade classrooms and Literacy. I hope to add some pictures of the Teddies this weekend. A Mathematics Thoughtful Problem to Solve: Please read this problem with your child and have them record their solution and HOW they solved the problem as a comment below. Every child that shares their thinking in the comment section can go to the treasure box on Monday when we will share this same problem in class. Please log on and record your child's thinking about the problem before Monday!!! *Sam had 5 balloons. Kim gave him 6 more. How many balloons does he have now? Solve the problem and explain the process that you used to figure out that 11 was the answer. Enter your thinking about this problem in the comment area below. Have a great weekend with your child!

A Short Week

Even though we've had just a 3 day week this week our learning continues. In the Daily 5/Reading Groups we are focusing on thinking about using multiple strategies as we read. You have noticed the little yellow strategy sheet in your child's Guided Reading baggy. Good readers use multiple strategies to decode tricky words. We have talked about and modeled the use of all these strategies. I encourage the students to adopt new strategies when reading. Next week students will be choosing one of these strategies to put into practice as they read independently or with a partner. In Mathematics we have just completed the first unit in Investigations. Our next unit is called: Making Shapes and Designing Quilts. The focus for this unit include seeing realtionships between different shapes, using shapes to fill in another shape without gaps or overlaps, counting sets of objects, finding the sum of multiple addends, using reapeated units to create a pattern and seeing how changing the unit affects the whole pattern. Please continue to play the games/activities that were previously sent home for Mathematics Homework. Have a great weekend with your child!

9 Peas and Carrots

We have been working together in Mathematics to solve problems when we put two groups or sets of numbers together to get a higher total. Now we are working on separtating a larger number into two smaller groups/sets. Todays problem was: I have 9 things on my plate. Some are peas and some are carrots.
The students worked to make several solutions to this problem as there can be many solutions to 9 Peas and Carrots. Ask your child to share the solutions they did to solve this problem.

October Treasures

W

This long weekend would be a perfect time for your child to take a 'Phonebook Walk; in your backyard. Please get out any phonebook and go outdoors to look for leaves and pine needles. Students then press their nature findings into the pages of the phonebook for several days. When nice and flat and dry, students can put the leaves/pine needles into the provided baggy and return to school by Friday, October 14^th. We will be using these treasures to investigate and sort in our science curriculum and to use for a future art project.

Next Week we will be introduced to more word wall words to learn to read automatically, spell and use in our writing. Here is our list for the month of October:

Week of Oct. 3—play, he, she, the

Week of October 10—to, at, because

Week of October 17—are, of, it, is

Week of October 24—and, for, from, went, get

Week of October 31—very, came, had, they

Have a great long weekend with your child and we will be back in school together on Wednesday October 12^th.

Word Wall Words

For the week of Oct. 3-7, we will work on these word wall words in our spelling, writing and with phonics word work activities: play, the, he, she. Thanks for practicing these words at home along with last week's words: am, can, will, with, favorite.

WE are Raz-Kids--Building Skills to be Independent Readers

Our class started using the Raz-Kids online program today on a trial basis. Your child can continue using this program at home.
www.raz-kids.com
Link to: Kids Start Here
teacher name is: gaadland
Child clicks on their name
Child's Password: their middle name If they had a two part middle name I just used the first part as the password.
The Raz-Kids program is used in the first grade classroom as one of the components of the Daily 5 Program. Students listen to a story at their independent reading level, read the same story themselves and then take a quiz covering comprehension of the story and also first grade literacy concepts. I encourage the students to listen and read each story 2-3 times before taking the quiz to work on reading fluency. The child can 'work' their way through the level by successfully reading stories and completing quizzes with accuracy. The first grade team has submitted a request for Corral Drive PTA funds to purchase the Raz-Kids program for use in all the First Grade classrooms. Please give it a try at home and comment or ask your questions below concerning Raz-Kids.
Have a great weekend with your child!

