It has really been a great third week of school! The class has been engaged in so many new activities. We have continued to strengthen our community connections, and practiced the routines we will use all year. We successfully began Literacy Centers and have enjoyed the first grade privilege of checking out books from the library. There are so many more great things to come!
CLASSROOM ROUTINES
We have done lots of practicing of our routines. These include:
1. Morning meeting (greeting our classmates, reading the message and schedule, and playing a game).
2. Quiet Signals (2 fingers up in the air, or the chimes).
3. Clean-up routines
4. Lining up (push in chairs and make a calm, quiet line).
5. Following our class rules (1. Take care of other people’s feelings. 2. Take care of your body and be safe with other people. 3. Take care of our classroom and our school.)
COMMUNICATION I check email regularly (Katrina_McNamara@brookline.k12.ma.us) and will reply as quickly as possible. You may also leave a message on the classroom phone (617.879.4430) or with the Devotion School office (617.879.4400).
If you would like to be “invited” to the blog please let me know. If you prefer the paper copy, I will put it in your family mailbox each Thursday.
LIBRARY
Our first trip to the Library was a huge success. We learned how to use our library card, how to put a book back in the right spot, and what to do once we’ve chosen a book. We had so many books to choose from, and everyone found a book of interest. The books stayed in the classroom in the library area. We are looking forward to returning our books and picking out new ones on Friday.
Students can visit the school library after school with a parent, babysitter, grandparent, etc. The library is open until 3 pm. At this time, students do not need their library card, are able to check out more than 1 book, and may take those books home.
HOMEWORK
Homework will come home every Friday. Homework will be due back the following Thursday. In first grade, homework is a parent and child experience. Please help your child succeed with these tasks and let me know if an assignment is particularly challenging for your child. In first grade, we want homework to be a positive experience and a chance for students to further connect with the classroom material and topics.
Another expectation is that students and families read for at least 15 minutes every night. This can be parents reading to children, children reading independently, or parents and children sharing the reading. Reading may also be done using texts in written in the language spoken at home. We will begin to record daily reading later in the year, but this is a great routine to start now.
LITERACY & MATH
We are working closely with the Literacy and Math Specialist to assess students’ current knowledge and comfort level in both areas. In the coming weeks, we will use this information to create small reading groups, math lessons, games and centers. We are continuing to build our classroom community and explicitly practice our daily routines, so that we are ready to add in the academic pieces soon.
MATH
This week we began to explore our first math chapter, focusing on shapes and patterns. We identified common shapes and their characteristics (number of sides, corners, curves, etc.).
We also made patterns and then identified them using letters. For example:
••√••√ is an AAB pattern
∆•√∆•√ is an ABC pattern
LITERACY CENTERS
We began Literacy Centers this week. Literacy Centers is the bock of time in which small group reading instruction (Guided Reading) will occur. While teachers are working with small groups, the rest of the class will be engaged in independent work and games. This week, we are practicing choosing centers and moving among the centers. We have learned some Word Games such as Rhyming, and Letter/ Sound Bingo. Other centers currently include: Word Search, Making Books, Word Study, Read the Room, and Independent Reading. As we become comfortable with these Centers, I will add more choices.
WORD STUDY
This week, we continued our study of the names in our class. We made names out of play dough. We also played a “memory” game, matching classmates’ pictures with their names. We also started to identify color words. We made a list of colors, and talked about the beginning sounds of each color.
We placed our first words on our Word Wall (names and color words). The Word Wall is a resource where we will place sight words. Throughout the year, Weekly Word Wall Words will be words that are not necessarily easy to sound out or spell. They will also include the most frequently used first grade sight words. We will try to commit these words to memory, but the Word Wall will serve as a permanent place to look for spelling clues.
COMMUNITY
We are turning the answers to our Friend Questions into our first class book: Meet 1MC. We have each illustrated our page with things we like and attached a photograph. The book will be displayed in the classroom library for all to read!
We practiced communicating about our commonalities. Following Friend Questions, we opened the discussion for students to share things they have in common with classmates. We used the specific language, “I have something in common with _________. We both ______________________.” This helps students to identify ways they are similar and opens the door for future communication and connections.
Next week, we will expand outside the individual and think about our families. We will learn about each others’ families and celebrate the similarities and differences of our diverse community.
SNACK
We will have a morning snack every day. Please pack a nutritious, filling, low-sugar snack for your child each day. We eat lunch at 12:40pm everyday, so our snack is very important to keep us energized during our long morning. Please encourage your child to eat his or her entire snack so they do not get too hungry before lunch.
FIRST GRADE WISH LIST
We welcome donations of the following items for our classroom:
• Bottles of hand soap
• Thick Markers
REMINDERS
Please wear sneakers in PE days: Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is a great idea to wear sneakers everyday in first grade.
Please dress for the weather. We will go outside for recess every day (unless it is raining). As the weather shifts from day to day, or throughout the day, please send your child with jackets, sweatshirts, etc. If it is raining and stops by recess time, we will still go outside, so rain jackets and boots are helpful on rainy days.
ASK YOUR CHILD…
These questions can be conversation starters to discuss the week in school.
• Which Literacy Centers did you try this week?
• What words did you make out of play dough during Project Time?
• What did we work on in Art class with Ms. Allain?
• What is something you had in common with one of the friends in our class?
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