This Week...
Writer's Workshop:
The kids will begin researching their animals this week and we will write Chapter 1 of our animal report. Chapter 1 will be an introduction to the animal, including where it lives and what it looks like.
Monday- The students will go through their research and write down facts on a circle map.
Tuesday- The students will organize their information on a tree map.
Wednesday- The students will write their rough draft by using their tree map.
Thursday/Friday- The students will edit and begin their final drafts of Chapter 1.
Project Group:
Each class is learning about a different habitat this week, taught by one of our teacher candidates.
Reading:
Mrs. Johns' Reading:
Miss Miller will be teaching reading for the next four weeks. This week the kids will be investigating the difference between fiction and non-fiction texts.
Book of the week: A Place for Butterflies
Words of the week: rain, big, people, because, night
Ms. Aguilar's Reading:
*Ms. Abeyta will be taking over reading these next two weeks.
Story of the Week: Rainforest Babies by
Genre: Non-fiction
Comprehension Skill: reread and retell
Word Wall Words: bird, third, burn, turn, herd, learn
Reading Learning Stations (Students have a literacy menu they will need to complete by the end of the two week cycle. The will do two stations on Tues/Thurs.):
1. Buddy Reading: Students will read a book with a buddy in their group. Then they will make a flip book.
2. Research Station: Students will read an animal book and tell about the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
3.Computer Station: Students will read a book at their level on raz-kids.com. Then they will take a short quiz online to check their comprehension.
4. Word Work: On the smartboard students will practice writing their word wall words.
5. Writing: Students will write a creative story from their Squiggle book.
6. Reader's Theater: Students will read a Little Bear story to practice fluency and retell the story by acting it out
Mrs. Sullivan's Reading:
Word family - long u words: use, due, Sue, dude, rude, under, hundred
High frequency words: our (which students often confuse with are), use, off, and the compound words playground, outside, sometimes.
Dictation sentences: Our class can go outside to the playground. Sometimes we use our banana bucks to buy __________. (students fill in the blank) Where did I put the baseball?
We are starting a new two week unit on reading nonfiction books. We have centers that work on reading fluency, nonfiction vocabulary, using a website to find research and information, filling out a fact sheet on an animal, recording the main idea and supporting details of a nonfiction book. We are also making a construction paper display board on one animal to share with you at the summative.
Math:
Mrs. Johns' Math: Ms. Boswell will be teaching Math for the next four weeks. This week the kids will be exploring measurement tools, as well as how and when to use them. They will use inches, centimeters, feet, and meters.
Ms. Aguilar's Math: In math this week Ms. Abeyta will be taking over. She will introduce and teach about non standard units.
Monday: The King and his Apprentice-students will use starbursts to measure the Kings foot.
Tuesday: My Feet- students will measure their feet using nonstandard tools like tiles.
Wednesday: Measurement centers
Thursday: measurement centers continued
Friday: My Body- students will measure the King's body with tiles.
Mrs. Sullivan's Math: In math this week Miss Zuccaro is teaching a geometry unit. Students will learn the names of shapes and how to sort them according to their attributes. They will use pattern blocks to explore and make their own creations. We will also continue to work on addition and subtraction. Last week the class did a great job creating their own "reasonable" word problems. Ask your child to create a word problem for you to solve.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Items Needed
We are out of a few things if you are at the store and willing to donate:
Tissues
Quart Size Ziplocs
Dry Erase Markers
Glue Sticks
Thank you!
Tissues
Quart Size Ziplocs
Dry Erase Markers
Glue Sticks
Thank you!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Upcoming Dates
February 14th- Healthy Heart Party 2:20
Bring a store bought, healthy snack to share (ie: cheese & crackers, fruit, veggies, pretzels, animal crackers, goldfish, etc. No candy please.)
The kids can bring Valentines to pass out if they would like, but they have to have enough for everyone in their homeroom class. There are 30 students in Mrs. Johns class, 30 in Miss Aguilar's, and 28 in Mrs. Sullivan's class.
February 15th- Field Trip to Desert Botanical Gardens
We will leave at school at 9:00 am, eat sack lunches at Freestone Park, then return to school.
Please send your child with a sack lunch and in a maroon shirt for the day.
Due to the policies of the Botanical Gardens, we can only take 1 chaperone per 10 students, which is already covered by the 1/2 teachers and TC's. Unfortunately, we will not be able to take parents with us on this field trip. We will, however, need lots for the Zoo Field trip though, so mark your calendars for that!
February 17th- $1 Jean Day
Bring $1 for a free dress shirt and $1 for jeans to raise money for our playground.
