'Peek at the Week' September 21-25

We had a very successful evacuation and reunification drill on Friday afternoon!  Although it is always scary to think of why we practice this drill, I feel so much better  practicing the procedures for being safe!

We began our MAP testing on Friday. We will continue with the math portion this week. We will also being our PALS assessments early in the week.

Here is a peek at our week!

Reader's Workshop

This week we focused on habits readers build for seeing more as they read.  We learned:

Readers 'scoop up' words with their eyes.  1st grade readers are learning to use their eyes, not their fingers, to read the words. This helps to build fluency and expression when we read!

Readers re-read to see MORE! Re-reading is a critical competent of comprehension. This week we practiced rereading and sharing new details and thoughts we had with our partners. There are many thoughts or ideas we miss the first time we read something!

Math Workshop

We started our first unit in Math Expressions on number partners. We learned number partners are two numbers that work together to make a new number. 

We practiced identifying the 5-group in the numbers 5-10. We can name these numbers as '5 and some more'. For example, the number 7 is '5 and 2 more'. We also practiced writing addition sentences to match!

We also practiced identifying number partners by making math mountains. We will use math mountains to help us add and subtract throughout the year!

Writer's Workshop

Well I must have been so busy with hear little writers this week to snap any pictures! 

This week we learned the very beginning stages of revision! Writers can read stories they have finished and ask themselves how to make it even better. Can I add more details to my pictures or words? Did I leave out any important parts? Does my ending make sense? 

Next we learned how to keep our stories focused by 'zooming in ' on the most important part of our stories. Rather than trying to write about our entire weekend, we can focus on the park when we went apple picking!

Word Work

We added 5 new words to our word wall:

Where

Are

Was

In

On

We practiced these words on Spelling City!

This is a free website and app. You can access our words by the following URL:

www.spellingcity.com/mrshogue1

We also learned about 4 friends! King Mercer, King Jae, Queen Theresa, and King Quentin!

Reminder- if you have not returned your conference form, please do so ASAP. 

Enjoy the weekend :)

Love,

Mrs. Hogue

"Peek at the Week" September 15-18

Reader's Workshop

This week we focused on the good habits readers have in order to become a stronger reader.  Just like many of us have built good habits of brushing our teeth, turning off lights, and picking up our toys, readers also must have habits they do automatically without being told!

We are practicing building our good reading habits so they become automatic wherever we may read! We learned this week that readers need to 'warm their minds up for reading' by taking a sneak peek at the beginning.  This encourages children to study the pictures and begin to make predication about how they think the story will go.  Next, we learned that it is important to be aware of your predictions, or 'sneak peek' as you begin reading.  Were you right?  Do you need to change your thinking?  

We then learned that it is important for readers to do SOMETHING when they finish a book - reread, retell, or reread their favorite part.  This encourages young readers to think about the story they have just read before moving on to the next story.  

Finally, we ended the week learning that it is important to always push ourselves as readers.  We always want to read more during our read to self time. We read more by staying focused and coming up with a reading plan.

We also began learning how readers work together with a reading partner.  We practiced encouraging each other to use the good reading habits we learned.

Writer's Workshop

We spent the week busy writing small moments about our lives!  We learned how to use our writing folders this week to hold all our wonderful stories.  We organized our writing into 2 pockets.  The pocket with the red sticker holds all our stories we have finished, and the pocket with the green sticker holds the stories we are still working on!

We also learned spelling strategies good writers use when they get stuck on words.  We learned writers need to say, stretch, hear, and write all the sounds they hear in words.  We also learned to use the word wall word to help us spell words!

Word Work

We learned our first 5 first grade word wall words this week:  

that

play

of

me

in

Over the next several weeks we will learn 100 word wall words.  The expectation by the end of first grade is for first graders to read and spell all of these words.  We practice these words in a variety of ways throughout the week, but I strongly encourage you to practice at home too!

Math Workshop

We continued practicing our routines and expectations for math workshop.  We were excited to use our Chrome Books this week to access Dreambox Learning!  We learned how to be safe with our Chrome Books, how to access this program, and how to put our Chrome Books away when we are finished.

In other news...

• Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to Parent Orientation Night on Wednesday!
• Please look in your child's folder for fall conference information.  Please be sure to indicate 3 times on the form and return it to school by the end of the week.
• We will begin MAP testing on Friday this week. 

Have a great weekend!

