Weekly Update ~ October 30th

Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention program reaching millions of Americans during the last week of October every year.  Thank you to all who participated in our Red Ribbon week activities throughout the week.  The children enjoyed dressing up each day while raising awareness and pledging to be drug free.  For more information on drug abuse resistance education and kid-friendly activities, visit the D.A.R.E. website:  http://www.dare-america.com/kids/index_3.htm

As part of our Red Ribbon Week activities, the PTC hosted a special safety assembly which featured a video presentation of The Safe Side.  The video included an “interesting and engaging blend of zany characters, humorous situations, and serious safety messages”.  Ask your child to tell you 3 important tips they learned from Safe Side Superchick.  For more information visit the Safe Side website: http://www.thesafeside.com/

Accelerated Reader (AR) 

This week, the students were assigned to read an AR book for homework.  Throughout the school year, students are encouraged to read books from the Accelerated Reader list.  An Accelerated Reader book list can be found online at www.arbookfind.com.  Once your child reads the book he/she can take a basic comprehension test on the book to earn AR points.  (Mrs. Swisher recommends reading the book at least 3 times before taking an AR test, as tests can only be taken one time on each book.  Chapter books only need to be read once, but you may want to review the book prior to taking the test.)  Most books are worth 0.5 points.  The goal for first graders is to earn 25 AR points by the end of May. 

In Language Arts, we continued writing detailed sentences about pets in our journals.  The students also began editing their own writing by checking for capital letters and proper end marks.  Additionally, we reviewed the skill of plot, and sequencing events from beginning, middle, and end.  Finally, the student reviewed the 3 types of sentences, statement, question, and exclamation. 

In Math, we completed chapter 4, Subtraction.  We will begin chapter 5, Addition Strategies next week.  Check out this link for some helpful addition strategies. 

Click this link to play Ghostblaster II, a spooky addition game!
http://resources.oswego.org/games/ghostblasters2/gb2nores.html

Click here to practice sequencing numbers
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/spookyseq/spookyseq1.html

Addition Surprise!
http://www.hbschool.com/activity/add/add.html

Math Magician
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/mathsadd.html

We also finished our Weather and Seasons unit in science.  Your child should be able to identify the 4 seasons, winter, spring, summer, and autumn/fall.

Practice identifying the 4 seasons here:  http://www.playkidsgames.com/games/seasons/seasons.htm

Practice reading a thermometer here:  http://www.ixl.com/math/grade-1/read-a-thermometer


On Monday afternoon, we will have our Fall Celebration!  The children will take part in a fall craft and activities, fall reading, and enjoy a snack.  The children will NOT be dressing in costumes for the celebration.  There will be no homework on Monday, as it is Moon Trick-or-Treat night.  Have fun and be safe! 

Weekly Update ~ October 21st

-On Monday, students from Robert Morris University presented Junior Achievement lessons to our students.  The first graders participated in a unit called, Our Families.  The lessons which were taught mirrored our social studies curriculum, focusing on families, jobs, needs and wants, and map keys and symbols.  The children thoroughly enjoyed the engaging, hands-on activities Miss Casey and Miss Erika led throughout the school day.

Do you want to learn more about Junior Achievement?        http://www.ja.org/about/about.shtml

-On Tuesday, all parents and guardians were invited to join us for our storybook pumpkin character share.  We hope that you enjoyed your time in the classroom!  The link for the pumpkin video is attached below.  The children were very excited about the project, and quickly became familiar with many storybook characters! 

-On Thursday, we had a visitor, Mrs. Brecosky, Curriculum and Reading Coordinator from the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.  Mrs. Brecosky is a leader of the AIU Reading Achievement Center, and is working with Moon Area School District teachers on research-based reading instruction theories and practices.  Mrs. Brecosky modeled various word building activities, which we will continue to practice in our classroom throughout the school year. 

-On Friday, the students participated in the McCormick Jog-a-thon, which was organized by the PTC.  The children ran laps and participated in wellness activities at different stations in the gym.  Afterwards, we enjoyed a healthy snack!  Thank you to all involved in this wonderful fundraiser.  Because of you, McCormick is an awesome place to teach and learn! 