March 1- Summative 5:30 ASU Prep Zoo
The kids will be let into the building at 5:25 to take their places. Parents can come in at 5:30 to start viewing our ASU Prep Zoo where the kids will present their animal reports and projects to people that stop to visit them.
March 2- Building Bridges Field Trip
Live performance with Grammy Award Winner Tom Chapin at Higley Center for the Arts as a culminating activity for our Character Counts program.
This is another field trip where there were only 10 chaperone slots available, which will be filled by our 1/2 teachers and TC's.
March 5- Phoenix Zoo Field Trip
We will be headed to the Phoenix Zoo for the day. We will need lots of parents volunteers, so please email your homeroom teacher if you are available to join us. More details will follow as far as departure times, but plan to be with us for the whole day. The cost for parent volunteers is $5. Please let your child's homeroom teacher know as soon as possible if you will be joining us.
Bring a store bought, healthy snack to share (ie: cheese & crackers, fruit, veggies, pretzels, animal crackers, goldfish, etc. No candy please.)
The kids can bring Valentines to pass out if they would like, but they have to have enough for everyone in their homeroom class. There are 30 students in Mrs. Johns class, 30 in Miss Aguilar's, and 28 in Mrs. Sullivan's class.
February 15th- Field Trip to Desert Botanical Gardens
We will leave at school at 9:00 am, eat sack lunches at Freestone Park, then return to school.
Please send your child with a sack lunch and in a maroon shirt for the day.
Due to the policies of the Botanical Gardens, we can only take 1 chaperone per 10 students, which is already covered by the 1/2 teachers and TC's. Unfortunately, we will not be able to take parents with us on this field trip. We will, however, need lots for the Zoo Field trip though, so mark your calendars for that!
February 17th- $1 Jean Day
Bring $1 for a free dress shirt and $1 for jeans to raise money for our playground.
March 1- Summative 5:30 ASU Prep Zoo
The kids will be let into the building at 5:25 to take their places. Parents can come in at 5:30 to start viewing our ASU Prep Zoo where the kids will present their animal reports and projects to people that stop to visit them.
March 2- Building Bridges Field Trip
Live performance with Grammy Award Winner Tom Chapin at Higley Center for the Arts as a culminating activity for our Character Counts program.
This is another field trip where there were only 10 chaperone slots available, which will be filled by our 1/2 teachers and TC's.
March 5- Phoenix Zoo Field Trip
We will be headed to the Phoenix Zoo for the day. We will need lots of parents volunteers, so please email your homeroom teacher if you are available to join us. More details will follow as far as departure times, but plan to be with us for the whole day. The cost for parent volunteers is $5. Please let your child's homeroom teacher know as soon as possible if you will be joining us.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Plus/Delta Responses
We had our Plus/Delta Forum on January 9th, which was a school wide forum and opportunity for parents to express the things that are going well in our cluster and the things that they would like to see changed. Thank you to the parents that attended and shared their thoughts with us. This helps us know what is on your minds and how we can better meet the needs in our cluster. The list of Pluses and our responses to the Deltas are below:
Pluses:
Pluses:
*just reading as homework
*ixl access and books
(worth $ invested)
*happy with student progress and learning
*individualizing for student needs
*banana bucks
*excited about Project Group
*Project Group is good for hands-on learners
*actual groups in project group helps them learn to listen to others’ ideas
*exposure to word problems in math
*all teachers know the kids
Delta: communication of what kids are learning in school
This information was available on our blog, however, we have moved it to the main page of the blog now so that it is easier for everyone to locate. If you have specific questions at any time about what we are doing, please feel free to email your child’s teacher.
Delta: switching to blog was not helpful (too many places to check)
We originally switched to the blog in an effort to organize all the information we were putting online. We have had some positive feedback about the ability to subscribe to a blog. Some parents mentioned that it is difficult to remember which teachers your children have for which subject. Unfortunately there is not much we can do to change the way it is organized by teacher because of the amount of differentiation done in our school. However, your children are good at keeping track of which teachers they have, so they should be able to remind you.
Delta: ILP meeting with only homeroom teacher (can we meet with other teachers?)
We understand why this is a concern and we are brainstorming about how to address this next school year. We have discussed it with Mrs. Bullock and we have a few ideas we will be exploring as a staff. We do understand that you want to be able to meet and get information from your child’s other teachers. We hope you understand why this is not possible when we see 70-90 different students each day. Please remember that if at any time you have concerns or questions you would like to discuss with any of us, we are happy to set up an appointment. Next quarter prior to ILP’s we will send home a form you can return with any questions you may have for your child’s teachers. The homeroom teacher will then secure the information needed to address these questions at the ILP conference. If you don’t let us know your questions in advance, we may be unable to answer your questions at the conference.
