The Martino Messenger
First Grade News

Important Upcoming Dates

                * January 21- No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

                * February 1 - Sock Hop 💃 🕺

                * February 11-14 - Kindness Week & Legend HS Wish Week

                * February 14 - Valentine's Day Party  

                     Look for more information soon!  💕

                *Friday, February 15th - No School - Teacher Inservice Day                      *Monday, February 15th - No School - President's Day

Put on your calendar:  Thursday, February 21st

Specials Showcase Performance

6:15-6:45

Click here to see the Mrs. Petty's Page explaining this program.

**Students are asked to wear a solid color shirt, if possible, in any color of the rainbow.

***Arrive 15 minutes prior to the performance, no sooner, please.

                      Classroom Highlights 

Dear Parents, 

Happy 2019!  The year is flying by!  We've continued to be busy first graders!  I would like to share all of the learning that has been going on in class... and let you know what your child will be working on in the upcoming weeks.  In blue you will find some ideas for you to use to begin a discussion with your child about their learning.  

Literacy:

In Writing we finished our work in our Narrative Writing Unit before break by "publishing" one of our stories.  I hope you saw the folder that came home with some of your child's writing from this unit.  I included a letter that explains some of the concepts we covered.  

We began our next writing unit on Information Writing, or writing "teaching books" where we are writing about topics we are "experts" on.  This is something they know a lot about or love to do, and something they care about - something they are passionate about. Our topics range from How to Take Care of a Dog, to All About Star Wars, or American Girl Dolls.  The kids love sharing their expertise!

During this unit we look closely at various nonfiction books and study the strategies authors use to teach their readers, then try and use these in our own books. 

Concepts we will be focusing on include:

*Writing a book that teaches readers about a topic

*Having a beginning that captures the reader's attention

*Adding facts and details that teach about the topic - writing in "twin sentences" (two sentences that go together to add detail - such as: Dogs like to eat biscuits.  A biscuit is like a cookie or treat.

*Adding nonfiction text features to help teach readers, such as illustrations that teach, labels, headings, maps, charts, or diagrams.

*Thinking about questions our readers would have about our topic, and adding details that answer those questions

*Using comparisons and examples to add details

*Writing an ending

The kids love Writer's Workshop!  I often hear, "I love writing!" or "When can we write?"  I love it!

We've also been discussing the need to focus on spelling, conventions, and neatness.  I don't expect first graders to spell all words correctly.  But if a word can be found on our Word Wall, or in a book we are reading, or somewhere in the room... I expect that they use these resources to help them spell words.  The kids each have a "Mini Word Wall" and I will give them a "Word Bank Book" soon where they can find words they might be spelling.  

Words Their Way:  We work on "word work" everyday with our Words Their Way program that focuses on spelling patterns for all grades.  Each child is continually assessed to see which spelling focus they should be working on. I handed out a parent brochure about Words Their Way in the beginning of the year.  It does a nice job explaining our Words Their Way spelling program.  Click here to read the brochure, in case you missed it.  

We've also began daily editing - checking sentences for corrections on capitals, punctuation, sentence structure, and grammar.  Hopefully all of this work will transfer into their writing! 

We are connecting our Information Writing Unit with our work in reading by focusing on nonfiction books.  We've talked about the difference between fiction and nonfiction and began looking closely at nonfiction text features. We are looking at how authors of nonfiction books use these features to teach their readers. I've told the kids that we have to look at everything carefully on the pages of a nonfiction book. (This is linked to our writing, as we will add these text features into our own books to help teach about our topics)

Here is an anchor chart with some strategies we are talking about for how to get "super smart" about nonfiction topics:

We will also be doing some hard work with the comprehension strategy of Determining Importance and paraphrasing.  Wow!  These can be hard concepts for first graders!  As we read we think about what is really important information and what are just interesting details.  We will be paraphrasing what we learn, writing it down in our own words.  We practiced this skill recently when learning about Martin Luther King, Jr.  You may have seen your child's technology project on Seesaw.  Everyone did a marvelous job!  (Please see "Technology" below for more details about this project.)  We will continue working on this skill by connecting reading instruction with our Social Studies unit, researching important American Figures and Symbols.  We will also be practicing and performing Reader's Theatre plays about an important American figure.  They will be researching the American Figure, and working collaboratively on putting these plays together, having fun performing them for our peers, Book Buddies, and maybe even a kindergarten class!  

When your child is reading nonfiction books at home, point out some of the text features and discuss their purpose... Why did the author choose to put this text feature (photographs, heading, map, diagram, labels, chart...) in his/her book?  What does it help teach?  How can you use this in your teaching book?

