Here is a peek into our week!
Reader's Workshop
This week we started a new bend in building good habits. We are beginning to learn good habits for solving hard words! The goal of this unit is give children a 'toolbox' of strategies to use when solving tricky words independently. This of course takes a lot of practice :)
We started the week learning and practicing two strategies: Check the picture & Look at ALL the parts of the word. Checking the picture is usually the very first strategy we try when tackling an unknown word. The picture often gives us big clues for solving words!
Next, we practiced looking at ALL the parts of words. Readers want to look for parts they know too help them figure out the whole word!
We ended the week learning two more strategies that readers often use together. When readers get stuck on a word they first think, "Hmm...what would make sense?" After brainstorming some possible word choices they then look at the word carefully and ask themselves 'Does it look right?" A great way to do this is by looking at the first and last letter of the word.
Encourage your child to practice these strategies while reading at home!
Math Workshop
This week we focused on addition strategies! We learned that problem solvers use pictures to help solve problems. They draw the picture, include the number partners, and the total.
We started by acting out the story problem:
3 friends drove a car to the park.
2 friends rode a bike.
How many friends went to the part altogether!
Next, we practiced drawing out the story problem on our math maths. We also labeled the partners and found the total!
Next, we learned that problem solvers use simple shapes to represent their drawings. We noticed that it takes a long time to draw castles, etc. and it is much quicker to use a simple shape such as a circle, square, or triangle.
We also leaned about the = sign and how we can write true equations to represent story problems. We also worked in small groups on creating, sorting, and solving equations.
We learned a new math game called 4 in a Row to help us practice our addition facts! (This game is always a hit because we get to use COLORED expo markers!)
Writer's Workshop
This week we learned how writers make their writing special. We learned different crafts, or techniques, from two authors we know very well!
We know when we read books by real authors that the stories sound so special and exciting. We thought to ourselves, hmm...I would like to try that! We took some ideas from authors and tried them in our own writing this week! It was fun to see children bringing their stories to life in new and exciting ways!
Word Work
We added 5 new words to our word wall:
by
had
one
or
put
We learned a new way to practice our words called "I Spy". We learned how to create our own word searches! Then, we traded with a partner to look for their hidden words!
On Friday we practiced our word wall words in centers. Our first was a called Sentence Mix Up. Each word wall word was used in a sentence and then the sentence was mixed up. First graders had to move the words around to figure out the sentence!
Read It, Build It, Write It
Spelling City
Keyboarding
We had another practice rotation of keyboarding practice this week! We are working hard on using BOTH hands to type :)
ScienceThis week we used thermometers to measure the temperature of 3 types of water: cold, hot, and mixed. We made predictions and recorded our findings!
I am looking forward to meeting with many of you during conferences this week.
Enjoy he weekend!
Love,
Mrs. Hogue
