Reading with a Twist

Yesterday we combated another dreary day with a 1st grade favorite - Rainy Day Reading.  We turned off all the lights and used the dark skies to our advantage to read A Cupcake Party with flashlights.  Let's just say our kiddos were THRILLED and are now looking forward to more rainy days.  

Then, in the afternoon we had some high school friends from the Key Club come visit and read us holiday stories.  It was a great way to kick off the holiday season by listening to some winter favorites while enjoying candy canes.  

Two reminders for the coming week:

1.  Holiday book orders are due tomorrow (Friday). 

2.  Little Shoppers Shop is Wednesday.  If you would like your child to purchase any gifts please send in the list of people he or she should buy for and $1 for each item.

Halloween Fun

This week we are putting our phonics and comprehension skills to the test with a Halloween twist.  We're taking all that we've learned through Unit One in Journeys Reading and using our strategies with Halloween-themed picture books.  

On Monday we read There was an Old Woman who Swallowed a Bat.  We sequenced the events and practiced retelling the story.  Your 1st grader came home with their own old woman who swallowed a bat pieces.  Have your child practice retelling the story to you using their props.  We paired this text with a similar text entitled There Was an Old Martian who Swallowed the Moon.  We noticed the rhyme and repetition.  And overall, loved the silliness of both fiction books!

On Tuesday we learned all about BATS!  We read two nonfiction books about bats to gather as much information as we could.  We then labeled our large inflatable bat since we noticed that authors use diagrams and labels to give us more information.  We wrote at least three new facts that we learned and created a bat from our own handprints.  We paired the nonfiction with a familiar fictional text, Stellaluna, to wrap up the day.  

Today we focused on pumpkins.  We read a shared text called From Seed to Pumpkin.  This book informed us about pumpkins and their life cycles.  We created our own pumpkin life cycle craft to show that a life cycle continuously repeats.  Have your 1st grader use their craft to talk about the life cycle of a pumpkin.  We also did a mini-lesson on adjectives and learned that adjectives are describing words.  We had some brave souls stick their hands into the gooey pulp of the pumpkin to come up with adjectives that can enhance our writing.  We finished our day by labeling the parts of the pumpkin and creating our own diagram.

Tomorrow's agenda is chock full of SPIDERS.  And on Friday we'll switch back to fiction to read and respond to the beloved Where the Wild Things Are.

Our 1st graders are loving all the activities this week and are looking forward to our QE Halloween Parade on Friday!  We hope to see you at 2PM on Friday to watch our parade!

My Math

Across the district we are piloting two new math programs this year.  First grade at QE is piloting the My Math program. One of the highlights of this program is entire units dedicated to a concept in order to ensure complete student understanding. Students are given many opportunities to practice and engage with manipulatives through a hands-on approach. 

We have recently completed our first unit on addition concepts.  The children have developed a strong foundation for addition that we will continue to build on throughout the year.  At this time in the year our children should be able to add fluently within 10. 

As we work through chapter two we will follow a similar sequence to learn about subtraction concepts. The following concepts will be taught:

1. Subtraction number stories
2. Subtracting 0 and all
3. Vertical subtraction
4. Drawing a diagram to problem solve
5. Comparing groups
6. Subtracting from 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10
7. Relating addition and subtraction
8. True and false statements  

How can you help your child at home?

• Work with your child on their homework each night.  The math homework follows exactly what is taught in class each day.
• Log into ConnectED for online student games that reinforce daily concepts. (ConnectED login information was sent home at Parent Night and can be found on our classroom website.)
• Reinforce the skills each night through homework. ConnectED also has homework help, videos, and a copy of the student journal to illustrate what was completed in class. 
• Use the unit letter that includes a game, vocabulary words, and additional resources at the start of each unit. 
• Log onto Reflex Math at home to build fact fluency. (Reflex login information was sent home at Parent Night and can be found on our classroom website.)

Fire Safety

The Quakertown Fire Department helped us learn about fire safety last week by coming to QE and speaking with Kindergarten through second grade. The firefighters put on their equipment and illustrated what it sounds like while breathing through an air tank to ensure we don't get scared should an emergency arise. We also got to look through the fire trucks and learn about all the tools that may be used to fight a fire. 

