Important Upcoming Dates:
Friday, November 15: Crazy Hair Day
Help support our Kits for Kids program, supporting families around the world who need health supplies. The student council will be assembling the kits, but we need supplies donated. With money donations we will buy needed supplies to fill the kits. So, make your hair CRAZY and bring in a donation - any amount is OK!
(Please see Dr. Brown's Bog for more information about this program.)
Wednesday, November 20th - Gold Rush Annual Thanksgiving Feast and Celebration of Learning
On Wednesday, November 20th, GRE will host the annual Thanksgiving Feast and Celebration of Learning. Join us in the classroom from 11:10-11:40, and your child will share his/her celebration of learning with you. This is followed by our Thanksgiving Feast lunch from 11:45-12:05 You can purchase tickets here to enjoy the Thanksgiving Lunch.
Food Drive - now through November 22nd
Help support our Kits for Kids program, supporting families around the world who need health supplies. The student council will be assembling the kits, but we need supplies donated. With money donations we will buy needed supplies to fill the kits. So, make your hair CRAZY and bring in a donation - any amount is OK!
(Please see Dr. Brown's Bog for more information about this program.)
Wednesday, November 20th - Gold Rush Annual Thanksgiving Feast and Celebration of Learning
On Wednesday, November 20th, GRE will host the annual Thanksgiving Feast and Celebration of Learning. Join us in the classroom from 11:10-11:40, and your child will share his/her celebration of learning with you. This is followed by our Thanksgiving Feast lunch from 11:45-12:05 You can purchase tickets here to enjoy the Thanksgiving Lunch.
Food Drive - now through November 22nd
Student Council is
Also, if your child brings in a monetary donation to provide turkeys, they can wear their PJ's on Friday, November 22.
The two GRE classrooms with the largest participation will receive a Village-Inn pie party!
Also, if your child brings in a monetary donation to provide turkeys, they can wear their PJ's on Friday, November 22.
The two GRE classrooms with the largest participation will receive a Village-Inn pie party!
Dear Parents,
I can't believe it is already October! I have been enjoying working with your children every day! They are such a wonderful group of kiddos! This newsletter is designed to keep you updated with what your child is learning at school. Use this as a tool to communicate with me and with your child about their learning. In bold you will find questions or suggestions of how to spark a conversation about what your child is doing in school. Hopefully this will keep you from hearing "nothing" or "I don't know." We are very busy in first grade, as you will see!
Literacy:
Reading -
Reading -
We have "Reader's Workshop" everyday. We've been focusing on finding "Good Fit Books" and building our stamina for reading them in class, adding more time to sustained independent reading each day. It is so important for the kids to spend time in class - and at home - practicing the skills they are learning! The best way for your child to become a proficient reader to to spend time reading books on their level every day. I love how Richard Allington, a well-known educator and researcher, puts it: "Few can learn to do anything well without the opportunity to engage in whatever is being learned."
Gold Rush is uses a reading curriculum for grades K-5th written by reading expert Lucy Calkins.
First graders began the year with Unit 1: Building Good Reading Habits. We talk about how a habit is something you do every time, without thinking about it. We've been practicing the good habits readers do every time they read a book.
The following came home in your child's Homework Folder last week, so you can practice these at home too:
Ask your child to tell you what a "Good Fit Book" is:
A "Good Fit Book" is one where you....
*...know most of the words (This can be hard! When asked, the kids
usually say, "Yes! I knew all of the words" - even when they didn't.
Therefore, I tell the kids they should know all of the words. We are
learning what this looks and sounds like!)
*...understand the book - It makes sense to you! We talk a lot about how important it is to understand what we read. We are always
asking ourselves, "Does this make sense?"
As you read with your child, stop and ask them "Did that make sense?"
**It is essential that your child read Good Fit Books in order to grow as a reader. Please encourage, and help, your child find Good Fit Books to read at home!
