Upcoming Events

As a classroom incentive for positive behavior our 1st graders brainstorm rewards that they would like to earn, and we vote on one to spell.  At any point throughout the day when the whole class is doing an exceptional job, they will earn a letter toward their reward.  So far this year we have earned a C-L-A-S-S  P-E-T and an I-C-E  C-R-E-A-M party.  This past Friday we earned a S-T-U-F-F-E-D  A-N-I-M-A-L day where the children were able to bring in a buddy to spend the day with them!  We'll see what reward the children come up with to earn next. 

This week will be a fun week for the children as we celebrate President's Day, Valentine's Day, and our 100th Day of School!  Don't forget the following:

Wednesday: 100th Day of School - Dress up like you are 100 years old!

Friday: Valentine's Day - Bring in valentines for classmates. 

Fact Power

What is "Fact Power?"  Fact Power is the term we use to relay to our first graders the importance of beginning to know simple addition facts quickly and effortlessly without the use of a number grid or counters.  Similarly to reading a text multipe times to increase fluency, we need to practice our simple addition facts to increase our speed and accuracy.  Currently we are working on +0 and +1 facts.  In addition, we are working on sums of 10 (6+4, 3+7, etc.) and doubles facts (3+3, 5+5, etc.). 

Consider utilizing some of the following resources to engage your 1st grader in some fun addition practice!  Xtra Math is an online resource that we utilize in the classroom for addition practice, which may also be utilized at home.  A set of flashcards with the above mentioned facts was also sent home as a form of extra practice.  In addition, below are two new math games that you may play with your child at home to increase their "Fact Power." 

Shaker Addition Top-It -

All you need for this game is two dice.  One player rolls the two dice and adds up the total of both dice to find the sum.  The second player follows suit and rolls the two dice to find the sum.  Whichever player has the higher sum receives a point.  The winner is the player with the most points at the conclusion of the game.  Need a challenge?  Use three dice to practice adding three addends OR program dice to have digits larger than six.

Addition Top-It -

A deck of playing cards is the only material necessary for this game.  Before playing remove the face cards.  Deal out all numerical cards evenly amongst players.  Play is similar to the traditional game of war - Each player turns over two cards and adds the numbers to find the sum.  The player with the highest sum takes all cards.  The winner is the player with the most cards a the conclusion of the game. 

Happy Adding!

Procedural Writing

We are crazy about nonfiction writing in 1st grade!  Our friends are writing a variety of informational pieces throughout the months of January and February.  We are learning how to write with the purpose of informing our readers.  Last week we took a look at cookbooks, craft books, experiment guides, and toy assembly pamphlets.  What do all of these texts have in common?  They have steps/directions!  How could we possibly learn how to make that coveted starburst bracelet on a rainbow loom or build that dream dollhouse out of legos without the directions?  Our friends determined that a large feature of directions are transition or order words such as first, next, then, finally, etc.  We practiced this skill by generating and sequencing directions for how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, how to make your bed, how to blow a bubble, etc.  

Our recent snow days came at the perfect time as our first independent piece was how to build a snowman.  You can stop by the back hallway to see our projects currently on display.  Finally, each child created their own book of directions of their choosing.  Topics ranged from how to throw a football to how to draw a star.  Ask your child what topic they chose for their direction booklet.  These books will be saved for our end-of-year portfolio.  

Next up - Animal Research Reports!  

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our first grade family to yours!

I am so blessed to have the opportunity to work with these smiling faces each day!

Questioning

Allow us to introduce you to Quincy the Questioner - a game show host that is constantly asking questions with his microphone!

First grade added a new comprehension strategy, QUESTIONING, to their repertoires before Thanksgiving break.  We now know that readers ask questions, before, during, and after reading.  We ask questions before reading to preview and predict by accessing our schema.  In first grade we know the expensive word schema as the little file in our brain where all of our prior experiences and knowledge is stored.  [Go ahead and try asking your first grader what the word schema is - I bet they surprise you!]  We continue to ask questions during our reading, to not just read, but dig deeper into our understanding.  And finally, we ask even more questions after we finish the text because we may (and almost always) still have some unanswered thoughts or wonderings. 

Take a look at our little questioners using their microphones to ask questions while reading a biography about Dr. Suess:

Ask your child who Quincy the Questioner is, and encourage them to ask questions while reading at home!  You can model this strategy by using who, what, where, when, why, and I wonder statements.

1st Grade Meteorologists

Our weather unit is up and running in first grade! Throughout this unit we will discuss the tools meteorologists use to measure, forecast, and report the weather. We will also conduct a variety of experiments for a hands-on approach. 

Wind speed was our focal point last week. We discussed that wind itself is invisible, so we must use our environment to determine the severity of the wind. Therefore, to informally measure the wind speed we utilized a numerical scale: 0-no wind, 1-some wind, and 2-strong wind. Our first graders created flags as tools to measure the wind speed, and we ventured outside to see the effects the wind had on our flags. 

On this particular day we came to a consensus that that the wind was at a level 1-some wind, with some level 2 gusts on occasion. We confirmed our observations by looking on weather.com to see the specific wind speed for Quakertown. 

Talk with your first grader about the varying experiments we will conduct over the next month and a half. Consider having your child look on weather.com, a comparable weather app, or the local news forecast each day to gain an understanding of how the temperature changes daily and the implications these temperatures have on our clothing choices. 

After Thanksgiving break we will create rain gauges and determine the best fabric to wear on a rainy day. 

Reading Resource

Raz-Kids is a wonderful reading resource to utilize at home with your 1st grader.  The children may listen to books, read books on their own, and then reflect on their understanding of the texts.  The texts presented are on your child's current personalized reading level.  Be sure to check out this resource by using the following link:

http://www.raz-kids.com/main/Login

o   Login

o   Teacher Username: kburrowsg

o   Have your child find his or her name

Don't forget - These books may also be used to log your child's reading each night! 

In addition, our class will be attending the book fair this coming Monday.  If you would like your child to purchase any books please send in their money in a labeled envelope.

Have a great weekend!