Here's a sneak peek at another terrific week...
During Writers' Workshop we put the finishing touches on our book reviews. In a lesson called "Not too long, not too short," we read our pieces carefully, listening for sentences that were too long or too short. When they were too long, we added punctuation; when they were too short, we used words like and and so to connect them. We also spent time reviewing our reviews by using our checklists to determine what we are doing well and what we still need to work on. We then read our best review to the others in our small groups.
During Readers' Workshop we spent the week focused on fluency so that when we read, we sound like reading stars! We listened to models of terrific fluent reading and talked about what the readers did really well that made them sound like reading stars. Then we put this to practice in our own reading - first independently and then with our reading partners.
In Math Workshop, we have been working through creating and solving teen story problems. We're finding that solving teen story problems with an unknown partner can be pretty tricky to solve. This is a skill for everyone to work on at home. An example would be: There were 18 flowers in the garden. I picked some of them. Now there are 11 flowers left. How many did I pick? Start by putting the total (18) and the known partner (11) into a math mountain. Remember... the Total goes at the TOP!
During Word Work this week, everyone was pre-assessed on Word List E. I also met with individuals to see how they were doing with their individual word lists from last week. Some will continue to work on some of the same words next week, others learned their words and have five new words for next week. I recommend that your children are spending some time on Spelling City each week. You can find their individual word lists there. Spelling City is a fun way to learn these words through games, but don't forget to also have them spend some time in the "Teach Me" section. There's also a "Test Me" activity as well so that they can see which words are still tricky for them and what the tricky part of the word is. Here's the link: https://www.spellingcity.com/mrsmullenspellingcity/
On Thursday we spent 45 minutes in Stormonth's new Makerspace. This was an amazing 45 minutes of creativity, cooperation, and perseverance. What an incredible joy it was for me to watch your kiddos explore the materials! We hope to get back again soon and find a way to incorporate this learning in our own classroom. Thank you to Mrs. Stark and her three fourth grade teachers who assisted us in our explorations!
Friday was Bedtime Story Day! How fun it was to cozy up in our jammies together and listen to some amazing stories read by members of our Stormonth family!
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| Mrs. Johnson read The Pain and The Great One. |
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| Mrs. Ganske read Velma Gratch & the Way Cool Butterfly. |
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| Mrs. Strassburg read Snow Day! by Lester Laminack. The PTO is sponsoring Mr. Laminack's visit to Stormonth in May when he will be our artist in residence for the day! |
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| We took a break to enjoy hot chocolate and marshmallows! |
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| Mrs. Greve read Souperchicken. |
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| Mrs. Grimm-Nilsen read Thank You & Good Night and The Wonderful Book. |
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| Mrs. Wiesner read Mucha! Muncha! Muncha! and My Lucky Day. |
Srta. Owens read Skippy John Jones: Cirque de Ole.
During Science this week, we were amazed when we arrived on Tuesday to see that our ryegrass and alfalfa had grown so much! Ask your scientist how s/he knew which was the ryegrass and which was the alfalfa. On Friday we documented our observations then cut our lawns. We'll wait to see what happens next. We also documented the growth of our wheat by measuring the length of the leaf and stem in our straws. We created a class graph so that we can compare growth.
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| One week ago, we planted a wheat seed right at the black line. Look at the growth! The roots were tricky to see in the towel. Ask your scientist why there is a towel in the straw. |
Friday afternoon was our Jump Rope for Heart assembly. While there are prizes involved when we raise money for the American Heart Association, I want to stress that this is truly about helping others and focusing on the intrinsic reward we feel when we help those in need. Your Jump Rope for Heart collection envelope will come home on Monday, February 27th.
If you haven't signed up for parent-teacher conferences, please do so as soon as possible. Remember, we are now using an online sign up for this which you can find on the district webpage. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone over the next few weeks to celebrate your first graders' successes during this past trimester and to set goals for our final trimester before heading off to second grade!
Next week is another exciting week! We'll be having a week-long celebration of Read Across America in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2nd! Please remember to send your child with his/her favorite Dr. Seuss book on Monday. I will have extras in our classroom if you don't have one. On Tuesday we'll enjoy a Hop-on-Pop popcorn snack, and on Wednesday we'll wear mismatched clothing backwards and inside out for Wacky Wednesday!
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| Don't forget to bring a favorite Dr. Seuss book on Monday and to dress "wacky" on Wacky Wednesday! |
Until then...
Mark Your Calendars!
Monday, March 6th: Report Cards some home. Please remember to sign and return the manilla envelope. Thank you!
Wednesday, March 8: Early Release Day
Parent-Teacher Conferences: 3-6:30PM
*Monday, March 13th: JUMP ROPE FOR HEART!
*This is the corrected date.
Tuesday, March 14th: Irish Dancers performance
Thursday, March 16th: Parent-Teacher Conferences 4:30-8:00PM
Saturday, March 18th: Rolling on the River event
Wednesday, March 22: Early Release Day
Parent-Teacher Conferences 3-6:30PM
Thursday, March 23: Musical (2pm & 6:30pm)
Monday, March 27-Friday, March 31: Spring Break
Wednesday, April 12: Early Release Day
Friday, April 14: NO SCHOOL
Monday, April 17: NO SCHOOL/Teacher In-Service
Wednesday, April 26: Early Release Day
Thursday, April 27th: Field Trip to Growing Power 9-11:45am
Monday, May 8th: Field Trip to the Milwaukee County Zoo 9am-2pm
Wednesday, May 10: Early Release Day
Thursday, May 11th: Guest author Lester Laminack joins us at Stormonth!
Wednesday, May 24: Early release Day
Monday, May 29: NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, June 6th: SAVE THE DATE!!!
Annual Family Picnic! 11:30-12:40
Thursday, June 8: Last day of First Grade!
See you later, Second Grader!
