End of Year Celebration

We will have our End-of-the-Year Celebration on Thursday, June 5th. Setup will be at 9:30 while the children are at brunch.

Math Test

A passing score on Topic 16 quiz is 9. Two students achieved a perfect score.

One Hundred Sixty Fourth Day of School

Our filming was postponed to Thursday as our director brought the wrong power cable to location.

One Hundred Sixty-Third Day of School

Students will  have with them their notes for the end of the year Science and Social Science tests. They are likely to have greater success on the tests if an adult studies with them. Please post any questions you may have regarding the notes in the comments section of this post. If you have a question it is probably likely someone else may have a similar question.

The 1st grade teachers have discussed having our spring dancers wear a yellow shirt and possibly blue pants or shorts. A hat with a brim may also be in order since it will at least be sunny next Friday and our dance is no longer held in the morning as it has been in years past.

Some students are still missing one or both of this reporting period's Reading Logs.

Tomorrow we will be filming several sequences and some last remaining PSA's. Please remind your child not to wear green and to tie back long hair styles.

One Hundred Fifty-Fourth Day of School

Reading Logs due tomorrow.

Reminder: Lunches should be packed in a paper sack with name and  number written on the outside.

Field Study

A number of parents have asked about field trip chaperons. Each teacher was asked to choose one parent to be cleared through the Parent Center. The teachers usually do not have information on bus space until the day of the trip. All parents that ride on the bus need to be cleared by the Parent Center. As far as going in a separate vehicle, the issue with the Getty Museum is always parking. In the past, anyway, it has been necessary for those going to the museum to have parking reservations.

Lunches should be packed in a disposable paper sack with name and number written on the outside.

Math Quizzes

The passing score for the Topic 13 quiz is 7. The passing score for Topic 14 quiz is 9. A combined score of at least 16 will also qualify as a pass of the measurement standards.

Final Project Presentation

The compilation of our public service announcements (PSA) will be on view in room 11 during Tuesday's Literacy Night. You may notice that some students chose to use a pseudonym for their presentation. I allowed this in case they wished to publish their PSA publicly online.

One Hundred Forty-Third Day of School

We will attempt our first round of taping Final Project taping on Wednesday. Those students who are taping have already finished their script.

We will probably have a Math quiz on Friday. This quiz along with the last will be combined to make one test score for the last 2 topics.

One Hundred Thirty-Eighth Day of School

We have been hard at work writing our informational pieces. Ten students have begun work on their scripts which they will use to make their final presentation. We will probably begin taping presentations the week of 04/07 so that editing can begin during spring break. Students will need to consider what they would like to be wearing the day of their taping. It is important that they wear nothing green and best if longer hairstyles are tied back behind the head. Students who have given me a flash drive will be given a finished digital copy of their project for their portfolio.

Completed scripts will be typed and sent home for rehearsal some time next week.

One Hundred Twenty-Seventh Day of School

Contest Reading Logs are due tomorrow. Students returning these logs on the appropriate form will receive credit for the month of February and March. Your child's last Reading Log will be for the month of April.

The following tested concepts have been covered in science so far this unit:

• The main elements of weather are heat, water, and air. A fourth significant element is land formations (geography).
• Air can push and pull objects. 
• Air and water can push and pull each other.
• Air pressure can be very strong.
• Hot air rises, cold air sinks.
• Air can be used to propel objects.

Recently we again discussed the idea of needs vs. wants. This time we discussed human's hierarchy of needs for survival (tested):

1. Air
2. Water
3. Food
4. Shelter
5. Companionship/Love

We are currently working with the four cardinal directions in Social Science, namely, north, south, east and west (tested). Later we will use the intermediate or ordinal directions.

If you have not yet turned in your child's Final Project topic, please get that to me by Tuesday at the latest. Choosing a topic makes the learning more meaningful for the student.

Unit 5 Week 1 Preview

We will be looking towards the sky to see what we can learn this week in our new unit on nature. We will read pourquoi tales from a few indigenous cultures. Our vocabulary words are: discover, dusk, mysterious, pale, and scatter. We will spell with r-controlled vowels. Our comprehension strategy will be to generate questions in order to develop the skill of identifying cause and effect. Our high frequency words will be: another, climbed, full, poor, and through. We will discuss "voice" as a writing trait.

