News from Our Classroom

     Hello!  I am SO sorry for getting the date of our NWEA testing wrong this week.  I thought we had our Reading test on Thursday afternoon, not Wednesday, until someone said something about our test Wednesday morning.  Fortunately, it was not our first test this year. . . we had already been through this once. . .  and it was an afternoon test.  I told the kids early Wednesday morning, and everyone seemed fine with the idea.  The children had indoor recess that day, so they had time to play before the exam.  It looked as though everyone I saw was really trying to do his or her best. That's really all I could ask of them.  The workshop day that is coming up next Friday will be used for "digging into the data" to learn more about where everyone appears to be in both Reading and Math,  and where we need to be headed to help your child make the necessary growth to be ready for second grade in the late spring.  Of course, I already have some data from the DRAs and sight word tests we did several weeks ago, which was why I was able to start Reading groups.  Now I will go through the NWEA test information to see what plans need refining.  These test results will be shared with you at our parent-teacher conference in November, and you will be taking written copies of the results home with you.  Please note that they do NOT affect your child's classroom grades or have any effect on their report card scores.  They are a starting point in information gathering more than a "be all and end all" in determining your child's academic abilities.  Classroom performance, daily work, and formative assessments given every few weeks sway my plans for your child's learning as much, if not more, than these standardized tests.
        We are now using the "Workshop" model in both Reading and Math.  The "workshop model" follows a specific pattern of instruction: quick review of previously learned skills, a mini lesson on a new or developing concept, a student (usually partners) exploration of that concept,  an individualized application of that concept, and then a whole class reflection on the difficulties and successes of application of the concept.  In Reading, this means that we start the day singing a few songs or reading a few poems.  Then we either to do "book work" (digging into the structure of or literary elements in a "focus" story--characters, storyline, plot, setting, etc.), talk about "what good readers do" using the focus text to present examples, or do some phonics work (right now working on the "short vowel a" and the "chunks" of -at, -ap, -ag, -am, -an, and -ad.  With each of these "chunks", your child learns how to read 5 to 10 "family" words--"If you can read "cat", then you can read 'bat', and 'mat', and 'hat', and 'fat', etc".  This is a FAST way for many children to quickly build their sight vocabulary and "word attack" skills.)  Once this skill work is done, I meet with each reading group to read/review their specific sight words,  and to read a book at his or her DRA level.  Sometimes we work on comprehension in these small groups, and sometimes we employ the same skills with our "focus book" in the whole class setting.
          The workshop model for Math is a little different--we do a rapid review of a previously learned skill, an introduction to a new concept, a partner investigation of the application of that concept (which the kids are LOVING, by the way), a group discussion of that application with adjustments to thinking and a clearing up of misconceptions happening at this time, and then an attempt at applying the skill independently.  As I said, the kids really seem to be enjoying Math presented this way.  The biggest problem we seem to be having is calming down before we head off to the lunch room.
         We've also been talking about our FIVE SENSES in Science this week.  We are taxed with knowing what the five senses are, and what organs in our body are responsible for which senses.   The kids really seemed to enjoy the "Touchy Feely" boxes they explored while they were blindfolded (sense of sight and sense of touch).  We also had the chance to listen to different sounds in Mrs. Meader's class last Friday. We will finish with the Five Senses next week, and will spend the week after that, (the Columbus Holiday week), talking about who Christopher Columbus was.  This is the PERFECT opportunity to start learning (memorizing) the five oceans and seven continents of the world  as an introduction to our Social Studies unit on mapping.  After that, we will be spending two days a week learning about the human body's six major "systems", and two days a  week learning about maps, map keys, cardinal directions, and how maps are made, probably right up to Thanksgiving.  From Thanksgiving to Christmas Break, we will be learning about different holidays that are celebrated during the months of December and January, and about "traditions" that our own families celebrate during this time of year.
          We had our first "Coyote Coupon" Celebration on Thursday.  The children who received at least one Coyote Coupon were invited to attend to celebrate all of the responsible, respectful, and kind behavior being seen all over Crescent Park during the month of September.  I am pleased to be able to say that every student in this class received 5 or more Coyote Coupons last month!  Keep up the good work, children, and let's see what we can do during October!  Arooooo!
          I am giving you a reminder that there is no school next Friday for the children (Teacher Workshop Day), and also no school on Monday for anyone, since it is a holiday.  I am asking you to keep the sight word cards and fluency strips that come home today for both weeks, and I will assess their acquisition on Friday, 10/16, since four days is not really enough practice with the words.  Thanks.
         Important Dates coming up in the next few weeks:
10/07 PTA Meeting 6-7pm  at Crescent Park

10/8    12:30 - 1:00   First Grade Fire Safety presentation  in the first grade area.  A fire fighter will be in to speak to the children. 

10/9  TEACHER WORKSHOP DAY--No school for students

10/12  Columbus Day--No school for anyone

10/13  School Photo Day!!!!!!!

10/16  Grandparents' Day 8:30 -10:30

10/21 Gr.1  Field trip to Harvest Hill 8:10 - 1:40ish.  Permission slips will go home on the 13th.  Please realize that if you would like to be a chaperone for this trip, you must be approved to do so by the district.  They will need to run a "background" check on you.  Please see Tammy in the school office as soon as possible to start the process, as it can take a while to be approved.

11/03 Teacher Workshop Day--No school for students (Voting Day) 

   That's all for this week!  Talk to you again next weekend!