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Thursday, February 27, 2014

Thursday 2/27

Thanks to everyone that came to our first Math-In!  We had fun!

Today the kids made their photo page in their collection book on Book Creator. They also wrote their first draft from their planner. I'm really impressed with the detailed reasons they have for why their item should get top prize.  They will edit their piece next week and then add it into their collection book.  

We started our unit on America. We took a trip on Google Earth to see a birds eye view of our school- but it was the old Thompson!  We focused on an American symbol today- the Statue of Liberty.  Ask your child to tell you about the color of the statue or what took 20 years.  


Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Book orders due Friday!

Wed 2/26

The kids worked SO hard this morning on their opinion writing. They learned how to judge fairly and then choose their best item in their collection and wrote 4 reasons why it should get first place. 

Great Body Shop- all about feelings 

Readers' Workshop 
6 minutes of independent reading 

Lots of reading together!

The kids came up with this math challenge!  We counted all the way up to 1,000!! 

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Tuesday 2/25

Writer's Workshop
Today we talked about judging collections. We thought about how judges at a dog show look at many different aspects of each dog and some are given prizes.  Then we all judged my collection of stuffed animals.  We thought about size, color, special features like a bow or words, texture, etc.. Here they are in order of number of votes they received.  The kids then wrote out a planner as to why that bear is the best.  They had to include:  an opening sentences (such as "I think bear 2 is the best bear.), 4 reasons for their opinion (For example: It's the biggest stuffed animal.  It's soft and fluffy.  It has a red bow.  It's the oldest bear." and a conclusion ("That's why I think it's the best bear in the collection.")
Continue the conversation at home: Ask your child which stuffed animal they would give second prize to. Ask them to give you four reasons why.

Math Centers- all about place value
New App-Math Slide: Place Value $2.99 (Free Version is Math Slide: Tens and Ones)

Open Circle Home Link 
Dear Family:
In Open Circle this week, we began a multi-lesson unit on problem solving. In the coming weeks, we will be learning to use a three-step process for solving people problems. We began by talking about what a problem is. A problem is something that goes wrong, makes us feel worried or upset, or is a situation in which we need to decide what to do. We all have problems at school — in the classroom and on the playground. We even have problems as a whole class.

Today the kids drew a problem that they had and wrote about how they solved the problem.  Ask your child to tell you about their problem and solution.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Monday 2/24

Welcome back!

First day of independent just-right reading... We made it 5 quiet, focused minutes :)

Continue the conversation at home: How many tens are in the number 27?  How many ones?  
We also focused on the calendar this morning. Take out the February calendar and ask your child to tell you about it. 

Reminders:
1pm dismissal on Tuesday 
Math-In: 8:15 on Thursday 


Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Scholastic Reading Club

Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub
One-Time Class Activation Code: J73DP
Due: Friday,February 28th

**I have a free book coupon for each order of $10 or more!**

Dear Families,

This month's Scholastic Reading Club flyers are ready for you to explore with your child. Children read more when they choose their own books, so I encourage you to look at the flyers together. 

Place your order online at scholastic.com/readingclub or return the order form and payment to me. Ordering online is the easiest way to ensure I get your order on time. Also, there are more books to choose from online.

Remember, for every book you order, our class earns FREE books!

Thank you for your support!


Ordering online is fast and easy:
  •  VISIT scholastic.com/readingclub
  •  ENTER the one-time Class Activation Code (top of this letter)
  •  SHOP from a carefully curated selection of the best books, value packs, and Storia eBooks
  •  SUBMIT your order and earn FREE Books for our classroom
  •  All book orders will be shipped to our classroom so we can celebrate the joy of reading together!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Lost and found

Friday 2/14

The kids wrote an opinion piece about why they love someone... Their stories are so sweet!!  Many of them are on Kidblog- Check them out!  http://kidblog.org/MrsMelnik/ No passwords needed anymore.

Blends with Mrs. Cummings-

Valentine's Day fun- 
Thanks for the donations for the 100th Day and Valentine's Day! 
Have a fantastic week!  Hoping many kids will try the reading challenge this week!  :)

Friday, February 14, 2014

Thursday 2/13

Happy 100th Day!
We made made a picture with a 1, 0 and 0.

We counted out groups of 10 for a yummy snack.


Wed 2/12

We practiced blends with Mrs. Cummings.

We shared our collections. 

We got our energy out with the Cha Cha Slide! 





Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Tuesday 2/11

Two new fun word games:


I read I Wanna Iguana, a great opinion/persuasive book.  The kids then wrote about an animal they want- either at home or as a class pet. Most of their pieces are up on Kidblog. You have to check them out!! 

Monday, February 10, 2014

Monday, 2/10

Our morning started with Weekend Writing.  Please leave comments on Kidblog.


For Open Circle, we talked about filling buckets!  Ask your child what they drew they could do to fill someone's bucket. Class book coming soon....
You can view the song and book here.

We learned what a noun is from this silly book... It's a person, place, or thing!

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Friday, 2/9

We have some requests for Valentine's Day & 100th Day.  Sign Up Here 


Ask your child about the winter project they worked on about being stuck in a snow globe! Bulletin board coming soon...


A big thank you to the PTO for sponsoring an origami presentation! 
To learn more about Origamido visit: http://www.origamido.com/



















We continue to be part of a blogging community. The kids love reading what other first graders are writing about their blogs.  This week a group of students wrote comments on some friends' blogs from Texas.  Next week we'll visit a new blog.
Some pictures from Readers' Workshop this past week... 




Thursday, February 6, 2014

Thursday 2/6


The kids "fancied up" their writing for you today.  We can't wait for our Author Celebration tomorrow! 

During math, the kids worked on some stations based on their working number.  

Some pictures from Readers Workshop
Just right reading 
Practicing sight words 

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Snow Day Update

Good morning First Grade families, 

Hope you all are staying warm (and healthy!) on this snow day.  
I just made my first iMovie trailer...warning- it's very cheesy :)  It's all about word time in our classroom. It's a new routine this year which the kids love it and it's definitely helping with their reading and writing.  The kids will be making iMovie trailers soon too!
You can check the video out here.

If you have a few minutes... 
*Mystery Reader sign-up for the rest of January and February
*Lino Post what you learned about Arlington for our iBook project

Reminders...
Next week we are beginning a new unit of study for Writer’s Workshop- Opinion Writing. Each student will base their writing on a collection that they bring to school. 
Each collection should…
-contain 5 small items.
-fit in a grocery store bag.
-all be related somehow, such as all animals, rocks, coins, cars, etc..
-stay at school for the next month.
-be sent to school by Monday, 2/10.
Email me if you have any questions!

**Author Celebration- Friday 8:15am**

Tuesday 2/4

2 new fun word games!  They both focus on blends- 2 consonants that are together but you can hear both sounds.  For example: brush, flip, sent 
Ask your child how to mark a blend. 

Fishing for blends 

Race to read blends

Monday, February 3, 2014

Monday 2/3

Happy February!
Today the kids worked on place value during Math.  

The kids learned about App Smashing- thanks to the workshops and yearlong course I'm in through EdTechTeacher.  App Smashing is when you use different apps to create a project!  As part of Readers' Workshop, the kids were to create a project to share about what they read... I am amazed with the projects that the kids came up with!! Many are posted on their Kidblog-Check them out!