Final Project

Real World Informative Writing

For their final project, all 1st graders will be creating a piece of informative writing in a product which could be used for audiences outside of the classroom setting. With parent's and the teacher's guidance, students will become an expert on a chosen topic (see below) and produce a public service announcement (PBA), an interview segment, or a brochure to exhibit their verbal, research, creative, and possibly, speaking skills.

Students will chose a topic/essential question from the following disciplines/areas of study:

• Health Science: example essential questions: 
• How can smoking affect your health?
• Why is exercise an important part of a healthy lifestyle?
• Earth Science and Conservation: example essential questions:
• What can families do to reduce air pollution in their community?
• How do shopping choices impact the environment?

In order to facilitate the process in the classroom, parents should discuss the areas of study with their child in order to find an area of interest within the topic. Once the topic has been decided, work with your child to develop an essential question. Have your child write the question down and return it to class. Students should also start to think about what they would like their final product to be. Research materials may also be located with family assistance and brought to class. If necessary, research materials will be provided by the teacher.

In the classroom, students will develop a topic sentence based on their essential question. They will review the research materials to write details to support the topic sentence. Finally, they will write a conclusion based on what they have learned. Information on the grade level reading and writing standards for this project can be found on pages 7 and 14 of this document.

Please have topics chosen and returned to the classroom as soon as possible so that research materials may be gathered.

Information on the environment and conservation can be found here. Information on 1st grade Health Science standards can be found on pages 7-9 of this document. Information on fitness, nutrition and health can be found on this Webpage.

Optional Home Project

For social studies we have been working on neighborhood maps. At this point in the year it is suggested that parents direct students to a mapping program (Google Maps) on the Internet and locate their home's satellite photograph. Magnify the view to approximately 100ft/inch. Size to show their block and a portion of surrounding blocks. Have your child make a simple map (a sample is available in the classroom) with legend (key) under your direction but in their hand. On your child's map, buildings could be shown as simple rectangles. Print a view of the satellite picture (preferably w/o address and real estate information, which can be blackened out if necessary) and attach to the hand-drawn map and send with your child to class.

Unit 4 Week 5 Preview

We will explore animals working in teams. Insects in colonies, cleaner fish, and the protective nature of herds are a few examples. Our oral vocabulary words are behavior, group, plead, soar, vivid. In phonics we will work with long-vowel 'e' and use its spellings 'y' (sunny) and 'ey' (monkey). Our high frequency focus words are also, because, blue, or, other, until. We will analyze text structure in order to hone our retelling comprehension skill.

Topic 10 Math Test

Of 23 Students taking the test 19 students passed with a score of 12 or better. Three students achieved a perfect score.

One-Hundred Tenth Day of School

Today we learned about comparatives and superlatives to compare two or more objects.

In Math we began Topic 11 (Subtracting Tens ands Ones).

In Social Science we learned the important elements of a map and began work on our own small scale maps. In later lessons we will be constructing maps of increasingly larger areas.

Unit 4 Week 4 Preview

Continuing with our exploration of teams, we will ask how teams accomplish big goals (The Wright Brothers, The Kite: Days with Frog and Toad). We will also discuss how teammates encourage and support one another. We wil use visualization as a comprehension strategy to analyze problem and solution, our comprehension skill. Our oral vocabulary words are approach, assist, determined, quarrel, view. Our sight words are ball, head, never, should, shout, meadow, perhaps.

One-Hundred Seventh Day of School

World maps went home with students today to be studied for a test next week. This is basically a pass/fail type of a test and a significant portion of the Social Science grade for this reporting period. All information asked for has to be placed correctly on a blank copy of the world map which students will be given at testing time.

Topic 10 Math Test will also be taken next week. This topic includes the concept of regrouping which some students usually find challenging.

Due to changes in the school calendar, plans have changed for this year's culminating project. Information will be posted following upcoming grade-level planning meetings.

One-Hundred Fifth Day of School

World maps will be sent home soon for students to study the oceans, continent, and Los Angles for a Social Science test.

There will be no math lesson on Friday in order to save time for Science and our Valentine's message exchange.

