We are trying something additional with the challenge spelling words this week. Remember they are always available on my blog and the Mann-Tastic First Grade Blog. Your child will have options when trying the challenge spelling words for the week. Option 1 will be to spell the words. Option 2 will be to spell the words in a sentence. This second option give the students an opportunity to apply understanding of good sentence structure as well as application of the words in a sentence.
During math stations last Friday we worked on logging-in and beginning the math placement test in MobyMax. We will finish that this week and then I will send home the log-in information for the site so your child can work on it at home in addition to our math stations time here at school.
We will also talk about our safe place for Mann School is the Temple down on Berkshire and Harlem. This is where we will go if we are outside when there is a hard lock down announcement and it would not be safe for us to go into the school.
One thing we talked about at our staff meetings last year is that the police commander explained that people will resort to their most basic level of training in a crisis. We want the children to be prepared and know what to do. Just like a fire drill {which will happen this week Wednesday}--we want it to be something they know exactly how to handle. We are not at all intending to scare the children and go into specifics that are not age appropriate--but we want them to be prepared for any circumstances they may have to encounter.
This week was our first iWonder Wednesday in room 108! We started off our first iWonder Wednesday focusing on the news. What do we wonder about the news and all it takes to make a newscast? You can check out our iWonder Wall here. This is an ongoing interactive wall so I encourage you to add to it with your first grader! The reason for this wondering is part of our learning this year will be teaching others what we've learned. We will do this via our class twitter handle. {More info coming soon} and our very own news program! At the end of units of study, we are going to create a newscast to teach you what we've learned. {THAT is the ultimate demonstration of understanding of new knowledge, being able to teach it to others.} More about this year-long project/learning experience will be relayed to you as it progresses and develops. I have a framework in my mind of how I think it will look, but with the help of the children, it may change and evolve to look like something else. Super excited about this...and the kids are too! :D
We practiced as a class a hard lock down this week. We will practice as a school soon, but wanted the children to have a chance to practice as a class today. Here is where we stand with our crisis drill. I explained that there are 2 types of drills. There is a hard lock down that means someone or something is in the building that should not be. There will be an announcement over the intercom that says "This is a hard lock down." That signals us to lock our doors, shut off the lights, and move away from the doors and windows. "This is a soft lock down" announcement means that there is someone or something going on outside the school building that we need to stay away from so we will carry on as usual inside the school, but we will not open the outside doors or go outside for recess.
We will also talk about our safe place for Mann School is the Temple down on Berkshire and Harlem. This is where we will go if we are outside when there is a hard lock down announcement and it would not be safe for us to go into the school.
One thing we talked about at our staff meetings last year is that the police commander explained that people will resort to their most basic level of training in a crisis. We want the children to be prepared and know what to do. Just like a fire drill {which will happen this week Wednesday}--we want it to be something they know exactly how to handle. We are not at all intending to scare the children and go into specifics that are not age appropriate--but we want them to be prepared for any circumstances they may have to encounter.
This week was our first iWonder Wednesday in room 108! We started off our first iWonder Wednesday focusing on the news. What do we wonder about the news and all it takes to make a newscast? You can check out our iWonder Wall here. This is an ongoing interactive wall so I encourage you to add to it with your first grader! The reason for this wondering is part of our learning this year will be teaching others what we've learned. We will do this via our class twitter handle. {More info coming soon} and our very own news program! At the end of units of study, we are going to create a newscast to teach you what we've learned. {THAT is the ultimate demonstration of understanding of new knowledge, being able to teach it to others.} More about this year-long project/learning experience will be relayed to you as it progresses and develops. I have a framework in my mind of how I think it will look, but with the help of the children, it may change and evolve to look like something else. Super excited about this...and the kids are too! :D
Please continue to practice shoe-tying with your first grader. As we approach the wet/snowy seasons, being able to be independent with this skill is very important :)
We are an energetic and eager bunch of ice cream cones! We have awesome dialogues as a class. We are struggling a wee bit with our voice levels when working independently. I love a loud classroom that is engaged and learning BUT when it is independent work time and we are talking too loud, some children have a hard time with their focus when this happens. We talk about voice levels, practice them, and know what each number means. To help the students I have an awesome App that allows for tracking of voice levels and we earn stars as a class. Stars will translate into Horseshoe Hoorays! :)
We also had a real deal practice of reading workshop. The stations include word work, independent reading, writing, and teaching table. We practiced expectations all week as a group and today was our chance to shine as small group learners. I am so proud of how much we are getting down and really getting into the flow of first grade!
We also had a guest reader for our chapter book read aloud, Mr. Kaegi! He brought his class down to enjoy snack and a chapter from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Mr. Kaegi's, Mrs. Domalick's, and our class will be participating in festivities on Monday, September 15th to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this classic book by Roald Dahl! You can see more about what we will be up to here.
The collages look amazing! Thank you so much for helping us with this project. They are now attached to our lightbulb labs to help inspire us with our writing!
Thank you so much for ALL you do!
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