Ms. Silverberg's Class

Hello Families,

I want to welcome the arrival of our newest members of our class……our chicks! After many tiring weeks of care, they finally arrived, as noisy as ever. We learned about gestation of different animals; what is made using either eggs or chickens and sized different eggs. The chicks will go back to the farm on Friday for their own special Memorial Day celebration!

Math This week we review the concepts learned throughout the year and took our last assessment!!!!! We will work on problem solving and computation for the rest of this year!

Literacy  This week I spent testing the level your child has made using the Fountas and Pinnell assessment. Their achievements will be marked on their report cards. In Writers Workshop the children created fictional pieces of writing, including the important elements in a story. (ask your child what are the parts of a fiction story).

Have a great long weekend. Next week we will go on our field trip on 5/30/13. All chaperones should be here at 8:30am . All children should be dresses appropriately and have a bagged lunch, drink and snack!  Please contact me if you have any questions.

Theme We have continued studying how chicks develop. We began the week looking at oviparous animals (animals that lay eggs). We candled our eggs to see if anything seems to be growing inside them. (ask your child about the results) We created our own ‘Life Cycle’ of chicks and will end the week making a chick art project! This week we will close the incubator up for the last few days before hatch time. We will cross our fingers that we have a successful hatch!

Math In math we have been reviewing the many skills we have acquired over the year. We took a basic fact assessment and will continue next week reviewing skills and playing math games.

Literacy We have continued learning about Procedures this week. On Friday, we learned the structure of writing “Thank-You” letters and wrote one to Mr. Mike and Mr. Steve.  I am starting to assess the kids reading levels next week. We completed our last SWR test. The kids did very well. If your child has several errors, please review it with them.

This week we have begun studying the development from egg to chick. We are taking turns turning the eggs 3x a day (since the mother hen isn’t available). We are also reading books, poems and doing MANY activities to learn more.

Literacy:  In SWR, we have worked on 2 new red words: many, when  We will have an end of the year SWR test next week. We are learning how to write procedural pieces in writing. Ask your child what those are.

Math:  The next few weeks we will be reviewing all the math concepts we have covered this year! We took a ‘basic math’ fact test on Friday. The children did well.

Reminders

-We are responsible for collecting food for the food shelf for next week. ANY donation is appreciated.

-Please remind your child how we are in the last stretch of 1^st grade. The expectation for cooperative behavior during this time and best work are still high.

(Champ came to school today!)

The week has been very busy in our class. We have had to remind ourselves what are our classroom rules and behavior expectations. (2^nd grade is around the corner!)

Literacy  In reading, we have been studying the author Kevin henkes. After listening to his wonderful books we are writing responses to show evidence of examples from his stories. In writing, we have focused on Spring poems. We composed a senses poem on the computer. I SWR we have continued working on /ar/ and /or/ spelling words. Our 2 new red words are: when and about.

Math In math, we took Unit 9 test. It was HARD! I will send them home as soon as possible.

Theme  This week we got 18 eggs from the farm . The kids have been turning the eggs, as a mother hen would do, 3x a day. Next week we will really start our life cycle unit.

Reminders

1. 1.     All field trip notes are needed by Friday mat 10^th. If $$ is a problem please let me know. I still need their signed permission slip!
2. 2.     Any volunteer (whether for field trip or Project Inside-out) NEEDS a background check sheet filled out. It takes 4-5 days to clear and it is mandatory.
3. 3.     Please take the time to vote next Tuesday, May 7^th!
4. 4.     Return the Project Inside Out sheets on Mon. and Tues. IF your child needs breakfast/lunch and if they want a t-shirt!

Literacy: In Writing Workshop, we continued to learn about poetry! The kids wrote acrostic poems about themselves, Porters Point, and other things that were special to them. After acrostic poems we learned about cinquain poetry and on Thursday the students worked together and individually to write a cinquain poem about our first grade classroom. All of the students are becoming more comfortable writing poetry and have seemed to really enjoy this unit. When we come back from break the students will begin to write poems about spring.

Math: This week in Math, the students have been working VERY hard to get a better understanding of fractions. They have been working at stations, on the computer, and in their workbooks all week. They have done a great job helping each other out and seemed to make their understanding of fractions even better!

Theme: In Theme, we have continued working on mapping. The kids now understand exactly what is needed when making a map and The students are becoming expert map makers and even got a chance to create a rough-draft map of their bedroom. This weekend, work with your first graders to make a final map of their bedrooms. Check in their home/school folders for instructions.

This Friday, we had a special treat! The author, Michael Garland came to visit Porters Point School! We got to spend some time with Michael Garland hearing about all his different books, and he even showed us some of his sketches. Ask your First Graders about their visit with Michael Garland over break!

This was my second, and final, week solo teaching in Ms. Silverberg’s classroom. I want to thank your first graders for being such a great class. I could not have asked for a better group of kids to teach during my solo weeks and I will miss them all when I leave Porters Point in a couple of weeks. I will be in the classroom for the week after break and promise to stop in to say ‘Hi!’ before I graduate in May. Thanks again for welcoming me into your classroom!

- Miss Austin

Click on this link to see our China Voicethread! https://voicethread.com/share/4373444/

This week in Writing Workshop we have been learning about poetry. The students have learned about using their five senses, beautiful language, and line breaks to make their poems interesting and exciting. The kids created mind maps to help them decide what they wanted to write their poems about, and at the end of the week they began writing their own poems using a template I designed for them. The students have been really enjoying learning about, and writing, poetry! We will continue this unit next week.

