Nouns!

We have begun learning about the parts of speech! We have focused on nouns, occasionally talking about proper and common nouns. Check out our noun scavenger hunt around the room! 

Dailies as Centers!

Today was our second try at using our daily literacy activities as rotating centers. This way all children will get to do Read to Someone, Listening, Wonder Center, Word Work, and Work on Writing each week! During this time, I am also calling guided reading groups. Here are some of the kids at their centers today! 

Beginning middle and end!

We are working very hard on improving our writing by adding Bold Beginnings. We have read many picture books to learn what other authors do to hook their readers. 

This book uses a question at the beginning. 

This book gives us a snapshot of the main character. 

And this book, which seemed to be a favorite, used onomatopoeia or sound words to make its beginning fun! 

Here are two student examples of bold beginnings using strategies we learned from books! 

First Grade Homework!

This year, students will have a few things to work on each night as homework.

Rocket Math: Students will be bringing home test papers they complete in class on which they did not answer 20 or more problems. The rest of the problems on the top and all the problems on the bottom are to practice! I have even had students tell me their parents are making flash cards for them... Awesome!! This fact practice does not need to come back to school, just their rocket math folder and stapled answer sheet packet. There is more information about Rocket Math on our math blog! Math Blog! 

Guided Reading Books: Students should be bringing home guided reading books in their book baggies. Practice these books at home! They may not be bringing a book every night because I may not have seen their group that day or we did focus lessons and a reread instead of a new text. These books should always come back to school! 

Reading: First graders should be reading for 20 minutes each night. They should be bringing home a book of their choice from our class library each night as well.

Sight words: Each week we write out our 6 words of the week and put them in bags to go home. These are words they need to read and spell in writing. Also, many of you  have already been sending in notes saying your child is ready to be tested on various lists from our yellow sight word books. These are the books with the giraffe on the front. Be sure to let me know when your student is ready to be tested on a list! 

Finally,

Math Homework: Now that we have begun switching to our new math teachers, students will usually have homework Mondays through Thursdays. Every math teacher will not necessarily send home the same homework. This is to reinforce what is done in class! 

Whew! We are working hard in first grade and already showing great progress! :)


And, just for fun, here are a few Screen Chomps students have created to demonstrate the main idea of a text.  Other students have even brought in drawings and sentences that match books they have reread at home from reading groups in hopes of making Screen Chomps for them in class.  I have also had a few parents ask how to use it on the Ipad.  It is a free download through the Itunes store.  I am not sure if it is available on other tablets besides the Ipad.  The students draw their image first, using their fingers, and then press the red REC button on the bottom right corner.  There will be a three second count down, and then they can record their voices.  Once they are finished recording, they press the square (stop button) and it will play back.  You can share Screen Chomps through email so your child could email it to your actual email account!  This, of course, is just if you were interested in using this app at home!

N.S.'s Screen Chomp
G. L.'s Screen Chomp
T. G.'s Screen Chomp!