Week of September 25-29

Hello Room 7!

I hope you all enjoyed the weekend! We've had a busy couple of weeks in all areas. We have been deep in the study of similes and students are getting adept at writing them and recognizing them in literature. Students wrote similes about how they feel while doing a favorite activity and we've begun a class book modeled after the book Quick As a Cricket  by Jan Brown. We've also been learning and talking a lot about how to "grow" our math brains and learning to share our thinking about numbers and problem solving.

This week we will begin rotating classrooms for RTI (reading instruction). Students will have an hour of reading instruction Monday-Thursday. In class, students now have personal book boxes and will learn how to select books at their "just right" level for in-class reading. I'm looking forward to having the one-on-one time during RTI with each grade level for math and certain areas of grammar and language wall.

Math: 1st: We are continuing our study of addition and using various strategies to solve addition problems and will move into our study of fact families and subtraction as well. We are also learning how to show our work/strategies used when answering word problems. We will begin learning the Read, Draw, Write approach to solving word problems.

2nd: We are learning  about sums and differences to 20, how to use a number rack in solving problems, and doing an application problem each day that requires students to use the Read, Draw, Write approach: read to unpack the problem and find out what information is necessary to solve it, draw to help solve the problem and show your strategies, write an equation representing the problem, and respond in a complete sentence to answer the question thoroughly.

Writing: We have written several drafts of the ideas we gathered the last couple of weeks and have learned to add characters and dialog into our personal narratives. Students have now chosen one of those drafts to take through to publication. Students will begin to revise their original drafts to add a strong beginning that hooks their reader through action, dialog, and/or setting. They will learn the strategy of  writing the "Show, Don't Tell" way when describing strong emotions, how to add more to their writing by using "twin sentences", and how to write a strong ending that stays close to the "Big Thing That Happened" in their stories.

Our Word Wall Words this week are:      WHY     WHEN     WHERE      WHICH      MAY


Have a great week!

Caryn

Dear Room 7 Families,

It was a pleasure to meet so many of you at Back-to-School Night last week. If you were unable to attend, I sent home information that you can peruse to become up to date about our happenings here at school. Please let me know if you have any questions about anything. The best way to keep informed is to subscribe to our blog posts. combosarecool.blogspot.com I will do my best to update on a weekly basis. 

Here's what we're up to this week:

Homework: Please make sure to listen to your child read and fill out your reading log each evening. I recommend a minimum of 15 minutes for first grade and 20 minutes for second grade. Reading logs are due each Friday.
Our word wall words for this week are: 

favorite, once, made, nice, yes

All first graders will have a reading quiz on these five words each Friday. Second graders will hvae a spelling quiz on each of the words each Friday. First graders who would like to challenge themselves and take our spelling quiz my do so. Please refer to the homework page I sent home. 

Bridges Home Connections books have already gone home with second graders. They will be sent home with first graders on Monday. Use this book at your discretion and at your own pace to support the math we do at school. Moby Max is another great math resource that your child can access at home. I sent program and login information home with you or your child last week. 

Second Grade: Permission slips for our field trip to Elkhorn Slough on October 13 are due ASAP. If you are planning to volunteer to drive, please make sure that you have a current TB test, fingerprints, volunteer driver form and accompanying documents all on file in the office by the end of September (or sooner!). 

Wish List: Many of you have asked about donating to our class. Thank you! I am always in need of tissues, paper towels, baby wipes or sanitizing wipes. The best way to support our classroom on top of these items is to make a cash donation which will help offset costs I have already incurred setting up our classroom, and help me to purchase supplies to support our art and science studies. Gift cards are always welcome as well. I often purchase supplies from Palace, Staples, and Target. Thank you so much for your support. 



Have a great week!

Caryn Allen




It was a pleasure getting to know all of you