Vacation Book: A book that your student can read very fluently and understands what they are reading. Too easy for the student, but can still enjoy every now and then.
Good Fit Book: A book that your student can read fluently, they understand what they are reading, knows almost all of the words (95-98% accurate!), and gets your student thinking! These books are the key to helping your child grow as a reader and should be read the majority of the time!
Dream Book: A book that your child is interested in reading, but he/she knows less than 95% of the words. This is a book that can be enjoyed by having someone read to them. This is also a book that your child will someday be able to read, but only after continuously reading Good Fit Books to help them grow as a reader.
**It is still so helpful and important for you to read to your child! Take time everyday for them to read to you, and for you to read to them and enjoy books together! This builds a love of reading!
Gold Rush is uses a reading curriculum for grades K-5th written by reading expert Lucy Calkins.
First graders began the year with Unit 1: Building Good Reading Habits. We talk about how a habit is something you do every time, without thinking about it. We've been practicing the good habits readers do every time they read a book.
The following came home in your child's Homework Folder last week, so you can practice these at home too:
We've also been talking about Good Habits for Solving Hard Words. The following sheet was sent home, explaining the decoding strategies readers use. Readers need to know a variety of strategies they can use to figure out tricky words. Often, not just one strategy will work!
Ask your child: "What can I do when I get stuck on a word?"
Finally, we also focus on comprehension strategies during Reader's Workshop time. Good readers utilize a variety of comprehension strategies which help them become purposeful, active readers who are in control of their own reading comprehension. These strategies include asking questions, predicting, monitoring your comprehension (being aware of when you do or don't understand), making inferences, visualizing what is happening in your head, and summarizing & synthesizing information. Right now we are working on a comprehension strategy called Making Connections. When we Make Connections we connect what we already know (our "schema" or background knowledge) to the text we are reading. We say, "This reminds me of..." Connections help us understand a story at a deeper level. Our connection can help us understand how a character is feeling. It can also help us predict what might happen next. We can also connect what we know with new learning. We listen to our "inner voice" when we read. When we learn something new, our "inner voice" might say, "Wow!" "I didn't know that!" "Cool!" or "Yuck! That is gross!"
As you read with your child ask them, "What connections do you have?" or "What does this remind you of?" or "What did you learn?" You can also model the connections you are making. It is great for them to hear examples of making meaningful connections!
We also have "Word Study" everyday. This is a time to focus on phonics and patterns we see in words. Gold Rush uses a program called Words Their Way. I've given the class a spelling test to see what they know about letters, letter combinations, and the sounds they make. This helped me start them at the appropriate Words Their Way level and differentiate for each child. Each week your child is given a "Word Sort." It has words that focus on a particular pattern, such as short vowels, blends (two letters whose sounds, when put together, blend closely - such as bl, st, dr, cr....), digraphs (two letters that, when put together, make a new sound - such as ch, sh, ph, th..), and long vowel patterns (two vowels that make one long vowel sound ("magic e"or "silent e" as in cake, and other combinations like oa, ai, ea...).
Another part of literacy is our Writer's Workshop:
Right now we are working on writing and telling "small moment" stories from the events in our lives. A small moment is one moment from our day. Unlike a huge "watermelon story," such as a trip to Disney Land, a small moment is a "seed story" - or one event from our trip, such as riding on Splash Mountain. First graders love to tell stories! They come in everyday with a story about going to the park, loosing a tooth, or playing with friends. But sometimes they struggle with coming up with ideas to write about. As they share their stories tell them, "That would make a great small moment for you to write about at school!"
In Writer's Workshop I teach them to go through the Writing Process. Our steps are:
1. - Think of an idea. For a small moment, this could be something you do (like riding my scooter or going to gymnastics), or something that has happened to you (like getting caught in a rain storm or making cookies with Dad.)
