Mrs. V's All Star Learners Classroom: 10/12/13 Newsletter

Dear Parents of First Grade All Stars,
     First I want to thank all who kept their fingers crossed that I would not have to leave the classroom for Jury Duty. Although I had to prepare for a possible substitute on Monday and Tuesday, fortunately my number was never called, my services were not required, and I was dismissed Tuesday night. I realize the importance of civic duty, but I was so grateful to be able to stay and work with the students!
     Happy Columbus Day! What fun we had yesterday with Columbus readings and discussions, Columbus math, our Columbus poem, and a Columbus project with our 4th-grade buddies. (Some pictures of our Columbus fun are posted at the end of this letter.) I have a cute story to share that involves our Columbus poem/song. One of our first-grade girls actually made up a fourth stanza to our Columbus poem/song! She was brave enough to present it to her classmates, and they were polite enough to clap for her! Not only did her new stanza include accurate facts from our Columbus work, it also had the correct number of beats to match the rhythm of the poem! Hooray for first-grade poets! (Please ask your child if they can tell you any Columbus facts or if they know the Columbus poem well enough to perform it for you.)
     In case you think it is just my opinion that these students are off to a fantastic start, let me tell you about the observations of a surprise visitor to our classroom. On Tuesday, our Assistant Superintendent, Ms. Monroe, visited for part of our literacy work. After the visit, Ms. Monroe sent an email saying how impressed she was with the word-recognition and spelling ability of these beginning first graders! If I sound like a "proud mother hen", that's because I am. Keep up the great work, my All Stars!
     During our literacy work this week we focused on the short a sound spelled with -at. We brainstormed and created our class-anchor chart of -at words. Then the students were challenged to try to become "Word Detectives" by finding -at words when reading their just-right books. I was so pleased with how many "Word Detectives" were able to add their -at words to the chart! We read, learned, and practiced a        short a poem/song called "Jazz Band". (It is sung to the tune of "Do Your Ears Hang Low?") It is very fast, so we will need a little more practice singing it, but the students did a great job with the short a vocabulary in the poem. We started our first spelling unit and learned some spelling-practice routines. The students wrote each of their spelling words for the week two times in their spelling journals. Then they were asked to put their sheet with "My Words This Week" in their mailboxes to take home for some at-home practice. (If that sheet does not make it home on Mondays, please let me know.) The children learned and tried a spelling practice called "Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check". I modeled different ways to study by yourself and then the kiddos showed me a way they thought they could study their words. (Please ask your child which way they tried to study their words.) Then we had a class "study group" session. A student picked one of his/her words, and students who thought they could spell that word raised their hands. The "Speller in Charge" told if the spelling was correct. If correct, that kiddo could then be "Speller in Charge" if they wished. (And by the way, they ALL wished to be "Speller in Charge". Seems to be a coveted "position"...LOL!) Yesterday morning our fourth-grade buddies came in to give their first-grade buddies their tests as Mrs. Kourt and I roamed 100mph to help and check. (These first spelling tests will come home on Tuesday.) The first couple of weeks of spelling routines are challenging, but I was so happy with our start. I want to thank you SO MUCH for your at-home spelling practices! It is obvious how very beneficial they were! ***DUE TO THE SHORT WEEK NEXT WEEK WE WILL NOT HAVE OUR REGULAR SPELLING ROUTINE.*** We will instead be doing review word work and extra writing work. The children continued to practice finding and reading just-right books. They worked to build reading focus and stamina by reading-to-self as I listened to individuals read. I love how the second I am done listening to an individual read, students can't wait to come to me to tell me about something they've read! Please do chat about what you read to/with your child. These quick, continuous "book chats" are so important to help the children learn how to check for understanding as reading and to remember what they read to help build retells. Since the child who was supposed to do the calendar, days, weather magnets was absent, I asked a boy who was done with morning practice and who was reading on the rug if he wanted to do this VERY POPULAR job. This boy actually said, "No, thanks" because he wanted to keep reading! Wowie-Zowie! Then I told another boy how proud I was with his reading focus and said, "You're almost done with that book, aren't you?" He said, "No. I finished it, Mrs. V. I'm reading it again!" This "smart cookie" already understands the power of rereads!   ANOTHER wowie-zowie! Can you see why I love my work?    We continued our work on our October poems. Warning: another cute story coming. Upon return from recess, I asked the students to bring their poetry binders to the rug so we could practice reading some poems. As I was "litigating" a recess complaint, the students on the rug SPONTANEOUSLY started singing our fire-safety poem: "M-A-T-C-H" to the tune of "B-I-N-G-O"..."Here is a match I will not touch and keep my family safe-o..." Not only did they know all they words, they were singing/working together perfectly! How to make this teacher SMILE! That same day in our line on the way down to the buses the class again spontaneously started singing that poem/song. Of course, I joined right in with them. We had other classes watching as we did our "dismissal performance" and some teachers asked me later what they were singing. Proud mother hen again!
THANK YOU again for all the awesome at-home reading logs you've been sending in. The children are very proud to hand them in to me and to share what they are reading at home. Reading to, with, beside your child is not only a fun together time, but also a tremendous motivator that helps to build the love of reading as well as skills. I truly appreciate your at-home reading time with your child!
During our writers' workshops we continued our reading and study of alphabet books with books like 26 Big Things Small Hands Can Do and one of the new books I ordered with our Scholastic book order Pirate A, B, Cs. We brainstormed ideas for their own alphabet books and explored how to use our picture dictionaries to not only find spellings but to also research ideas for each letter. Then the children began to write their own alphabet books. It did my heart good to see how many students were already using the dictionaries as they wrote! Of course, this is a work-in-progress, but when I said it was time for me to collect their alphabet books, there were many groans. (Those are the types of groans I love to hear.) The children also continued to work on personal narrative writing in their writers' journals and practiced writing "longer and stronger".
     Our math work this week included work on stories about comparing, stories about missing parts, subtraction vocabulary, exactly what subtraction means, different ways to solve subtraction problems, and connecting addition and subtraction. We not only used cubes, words, and pictures in our subtraction exploration. We also used the students themselves! There were 24 volunteers to act out the subtraction stories...LOL! Yesterday for our Columbus math work, the students practiced facts to make a Columbus ship. When they solved the facts they could "sail" their ships across their desks! Smiles and laughs as some math ships were "sunk" by hurricane breath, went off the "edge of the earth"/edge of the desk, or made successful voyages!
   During our science lessons we continued our seed work. We read and discussed An Apple A Day. The students then read "All About Apples" and made their own mini-book. We read and discussed A Seed Grows, but did not have time to try "Make a Seed" diagram. (We'll squeeze that in next week.) After reading and discussing a Columbus book, we had a great map-skills lesson for Social Studies. We identified the continents first, and then found where Columbus set sail, the route he took, where he THOUGHT he landed, and where he actually landed. This week the "Scholastic News" issue entitled "A Message from the Past" was also about Columbus. That "Scholastic News" issue should have made its way home to you yesterday for rereads and/or discussion. Please let me know if it did not come home.
      Thank you again for all your fantastic support at home.
    Respectfully,
    Mrs. V.