You can also practice the steps for paraphrasing as you read together.  S.T.P. - Stop, Think, Paraphrase (cover the words with your hand, then say what you learned or what happened in your own words.)  You can do this with both fiction and nonfiction.

Math:  

We will be completing our third unit on addition and subtraction soon. It was a big unit and covered some important concepts.  This week we will do some  work on counting large groups of objects by putting them in groups of 5 or 10.  It is important for the kids to practice counting by 5s and 10s at home so they can be fluent and able to apply this skill when counting objects.  Later, they will be using skip counting to help them add and subtract by 10.  Also, please continue to practice counting by 2s.  This is still hard for many of the kids.  Playing the math games I've sent home is also important. These are a great way for the kids to learn their basic math facts which they will apply as they add and subtract larger numbers. There are also many apps and games for the iPad or other digital devices the kids can use to learn their math facts.  Just be careful not to choose ones that time the kids for speed. Research shows that this can be harmful.  Jo Boaler is a professor and researcher of Mathematics Education at Stanford University.  She has a website called Youcubed.org where she shares the latest in what research says about teaching math. I've included a few links below that have some really interesting information about teaching math that I think you might enjoy:  

Parents Belief About Math Change Their Children's Achievement

What is Number Sense?  This video illustrates our goal for our kids - having a strong sense, or deep knowledge, of numbers so we can be flexible and break them apart and combine them in new ways when computing.  Our curriculum, Investigations, does a great job of having kids think about different ways they can solve problems.  It is important for the kids to be able to reason flexibly, and share this reasoning with others, explaining how they figured out the problem.


Depth, Not Speed

Four Boosting Messages

I've also included a link that many parents have found helpful.  It is a link to "Math Words and Ideas" from our Investigations curriculum.  They are included with our lessons, and can show you how we teach some key concepts or how we approach certain math ideas:  

Math Words and Ideas

Most of the kids have been completing the Sunshine Math sheets that have been coming home for homework.  I encourage everyone to try these problems!  You may need to help them read the problem... we talk about how important it is to read the problem more than once.  If they are not sure how to solve the problem you can offer some ideas, or even show them how you would figure it out.  Encourage them to do the thinking!  You will notice that this math covers many concepts we haven't yet covered in class.  If they seem too hard for your child, just have them try the ones they can handle.
Remember, this is optional. Have fun with this!    

Our next unit is on measurement.  This will include telling time to the hour and half hour, and an introduction to fractions.    

As your child works on math problems, including the Sunshine Math, talk about different problem solving strategies they can use to figure out the problem, including drawing a picture, acting out the problem, making a chart, or using objects they can manipulate to help them. 

Also, it will really boost your child's computing if they practice and learn their basic math facts.  Continue to play all of the games sent home!  Make it fun and play as a family whenever you get a chance!

Science:  

We completed our unit unit on Solids and Liquids before break. Our next Science unit will begin after Spring Break- a unit on life cycles where we will observe the life cycle of plants and animals. This is a fun unit as we will have some special creatures and plants in our room as we observe their lifecycles first hand.   

Social Studies:  

We began a unit on American Heroes and Symbols with a discussion about Martin Luther King Jr. We also learned about Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges. Next, we will learn about other American figures including Helen Keller, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln.  The kids will be working on Reader's Theatre plays about these historical figures.  We will also be learning about historical landmarks and symbols, such as The Statue of Liberty, The Liberty Bell, and Mount Rushmore.  They will be working in small groups, using an online research website called Pebble Go to help gather facts about one American Hero or Landmark, then share their information with the class by creating a collaborative project.  They will be able to choose to make an informational poster, book, or use technology, creating a project with Sonic Pics or Adobe Spark Video.  

Have a discussion about Martin Luther King Jr.  

Ask them to tell you what they already know about George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. It is fun to see what they think they know before we begin studying a topic!  
In the next few weeks you can also ask them about the American Figure they are researching.

Technology

To build schema for our Famous Americans and American Symbols unit, first graders learned how to access assigned books within Epic Books about Martin Luther King Jr.  They took screenshots of pictures that illustrated important moments in Dr. King's life.  Through Spark Video, they organized their screenshots and recorded their new learning about this American Hero.  

**Please see your child's project on their Seesaw portfolio!  

I've enjoyed sharing some of our learning with you!  I hope you enjoy talking with your child about their work!  

I have a wonderful class and I feel so blessed to share my day with your child! I can't thank you enough for all of your help and support everyday!  My door is always open so please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!  

Respectfully, 
Stacie Martino