Teachers will meet and decide tomorrow which of the sportsmanship speeches will be read at the citizenship assembly at the end of the month. The parents of the winning student will be notified later this week so they may make plans.

Unit 4 Week 3 Preview

This week we explore how we can work cooperatively to improve a community. We learn through the examples of leaders like Cesar Chavez. We use the comprehension strategy of rereading to sharpen our comprehension skill of retelling. Our oral vocabulary words are: accomplish, agree, argue, attempt, goal. Our sight words are: better, buy, change, move, difficult, ripe. We will emphasize various spellings of the long-o sound in phonics and spelling.

We will begin the study of constructing an informational text. For the parents who requested a copy of the writing scoring guide, please note that the requirements for the final writing exam are very similar to those on the scoring guide you already have. The only difference is the genre. So students will need to introduce a specific topic, support their opening statement with reasons, then write a concluding remark in order to pass.

Topic 9 Math Test

Of 22 students taking this test, 21 students passed with a score of 17 or better. Three students achieved a perfect score and 19 scored 20 or better.

Unit 4 Week 2 Preview

For our current week of instruction we are discussing how families are the most important team we will be a part of. Our oral vocabulary words are concerned, fortunate, member, share, trust. Our sight words are about, give, pretty, were, write. We are spelling with the long-vowel patterns 'ee', and 'ea'. Our comprehension strategy is asking questions; our comprehension skill is character and setting analysis. Recalling what characters do in particular settings helps us to recall events in a story and improves our ability to retell. For grammar we are continuing our work with subject verb agreement with the verb to have.

Ninety-Eighth Day of School

Our reading passage led us to ask a bunch of questions about bees, which is good because our strategy this week was to generate questions. We wonder if anyone can help us find an answer or two.

• How do bees sting?
• How do bees make honey?
• How do queens lay eggs?
• What is the job of the drone?
• How do people get honey?
• How does the honey get to the store?
• How do bees make the hive?

If any parents are interested, the scoring guide for our first semester writing assignment is available. Just indicate on the homework if you'd like a copy. Scoring guides for subsequent tests in 1st grade will be very similar. 

Reading logs due tomorrow.

Topic 9 Math Test will be near the beginning of the week next week if not on Monday.

Ninety-Seventh Day of School

Today we wrote sensory sentences, cooperatively, trying our hand with adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases.

For Social Science we discussed the meaning and importance of our right to vote.

We took the District Math Assessment.

There is no homework tonight.

Reminders

January Reading logs are due Friday.

Unsatisfactory Notices will go home today with some students please sign and return bottom portion to signify your receipt of the notice. Again, it is not necessary for 1st graders to know the specifics of the notice itself. It is for parents' information.

Unit 4 Week 1

In our new unit we will take a look at teamwork and what is necessary for teammates to work together. This week we will read folk tales and fables as well as a selection on bees working as a team. We will practice the comprehension strategy of generating questions to improve our comprehension skill of making predictions. Our oral vocabulary words are encourage, friendship, relationship, rely, suggest. Our sight words are across, carry, eight, once, saw, upon, walked. We will focus on various spellings of the 'long-a' vowel sound specifically 'ai_' (paid) and '_ay' (pay).

We will take the district Math Periodic Assessment this week.

In science we will begin exploring the weather element air and its capabilities.

Ninety-Fourth Day of School

This week we learned the 3 most important elements of weather: air, heat, and water (tested). It was noted that land formations were a close fourth, but for our purposes in 1st grade science we focus on the former 3 especially for our experiments.

It has been confirmed that we will have Ms. Jordahl for the drama portion of our Arts instruction later in the year. This is good news as she is an experienced, knowledgeable drama teacher from whom the children learn a lot and really enjoy.

On Monday, February 3rd, we will be celebrating the 100th day of school.

Our midyear battery of reading tests is complete. Two students scored perfectly on the objective comprehension portion of the test.

January reading logs are due this coming Friday.

Ninety-Second Day of School

Twelve students passed the Topic 8 Math Test of 22 students taking the test with an adjusted passing score of 12 or better. The modal average score was 13. There were no perfect scores; two students only missed one question.