-The students also filled our “jar of warm fuzzies”, earning a classroom celebration!  As part of our celebration, we played educational games such as Alphabet and Sight Word Bingo, Pop for Sight Words, Word Detectives, and word building games.  We also joined our first grade friends in Mrs. Myers’ class for a Magic School Bus video and a treat!  I am so proud of the students’ excellent behavior these first two months of school!  Keep up the excellent behavior! 

-In math, we continued to work on subtraction.  The students practiced taking apart the numbers 7 and 8, and 9 and 10.  At this stage, some students still need manipulatives to help visualize the “taking away” subtraction strategy.  If your child is experiencing difficulty completing math problems independently, you may want to try using pennies, cereal, m&m’s, buttons, etc. when completing math homework.  Please continue to work on math facts each night! 

-Our spelling unit focused on blends this week.  We introduced the following blends:  cl-, pl-, fl-, bl-. 

-In reading, we read and discussed fantasy stories.  Our main selection story, Flip, made us wish we had a pet dinosaur too!  We discussed plot this week, and practiced sequencing events from beginning, middle, and end.   When you read with your child, have them practice retelling the main events of the story. 

-Our grammar lessons were focused on types of sentences this week.  We have been learning about questions, statements, and exclamations, and practice reading each with the proper voice.  Ask your child to read and identify the following sentences:

I have a pet dog.

My dog is very fast!

Do you have a pet, too?

Now challenge your child to correct the following sentences by adding capital letters and the correct punctuation.

is the cat little

my big cat is black and white

look at that fast cat

what is your favorite color

we have a blue leash for the dog

he loves to run outside in the grass

-Because of the many special events and visitors we had this week, we will NOT move on to a new story in our reading book or receive a new spelling list during the upcoming short week.  We will continue to review Unit 1 Lesson 4 skills. 

REMINDER: 

Monday- NO SCHOOL!  Please arrive to your scheduled parent-teacher conference on time.

Tuesday-  Red Day

Wednesday- Favorite Team Shirt Day

Thursday- Slipper Day

Friday-  McCormick Rocks Bully Free T-shirt Day!

*Thank you to those who have donated backpacks and school supplies for the West Hills Food Pantry.  Our school district has already donated over 190 backpacks! 

Storybook Pumpkin Characters Literacy Project Video

Weekly Update ~ October 15th

It’s been another busy week in room 136! 

-We began the week with a Fire Safety program provided by the Moon Township Fire Department.  The children learned the purpose of a fire alarm and smoke detector.  We also discussed the importance of establishing a quick evacuation plan.  We reviewed the “stop, drop, cover your face, and roll” routine. Finally, we toured the fire engine, and Mrs. Swisher got to try on a fire suit and gear! 

 * Learn more about Fire Safety at the following two websites:
 http://www.firesafetyforkids.org/index.html
 http://www.sparky.org/#/Sparky


-On Monday, we read about and discussed Christopher Columbus, and we learned a few songs and poems to help us remember, “Columbus sailed the ocean blue, in 1492.”

-In Spelling, we have been working on short i word families.  The children have sorted and spelled short i words, and used them in sentences.  We also played a really fun game called Cut-Up Sentences!  (Write a sentence on a strip of paper.  Cut the sentence into word pieces.  Have your child rebuild the sentence!)   

Short i Review:
Starfall Short i
Chicken Stacker

-In Reading, we read a nonfiction text, Time For Kids: How You Grew.  We talked about the importance of pictures and captions in a nonfiction selection.  The children enjoyed writing about what big kids can do!  Visit Treasures online for more extension activities:

-Our grammar lessons this week focused on writing complete sentences that tell something.  These are called Statements.  The children developed 3 statements to describe their favorite Halloween costume.  Be sure to check out our writing in the hallway on parent –teacher conference day (Monday, October 24^th)!