Love,

Mrs. Hogue

"Peek at the Week" September 8-11

We had another busy and fun week together in room 126!  We are starting to settle in to the routines and expectations of first grade!  Here is what we were up to:

Reader's Workshop

We worked hard at continuing to build our reading stamina this week.  We learned that readers need to think about what they need to focus and do their best reading.  We learned how to choose 'the perfect reading spot' in our classroom.

We also learned that readers need to keep their eyes AND minds focused on their books.  We need to make sure our minds are thinking about the stories as we read.  This will help us stay engaged in our books and help us to build more reading stamina.  This week we build 16 minutes of stamina!  Way to go first graders!


Math Workshop
This week we started building some of the important aspects of our math workshop routines.  Math talk is a huge focus in first grade - we want to be able to explain our thinking to others.  We practiced this during our small group mini lessons.  We focused on looking at some 'quick images' of counters in ten frames.  These images were displayed for a few seconds, and it was our job to determine what number we saw and HOW we saw it.   I was blown away at some of the great thinking that took place!

Next, we learned several math games and activities.  These will be used frequently throughout our first unit in math to reinforce beginning addition concepts.

One More

Shake and Spill

10 Frame Top It

Number Mats

We also spent some time reviewing number writing.  We were reminded that the digits 1-7 all start in the STARTING CORNER.  This will help eliminate number reversals :)  The digits 8,9, and 0 all start in the center.  This is a great way to remind your children when they are writing numbers at home!

Writer's Workshop
We officially launched our writer's workshop this week!  We will spend the first few months together focusing on writing personal narratives, or small moment stories.

This week we learned how writers write a story.

We also learned that a writer's job is NEVER done!  We learned a fun 'catch phrase':  When you think you're done, you've just begun!  

We enjoyed sharing all our writing with a partner!  We were so proud of the work we did! :)

Word Work
This week we reviewed the K5 word wall words.  Next week we will begin adding our 1st grade words to our word wall!

We also continued getting to know our friends this week.  We had 4 new Queens of the Day!

Please don't forget that Parent Information Night is on Wednesday, September 16 from 6:00-8:00pm.  (If you only have one child, you will be able to leave at 7:15.)  Parents will begin in the gym to listen to a quick message from Mrs. Grimm-Nilsen, followed by two 45 minute grade level orientations.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend - I'm sure many of you are excited about the return of football season :)

Love, Mrs. Hogue

'Peek at the Week' September 1-4

I'm Wow! We had a GREAT first week together! This is such a sweet group of first graders :)

Here is a peek into our week!

First Day Fun!

It can be scary to start a new school year- new friends, new classroom, and new teachers!! Many friends felt jittery about starting first grade! We read a story about a boy who was also nervous about starting first grade!

Next, we had a special treat to help get rid of our jitters- JITTER JUICE!

Once we drank this special juice we felt so much better!

We also read a special poem about Jitter Juice. We all got our very own copy to keep in our poetry book!

Hooray! 

Reader's Workshop

We started working on building our reading stamina this week! Readers work to stay focused on their reading in order to become stronger readers!  We all have a special book bin that holds books that are 'Just Right' for us!

We also talked about what our job as readers is during read to self time. 

This week we built 10 minutes of stamina! Way to go 1st graders!!

Writer's Workshop

We spent this week in Writer's Workshop getting to know one another by creating class books!

We started the week creating our own version of the book 'Brown Bear'. Instead of animals, this book has our names and faces!

Next, we made our version of the book If You Take a Mouse to School. We brainstormed the things we need to be successful at school.

Finally, we interviewed a new friend to add to our book First Grade Friends.

These books are now in our classroom library! We are excited to have many new books we can read!

Math Workshop

This week we explored some of the materials we will use to help us solve problems in math.

We used objects to represent numbers in 10 frames.

We explored unifix cubes through an activity called Roll and Build. We rolled a dice and built a tower to represent that number. 

We had a lot of fun creating patterns and solving puzzles with pattern blocks!

Finally, we learned how to use white boards and markers! We rolled a big dice and practiced writing that number on our white board.

King and Queen 

During the month of September we will get to know each child a little bit more through King or Queen of the day! Each day we will choose a new king or queen! 

The Stormonth Way

We spent time on Wednesday reviewing our school's expectations. Our specialists ran a 'boot camp' and reviewed what we should do in the hallway, bathrooms, cafeteria, and bus lines.

We will also continue our BUG incentive this year! Look for these to come home throughout the year!

What a great first week! 

Please mark your calendars for Parent Information Night on Wednesday, September 16 from 6:00-8:00pm. 

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Love, 

Mrs. Hogue