First Grade News

Curriculum Highlights

November 5, 2012

Math money, money, money, addition Social studies Field to Table Writing 6 Traits Organization Word Study - Long e ee Reading workshop - Finding the 6 traits in our favourite authors work

Reminders
Monday, November 5 Deepavali Dress Up Day and Celebrations No school November 12 15 School Friday and Saturday November 16 & 17 (please let me know if you will absent on those two days)

Word Study

see sleep

street three

keep tree

queen green

seen teeth

News From Ms. Tindalls Class One of our literacy standards for first grade is to ask questions and make comments about writing. We have been working on this in class by giving constructive feedback to our peers about writing and asking ourselves questions about stories when we are reading in class. Becoming aware of what other authors are doing helps to gain a better understanding of the reading/ writing process and their interrelationship. When reading at home, encourage your child to ask questions and make comments about the books they are reading/listening too. EG. I wonder why the author chose the words bubbly, bright and beautiful to describe Betty? The ending of the story really surprised me. I didnt think that the princess would live by herself. The onomatopoeia, Bang! at the beginning of the story got me really interested and made me want to read/hear more. I didnt understand why the dragon ate the frog. Was it because he didnt like the frog or did he think that the frog was his dinner? I like the sentence he ran as fast as a speeding bullet as that created a picture in my mind. Saying the words Peter Piper picked a ... really fast made my tongue become twisted. I might like to try that in my writing. etc. Over the next few weeks I will be checking the progress of students through some more formal assessments. For the children the only difference this means to their normal classroom routine is that work must be done independently without help from their peers or teachers. We do lots of progress checks and the students seem to have quite a good understanding that by showing me what they know well and what they are having trouble with helps me be a better teacher as I know what I need to teach. The other side is selfreflection by encouraging children to celebrate what they already know and look for their own personal next step. Ive seen some great progress with the childrens ability to do this for themselves over the semester. Its a challenging task but vitally important in growing self-motivated, independent learners. Please note, as adults we often think were doing good by constantly praising and rewarding children. The research shows quite the opposite it true. Giving children instead the power to self reflect on their own learning and be their own judge of what they feel proud of and what they find challenging supports the growth of a strong self esteem and sense of self. In partnership, Ms. Tindall

Monday Reading: Find the who, when and where in the story (characters, setting) Word Study: Find and highlight patterns. What does ee say together? Say each word in a sentence. Social Studies: Talk about the difference between a want and a need. Look at a few things around your home and decide if they satisfy a want or a need. Math: Tell an adult about odd and even numbers. * Challenge: What happens when you add two odds, two evens, an odd and an even? Will the sum be odd or even? Tuesday Reading: Find the who, when and where in the story (characters, setting) Talk about the characters in the story. Describe their character traits and actions that type of character might do. EG mean teases other children. adventurous tries new things. Justify your opinions by finding words/ sentences in the book that support your idea. Word Study: Find bases and affixes in your books. Eg jump + ing Math: Play Addition Top-It. (Partners turn over 2 numbers cards each, find the sum, the highest number says, Top-It and keeps those cards. Player with the most cards at the end is the winner.) Wednesday Reading: Find descriptive words that describe the characters in a story. How would you describe your own character? Word Study: Find words in your reading book that have the long e sound and the short e sound. Did you find any other ways to make the long e sound? Social Studies: Have a conversation with your family about where your dinner came from? Where did it very first start out? What happened to it to get to your table? How far back can you trace? Math: Homelink 3.10 Thursday Reading: Describe the setting of the story. When and where did it take place? Word Study: Practice writing the words in Foundation handwriting. Remember correct pencil grip, posture, and start at the dot, follow the arrow. Math: Homelink 3.11 Friday Reading Poem collection: Recite/ sing poems and songs to friends and family. Return poem collection to school on Friday. Social Studies: Look at the tags on your clothes in your wardrobe. Where are they made? Find these countries on the map. Which clothes traveled the least distance, the most distance? Which clothes used more/less resources to reach you in Malaysia?

see_____________________ street___________________ keep____________________ queen___________________ seen____________________ sleep___________________ three___________________ tree____________________ green___________________ teeth___________________