2. - Plan I tell them this is the most important! We will learn various ways to plan our story. Right now we are thinking about what happened first, then next, then after that and are "touching and telling" (touch each page as you tell the story out loud and think about what would go on each page), then sketch (draw a quick sketch on each page to help you remember your plan)
3. - Write! As you can see, we don't begin with writing our story!
4. - Revise I tell them, "When your done you've just begun!" We add detail to our story using "spider legs" and think how can I make my story better?
5. - Edit We check spelling and punctuation. We are talking about leaving spaces between our words, writing with lower-case letters, learning strategies for spelling words we don't know, and using punctuation. Of course not all of our spelling is expected to be correct! We focus on the patterns we are learning in our Words Their Way sort, and we use our Word Wall to help us spell. First graders spell phonetically and that is what we want them to do for most words right now.
Right now we are working on writing and telling "small moment" stories from the events in our lives. A small moment is one moment from our day. Unlike a huge "watermelon story," such as a trip to Disney Land, a small moment is a "seed story" - or one event from our trip, such as riding on Splash Mountain. First graders love to tell stories! They come in everyday with a story about going to the park, loosing a tooth, or playing with friends. But sometimes they struggle with coming up with ideas to write about. As they share their stories tell them, "That would make a great small moment for you to write about at school!"
In Writer's Workshop I teach them to go through the Writing Process. Our steps are:
1. - Think of an idea. For a small moment, this could be something you do (like riding my scooter or going to gymnastics), or something that has happened to you (like getting caught in a rain storm or making cookies with Dad.)
2. - Plan I tell them this is the most important! We will learn various ways to plan our story. Right now we are thinking about what happened first, then next, then after that and are "touching and telling" (touch each page as you tell the story out loud and think about what would go on each page), then sketch (draw a quick sketch on each page to help you remember your plan)
3. - Write! As you can see, we don't begin with writing our story!
4. - Revise I tell them, "When your done you've just begun!" We add detail to our story using "spider legs" and think how can I make my story better?
5. - Edit We check spelling and punctuation. We are talking about leaving spaces between our words, writing with lower-case letters, learning strategies for spelling words we don't know, and using punctuation. Of course not all of our spelling is expected to be correct! We focus on the patterns we are learning in our Words Their Way sort, and we use our Word Wall to help us spell. First graders spell phonetically and that is what we want them to do for most words right now.
Ask your child to tell you about the small moment stories they are writing.
Math:
Gold Rush adapted a new math curriculum this year - Envision Math. This is a wonderful program and adds some rigor to our curriculum. It can be a little challenging for some of the kids as it introduces many concepts earlier than in the past, but we are adjusting. Also, there is quite a bit of reading on some of the worksheets. I use some of them, and not others. (**Please see the note about the math worksheets below.)
A major goal of the Envision math program is to develop mathematical proficiency. We want students to have...
... a strong background in "number sense" - the ability to decompose numbers naturally, to use the relationships among arithmetic operations to solve problems, to understand the base ten number system, to estimate, and to recognize the relative and absolute magnitude of numbers (NCTM, 2000).
...and "procedural fluency." - students who have “skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately”
Click HERE to read an article explaining this in more depth.
I shared at conferences that students need to be proficient with their basic number facts in order to think flexibly and apply this knowledge when adding and subtracting. Therefore, it is so important for the kids to be playing the math games sent home often to build their proficiency with basic addition and subtraction facts within 20. 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:
A great video explaining number sense:
***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 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.
**Envision Math Worksheets: Some of the Envision math worksheets can be a little overwhelming this time of year. They often have a lot of reading and can move from concept to concept, which can be challenging for some of the kids. However, I do like the challenge they present. Your kids just might need a little help with them. **You may see some worksheets come home that are incomplete. I often have the kids do one side and tell them the other side is a "challenge" and optional. If you see these come home, you can choose to do some of the problems with them, but please don't get frustrated if they don't understand! These concepts will spiral and come up again, and many of the kids need to build their conceptual knowledge first. We use manipulatives (counters, unifix cubes...) in class and draw pictures to help kids "see" the math on a concrete level before moving to the abstract.
