October 24, 2019

Hi 1A families,

Here is a look at what we've been working on in first grade this week.

• I Reading Workshop, the students are working on ways to solve difficult words. They learned a number of strategies to figure out what the word says. This week, we did some review and practiced doing a "check and then a double check" to make sure that the word makes sense. During partner reading time, I encouraged the kids to ask each other "What do you think?" in order to deepen the conversations that they have about their books.
• The trick words for the week are: he, she, we, be, me, or, for
• The kids also learned about dialogue in stories. They have been identifying quotation marks in stories that we read and using dialogue in the stories that they write.
• In writing, the kids are learning ways to bring their stories to life by "unfreezing" the characters. I've shown them many examples of ways to make the characters move and talk. It's adorable! We also practiced telling stories in "itsy-bitsy" steps, so they can focus on the details of the topic that they choose.
• In math, the kids have been working with subtraction. They have been applying their subtraction skills to story problems. We have also been working with the relationship between addition and subtraction. Here's a cute song I played in class: Pirate Subtraction
• The kids also learned about how the sun moves through the sky during the day. We talked about why it feels like you go to be early in the summer (because the sun is still up), even though it is still the same bed time!
• During the project-based learning session with Ms. Flaherty this week, the kids created 3D figures with shadows.
• We also had our first official Mystery Reader on Wednesday. Thanks so much, Mrs. Ciaccia!
• I sent home the ST Math login information on Monday. It was great to see so many kids try the program at home. It's not required, but I know that a lot of the first graders are eager to do more work with the program. If you misplaced the sheet I sent home and would like another copy, just let me know. Thanks for your support at home!

Upcoming Dates
Tomorrow: Wear pink for breast cancer awareness
10/31 (Thursday): Pumpkin Day in first grade (9:30-11:00)
11/1 (Friday): Library and monster mash (kids can wear costumes to school)
11/5 (Tuesday): No school - parent-teacher conferences
11/6 (Wednesday): Enrichment show for kids during school - Bubblemania
11/8 (Friday): Library
11/11 (Monday): No school Veterans Day
11/13 (Wednesday): Library and Primo Pasta Night

Thanks so much to everyone who has sent in pumpkins for Pumpkin Day!
Looking forward to meeting with everyone and telling you how awesome your kids are during the parent-teacher conferences!
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Katie Barnett

October 17, 2019

Hi 1A families,

Short, but busy, week in 1A. Here are a few of the things that the kids learned about in class.

• In Reading Workshop, they continued to practice good reading habits. I'm very impressed with the way that I've seen the students strengthen their reading skills! This week, they learned to make a plan to remember their good habits, look at all parts of unfamiliar words to read them, and that partners can also be teachers. Ask them to show you how they do that - it's adorable to watch them encourage their reading partners and suggest strategies to figure out the tough words. Read to them and pretend that you are stuck on a word. See what they do!
• We covered digraphs as our phonic skill this week. The kids learned that a digraph is when 2 letters come together to make one sound (think sh, th, wh, ch, and -ck). We have been word detectives all week, seeking out these sounds as we read. Tomorrow, we will focus on "the final -ck" in words like "sock" and "duck".
• The new Trick Words that I introduced this week are: as, has, to, and into.
• In math, they learned about "partners to 10" which are numbers, that when added together, equal 10. We are also practicing addition story problems, solving them with number bonds, pictures, and addition sentences.
• As always, the kids are spending a little bit of time on the ST Math program each day. I'm impressed with the flexible thinking and the puzzle solving skills that I see. They love this part of the day!
• The kids also continued to work on their small moment stories. In addition to our time with Writing Workshop each afternoon, we spend some time using the personal whiteboards to practice writing mechanics like handwriting, spacing, spelling, capital letters, and ending punctuation. I feel like it's been a very effective approach because the kids are getting timely feedback on the writing. I see a great improvement already!
• This week, I taught the kids about nouns. They learned that nouns are a person, place, thing, or animal. We've been identifying nouns all week. Tomorrow, we will talk about proper nouns.
• In science, we continued to talk about light and shadows. The kids went outside and traced their shadows yesterday morning, then they checked them again later in the day, by standing in their footprints and observed how the shadow changed. They noticed that the position of the sun determined the position of the shadow. A really fun activity!
• We'll wrap up our week with a RAISE Rally tomorrow afternoon. That's when the whole school gets together for an assembly to talk about RAISE values (Respect, Achievement, Inclusion, Service, and Empathy). Kids can wear red, black, and white tomorrow for North Andover school spirit!
• The kids also voted on the Kittredge School Kangaroo logo yesterday - we are still waiting to hear the results! :)
• On Tuesday, we had a successful fire drill. Thanks so much to the NAFD!

Spelling Words Start Next Week
Next week, I will begin sending the first grade homework notebooks home each Monday. The kids can practice the words all week and then return the book on Friday. We will have a spelling check-in on Fridays. I will also send home 2 books that the kids should read aloud to a grown up or older sibling during the week. Books should be returned with the spelling notebook on Fridays. Thanks so much for your support at home!

Here are the spelling words for next week:
thin
bath
chip
chat
much
shop
fish
whip
has (trick word)
of (trick word)

Sentence: Tom has a fish.

