What a Great Start!
A great start for a great class! Students have been busy learning new routines and procedures! I will send home a newsletter each Friday. I will keep you posted of the things that we are working on in the classroom. I am looking forward to seeing you at Curriculum Night!
Reading Workshop Students have learned the names for parts of books. They have also been learning how to care for the books they read. This week, we began reading environmental print. Students walked around the school looking at signs. We stopped, looked at the signs, thought about what it might say, and then read them! We then transferred reading the world around us to reading “learn about the world books.” Students are enjoying looking at and “reading” nonfiction text. Students are looking at pictures and naming the things that they see in the pictures. We have been learning how to read privately and how to read with a partner. We are also reading a few good storybooks again and again so they become part of our “old favorites.” This will help us get ready for the next few weeks of our Readers Workshop. The students are really enjoying looking at and reading new books.
Writing Workshop
We have started out the year by writing about things we see and do. We have looked closely to think about the shape and size of what we are drawing. After we have drawn our pictures, students are then working on labeling their stories. Saying the word slowly over and over again helps students to isolate individual sounds and write those letters down. It would be very helpful if you and your child could come up with a list of fun things that you have done and write them down so we can help them choose a topic to write about in class.
Math Workshop
Each day, we begin our math workshop with some calendar activities. We use the calendar to name the day’s date. We talk about what day of the week it is, what yesterday was, and what tomorrow will be. We then add a straw to our wall to count the number of days we have been in school. Students then practice counting forward 0 to 10 and backward from 10 to 0. This week, we learned how to look at a group of dots and quickly decide how many dots were on the card (subitizing). Students were then encouraged to count the dots (1 to 1 correspondence) to double-check. Students all had different strategies for counting the dots. Students shared how they saw the dots grouped on each card. We then learned what it meant to have more than and less than. We played a “Who has More” and “Who has Less” game using the dot cards from the previous lesson. Students also learned some very important positional words: above, below, next to, beside, behind, and in front of.
Word Work
Students have learned routines and procedures of word work time. When forming letters, students will be using four lines to help guide them: sky line, plane line, grass line, and worm line. Students learned how to sit up tall in order to look like a writer and learned how to use a correct pencil grip. You can practice this at home too! Have your child use their thumb and index finger to pinch the tip of the pencil. As they pick up, the other fingers will curl under to support the hand. The pencil will then lean back and rest on the hand. Students were introduced to their first letter this week. We learned how to make the correct formation and sound for the letter T. Students have been prompted to say: T - top - /t/. Students also learned their first snap word. A snap word is a word that students need to learn to read in a snap! The first word we learned was: I.
Social Studies
Students have been working on being good classmates to each other. We had some fun reading a few No David books. We made our own book of things that we should and should not do in school. We have also read and studied the Pledge of Allegiance. Students learned the meaning behind the pledge and how to stand respectfully as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day.
Upcoming events:
9/14: Cultural Arts - No Bully Zone
9/14: Curriculum Night 6:30 p.m.
9/21: PTO Fundraiser Orders are Due
9/23: Early Dismissal for Students
9/28: Picture Day
9/30: Burr School Spirit Day - PTO
A great start for a great class! Students have been busy learning new routines and procedures! I will send home a newsletter each Friday. I will keep you posted of the things that we are working on in the classroom. I am looking forward to seeing you at Curriculum Night!
Reading Workshop Students have learned the names for parts of books. They have also been learning how to care for the books they read. This week, we began reading environmental print. Students walked around the school looking at signs. We stopped, looked at the signs, thought about what it might say, and then read them! We then transferred reading the world around us to reading “learn about the world books.” Students are enjoying looking at and “reading” nonfiction text. Students are looking at pictures and naming the things that they see in the pictures. We have been learning how to read privately and how to read with a partner. We are also reading a few good storybooks again and again so they become part of our “old favorites.” This will help us get ready for the next few weeks of our Readers Workshop. The students are really enjoying looking at and reading new books.
Writing Workshop
We have started out the year by writing about things we see and do. We have looked closely to think about the shape and size of what we are drawing. After we have drawn our pictures, students are then working on labeling their stories. Saying the word slowly over and over again helps students to isolate individual sounds and write those letters down. It would be very helpful if you and your child could come up with a list of fun things that you have done and write them down so we can help them choose a topic to write about in class.
Math Workshop
Each day, we begin our math workshop with some calendar activities. We use the calendar to name the day’s date. We talk about what day of the week it is, what yesterday was, and what tomorrow will be. We then add a straw to our wall to count the number of days we have been in school. Students then practice counting forward 0 to 10 and backward from 10 to 0. This week, we learned how to look at a group of dots and quickly decide how many dots were on the card (subitizing). Students were then encouraged to count the dots (1 to 1 correspondence) to double-check. Students all had different strategies for counting the dots. Students shared how they saw the dots grouped on each card. We then learned what it meant to have more than and less than. We played a “Who has More” and “Who has Less” game using the dot cards from the previous lesson. Students also learned some very important positional words: above, below, next to, beside, behind, and in front of.
Word Work
Students have learned routines and procedures of word work time. When forming letters, students will be using four lines to help guide them: sky line, plane line, grass line, and worm line. Students learned how to sit up tall in order to look like a writer and learned how to use a correct pencil grip. You can practice this at home too! Have your child use their thumb and index finger to pinch the tip of the pencil. As they pick up, the other fingers will curl under to support the hand. The pencil will then lean back and rest on the hand. Students were introduced to their first letter this week. We learned how to make the correct formation and sound for the letter T. Students have been prompted to say: T - top - /t/. Students also learned their first snap word. A snap word is a word that students need to learn to read in a snap! The first word we learned was: I.
Social Studies
Students have been working on being good classmates to each other. We had some fun reading a few No David books. We made our own book of things that we should and should not do in school. We have also read and studied the Pledge of Allegiance. Students learned the meaning behind the pledge and how to stand respectfully as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day.
Upcoming events:
9/14: Cultural Arts - No Bully Zone
9/14: Curriculum Night 6:30 p.m.
9/21: PTO Fundraiser Orders are Due
9/23: Early Dismissal for Students
9/28: Picture Day
9/30: Burr School Spirit Day - PTO