Delta: explanation for parents about differences between kinder and ½ policies and new expectations for kids (ie: homework turn-in)
We appreciate this suggestion and have been trying to find ways to ease the transition from kindergarten to 1st grade for students and parents. We know that our expectations are much different. If you have any specific ideas about how to ease the transition let us know. We are thinking about having a comparison chart to give families at the beginning of the year to help with this process.
Delta: Project Group supplies- more notice before shopping
Some parents expressed that the kids often bring home lists of what they need for projects and that they have to run to the store to get what they need for the next day. We never intended for you to have to buy anything, but we know sometimes the kids have a vision and really want certain supplies. From now on, we will make sure there are a few days between when the lists go home and when the supplies are needed to allow you time to get things if you want to. Please know that you are in no way expected to go buy things for project group.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Week of January 23rd
This Week...
We are taking the Galileo test on Monday and Tuesday this week. We will not need our usual volunteers on Tuesday for Reading or Math. There will also be no homework this week because of the Galileo testing.
Writer's Workshop:
This week we will be learning how to do research. We will take an animal from the habitat the kids learned about last week and will do some whole group research, organization of ideas, and then each student will write a non-fiction piece about the animal.
Project Group:
Each class is learning about a different habitat this week, taught by one of our teacher candidates.
Reading:
No dictation this week due to Galileo testing.
Mrs. Johns' Reading: There is no reading Monday and Tuesday due to Galileo testing. Wednesday we will have a whole group read aloud and learn a new comprehension strategy together that involves sequencing, exploring plot, and describing characters and setting. Thursday and Friday we will have centers to practice word wall words, contractions, and reading skills.
Mrs. Aguilar's Reading:
Monday and Tuesday- Galileo testing (No volunteers)
Story of the Week: Click Clack Moo by Doreen Cronin
Comprehension Skill: Story elements (beginning, middle, end, characters, setting, problem solution)
Word Wall Words: use, tell, mail, thank, caught, little (same words as last week)
Reading Learning Stations (Students have a literacy menu they will need to complete by the end of the two week cycle. The will do two stations on Tues/Thurs.):
1. Buddy Reading: Students will read a book with a buddy in their group. Then they will tell about it using a comprehension wheel.
2. Research Station: Students will read an animal book and tell about the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
3.Computer Station: Students will read a book at their level on raz-kids.com. Then they will take a short quiz online to check their comprehension.
4. Word Work: On the smartboard students will practice writing their word wall words.
5. Writing: Students will write a winter story.
6. Reader's Theater: Students will read Click Clack Moo to practice fluency and retell the story by acting it out
Mrs. Sullivan's Reading:
Word family - long u words: use, due, Sue, dude, rude, under, hundred
High frequency words: our (which students often confuse with are), use, off, and the compound words playground, outside, sometimes.
Dictation sentences: Our class can go outside to the playground. Sometimes we use our banana bucks to buy __________. (students fill in the blank) Where did I put the baseball?
We are starting a new two week unit on reading nonfiction books. We have centers that work on reading fluency, nonfiction vocabulary, using a website to find research and information, filling out a fact sheet on an animal, recording the main idea and supporting details of a nonfiction book. We are also making a construction paper display board on one animal to share with you at the summative.
Math:
Mrs. Johns' Math: There will be no math Monday and Tuesday due to Galileo testing. On Wednesday and Thursday we will be having Fast Fact Centers so the kids can practice the facts they need to become more fluent in, based on their fact pretest. Friday, Miss Miller will be teaching a problem solving lesson.
Mrs. Aguilar's Math: In math this week we are reviewing the strategy of counting on and counting back. We will continue to practice telling time.
Monday: Galileo
Tuesday: Galileo
Wednesday: Addition, Subtraction, and Story problem Centers
Thursday: Centers continued
Friday: Centers continued
Mrs. Sullivan's Math: In math this week Miss Zuccaro is teaching a geometry unit. Students will learn the names of shapes and how to sort them according to their attributes. They will use pattern blocks to explore and make their own creations. We will also continue to work on addition and subtraction. Last week the class did a great job creating their own "reasonable" word problems. Ask your child to create a word problem for you to solve.
We are taking the Galileo test on Monday and Tuesday this week. We will not need our usual volunteers on Tuesday for Reading or Math. There will also be no homework this week because of the Galileo testing.
Writer's Workshop:
This week we will be learning how to do research. We will take an animal from the habitat the kids learned about last week and will do some whole group research, organization of ideas, and then each student will write a non-fiction piece about the animal.
Project Group:
Each class is learning about a different habitat this week, taught by one of our teacher candidates.
Reading:
No dictation this week due to Galileo testing.
