Dear Families,
Here is our week in review:
Social-Emotional Learning:
This week, the students filled the classroom buzzy jar again for being safe, kind and responsible. This time, we had a special celebration with Ms. Scott. She joined our classroom and we learned more about coding and how to use our robotic Bee Bots. In fact, the students learned how to create their own mats, upon which these Bee Bots will be programmed and move around. What fun! We will continue this work next week too.
This week, the students at ABS filled the Beehive too for being safe, kind and responsible. This time, we all celebrated with special paper crafts. The students had multiple choices and I also gave them brand new coloring folders to use during our Mindfulness times. They love to color and create.
This week, Ms. Addie read the book “The Rabbit Listened” by Cori Doerfeld. This sweet story is about how we can react to and handle setbacks and disappointments. While we have many different strategies available and people react in many different ways to the same situation. Sometimes the best approach is simply to be a kind friend and listen to the person who feels wronged or disappointed. The students shared their understanding of the book and practiced revoicing each other’s ideas as a way to be active listeners themselves and accountable for our learning. They did an outstanding job!
We also had another restorative circle with Ms. Nicole, our school SEL Coach. This week we talked about what makes us all unique and different and how we can celebrate those differences. We also read the book “Lovely” by Jess Hong.
You Can:
You can support your child’s social-emotional development at home by listening to their reactions and frustrations at home too, just like we learned from the book. As you all know, young children experience strong feelings for all kinds of situations, big and small. When they feel listened to, they have the capacity to proactively choose self-regulatory methods and skills that work best for them.
Reading:
We are excited that mid-year reading assessments are completed so we can return to our regular routines in reading classes with small groups, stations and independent reading. This week, the students also participated in partner reading, a time when they share a “just right” book with a reading partner who also has the opportunity to do the same. In partner reading, we focus on sharing literature and help each other develop fluent reading with an emphasis upon reading out loud to each other. This week, the students were also encouraged to share their understanding of the books shared. They did this through drawings and words. We will continue this work next week too.
You can:
You can support your child’s emerging fluency skills in reading by encouraging your child to read out loud to you at home. Reading to a stuffed animal, a pet, or a sibling also works great. The importance is to encourage your child to read aloud to develop fluent reading. Reading fluency in first grade is primarily focused upon making the reading sound like spoken language with pauses at periods and expression which reflects the general plot/context. In class, we sometimes read with various voices too as a way to engage our young learners. They love to read with whisper voices and different animal voices. Perhaps they are ready to try this at home too?
Writing:
This week, the students started their first chapter of their personal narrative stories. These stories are about themselves, about something real that has already happened and they will contain a clear beginning, middle and end. This week, the students learned about story starter sentences and words to continue writing. They did a nice job and shared their stories with each other in our closing circle. We will continue our personal narratives next week while also developing stamina in writing class.
You Can:
You can support your child’s understanding of personal narratives by asking your child what he/she is writing about. How did they start their stories and what other details do they plan to include in their stories? Verbal story-telling is a powerful way for authors to organize their ideas before writing down the words. If you recall, the students started this process last week, so hopefully they have many things to share at home with you!
Math:
Mid-year math assessments have also been completed and we are back to our regular math stations and group rotations again. This week, we continued working on developing greater skill and understanding of accountable talk and how mathematicians use precise language to explain their thinking. The students were encouraged to re-voice their peers’ explanations of various mathematical equations or expressions while using the phrases “I heard you say…'' or “You said that…”. They did an outstanding job actively listening to their friends and discovered that they learned so much from each others’ thinking!
This week, first grade mathematicians worked on place value and developing skills for comparing numbers using the symbols > (greater than), < (less than) and = (equal to). They learned a new game to apply these skills and used visual representations to assist in the completion of this work.
First grade mathematicians also continued to practice telling time to the hour and half hour. This week, they learned a new bingo game reflecting digital and analog times.
You can:
You can encourage your child to compare numbers and quantities at home. Rather than saying something is “bigger” or “smaller”, encourage your child to use the words “greater than” or “less than”.
News and Reminders:
Please take a moment to read the communication from our school/school district about our upcoming report cards. The school district will communicate with you via the School Bell and through specific emails. This will not come from me. The report cards will be different this year. This is particularly important for families of older siblings who are used to “the old way.” For example, report cards will be emailed to you. They are scheduled to be sent out on 1/29/24.
It is getting really cold outside. Please make sure your child comes to school with weather appropriate clothing (hats, mittens, snow pants and snow boots). Please send in a pair of “inside shoes'' as well, such as sneakers. It is difficult for your child to navigate the whole day with large, uncomfortable boots and they often drag first and slush into our learning spaces. Thank you.
Many students have asked for more snack and still feel hungry after eating snack. Please make sure you check in with your child about potentially packing some additional healthy options for your child. They are hungry and growing fast! Thank you.Please also talk to your child about the importance of eating during snack/lunch times as many students forget to eat because they get distracted by talking/socializing with their peers. Thank you.
Have a great weekend,
Maria
No comments:
Post a Comment