Numbers to 10
Our first math chapter is all about numbers to 10. This chapter helps the students review and practice how to count objects to 10, how to compare numbers (more, fewer, greater than, less than), and how to complete number patterns (1 more, 1 less). This week students began using different classroom materials during our math lessons: ten frames, counters, and connecting cubes.
Students brought their favorite books to school and completed their own favorite book activity page, writing the title, author's name, and drawing a picture of their favorite part. When they were finished, we practiced presenting and sharing their work with the class.
The class learned:
- How to pick a smart spot to read
- How to take care of our books and library
- How to preview a book
- look at the front cover
- look at the back cover
- flip through the pages
- look at the pictures and words
- think about what the book is going to be about
- ask yourself, "Am I interested in the book? Do I want to read it?"
- How to pick a just right book (5 finger rule)
- Appropriate reading voice level
- voice level 0 = no talking
- voice level 1 = whisper
- voice level 2 = table talk
During writing students continued to work on their summer writing pieces, adding details to their writing and illustrations.
Our class is also practicing forming letters correctly and writing our letters neatly using handwriting lines. Each day students have a new letter to try as part of their morning work. During morning meeting, we review the letter name and sound, then I model writing the letter on the board. We talk about what we notice: Is it tall? Is it short? Does it hang underneath the line? Do we form it the same way we form other letters (e.g. c -> o)? Where does the letter start? Afterwards, the students share words that begin with that letter and we collect a list of words on the board.
At the beginning of the week I introduced our first list of weekly words. Every Monday students will write the weekly words in their spelling notebook for homework. Throughout the week students will practice reading and spelling the words by participating in different spelling activities. This week our class learned a spelling game called Sparkle. We will play this game at the end of every week to practice and review our spelling words before the spelling test on Friday.
Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship
How Can We Get Along in School?
This week we started our first social studies unit focused on Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship. Our first question was, "How can we get along at school?"
During this unit students will:
- learn how to solve problems
- examine why we have rules
- understand how people can work together
To begin answering the question, "How do we get along in school?" the class listened to a story called The Goats on a Bridge. We read the first part, then stopped and brainstormed what might happen next.
The students came up with a lot of different ideas, such as:
- the goats will fight
- the goats will fall into the water
- one goat will jump over the other goat
- the goats will take turns
- Ms. Allison