Weekly Round Up

This week is one of those weeks we all have to work just a wee bit harder to keep our "engines just right." It can be a tall task, especially as we get closer to the Halloween festivities! It all goes down this Friday! We have the parade at 9:30 and parties in the afternoon starting at 1:30.

But until then.....here is what is happening in room 27!

Math
The last couple of weeks children have been exposed to addition and subtraction strategies that allow them to practice a deeper understanding of how number work together and to use those strategies to solve word problems. We've learned several strategies including number lines, doubles, near doubles, and think addition to subtract. Children continue to have hands on opportunities with the part-part-whole model. manipulatives, and number lines. We've also begun working on fact families to see the relation of addition and subtraction. Here are a few strategies we are using to solve story problems in our math journal.

Phonics
Children have continued to tap and blend to read and spell. In addition, we learned about letters that "stick together". Children have practiced reading, building, and writing words with digraphs or h-pals as well as with the ck ending. We are also continuing to learn about the appropriate sentence frame including capitalization and punctuation. Have your child be a "digraph detective" and look for words that have ch, sh, th, and wh. 

These are the picture clues we use to cue for the right h-pals

Visitors
We've had 2 different people come in as special readers this week! Our first was our very first Mystery Reader. The children were so excited trying to guess who it could be! Our second guest was M. Forrester (our school psychologist). She came in to read us a story and talk to us about following the "group plan." We have been working hard to keep our brains and bodies in the group and to follow the "group plan". We are even earning links towards a reward!

                                

                               

Happy Halloween!

Hope you found the highlights of our last 2 weeks helpful! Have a Happy Halloween!

Spotlight on Writing

We've had a few distractions this week.....from bus evacuation, pictures, to a first grade reading assembly, there is just never a dull moment! The class is getting so good at transitioning though so even when we do have a day where things are a little "flip-flopped" as we call it, it doesn't take much to get us back into the groove!

This week I thought I'd share a little of what writing time looks like in here. We have writer's workshop 4 times a week and I truly can say it is a FAVORITE around here. We start all together on the rug for a little mini-lesson and then they are off to their best working spots, sometimes along side their "writing partner" to get to it! After they write independently for a bit we try to make time for a quick share. Sometimes 1 or 2 children read their stories aloud to the class, sometimes they share a work in progress with their partner or table. They LOVE sharing!!! And I LOVE how proud they are of their writing!!

This weeks mini lessons focused on how writer's have a special partner they use for help with planning. We brainstormed question words to use then partners took turns reading their stories to each other. When partner 1 finished reading their story, partner 2 asked questions like who, when, how, where, and why. We used these questions to help add details to our story! 

We also learned this great phrase "Once You're Done, You've Just Begun!"  We talked about what to do when you think you are done with your story. Their are SO many options. You can start a new piece, add details to your pictures, and add details to your words.  We also learned that once a writer is done writing, they become a reader and they re-read their story slowly to look for any thing they can fix up! We even have special pens for that!!

I hope you learned a bit more about what writing looks like in here! I love how excited and enthusiastic they are about their stories. It's an absolute joy! I can't wait to share some of their work in progress with you soon!!

Here are just a few other highlights from this week....

The BIGGEST apple I have ever seen!

The Summer Reading Assembly

Our Summer Reading contest winner!! Congrats on logging in all of those summer reading minutes!

Check back soon!

A Round Up of Events

I have to start by apologizing!! I am usually much more consistent with my blog posts. Somehow these first few weeks have gotten away from me! That said, I am going to do my best to round up ALL that we have worked towards in our 17 days of school!


Daily 5 Round Up

Centers and reading groups are up! I am meeting with small groups and we are beginning to work on leveled texts together. To start, we are establishing routines for this small group time and setting expectations. I am conferencing with students as they read and learning about my first graders as readers! While I am meeting with groups, the rest of the kiddos are BUSY at literacy based centers and working with words activities. They love Daily 5!!

Writer's Workshop Round Up

We are well into our first unit: Small Moments. These are essentially narratives. We have learned a bit about carrying on independently as writers. We created an anchor chart that shows the steps writer's use to write a story.  Writer's think of a topic, plan across pages, write, and revise! We are continuing to build our writing stamina!

Math Round Up

For the past two weeks we have been working on different strategies for solving math problems including, adding, subtracting, and finding a missing addend or a missing part. Children are learning to visualize a problem, model the problem with cubes, and solve using a part/part/whole model.
As we progress along you may see some math packets (stapled pages) coming home. The nature of the math program is that not all students will get to all of the problems all of the time. We are using our math time for hands on learning as well as pencil and paper tasks. If  your child comes home with blank problems, it is OK! You can choose to help him or her work through any unfinished work but this is truly optional.

