Spelling & Reading

Hello! Because of the four-day week, our spelling test will be on Thursday. Please be sure to practice! Here is the link for Spelling City with this weeks words. Also, I will be sending the Reading books home for the long weekend. Please have your child practice the three stories we've read so far; Sam Come Back!, Pig in a Wig, and The Big Blue Ox.

Huge sighs...

We had a spectacular apple-activity filled day in room B-7 on Friday. We used our five senses to look at apples, touch, taste, and smell apples, and hear the sound an apple makes when we bite into it... CRUNCH! We even measured ingredients and made our own applesauce! Yummy! And, of course, we discussed Johnny Appleseed and made a special pot hat too.

I took a load of pictures... and unfortunately, my SD card for my camera 'died' on me. When I realized this on Saturday evening, my stomach dropped. I couldn't wait till Monday to have Mr. Smyton try to recover my files. Today, Mr. Smyton was able to recover only five pictures... imagine my disappointment! Luckily, I had the group shot from Friday's newsletter, so I will post our apple-filled day on the class website soon with what we recovered.

That's technology for ya! ;)

~ Johnny Appleseed ~

What a busy day we had in our classroom on Friday! We learned about apples... and Johnny Appleseed. Look for pictures & more on the class website soon. :)

** On a side note... if for some reason you are unable to view content on our class website, it most likely means that your computer needs a java or adobe update.... Let me know if you are having trouble!

Little Red Hens in B-7...

I have posted the video of our version of The Little Red Hen on the class website. We listened to different versions of the story, and decided that we really liked The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza. We decided to write and model our story from this book, with the hen making chocolate chip cookies. We sat on the carpet, and together wrote the story script on the easel. Students volunteered for parts, and we recorded in front of the green screen with our Flip Mino class camcorder. We had so much fun! I loved hearing the students read with expression, showing their personalities through their parts. We hope you enjoy our video!

Spelling Games

Here is a direct link to the Spelling Word list for week 2 on Spelling City.com. The words are already added... just click on Test Me, Teach Me, or Play a Game to begin!

Floating Heads!?

Today I introduced the students to "green screen" movie making. We began writing our script for our version of the story The Little Red Hen. Each student will have a part in the final video. I hung our classroom "green screen" up and explained to students that when we record in front of the screen, the background will be whatever we want it to be in the final video. I showed the class an example of a video from previous years. They thought the background change was pretty cool!

One thing I had to explain was the idea of "floating heads". There were a few students wearing green today. I explained to the class, that if you are wearing green, and we replace the background with a picture, everything that is green becomes the background. So... if you are wearing a green shirt, your shirt becomes the background, and your head looks like it's floating in the air! Of course, they thought this sounded pretty neat! :)

We will continue recording our video over the next couple of days. It's always exciting to see student personalities 'come alive' in front of the green screen.

Puppies & Pigs

We've had a busy couple of days in room B-7. Yesterday we read Harry the Dirty Dog, by Gene Zion and did a modeled writing where the students wrote a trick they would like to teach a dog. We also heard the story No Roses for Harry. We discussed dogs, and how responsible owners take care of their pets. One of our "amazing words" in this reading unit is responsibility.

Today we heard many different versions of the classic tale, The Three Little Pigs. We used a Venn Diagram to compare/contrast the original tale with The Three Little Javelinas, by Susan Lowell. We also heard The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. The students really enjoyed this twist on the story... he wasn't called the "big bad pig" for nothing!

Tonight, your child may be bringing home a Decodable Reader, Fix It! or the story If Dogs Ruled the World. They are also bringing home an optional small reader which is yet another twist on The Three Little Pigs story. This optional read, if signed, can be brought back tomorrow for a small 'prize' box item.

Have a great night!

Lost Pets & Laptops

Today B-7 had the opportunity to use the PC Netbook mobile lab. They did such a wonderful job! Yesterday, the students wrote a lost pet ad in their "marble books" (aka journals) They also illustrated their writing. We used a cool website called fodey.com to generate our own lost pet ads. I'll be posting pictures and student work soon on the website.

If you haven't seen our class blog yet, be sure to check it out. I've added the link to the left sidebar of the class website. Also, feel free to add a comment to the students' posts. Mrs. Abernethy's "Creative Cougars", a fifth grade class from East Elementary, in Greenville, PA has added comments to our blog. We will also be learning about pets from her class... they have many classroom pets!

If you do not see your child's blog posted yet... be patient! Three students have been working each day to get their blog going. (During morning seatwork time & down-time throughout the day) Also, please keep in mind that these blog entries are unedited. :)
This blog will show growth in your child's writing. We've been learning and talking about sentences all week. We are slowly beginning to develop our writing.

Homework

Tonight your child will be bringing home a Decodable Reader called The Pack, with the phonics skill of final -ck. Please listen to your child read this. :) Feel free to make comments of both praise and/or concern on the Reader to let me know how your child did. We re-read them the next day during small group instruction.
Tomorrow, your child will be bringing home their Reader for the first time. The Reader will be sent home each week on Wednesday night and again on Thursday night. On Friday, we will have our first Spelling test. Be sure to practice your words!

Today we did review of ten frames on the Smartboard with an online Math activity. You can visit the website here, and play at home too. There are many more math resources located on the left sidebar of the website under Student Activities.

Ms. B

Happy Monday!

Today we began our Reading instruction. We took our first Spelling 'pre-test' and read Tap, Tap, Tap! for our Decodable Reader. Your child will be bringing this booklet home tonight for homework. Encourage him/her to read it at least three times for fluency. We will be reading the booklets together in small groups tomorrow, and your child's book will be 'stickered' and sent back home. Please keep these Decodable Readers for practice at home. They provide a great way to practice fluent reading.

B-7 students have also been introduced to their class blog, http://kidblog.org/B-7Bobcats/. This year, we will use this blog to share thoughts about a topic relating to our Reading unit. Students will discuss a topic or ask questions about something that may interest them during the unit. The first topic for our blog is "PETS". Watch for new posts from the students, and feel free to add comments! Students love to see their work published for an authentic audience... and seeing a comment really builds excitement for writing!

We will also be collaborating this year with a first grade class from Morning Sun Elementary, in Iowa via our class blog and will use Skype to videoconference. Your child will have a "pen-pal" from this first grade classroom throughout the year. What a great way to learn about another part of the United States!

Reading Series

Tomorrow we will be starting into the Reading Series. I have already posted the weeks Spelling Words on the website. We will be working on short /a/, final /ck/ and will be reviewing the words, in, on, & way.
If you'd like to practice your spelling words using Spelling City, click here. There is also a picture link on the bottom left sidebar of the class wiki.

Ms. B

MATH Homework

Today we worked on making 6 in Math. Your child will be bringing home a worksheet for making 7 that is similar to the one done in class today. Please encourage your child to double check their work for silly counting errors. We had many today in class. :)

Parent Orientation

Thank you for those who were able to attend parent orientation last night. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me or add a comment to this post. To learn more about our first grade Language Arts or Math curriculum, click on the links.

Please be sure to review the forty high frequency words that your child should know from Kindergarten. Knowledge of these words is essential for success in reading.
* Words to Know 1-20
* Words to Know 21-40

We have been reviewing word families since school began. If you see these words come home, please review them with your child. On Monday, we will be starting our Reading Series. :)

I'm looking forward to a great year in 1st grade!

Thank you!
Ms. B