Dominoes

Today we used dominoes to help us with our additions facts up to 9. It was interesting to see how differently the children organized their facts...using all the same manipulatives!

progress reports

Progress reports go out tomorrow. Since this is the beginning of the year, everyone will receive one. Later in the year I will only send one out if I see the need. FYI...our grades will be available online SOON. If you would like a little tutoring on Gradespeed, two sessions will be available to parents. One was today at 9:00am and the other is next week on September 30th at 6:30pm. I will be getting your child's official HISD school ID number to you soon OR you can simply look on your child's report cards from last year! I'm learning right along with you...

telling time

We have been learning to tell time...only by the hour right now. As the year goes on we will add to our repertoire of telling time skills by telling time on the half hour, quarter hour, etc.

International Day of Peace

Today is the International Day of Peace. Mrs. Blakeslee's 5th grade GT students initiated their wall of peace outside her library classroom. They invited all students to add something to her wall. We shared what peace means to us and our wishes for the world...

calculators

Today we used calculators for the first time...it was a bit crazy at first but eventually everything settled down! We know how to take the cover off, turn them on, enter a number or two and how to clear them! Baby steps...

journal helpers

I posted a sign-up sheet for journal helpers on the bulletin board outside our classroom door for the month of October. Sign up for as many or as little days you wish. Email me if you would like to be added to the calendar but cannot physically get to the sign-up sheet.

art

The children experimented with watercolors and crayon resist in Mrs. Cowan's art ancillary class. Next week we will be starting our new art planner... "How We Express Ourselves Through Art." Be on the lookout for more details on this FUN planner!

2 fisted penny addition

By playing Two-Fisted Penny Addition, you are helping your child learn the basic addition facts. Later on, these basic facts will be useful when your child solves more difficult addition and subtraction problems mentally. We worked on the sum of 10...kinda tricky at first but I think they finally got it!

LDC

This week we went to LDC for the first time with Mrs. Diaz. We will be going this week and next week...remember, no reading groups/jobs during these days. The children usually listen to a story, have a class discussion, work on a writing project, go to various centers and participate in writer's theater every single day of LDC!

Numblers

We had a lot of fun with this! After we read Numblers, we decided we could hide number's, too! Enjoy our first slideshow of the year!

Open House

I look forward to seeing everyone tonight at Open House. Meet in the cafeteria at 7:00PM for Mr. Baker to introduce the teachers. We will continue the evening in our classroom! Mrs. Norris will be meeting at 6:30PM in her classroom next door to the library.

Rolling for 50

Today we played "rolling for 50." It is a game to better familiarize ourselves with the 100's chart and how to move around the board. It was very much like the game, Chutes and Ladders! We learned that if you go forward 10 or backward 10...you will end up directly above or below your starting number! I think playing "Give Your Dog a Bone" (link is on the very bottom of this blog...scroll down) online during reading group rotation helped us to play this game with better ease!

Grandparent's Day

Thank you to the grandparents that came to school to eat lunch with their grandchildren today. The cafeteria sponsor's a day each year to the grandparents of our students. Mark Twain likes to have a more festive day for Grandparents in the spring...be on the lookout!

Noun Markers

Remember articles in grammar class? In 1st grade we simply call a, an, & the noun markers. They are color-coded red to warn us (like a stop sign or stop light) that a noun is coming! These will help us to be better equipped in writing full and complete sentences!

daily edit

The kids LOVE to find mistakes! I write sentences using simple sight words, words using recent spelling rules and words that can be easily sounded out. I like to also include spacing problems and lack or misuse punctuation/capitalization. Try this at home...they think it's a game!

Quote for the Day...

“My heart is singing for joy this morning. A miracle has happened! The light of understanding has shone upon my little pupil’s mind, and, behold, all things are changed.” - Anne Sullivan

dates to remember

Get out your calendars, we've got a busy few weeks ahead of us...