As we conclude our unit on communities and community helpers we will also be having a visit from a police officer. We will then be completing a project to describe what we would like to be when we grow up. Talk with your child about what they would like to be when they grow up and encourage them to use details to explain their reasoning. Our finished projects will be displayed in the hallway shortly!

Reading Strategies, Talents, and Handwriting Galore!

With almost two weeks under our belts in 1st grade we're ready to fully jump into the curriculum!  Throughout the week we continued to review prerequisite skills including number formation, counting, and beginning addition.  Stay tuned for an introduction to our new math curriculum next week.  

This week we read two big books: Jack's Talent and Back to School.  While reading we utilized our first reading strategy - Eagle Eye.  If we get stuck on a word we can use our PICTURE CLUE and beginning sound to determine the unknown word.  

After rereading Jack's Talent we used the repetitive text to create a shared writing piece of our own talents.  This will certainly come in handy when we're looking for classroom experts during our nonfiction writing unit later this year!  

Our First Grade Talents!

During the months of September and October first graders practice their handwriting through explicit letter formation.  This week we focused on our first batch of straight-line letters: L, I, and T.  Some friends earned the opportunity to write with special pencils because they were forming their letters beautifully!

Tomorrow will be our first Lunch Bunch of the year!  All children who have remained on green or higher for the past two weeks will get to enjoy their lunch in the classroom!

Welcome to 1st Grade!

Welcome 1st Grade Friends and Families!

We had a WONDERFUL first day of school!  Despite the heat we met new friends, became acclimated with our classroom and school, and practiced important routines and procedures!  You can check out a slideshow of first day pictures here:

1st Day Slideshow

Throughout the year I will utilize this blog to keep you informed of what goes on in the classroom.  I encourage you to submit your email address in the box to the right to receive an email each time the site is updated.

If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me -

Email: kriley@qcsd.org
Phone: 215-529-2438
Twitter: @KatieRileyQE

I look forward to getting to know you and your children this year!

Opinion Writing: Reviews

Throughout the marking period 1st grade has been working on opinion writing. You may recall your child bringing in a variety of items they collect in order to choose one item from their collection to award with the 'blue ribbon.' We have since moved into writing reviews.  The children chose a restaurant, movie, toy, etc. to review and have published their best piece.  All of the reviews are currently displayed outside the 1st grade classrooms.  

In order to give the children a clear audience and show them the purpose for writing reviews by illustrating how people read reviews to make informed decisions, we have displayed the reviews outside the 1st grade classrooms.  Teachers and students have been invited to read through the reviews and place a thumb underneath any review(s) they found helpful.  The children are LOVING that their writing is being constantly read and look forward to seeing who found their review helpful and any feedback that was left.  

The next time you read a review on Amazon or sift through reviews trying to find a new book or restaurant show your child to allow them to see that the writing they're doing in school has real world applications!  Also, when you are in the building or picking up your child from school have them bring you to the back hallway where the 1st grade classrooms are located to read you their review!  

Geometry and AMAZING Animals

Geometry

This week we began our unit on geometry.  We spent the week discussing plane shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, trapezoid, rhombus, and hexagon) and their attributes.  We made designs with our shapes and graphed how many of each shape we made, used pattern block templates to trace shapes, and played 'Make my Design' and 'Secret Shapes.'

You can play the 'Secret Shape' game with your child at home.  One player thinks of a secret shape and describes the characteristics of the shape to their partner.  The partner uses their knowledge of shapes to guess the secret shape.  Then players rotate.  Encourage your child to be specific in their clues and differentiate between the many 4-sided shapes by using amount of sides, corners, curved lines, straight lines, diagonal lines, equal sides, etc.  

Next week we will begin our study of polygons and 3D shapes.  The following 3D shapes will be taught: sphere, cylinder, cube, cone, pyramid, and rectangular prism.  I guarantee your child will come home singing THIS song at some point next week!

AMAZING Animals

Over the past two weeks we have focused on an informational text entitled Amazing Animals.  The book was brimming with facts about animals and focused on the special adaptations animals have to survive and grow in their environment.  For example, dolphins have tail flukes to allow them to swim faster.  And did you know a polar bear's fur is actually clear and only looks white due to the reflection of the sun?  Our 1st graders chose one animal that they felt had the most amazing adaptation to give an award to and support their opinion with facts.  

