Monday, September 28, 2015

Week 5


Hello again, families!

Here’s what our CA first graders are learning in week 6:

Reading: This week we are learning about circular stories. These stories follow a circular pattern where they begin the same and end the same. Students will be reading The Napping House and One Dog Canoe while completing activities to demonstrate the circular structure of the story. 

Phonics: We will begin to learn about blends this week. Blends are two (or sometimes three) consonants put together at the beginning or end of a word. For example, in the word truck, tr is the beginning blend. In the word fold, ld would be the ending blend. Students will be practicing identifying blends in words, as well as reading and spelling them. 

Writing: Students are continuing to work on their small moments pieces. They are bringing their characters to life by making them move, speak and feel. Students will also begin to edit their writing by using punctuation marks and capital letters in their sentences, as well as using a rubric. We will also look at some mentor stories to gain ideas to add into our own stories. In addition to our writers workshop, we also have began practicing our handwriting skills.

Math: After learning about fact families and how addition/subtraction are related, first graders will be finding a missing part of an addition or subtraction problem. For instance, 7 + __ = 10 or ___- 5 = 6. We will also be adding three numbers, such as 2 + 3 + 5 = ____.

IXL: If you would like to use IXL at home, we recommend these sections for practice this week:
  • Counting and Number Patterns (Section A)
  • Addition (Section B)
  • Subtraction (Section D)
  • Mixed Operations (Section F)
Core Knowledge: We are continuing our first science unit of the year, The Human Body. Students have learned about the body's systems including, the muscular system, skeletal system, circulatory system, nervous system and digestive system. This week students will learn about how to keep their bodies healthy by exercising and eating healthy. 

Core Virtue: October's core virtues are Honestytelling and saying what is trueand Integritydoing what is right even when no one is looking.  

Monday, September 21, 2015

Week 4

Hello families!

Here’s what our CA first graders are learning this week:

Reading: Once again this week, we are reading books about classroom community and discussing character, setting, and plot. Our read-aloud books include How Full Is Your Bucket, How Do Dinosaurs Go To School, The Recess Queen, Chester’s Way, Officer Buckle and Gloria, Ira Sleeps Over, Ira Says Goodbye, and The Rainbow Fish. 

Phonics: This week, we are continuing our study of beginning and ending sounds of words.  We will also learn about the "onset" and "rime" of words. Ex: in the word "stand," st- is the onset and -and is the rime.  Chunking words this way helps the children to build word solving skills when reading and writing. 

Writing: In the second week of writers' workshop, first grade is continuing with writing "small moments" -- stories that zero in on a specific incident that has happened in the children's lives. We are working on learning to add detail and ask questions about one another's writing.  We will also learn this week to help characters in our stories come to life by making them "move" and "speak" in our stories. 

Math: Building off of our addition lessons from the last 2 weeks, we are learning about number bonds and subtraction facts to 12. Students were introduced to number bonds in kindergarten, and we will review part-part-whole concepts together as a class. Number bonds are simply one strategy that students can use to subtract. We will also use number lines, counting back, partners of 10, and pictures to solve subtraction problems this week and in the weeks ahead.

IXL: If you would like to use IXL at home, we recommend these sections for practice this week:
  • Counting and Number Patterns (Section A)
  • Addition (Section B)
  • Subtraction (Section D)
Core Knowledge: We have begun our first science unit of the year: the Human Body.  Students will be learning about basic body systems including the nervous, circulatory, digestive, and skeletal systems.  We will also be learning about how to take care of our bodies and preventing disease.  

Core Virtue: September’s core virtues are Respecttreating others with high regardand Responsibilitydoing your part for others and your community.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Week 3

Hello families!

Here’s what our CA first graders are learning this week:

Reading: Once again this week, we are reading books about classroom community and discussing character, setting, and plot. Our read-aloud books include How Full Is Your Bucket, How Do Dinosaurs Go To School, The Recess Queen, Chester’s Way, and Officer Buckle and Gloria.
Phonics: This week in phonics, we are learning about syllables, as well as how to hear and change beginning and ending sounds in words.

Writing: Monday marks the beginning of our Writers' Workshop for first grade! We begin with writing "small moments" -- stories that zero in on a specific incident that has happened in the children's lives. They write their own 3 page books right from the first day, and this is very exciting for the students. We are on our way to becoming great writers!

Math: This week, we are learning about number bonds and addition facts to 12. Students were introduced to number bonds in kindergarten, and we will review part-part-whole concepts together as a class. Number bonds are simply one strategy that students can use to add. We will also use number lines, counting on, partners of 10, and pictures to solve addition problems this week and in the weeks ahead.
IXL: If you would like to use IXL at home, we recommend these sections for practice this week:
  • Counting and Number Patterns (Section A)
  • Addition (Section B)
Core Knowledge: Our first unit in Core Knowledge is Fables. We are studying fables from different cultural backgrounds: stories from Aesop’s Fables, Anansi, and Brer Rabbit. The children learn that fables are the oldest form of literature, passed down through the generations, and they teach a moral or lesson.

Core Virtue: September’s core virtues are Respecttreating others with high regardand Responsibilitydoing your part for others and your community.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Week 2

Hello families!

Here’s what our CA first graders are learning this week:

Reading: This week, we are reading books about classroom community and discussing character, setting, and plot.  Our read-aloud books include How Full Is Your Bucket, How Do Dinosaurs Go To School, The Recess Queen, Chester’s Way, and Officer Buckle and Gloria. 

Phonics: In the first two weeks, we are reviewing kindergarten phonics concepts, including letter sounds, short vowels, and rhyming. 

Writing: Our students have done several writing samples in the first days of school.  One of the more fun projects had the students telling about their “tee-rific” summer activities, in which they also got to design a souvenir t-shirt to showcase their summer adventures. 

Math: In the first two weeks, we are reviewing kindergarten math concepts such as addition strategies, numbers to 31, shapes, patterns, and number bonds.

Core Knowledge: Our first unit in Core Knowledge is Fables.  We are studying fables from different cultural backgrounds: stories from Aesop’s Fables, Anansi, and Brer Rabbit. 

Core Virtue: September’s core virtues are Respecttreating others with high regardand Responsibilitydoing your part for others and your community.