September 15 -GT -Open House with Mrs. Norris 6:30-7:00pm
September 15 - 1st grade Open House, meet in cafeteria first
September 17 - Intenational Potluck 6:30...LOTS OF FUN!!!
September 18 - Sally Foster/Entertainment book sales due
September 23 - 5th grade coffee with Mr. Baker...I am asking someone (or a group) to
watch the class for me while I attend. The children will be doing journals.
Sometimes it is hard to be a teacher AND a parent at the same school. Let
me know if you'd like to volunteer your time.
September 23 - progress reports will go home for everyone
September 28 - Gradespeed will go LIVE...and you can look up your child's grades online!

911

I didn't mention 911 but I was prepared to if someone in the class did. Nobody said a word. Even still, we made flags. Today was a good day to introduce US national symbols...Statue of Liberty, US flag, bald eagle and the Liberty Bell. The whole lesson about the number of red and white stripes, stars, etc. went over their heads a bit...it was evident when we got 22 DIFFERENT looking flags! Some got it. They're cute...all in their own way.

cookielicious

Homemade cookies will make any lesson fun! We concluded our week of using descriptive words to express what we see, feel, hear, taste and smell with a tasty snack.

library

We finally made it to library...I forgot last week! The children are allowed to check out 1 book and I give them the option of taking home their chosen book or keeping it in their desk. Either way, books need to be back to school on Friday for return before a new selection can be checked out.

pennies update

Apparently, the children found time to devote to our Pennies for Peace project overnight! They came to school with big hearts and their backpacks heavy with pennies! FYI...we will be collecting until Thanksgiving.

inspiration

Last summer (the only time I can actually find time to read!) a friend suggested I read 3 Cups of Tea. What a wonderfully inspirational book! I knew immediately that Pennies for Peace would be a great program to implement in my classroom and a nice addition to our current PYP planner. After meeting with my team, it was decided that all 1st grade classrooms would participate also! It was a wonderfully successful addition to our program and many of the children wanted to share the idea with their older siblings and their classes, with grandparents, neighbors, etc...1st grade raised a little over $600!!! We've been talking about how kindness can be contagious...it was apparent they really wanted to spread their hope to everyone they knew! The kids today loved hearing the story and learning all about Greg Mortenson's mission to promote peace one school at a time...one penny at a time. I think they could see how it could be possible for children working together to make a difference for children halfway around the world! Last year one of my students impulsively yelled out, "I'm SO doing this!" The others unanimously agreed. This year's class is no different...

Pennies for Peace

To go along with our current planner, 1st graders will be raising money to help build schools and provide community-based education for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We will be collecting pennies using a non-profit program called Pennies for Peace through the Central Asia Institute (CAI). Our hope is that this will be a memorable “feel good” experience and will broaden our cultural awareness by making a positive impact on a global scale…one penny at a time! Today we read a new book that was recently published, Listen to the Wind (ask your child about the significance of this title) that beautifully explained what the program is all about. We also watched a wonderful video ( I encourage you to watch this with your child) that gave the children a glimpse into another culture very different from their own. The kids are VERY excited and seemed to have grasped the idea that even 6 year-olds CAN make a difference! Spread the word, be creative and start collecting…make it a family project!

Roll, Write & Add

Today we played a game called Roll, Write & Add which involved adding 3 numbers together to equal a sum. At this point in the year, it is still OK to use manipulatives to count to help with this task.

name-collectin boxes

Today I introduced name-collection boxes. Basically, they are used to collect equivalent names for numbers. It offers a simple way for children to experience the powerful notion that numbers can be expressed in many different ways. A name-collection box is an open-top box with a label attached to it. The name on the label identifies the number whose names are collected in the box. The box shown above was a 10-box, a name collection box for the number 10. Names can introduce sums, differences, words in English or another language, tally marks, Roman numerals, money and so on. We had a lot of fun with this...and even learned a few numbers in Chinese!

PTO meeting/Open House

Our "Manner Gardens" have been planted...now watch them grow!

Please plan to attend the All Parents' Meeting to show your support of Mark Twain and the PTO. Your children will receive a free dress pass if you attend. Please encourage others to attend! Also, just a friendly reminder...please plan for a babysitter and attend Open House next Tuesday, September 15th 7-8 PM so that I may explain how my classroom works in more detail and give you the opportunity to ask questions. Mrs. Norris (GT) will meet in her room half an hour before at 6:30pm.

