We really made a splash in first grade this week!
Valentine’s Day Fun! |
-We started off the week with a special Valentine’s Day party! Thank you to Mrs. Maritato, Ms. Pittman, Mr. and Mrs. Spezialetti, Mrs. Longwell, Mrs. Polster, and Mrs. Jafarace for organizing a lovely class celebration. We all had fun participating in crafts, decorating our Valentine’s Day boxes, playing games, and spending time with our friends! I especially love my sweet book titled, We Love Mrs. Swisher. Thank you for your kind words. I will cherish this book forever! Here is a video highlighting our celebration:Language Arts |
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| Nishu has fun writing his story! |
-This week in Language Arts, we had a fabulous time reading nonfiction stories as we learned how kids across the world have fun! Kids enjoy jumping rope, playing games with balls and bats, finding things under water, and more! The students used a Venn diagram graphic organizer to compare and contrast the ways in which children around the world have fun. We also shared personal stories and wrote books about the many ways in which we have fun!
First graders have fun reading to self and reading to someone!
*BONUS CHALLENGE*: Use a Venn Diagram to compare two of your favorite characters. Tell how the characters are alike and different. Turn in to Mrs. Swisher by Monday, February 27th. |
Click here for reading extra practice: |
Spelling |
-In Spelling, the students were introduced to 3-letter blends (spl-, str-, scr-). They practiced reading and writing words with 3-letter blends in various ways throughout the week, including dry erase practice, stamping words, oral practice, and paper and pencil writing. The students made a splash, as they played a new game called, Whale Done Spelling! Check it out! 
For more 3-letter blend spelling practice, click on the following links: |
Grammar |
-Our Grammar lessons focused on identifying and using contractions. A contraction is a shortened form of one or two words. In a contraction, an apostrophe takes the place of the missing letter or letters. For example, can’t (cannot), didn’t (did not) and shouldn’t (should not). We played a fun contraction game, called Gone Fishing, to reinforce the skill.For more fun with contractions, check out the following links: |
Math |
-In Math, we began Chapter 12, Number Patterns. The students practiced counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s. We have been using a Hundreds Chart to assist in skip counting and recognizing number patterns. We are able to start at any given number and count on or back by 10’s. The children also enjoyed using seashells as manipulatives to practice grouping items and skip counting. Next week will explore even and odd numbers and ordinal numbers. 
For additional math practice, check out the following sites: Use a Hundred Chart to count: http://www.eharcourtschool.com/ma/math04/se/media/activities/intervention/lesson.html?g_iGrade=0&g_iChapter=7&g_iLesson=1&g_iProduct=5&g_iSection=7&strUserID=st1 Count by 2’s: http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/connect_the_dots/ Count by 5’s and 10’s: http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/connect_by_5/ |
Whale Done! |
-The Moon Area School District is incorporating the use of a strategy called “Whale Done!” to continue to build positive relationships district-wide. “Whale Done!” is based on the book, Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships, which emphasizes proper responses to behavior, used by whale trainers at Sea World. “You can’t get a 12,000 pound Killer Whale to jump 30 feet in the air by screaming at it!"You may want to try these Whale Done! strategies at home too! *Praise immediately *Share your positive feelings about what they did *Encourage them to keep up the good work *Be specific about what someone did right or almost right *Redirect the energy when a mistake occurs |
Ask your child to demonstrate the “Whale Done Wave”! On Friday, during our class meeting, the students were honored by Mrs. Swisher for a job Whale Done! Each student received an award and a whale eraser for their excellent performance in class. I am so proud of the first graders continuous effort! Keep up the wonderful Whale Done work!
Whale Done awards can be given throughout the remainder of the school year for any particular reason! For example, if a child is caught following directions, worked very hard to achieve a specific goal, put forth extra effort to complete a task, etc. It is our goal to build confidence by recognizing the positive efforts made by students and staff.During our weekly class meetings, we will be recognizing positive behaviors by reading our “Whale Done Notes”. Parents are welcome to send in a “Whale Done Note” or award to recognize students and staff for a job Whale Done! Whale Done! awards can be found in a folder (titled “Whale Done”) on our class Edline page (http://www.edline.net/), on the top right corner under “Contents”.
Thank you for your continued support! Have a Whale Done Week!