Word Study Round Up

We are continuing to work on letter sounds and letter formation as a review. We are paying close attention to the vowels and some of the trickier consonants. This week we also began reviewing the concept of tapping out words  for reading and spelling short vowel words. Ask your child to demonstrate tapping out some words such as map, sip, net, mop, and lug. 

Homework Round Up

Homework in first grade will consist of the Poem Notebook, Booktime books or Raz Kids (not yet begun), Sight word practice (as needed), and weekly math pages from the EnVisions curriculum. Please help your child build a routine that encourages 10 minutes of homework a night.  Math pages that come home Monday are due back by (or before) Friday.

Here's one way to schedule your child's homework time:

Monday -math
Tuesday-Booktime or Raz Kids (once it is established)
Wednesday- Booktime or Raz Kids (once it is established)
Thursday-Poem Notebook

Poem Notebooks have already begun to come home. Look for the other components of homework to begin in the coming weeks.

Thanks for taking the time to read about our days! Come back soon!

Back to School

We've had a super start to the year, despite the record high temps! We are getting to learn the routines, learning each other's names, and diving right into some of our reading, writing, and math curriculum.

The heat wave has slowed us down a bit, but these kiddos are troopers and I couldn't be prouder of their first days as first graders!!

Here's a little snap shot of how we got our year rolling...

Writing
We worked on our hopes and Dreams for the year. We read Rufus Goes to School; a story about a pig who just wants to go to school and learn how to read. We brainstormed what we wanted to learn this year and then wrote about our First Grade goals. Reading, math, and making new friends topped the charts :)

Math
This year we are excited to be implementing a new standards based math curriculum called enVisions. There are a lot of great interactive and online tools to take advantage of throughout the year. There will also be connected homework that will help support your child's learning. Look for the parent letters that will come home with each new topic for detailed info.

For the first few days though, we decided to go low tech and just do some exploring. We learned about some of our math tools like Geo blocks and Connecting cubes. We learned about how to use the tools appropriately and how to put our things away. Most importantly, we used our imaginations and played!

Rules
It's always so important to take time at the very beginning of the year to establish rules along with routines. We created a class generated list after reading David Goes to School and How do Dinosaurs Go to School. We call our rules a Pledge and then we all signed it as a promise to do our best to follow the class rules.

                                            

I am really looking forward to getting to know each and every child and their families this year. I can already tell we have a great group with lots of positive energy and an eagerness to learn!

Hope you enjoyed this sneak peak at our week!! Come back soon for more highlights!!

Welcome Post of 2015!

Summer is flying by and that means it's time to start getting excited about the new school year! I know I am! I can't wait to get to know all of my new Firsties and their families!

But first, here are a few things about myself that will help you get to know a little about me before the new year even begins.

Favorite colors: purple and green
Favorite animals: chocolate labs and little piggies
Favorite sport: hockey (Ryan has been playing since he was 3)
Favorite activities: reading, cooking, taking family trips, going to sporting events
Favorite food: pasta
Favorite holiday: Christmas and the 4th of July (we love fireworks and cookouts!!)

I have 2 boys; Ryan and Cameron. Ryan is going into First Grade so this is a BIG year at the Elrick house!! Cam is 2 1/2 and full of energy!! We have a chocolate lab named Cooper who loves taking walks and jumping into kiddie pools. I have been teaching First Grade at Memorial School for 13 years. I love what I do and have wanted to be a teacher since 2nd grade!!

Meanwhile I hope everyone has (and is still having!!) a fun-filled summer! I had a great time with my family visiting new places, hanging by the pool, and going to the beach. I can't wait to hear all about your summer too!

Here are a few highlights from our last weeks :)

Took the chair lift to the top of Bear Peak at Attitash Mountain

Visit to Story Land 2015 

Playing soccer on the field at Gillette Stadium at Meet the Revs night

Newport Beach

And OF COURSE we always carved out some time for summer reading!!

Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about your 1st Grade teacher. We are going to learn so much together his year. I can't wait to welcome you all back on Wednesday, September 2nd. Until then, enjoy the sun and warmth and keep making those summer memories!

Love,
Mrs. Elrick

End of the Year Post

I can't believe I am writing the very last post of the year! This year has just flown by! I want to thank you all for the end of the year gifts and notes. Most importantly I want to thank you for sharing your children with me this year. They have grown in confidence and independence and are all so ready for 2nd grade (even though I am not quite ready to let them go!!) I am so proud of them and so grateful for you and all of the support you have shown throughout this year. I truly hope you have a restful, memorable, and enjoyable summer vacation!!

Here are just a few pictures of our end of the year gatherings. Enjoy!

Open House

Creature Feature (with siblings)

Ice Cream Social

And Finally....our End of the Year Class Picnic!

Thank you again! Have a fun summer! And please keep in touch!