Friday, April 25, 2014

"Whoooooooo is Telling the Story" Point of View in First!

Classroom News
Reading: Students began to learn about point of view.  First person point of view is when the character is telling the story.  Clue words students should look for include I, me, my, and our.  Third person point of view is when the author or narrator is telling the story.  Clue words students can look for include he, she, him, they, and them.  We will continue this topic for another week.

Math: We began working on Chapter 12-Two-Dimensional Geometry.  Students practiced how to sort and describe two-dimensional shapes based on the number of straight sides and vertices.

Grammar: Students practiced giving and acting out commands.

What We’re Learning Next Week:
Reading: First grade is going to be very busy next week!  Students will continue to practice point of view.  We will also continue to engage students in a read aloud of a first person or a third person selection.  Then, we will identify the point of view as well as some evidence from the text.  If time permits, we will do a bit of role playing from the perspective of several characters in our selections.  Finally, we will write a letter from the perspective of a character in one of our selections to truly reinforce point of view.

Math: Chapter 12 Two Dimensional Geometry
Students will work on finding shapes in existing shapes, take apart two-dimensional shapes, identify equal and unequal parts, and begin learning about halves and fourths.

Grammar: Exclamations
An exclamation is a sentence that shows strong feeling.
Ex.             School is a blast!
            Pride night was awesome!
Phonemic Awareness:
Diphthong ou /ou/
Sometimes the letters ou stand for the dipthong /ou/.  In a dipthong, each vowel contributes to the sound.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Fables and More!

Classroom News

Reading: Our unit on fables has taken off with much success.  Students have read and discussed a number of Aesop’s Fables including The Tortoise and the Hare, The Lion and the Mouse, The Ant and the Grasshopper, Belling the Cat, and The Sheperd Who Cried Wolf.  After reading each fable, students discussed the central message and our own interpretation of the central message.  We are learning many valuable life lessons such as slow and steady wins the race, even a small creature can be helpful, and our favorite, there is a time for work and a time for play.  Please probe your child about a few other messages we’ve learned.

Math: Three-dimensional geometry has been a fun change of pace for students.  We have used colorful manipulatives to help reinforce our knowledge of shapes.  We anticipate a chapter test on Tuesday.


Grammar: We continued to work on adjectives for how many.

What We’re Learning Next Week:

Reading: Aesop’s fables will continue for one more week.  We will continue to read a new fable each day, discuss the central message, and our own interpretation.

Math:  Three Dimensional Geometry will continue for a couple more days.  We plan to assess on Tuesday.  Our next unit is Chapter 12 Two-Dimensional Geometry.  Geometry is often described as the study of objects in space.  So, two-dimensional geometry is the study of two-dimensional space.  Children can explore two-dimensional geometry by working with drawings, concrete models, or electronic tools.

Grammar: Adjectives That Compare
Add –er to an adjective to compare two people, places, or things.
Add –est to an adjective to compare three or more people, places, or things.
Ex. The cat is smaller than the dog.
The mouse of the smallest of the three.

Phonemic Awareness:
Suffixes –ly and –ful
Some words consist of a base word and the ending –ly which can tell how or –ful which can mean “full of.”
Vowel sounds in moon

Important Dates:
4/16 Early Dismissal
4/18 No School
4/21 No School




Friday, April 4, 2014

It's As Easy "PIE"

Classroom News
Reading: Students have spent time learning about Natural Disasters and weather patterns.  We have read books about tornados, lightning, floods, and our least favorite, blizzards.  After reading about each of the topics, students were asked about the author’s purpose for writing the book.  We used a great visual to help us. PIE has prompted students to remember that authors write books to Persuade, Inform, and Entertain.

Math: Our chapter on graphing has continued with great success.  Students seem to have really grasped the concept of graphs representing data.  We have learned how to read and also graph picture graphs, bar graphs, and tally charts.


Grammar: We continued to work on adjectives for what kind.

What We’re Learning Next Week:
Reading: Our focus will be on Aesop’s fables.  Students will have numerous opportunities to read classic fables and identify the central message of each selection.  (The central message is another term for moral).  After students read a fable, we will document the central message as well as any talking animals.  Students will also learn to identify themes written in a fable which include the following: appearances can be deceiving, lying will catch up to you, you are judged by the company you keep, don’t underestimate the ability of others, do the right thing even if it is hard to do, and selfishness will bring you misery.

Math:  Chapter 11 Three Dimensional Geometry

In this chapter, children begin to focus on defining attributes of three-dimensional shapes.  They describe and sort shapes according to their attributes.  The shapes we will learn about include: cone, cube, cylinder, rectangular prism, and sphere.

Grammar: Adjectives for How Many
            Ex. one baby
                   three dogs

Phonemic Awareness:
A compound word is made up of two or more shorter words.
Vowels eu, ue, ui
Ex. grew, clue, suit

Important Information
Room 103 will attend the Book Fair on Tuesday.
4/11 Reports Cards will be sent home