Math: We started Unit 9 this week. We have been doing a lot of work with number grids this week. We began by looking at the number grids and using them to help us practice counting by ten. After the kids were comfortable with number grids, we started looking at number grid puzzles. The students looked at number grids that were missing numbers and used their knowledge about adding tens to complete the grids.

Theme: In Theme this week, we started working with maps. The kids have been learning about keys, North, South, East and West, following directions, and other important parts of mapping. On Friday, the students worked together to create a map of our classroom. This weekend, have your first graders look around their rooms and think about where everything is because next week each first grader will be creating a map of their own bedroom!

Next week will be my second, and final, week solo teaching in the classroom. So far, the kids have been great and I have really enjoyed taking over for Ms. Silverberg! Thank you to you and your first graders for welcoming me into your class. I will miss all of them when I’m done at Porters Point. Again, don’t hesitate to contact me, or Ms. Silverberg, if you have any questions!

- Ms. Austin

Literacy   In writing Workshop we have allowed the kids to choose what they want to write (narratives, How-to’s, Procedures…) We will start a poetry unit next week. In SWR our new red words are: talk and walk. We also introduced ABC order to the 2^nd letter.

Math   In math we continued working on fractions. We took Unit 8 assessment. Please look out for it to review with your child.

 Theme This was our last week in China. We focused on the life and times of Chinese children. We looked at school, families, and sports. We also introduced some big Chinese festivals.  We have had a wonderful time these past 4 weeks studying this different culture and history.  We are making a Voicethread on the computer to show all that we have learned. Please look out for it in the next week.  Next week, we will start our “Mapping” unit.

**I will be starting my 2 weeks of solo teaching next week on Monday, April 8^th.  Ms. Silverberg will still be in the school at this time, but I will be the only teacher in the classroom.  She has been part of my planning, and has prepared me very well for these two weeks. I am looking forward to it! Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions!

-      Ms. Austin

This has been a very exciting week in our classroom.  We traveled all weekend and landed up on the other side of China.  We were at the Himalayan Mountains.  We saw pictures of Mt. Everest, the tallest peak in the world..

We then got on a bus and visited the town of Xi’an.  Over 2000 years ago, the 1^st emperor of China built an army out of terracotta clay to protect him and his tomb when he died.   In the 1980’s a farmer discovered them while digging in his field.

We then went to the Wolong Panda Preserve to learn about the giant panda.  We learned about what they look like, what they eat, how they live in the mountains of China and that they are endangered.  We ended the week creating our own Chinese Ancient Robes.  Next week we will focus on celebrations in China, with greater emphasis on the most important holiday, the Chinese New Year.  Please help your child fill out his/her homework on the birth of each family member to share in class on Monday. The kids used their knowledge about persuasive writing to compose on the computer why you should visit China. The children are expected more and more to write using the computer. It would help your child to have them do it at home if possible. This will let them become more comfortable.

In math, our focus is on fractions and how to write the notation of them.

We loved going to the Flynn Theater to see If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.

The kids in our class have been doing a very good job this week. We enjoyed our snow day, but came back ready to learn!
Literacy: The kids have been learning how to spell words with –l blends (clap, blog, fling…) In writing workshop we have begun studying persuasive writing and why people would write a persuasive piece. We even convinced Mr. Marshall to give us an extra recess after providing such persuasive details! We worked on the structure (kick off (intro) details supporting your intro and a wrap up which restates your purpose.
Math In math we are reviewing counting coins and introduced the $1.00 bill. We went ‘shopping’ and added things together using coins. We also have been reviewing base ten blocks and place value.
Theme China has been so very exciting! We arrived in Beijing and immediately went to visit the Forbidden City and Imperial Palace. These places were built for the emperor and his family many years ago. Now it used for government buildings. We then went to Tiananmen Square and saw that it was a huge (the largest) gathering area in the world. We learned how kites were invented in China, then made our own to fly in Tiananmen Square. Later we went into the country and saw how farming is a way of life for so many people. I guess you need a lot of food to feed the largest population in the world. We found out that rice was the crop planted most and saw photos of rice paddies and terracing. We each got our own pair of chopsticks and will use them to eat snack! We then traveled to The Great Wall of China and learned the history behind it. We even built our own wall in class! (It took 120 bricks to cover the wall)
Four Winds We learned about birds and even got to hold bagged birds and investigated their beaks, feathers, and talons.

Happy Birthday to Aunika and Spencer!

On the plane to China

The kids are preparing for our trip to “China”. We are learning about the location, size, and population of this country. We also learned about China’s flag and what it stands for. We have been collecting this information in a special ‘China Folder’. This folder will increase dramatically in size over the next 3 weeks. We made our own passports, packed our suitcases and flew to China. Ask your child about the trip! Our class will transform into China over the weekend. Please have your child bring in any books/artifact related to this theme. Label them for a safe return. Please view some of the things we will see on our trip :
1., Land in Beijing. (Visit the Imperial Palace and Tianamen Square)
2. Walk to Badaling and view the Great Wall Of China. On the way, view the farmers in their rice paddies.
3.Take a train to the Himalayas and see Mt. Everest.
4. Go to the site of the Terracota Soldiers.
5. Visit the Panda Preserve.
6.See how they celebrate the many festivals in Beijing.
7. Families and school in China
8. Leave for Vermont.

In literacy we began learning about compound words in SWR.
In math, we are reviewing money and time. Please share your child’s latest math test with them and practice areas you feel need extra attention.