Reminders

• Thanks to everyone who saw the emergency release form in your child's backpack last night and returned it to school. If you haven't done so already, please send it in when you can. It just lets me know how to send your child home if we have an unexpected early release (for something like a snow storm).
• Like I mentioned, tomorrow is red, black, and white day. Kids can wear school colors!

Pumpkin Day
Thanks so much to everyone who volunteered to come in for Pumpkin Day! The more, the merrier! I'm also overwhelmed by how many families offered to send in a pumpkin! We have 8 coming our way. Some parents have asked what kind of pumpkin to send in. I'm looking for a couple of larger pumpkins, a couple of medium pumpkins, and a couple of small pumpkins. I'd also like 1 or 2 more unique pumpkins - with bumps or different colors. You can sent them in at any time and I will store them in the class. I'll work with whatever we get, so don't worry too much about what kind you send in. Thanks again!

Upcoming Dates
Wednesday (10/23): Early release at 1:45pm
Thursday (10/31): Pumpkin Day, 9:30-11:00am in our classroom
Tuesday (11/5): No school - parent-teacher conference

Thursday (10/31), 9

Wednesday (11/13): Primo Pasta Night

Have a great weekend! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. :)
Katie Barnett

October 10, 2019

Hi 1A families,

First, I wanted to thank everyone who made it to our Open House last week. I really like the opportunity to give you a glimpse into how our first grade classroom is run. If you couldn't make it, no worries, you can always contact me with any questions you might have as the year progresses. 

Here's a look at some of the things we did in class this week.

• Book Fair: Thanks to all of the volunteers who made this such a fun event! I could never bring 22 first graders shopping by myself! Haha! 
• Picture Day: OMG - The kiddo were so adorable yesterday!
• Reading Workshop: We talked about dropping bad habits (like mumbling through words you don't know) and picking up good habits (like checking the picture and asking yourself if it makes sense). Each day, the kids are practicing their reading skills by reading independently and with partners. I see so many of the strategies that I teach in class being put into practice by the kids. I love it! At the end of last week, Jackie Taylor, one of the Literacy Coaches in the district, came into our class to do a demonstration lesson on "shared reading", where the teacher and the class read a story together. We use the document camera to project the text onto the Smart Board so that we can practice using all the things that they are learning. The kids loved it, so I have been using shared reading for a few minutes every day and will continue to do so. 
• Trick Words: In our class, the sight words are called "Trick Words". I explained to the kids that they are words we see frequently when we read, but that they don't always follow the rules (which is why many of them cannot be sounded out). This week, we reviewed 6 new trick words: the, and, a, is, his, of. Ask you first grader to demonstrate how we tap the trick words down our arm to help us remember how to read and spell them. We review all of the trick word each morning during our morning meeting. 
• Fundations: I also introducing 2 "glued" sounds this week: /am/ and /an/. The kids are learning to recognize that when these 2 letters are together in a word, they make a distinct sound. Examples are words like "ham" and "fan". We will continue to identify words like these and practice spelling with this rule. I sometimes call this the "Fussy A" because it makes the short /a/ sound a little whiney.
• Math: The kids are learning about doubles facts like 1+1 and 2+2. We listened to a fun song about doubles this week. Doubles Song. I also talked about Doubles Plus 1 facts. We have also been learning about the terms "addend" and "sum".
• Writing: The kids are continuing to write personal narrative stories. We call them "Small Moment" stories. As they write and revise their stories, they are learning to work with partners to think of new details to add and questions to answer in the stories. In terms of mechanics, we have been focusing on making sure that all sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a "stop sign" (ending punctuation).
• Science: The kids are learning about light and the sun in the sky. This week, we did a Mystery Science lesson where the kids used flashlights to investigate how a a shadow can move on a statue. They discovered that it's the position of the sun in the sky that changes, not the statue. Pretty cool a-ha moment for the kids!

Requests

• Supplies for the ever-popular Maker Bin: Do you have any craft supplies that you would like to donate to the Maker Bin? We'd love to have them! The kids also like things like paper towel rolls, empty tissue boxes, and envelopes.
• Volunteers for Pumpkin Day: Yesterday, I sent home a notification for Pumpkin Day. It will be held in the classroom on October 31. The first graders will be pumpkin scientists, making observations and conducting experiments with pumpkins. I will set everything up - just let me know if you would like to help out!
• Women in STEM: Do you work in a STEM field? Would you like to encourage girls at the High School to pursue studies and careers in STEM fields? Check out this opportunity to speak at the Women in STEM Careen Day.
• Math presentation: Want to learn more about the way we teach math at North Andover schools? Check out this meeting. Math This is a district-wide information night.

Upcoming Dates
Tonight, 6:00pm: Scholastic Book Fair and Ice Cream Social
Tomorrow (10/11): Box Tops day, library book exchange
Monday (10/14): No school
Wednesday (10/16): Library
Wednesday (10/23): Early release at 1:45pm
Thursday (10/31), 9:30-11:00am: Pumpkin Day for the first grade
Tuesday (11/5): No school - parent-teacher conferences

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thanks for all that you do at home to support you child's learning!
Katie Barnett