Consider going to the library and taking out a few nonfiction animal texts to discover more animal adaptations!  

Imagine Learning

Imagine Learning is a great new web-based resource I'd like to share with you just in time for another snow day tomorrow!

K-2 is currently piloting a web-based reading program called Imagine Learning.  Imagine Learning builds, reinforces, and allows students to practice reading skills such as phonics, decoding, fluency, comprehension, etc.  Each child has taken a "placement test" on the computer and the program has uniquely placed each 1st grader into their own self-paced program.  This program is especially great because each child's program is individualized and is catered toward their personal strengths and needs.  It reinforces skills through animated lessons and interactive games much like a video game or cartoon so the children are extremely engaged in the learning.  The children log onto Imagine Learning for about 20 minutes each day, and now we are able to offer access at home!

Desktop/Laptop

1.  Open up your preferred browser (Chrome, IE, Safari, etc.) and type the following IP address exactly as it appears into your address bar: 208.97.60.185

[No www or .com needed - Simply copy and paste the group of numbers with periods as it appears into your address bar and hit enter]

2.  Make sure your pop-ups are not being blocked.  

3.  You will be prompted to download the Unity Player.  Open and follow the steps on screen to download this application.

4.  If the webpage does not show the Imagine Learning login screen once the Unity Player has been downloaded then refresh the webpage.

5.  You will be prompted to allow the program to use your  microphone.  Hit allow.  

6.  Have your child type in their username and password.  Every child's username AND password is the first initial of their first name and their full last name i.e. kriley

iPad/Tablet

1.  Download the Imagine Learning app from the app store.

2.  Type the following IP address into the 'Engine Number' space: 208.97.60.185

3.  Have your child type in their username and password.  Every child's username AND password is the first initial of their first name and their full last name i.e. kriley

4.  You will be prompted to allow the program to use your microphone.  Hit allow.  

I have no guarantees on how long we will have this program since it's technically a pilot program, but in the meantime let's make use of this great resource!  Set aside some time after playing in the snow tomorrow to log onto Imagine Learning!  

Have a safe day off!

Fact Power

Can you believe we are halfway through the year?  Our children have been hard at work mastering their math facts in preparation for 2nd grade.    At this time 1st graders should have their +/-0, +/-1, and sums of 10 facts (6+4, 3+7, etc.) secure.  This week we begin working on doubles facts.  

*If you'd like a head start in mastering doubles these two videos are great resources for learning through music: Doubles 1-5 and Doubles 6-10*

Here are two ways you can continue to support your child in learning their math facts at home:

A few weeks ago a FACT POWER informational packet was sent home including flashcards with simple addition facts.  This may be used at home to encourage automaticity.  

In addition, at conferences in the fall I spoke about a new program called Reflex Math that we were beginning to use to support good math fact habits.  The children have grown to love this program because of it's games and animation.  You most likely have seen your child bring home an award certificate indicating their fluency from this program as well.  This resource can be used at home by downloading the Reflex Math application for any iPad or tablet, or going to www.reflexmath.com.  The username is kburrows, and students login by clicking on their name and putting in their password, which is their lunch ID/student number.  If you need an additional paper listing your child's password feel free to email me!

Literacy Night

Come join me and many other teachers on February 23rd for a fun-filled night at QE!

We will be holding an event to promote family conversation, build vocabulary, and improve comprehension.  Literacy Night will take place on Monday, February 23rd from 6PM-7:30PM (snowdate - Tuesday).  You and your child will make crafts, enjoy food and conversation, and rotate through stations throughout the evening.  

Highlights of the evening include:

• Dinner and dessert provided for free!
• A Barnes and Noble Nook will be raffled off to one participant.
• Free childcare for preschool age children.

Another form reiterating this information will be sent home with your child this evening so that RSVP's can be collected by the end of this week!

We hope to see you there!

100th Day Ideas

Need some costume ideas for the 100th Day on Wednesday?  

Girls: Glasses, canes, pearls, skirts, dresses, heels, wigs or gray hairspray
Boys:  glasses, canes, suits, suspenders, wigs or gray hairspray

Here's a quick glimpse into our 100th Day last year for some additional inspiration!  

We can't wait to see those 100-year old 1st graders on Wednesday!