A major goal of the Envision math program is to develop mathematical proficiency. We want students to have...
... a strong background in "number sense" - the ability to decompose numbers naturally, to use the relationships among arithmetic operations to solve problems, to understand the base ten number system, to estimate, and to recognize the relative and absolute magnitude of numbers (NCTM, 2000).
...and "procedural fluency." - students who have “skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately”
Click HERE to read an article explaining this in more depth.
I shared at conferences that students need to be proficient with their basic number facts in order to think flexibly and apply this knowledge when adding and subtracting. Therefore, it is so important for the kids to be playing the math games sent home often to build their proficiency with basic addition and subtraction facts within 20. 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:
A great video explaining number sense:
***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 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.
**Envision Math Worksheets: Some of the Envision math worksheets can be a little overwhelming this time of year. They often have a lot of reading and can move from concept to concept, which can be challenging for some of the kids. However, I do like the challenge they present. Your kids just might need a little help with them. **You may see some worksheets come home that are incomplete. I often have the kids do one side and tell them the other side is a "challenge" and optional. If you see these come home, you can choose to do some of the problems with them, but please don't get frustrated if they don't understand! These concepts will spiral and come up again, and many of the kids need to build their conceptual knowledge first. We use manipulatives (counters, unifix cubes...) in class and draw pictures to help kids "see" the math on a concrete level before moving to the abstract.
Count often with your children. Practice counting by ones, fives, tens, and twos to 120. When they become fluent, try starting at a number other than one.
Play the math games sent home often - keep them in a safe place and play them over and over again!
Make story problems for your kids, such as "We are having people over for dinner. One family has 6 people, one has 5, and we have 4. How many plates will I need?
Social Studies:
It is so important to take the time to build a strong classroom community in the beginning of the year in which all students feel safe and can learn. We talk a lot about our school motto, Going for the G.O.L.D.: Give respect, Own your actions, Listen and Learn, and Do your best. We've been discussing how to be a good citizen, and characteristics of a good citizen. The kids began collaborating in small groups to create posters that explain how to be good citizens at Gold Rush and go for the G.O.L.D. around our building. We will post these around the school.
We will include a "QR Code" (a barcode people can scan from their smartphone or iPad) on our posters that will take them to the presentation the kids create in Seesaw that describes their poster. We are discussing how to Collaborate and Communicate with our peers. These are two of the "4C's" that are part of Douglas County's GVC (Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum).
Ask your child to tell teach you about what it looks like and sounds like to go for the G.O.L.D. at Gold Rush.
Science:
We began our first science unit called Pebbles, Sand, and Silt. This is an introduction to rocks and minerals. The kids really love working with the rocks we feel like real geologists! This unit introduces concepts in earth science while practicing the process of inquiry. The activities provide experiences that heighten students' awareness of rocks as earth materials and natural resources. They come to know rocks by many names and in a variety of sizes. For example, pebbles and sand are the same material - rock - just different in size.
Begin a rock collection! Find different and unique rocks around your neighborhood. Describe the properties of the rocks you find!
THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY VOLUNTEERS WHO HAVE STARTED HELPING ME WITH HOMEWORK FOLDERS, SIGHT WORD ASSESSMENTS, AND WORD WORK SUPPORT!
THANK YOU TO ANDREA KEWLEY AND MONIQUE FAILER FOR MAKING OUR DIGGER DASH BANNER! IT WAS AMAZING!
THANKS TO ADREA KEWLEY FOR PLANNING AND COORDINATING OUR HALLOWEEN PARTY!
THANKS TO ADREA KEWLEY FOR PLANNING AND COORDINATING OUR HALLOWEEN PARTY!
AND THANKS TO ALL PARENTS FOR SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD AT HOME! YOUR CHILDREN ARE WONDERFUL AND THAT IS A REFLECTION OF YOU!