- In Math, we completed Chapter 3, Subtraction Concepts.  We began Chapter 4, Using Subtraction.  Please continue to practice your math facts each night.  You may want to try this fun link:

http://www.ixl.com/math/grade-1/subtracting-with-pictures-numbers-up-to-10

-We also began our Weather Unit, as we discussed temperature, seasons, and weather words.  The following links offer fun weather related activities for kids!

Weather Whiz Kids

Weather Channel Kids

*If you have not done so already, please be sure to let me know if you are able to join us for our Storybook Pumpkin Share on Tuesday, October 18^th from 2:30-3:00 pm.  We look forward to sharing our hard work with you!

-On a personal note, my Lasik eye surgery was a success!  I am able to see very clearly now.  My eyes did bruise a lot, so please do not be alarmed when you see me. 

Our Exciting Week Video Clip

October 7th - Weekly Update

Wow! What a busy week we have had in first grade!

-We started off our week with our first Lunch Buddies with the teacher! Thank you for the awesome behavior throughout the month of September!
*All students have the opportunity to earn lunch with the teacher each month! All you need to do is demonstrate excellent behavior by following our classroom rules, and stay in the “green” each day for the entire month.

-In math, we began Chapter 3, Subtraction. We had fun creating Spooky Subtraction problems on the computer with the Kid Pix program. We also used seashells and the “Act it Out” strategy to complete subtraction story problems. Who new math could be so much fun?

-In reading, we introduced our Author of the Month, Eric Carle. We read “From Head to Toe”, and took our first Accelerated Reader test together! We continued to focus on short a words, as we read and acted out our main selection story, “I Can, Too!”

How cool! Eric Carle has his own blog too!

Click here to see the official Eric Carle website.
Do you want to hear Eric Carle read "From Head to Toe"? Click here!

*Do you think Eric Carle did a good job reading his book?  Why or why not?
*What would you ask Eric Carle if you met him?
*Why do you think kids love Eric Carle books?

-We also took our first social studies test this week! The students really enjoyed discussing rules, special groups, and families throughout the unit.

-Finally, we worked with our 5th grade reading buddies to complete our pumpkin storybook characters. Check out our first stage of the project. Do you recognize any of these characters?

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Fun: Home Depot Kids Workshop

Some of you may be interested in this.  Once a month Home Depot offers this free Kids Workshop.  The Home Depot Staff teaches the children the importance of tool safety and do-it-yourself skills while they complete an interactive activity.  My kids love it!  Click here for more information. 
http://ext.homedepot.com/community/blog/free-home-depot-kids-workshop-first-saturday-month/

October 1, 2011- Weekly Update

It was a busy week in our classroom!

• We practiced reading and writing with an emphasis on the short a sound and had our first chance to explore our reading anthology. We introduced the kids to http://www.starfall.com/, which is a terrific resource for kids, parents, and teachers. 
• I assessed students on foundational reading skills using the DIBELS assessment this week. This will help me to target specific instructional skills for each learner in our classroom.
• In math, we used models to solve addition problems. We drew some models and we used pennies for manipulatives. Some students no longer need to use models for their basic facts, but creating models is an important skill to develop as we continue to learn and study problemsolving skills and explaining our math strategies. 
• We had our first spelling tests this week! 
• School pictures were taken on Thursday. The boys and girls looked wonderful! 
• McCormick's Olweus Bully-Free Program Kick-Off took place on Friday. This included watching our We Will, We Will Rock You video created by students and staff, rock painting, a review of bully-free rules, creation of a school-wide rock garden, eating Eat 'n Park cookies, and a rock concert by Moon graduate/country singer Sarah Marince. What a day!

• Finally, we met our fifth grade buddies on Friday! The kids were thrilled to read Halloween books together!
• Monday is a Day 5. Don't forget your sneakers for gym class!

October 1, 2011

Can you believe it is already October?! I'm beginning this blog as a way to communicate between the classroom and home on a more regular basis. Hopefully, I'll be able to share class pictures, projects, and updates with you along the way, in place of our class newsletter. You will be able to log in from anywhere to see what is occurring in your favorite first graders classroom! Any thoughts or feedback along the way would be appreciated.