The Kindness Quilt

As we begin our new planner, “What the World Needs Now” we are learning how to problem solve conflicts that come up over the course of our day and why good attitudes are essential to getting along with others. Check out our “Kindness Quilt” displayed on the gigantic bulletin board between the 1st grade and kindergarten hallways. As each class adds their piece, it keeps growing and growing...just like the quilt in the book, The Kindness Quilt!

3rd week update

As we continue our 1st planner, “What the World Needs Now” we are learning how to problem solve conflicts that come up over the course of our day and why good attitudes are essential to getting along with others and being a good friend. We are especially enjoying a series of books called “Help Me Be Good.” For whatever reason our class is obsessed with them…luckily there are at least a couple of dozen in the series!

We have a great class…unusually even in the girl/boy ratio! We are focusing on LISTENING to each other and responding to directions the first time they are given. I’ve seen a huge improvement in this area for many of our kiddo’s.

I am proud to say we started our Guided Reading/job rotations the first week of school so our daily routine is very established as we plow through our 3rd week! I have 6 reading groups and I seem to be changing them a little bit each day according to each child’s needs! Our first grade reading goal is that each child leave in May at a level 16-18 or higher. I feel that this is private information and I will not tell the children what level they are on (although some children may know to look, and figure it out by my private records, book labels, etc.) I will let you know from time to time what level your child is on. My goal is individual progression, no matter where they are on the spectrum. Learning to read is a developmental process and differs from child to child.

Next week we will start going to LDC (Literacy Development Center) daily for the next 2 weeks. I will also start administering the TPRI (Texas Primary Reading Inventory) which is required by the State of Texas. After all this, we can hopefully slide right back into our routine reading groups. During this time there will be plenty of opportunities to practice reading in our large group format. We will also focus on our writing.

I subscribed to a weekly Scholastic News magazine for each child. They do a great job supplementing to our social studies, science and current events currently in our world. They are a lot of fun and the kids really enjoy reading them. It would be hugely helpful and appreciated by me if you could contribute $5.00 to help me cover the cost.

It’s that time again! Keep a look out for and start saving General Mills Box Tops. At the end of the year we collect them and our school gets money for equipment and supplies! Our collection jar is in our reading corner in the classroom. We are about halfway through our chapter book, Trumpet of the Swan. I want to show the movie after we finish the book! The kids are really enjoying the story and really do want me to read more than a chapter each day…unfortunately, we just don’t have that kind of time!

Thank you for your continued support!

THANK YOU !!!

Thank you for the speedy turn in of the $5 for Scholastic News subscription, signed science lab contract and completed class directory forms. All of this makes my life go a little bit easier. Hint, hint...

Scholastic News

I subscribed to a publication called Scholastic News. We will be getting 4 issues each month. Each one comes with an additional activity to do. They are great at incorporating social studies, science and current events into our busy day. It would help me tremendously if you would please consider contributing $5 to this cause.

reminders

Tonight is Mark Twain Fiesta Night at Los Tios from 4-6pm. Everyone is invited to join the fun and Mark Twain will receive 20% of the proceeds from the night (excluding adult beverages). Be sure to let them know you are a Twain family when paying your bill in order for our school to benefit! I hope to see everyone there!

We had a visitor from Boy Scout Pack 34 today to tell the boys a bit about scouts. He extended an invitation to meet more in depth tomorrow at St. Mark's School at 6:00pm. The boys seemed like they wanted to learn more...check it out!

What Animals Do

The children proudly finished their "What Animals Do" books and were excited to bring them home today. Be sure to ask your child to read their noun/verb books aloud to you tonight!

collect 20 together

We had fun practicing our addition skills...it's always fun when teddy bear counters are involved!

using our 5 senses

Today we had a small apple snack and at the same time talked about what we could see, smell, hear, taste and feel as we bit into the apple. Tomorrow we will do this again with something salty and crunchy. I challenge you to have this type of conversation at dinner this week. After a few practice runs, I know this will be easy for your child to do all on their own!

first time

Ok, parents. This picture is for you. Y'all seemed OVERLY anxious about a few spelling words...I didn't even tell you I was giving them a small math assessment today. Today was like any other day...full and fun!