Mathematics Homework Folder

Last Friday, you noticed that your child brought home the Mathematics Homework binder. Please continue to play the games/activities in the folder on a regular basis. Throughout the school year the first graders will bring home more games/activities that are to be added to the binder. Continued practice of these games helps students to practice combining groups of numbers, count, add and develop mathematics concepts.

Enjoy our class group picture in shadows!!!

Guided Reading Groups

We have started regular Guided Reading Groups with all first graders. Your child has been bringing home a baggy with books at his/her Guided Reading instructional level of reading. Please have your child read to you each evening, sign the pink booklet and return to school the following day. In first grade we work on all facets of developing reading skills: decoding, decoding strategies, comprehension and reading fluency. You will notice that your child has the same book(s) more than once. Familiar books may come home from past lessons. Thanks for reading and rereading as this helps the child become a more independent reader in all reading skills. Ms. Jensen and Mrs. Walton are also taking some of the students from all first grade classrooms for Guided Reading groups! Ask your child who their Guided Reading teacher is.

First Grade Word Wall Words will be introduced at the beginning of each week: September 26: will, am, can, with, favorite. We will be using these words as a basis of word work activities, phonics lessons and handwritings lesson throughout the week. By the end of the school year your child will have a list of 110 word wall words to be able to read, spell and write. Thanks for reinforcing these words on a regular basis.

Some ideas for home practice include: 1. Make flash cards for each of the words. 2. Have your child practice writing these words on paper, keyboarding them or writing in pudding or on a salt tray. 3. Spell the words with magnetic letters. 4. Look for the words in text such as the guided reading books. 5. Make your own little dictionary and add the weekly words to the appropriate alphabet headings.

Next week's Tuesday Show and Share is: Student Choice. This is our last full class Show and Share as Student of the Week show and share starts soon. You will be informed by a note in the backpack when it is your child's turn for the upcoming week to be Student of the Week!

Have a Great Weekend with your child!

Learning our Routine

September 16, 2011

As we have worked together as a class these past 2 weeks a focus has been to learn our routine and follow the school rules.

Our Rules are: 1. Treat others with dignity and respect. 2. Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself. 3. Enter, exit and walk quietly throughout the building. 4. Use designated areas responsibly.

We have also begun working on the Daily 5(Independent Reading Skills Practice), Investigations for mathematics and a review of Kindergarten Word Wall Words. Your child is bringing home their first books for Guided Reading in their book baggy today. You will note the bright pink sign-off booklet, so that you can sign off each time your child reads. Please sign nightly, even if the books are the same from one day to the next. By reading and rereading familiar books students build their reading fluency and known word base.

We have two sessions of Tuesday Show and Share left on September 23 and 30. The theme for both days is: Student Choice.

Have a great weekend with your childJ

Gail Aadland

Fabulous First Students First Week of School

This was our small group week, culminating with the full group of 25 students on Friday. My focus this week has been to help your child feel confident and comfortable in the classroom setting.
In Literacy we worked on being independent readers of a new text by, 'Reading the Pictures". Stamina and I Can DO It Myself are two phrases you may hear your child saying. We will be working to read independently as we build our stamina for longer periods of times each day. Students learned the habits of eyes in book, brain is thinking about the story and lips are quiet. We also focused on staying in our own reading area.

We are writers of our own lives during Writer's Workshop. We have drawn a picture of a breakfast we enjoyed and today did some writing by labeling or adding a sentence to the picture.

In Mathematics we are having some exploration time to experience a variety of the mathematics materials we will use throughout the school year.

As we begin to build routines and follow rules, we are learning more and more about what is expected of a first grader.

Have a great Labor Day weekend with your child! See everyone back on Tuesday, September 6th.

Meet the Teacher Night

Tonight we had a great opportunity to get together as students, parents and teacher! I enjoyed meeting the students and their families! Know that together we are a TEAM to enhance the learning of all students! Please read through your Friday Folder materials and return the folders on your child's small group day. I am looking forward to seeing all students next week for their small group day and then the full group on Friday, September 2nd. See you then!