Unit 3 Week 5 Preview

This final week of the Having Fun Unit we compare children in different parts of the world to ourselves. We analyze text structure for our comprehension strategy and compare and contrast for the comprehension skill. Our oral vocabulary words are culture, custom, language, similar, skill. Our sight words are any, boy, by, does, friend, girl, water. We will also focus (review) triple consonant blend spelling patterns (scrap, splat, stretch).

Eighty-Eighth Day of School

Our next math test will most likely be this coming Tuesday. An important concept on the test will be the concept we learned today (see today's classwork and homework).

At-Home Project

The 1st grade will be hosting the Citizen of the Month Assembly at the end of February. One child from the 1st grade classes will be chosen to read an essay they have written on the subject of sportsmanship. All students wishing to be considered for reading a speech to the student body at the end of the February need to submit an essay to their teacher by Friday, February 7th. A winning essay/student will be chosen by the 1st grade teachers the following week. Parents of that child will be notified so they can make plans to be at the assembly. This is good public speaking experience and an excellent opportunity for video memories.

Eighty-Sixth Day of School

Some nice responses to optional math homework were received. Most students should find this extra practice of value when tests are administered later this month. I sent back a few for a second try with assignment 1. A strategy which seemed helpful for some students was to actually make a set of cards like Dora, manipulate the cards, and write a list of all the possible 2-digit numbers she could make. Then choose the numbers from the list which answer the questions. There is only one correct response to each part (although students may solve the problems using a variety of strategies).

The Memorable Moments lists I saw were also very good. I sent one back in case that parent would like to make a copy of the list. What would be helpful to your child is to choose one or two of the moments each day and retell the story to someone in the household. The first task of narrative building will be to tell their story to a writing partner.

You should find a double folded sheet containing Social Science notes which should be removed from your child's folder and kept with their other Science and Social Science notes at home. The sheet should be titled Symbols of the U.S.A.

Homework Assignment Update

Please try to have your child's list of Memorable Moments completed by this Wednesday. It may be helpful for your child to keep a copy of the list at home. Consider adding to the list over the next few weeks as necessary. Take some time occasionally to discuss a moment and have your child review the memory orally in story format.

Unit 3 Week 4 Preview

We will be discussing how we can be creative and resourceful and likewise how the characters in our selections exhibit these characteristics and what it is that inspires them. Our vocabulary words for this week are create, hobby, inspire, resourceful, structure. Among our selections this week is a fantasy by Harry Horse called A Friend for Little Bear, in which a resourceful toy bear learns the importance of friends over collecting possessions. Another selection is Karen Lynn Williams' story Galimoto about a resourceful child in Africa who has to make his own toys from found objects.

Our comprehension strategy will be making inferences in order to draw conclusions, our comprehension skill. Our sight words will be after done, find, old, new, work.

We will also be working on our midyear reading assessment battery.

We will continue with final silent 'e' long vowel spellings for the remaining vowels along with open syllable long vowels as well as the remaining stanza of our vowel poem.

In Science we will be beginning our unit on weather.

In Visual Arts we will focus on color as a second element of art.

Homework Assignment (This assignment is NOT optional)

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will return to the genre of personal narratives and narratives for writing instruction and independent writing practice.

The Assignment:

With your assistance, over the next few days, have your child construct a list of memorable events. These individual events should be about moments which occur across a time span of approximately 20 minutes maximum in length. Each event should have an identifiable emotion (or two) attached to it (fear, happiness, surprise).

Examples of events which will not work:

• My Day at Disneyland
• Christmas Morning
• My Birthday Party
• The Winning Game

Examples of events which will work:

• Meeting Cinderella
• Opening My Favorite Gift
• Breaking the Pinata
• Scoring the Winning Goal

Try to make a list of close to 20 memorable moments. We will refer to this list as our list of Memorable Moments. Hopefully your child will be able to construct at least 10 narratives from events in the list. They will eventually be choosing from among those narratives one which they focus on for elaboration, revising, and editing for publication.

Optional Math Assignment 3

Find the missing number which makes this number sentence correct.

   48 + __ = 55

Show work using pictures (model), words, and numbers.

Again, do not teach or show your child how to do this problem. Watch their process. Some explanations may include references to place value.