Math is Everywhere

Great job! The kids reported having a great time with this family project!

quiet, please!

No reason to post this...other than it just being so darn cute! I was doing reading groups when I happened to look up and see this. I guess they wanted an audience!

writing

I know it's only been 2 weeks...but I have already seen growth in their writing! We have been working so hard on learning about what makes a sentence. We've learned that sentences start with a capital letter and end with a period (we'll learn about other options soon!). We've learned how to space and have even touched upon what makes a noun and what makes a verb using my favorite program, Multi-Sensory Grammar. It is a fun way to teach students the nine parts of speech (of course, we won't be learning all 9 in 1st grade!) involving more than the pencil, paper, and textbook method. It involves using colors to help the students understand the various parts of speech. Play with nouns and verbs at home with your 1st grader...they can do it!

The children chose 6 animals to write simple yellow (noun), orange (verb) sentences to describe each picture. All spelling, spacing, punctuation, capitalization and sentence ideas was done independently. They showed they learned a lot!

today's math games

During reading groups, the children took turns building different number collections.

We played "Rock, Paper, Scissors" 20 times with a partner and tallied who won...and then did it again! We also played "Dice, Roll and Tally." Both gave us more exposure to the tally system and had fun, too!

busy books

We have black/white composition books that we lovingly call "busy books." When the children have finished all assigned work and has a few free moments, they can get their busy books out and do WHATEVER they want with them...as long as they keep busy! Many draw, scribble, doodle, etc. but I am pleased to see that a lot of them like to write!

The Golden Rule

We read a book that the kids LOVED...Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler! A quote from the book that we really enjoyed was "a slice of nice makes a mile of smile."

Prince tales

Just a heads up...apparently this class LOVES to visit with our good friend, Prince. I've seen a fair amount of tattles, a few stories, a secret or two and even a confession!

patterns

The children will often have "jobs" to complete during our reading group rotation. Many of these follow objectives covered recently in class and are used to reinforce the given concept.

reading groups

I've finished testing the students for their current reading levels. I use these as a baseline to better help me form my weekly reading groups. Be forewarned...they change OFTEN!!!

number line

We made our own numberlines to 55 and told "one more and one less" stories to better understand which way to go on the number line when we add or subtract.

Schoolhouse Partners

We appear to have a new fundraiser this year. Schoolhouse Partners is a locally owned and operated business that has merged its commitment to education with an innovative way of connecting quality-conscious consumers to dependable, pre-screened service providers. This service connects you to pre-screened, dependable service providers, receive exclusive discounts and most important, designate Mark Twain as your choice to receive contributions from SchoolHouse Partners when you use one of their services! An information sheet and handy magnet were sent home in the Tuesday folders. Check out their website...I am eager to try this out!

fundraisers

Sally Foster and Entertainment book fundraisers went home today. Please consider supporting one or both of these opportunities. No sale is too small...ALL help our children and school! More information to come as I find out when everything is due back to school!

Tuesday Folders

Our Tuesday folders have a new look this year...they are brown in an effort to become more environmentally friendly. To lessen the amount of paperwork many of you have signed up to receive most PTO/school information via email (note the green dot on front of the folders). If you somehow you missed the paperwork involved, a green paper was in this week's folder giving you another opportunity to make the switch! I love the change but am finding all our week's work does not fit in the new slim folders. I will bring back the red folders on Tuesday but they will only contain work from my class...everything else will be in the brown folders. Here are a few helpful tidbits about the red Tuesday folders:

• sent home every Tuesday with the brown folders
• contains only work from previous week except assignments that go in their portfolios or on bulletin boards for display
• PLEASE, PLEASE go over all work with your child as part of their homework assignment...great way for you to informed on what is going on in class as well as a sense of accomplishment for your child
• bring both empty folders back on Wednesday...

I hope this is clear. Confused yet?