Mrs. Johns' Reading: There is no reading Monday and Tuesday due to Galileo testing. Wednesday we will have a whole group read aloud and learn a new comprehension strategy together that involves sequencing, exploring plot, and describing characters and setting. Thursday and Friday we will have centers to practice word wall words, contractions, and reading skills.
Mrs. Aguilar's Reading:
Monday and Tuesday- Galileo testing (No volunteers)
Story of the Week: Click Clack Moo by Doreen Cronin
Comprehension Skill: Story elements (beginning, middle, end, characters, setting, problem solution)
Word Wall Words: use, tell, mail, thank, caught, little (same words as last week)
Reading Learning Stations (Students have a literacy menu they will need to complete by the end of the two week cycle. The will do two stations on Tues/Thurs.):
1. Buddy Reading: Students will read a book with a buddy in their group. Then they will tell about it using a comprehension wheel.
2. Research Station: Students will read an animal book and tell about the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
3.Computer Station: Students will read a book at their level on raz-kids.com. Then they will take a short quiz online to check their comprehension.
4. Word Work: On the smartboard students will practice writing their word wall words.
5. Writing: Students will write a winter story.
6. Reader's Theater: Students will read Click Clack Moo to practice fluency and retell the story by acting it out
Mrs. Sullivan's Reading:
Word family - long u words: use, due, Sue, dude, rude, under, hundred
High frequency words: our (which students often confuse with are), use, off, and the compound words playground, outside, sometimes.
Dictation sentences: Our class can go outside to the playground. Sometimes we use our banana bucks to buy __________. (students fill in the blank) Where did I put the baseball?
We are starting a new two week unit on reading nonfiction books. We have centers that work on reading fluency, nonfiction vocabulary, using a website to find research and information, filling out a fact sheet on an animal, recording the main idea and supporting details of a nonfiction book. We are also making a construction paper display board on one animal to share with you at the summative.
Math:
Mrs. Johns' Math: There will be no math Monday and Tuesday due to Galileo testing. On Wednesday and Thursday we will be having Fast Fact Centers so the kids can practice the facts they need to become more fluent in, based on their fact pretest. Friday, Miss Miller will be teaching a problem solving lesson.
Mrs. Aguilar's Math: In math this week we are reviewing the strategy of counting on and counting back. We will continue to practice telling time.
Monday: Galileo
Tuesday: Galileo
Wednesday: Addition, Subtraction, and Story problem Centers
Thursday: Centers continued
Friday: Centers continued
Mrs. Sullivan's Math: In math this week Miss Zuccaro is teaching a geometry unit. Students will learn the names of shapes and how to sort them according to their attributes. They will use pattern blocks to explore and make their own creations. We will also continue to work on addition and subtraction. Last week the class did a great job creating their own "reasonable" word problems. Ask your child to create a word problem for you to solve.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Coming Up This Week....
We are updating the format of our blog based on parent feedback at our Plus/Delta last week. We are continuing with the blog format because of the amount of people that have subscribed to it and have expressed in the past that they like being able to subscribe. In an effort to streamline our blog, we have put all of the homework assignments from all three teachers on one homework section. You still do need to know which teacher your child has for reading and math. We understand that it can be difficult to remember and to find the right homework. However, because of the amount of differentiation we do for your students, they will have more than one teacher and there is really no way around this in a school with a philosophy like ours.
We will be putting all updates of what we are doing during the week on the main, home section. Hopefully this helps you all out!
This Week...
Writer's Workshop:
This week we will be learning how to do research. We will take the habitat the kids learned about last week and will do some whole group research, organization of ideas, and then each student will write a non-fiction piece about the habitat.
Project Group:
Each class is learning about a different habitat this week, taught by one of our teacher candidates.
Reading:
Mrs. Johns' Reading: We are reviewing all word wall words and working in small reading groups.
Mrs. Aguilar's Reading:
Story of the Week: Click Clack Moo by Doreen Cronin
Comprehension Skill: Story elements (beginning, middle, end, characters, setting, problem solution)
Word Wall Words: use, tell, mail, thank, caught, little
Reading Learning Stations (Students have a literacy menu they will need to complete by the end of the two week cycle. The will do two stations on Tues/Thurs.):
1. Buddy Reading: Students will read a book with a buddy in their group. Then they will tell about it using a comprehension wheel.
2. Research Station: Students will read an animal book and tell about the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
3.Computer Station: Students will read a book at their level on raz-kids.com. Then they will take a short quiz online to check their comprehension.
4. Word Work: On the smartboard students will practice writing their word wall words.
5. Writing: Students will write a winter story.
6. Reader's Theater: Students will read Click Clack Moo to practice fluency and retell the story by acting it out
Mrs. Sullivan's Reading:
We are starting a two week unit on reading nonfiction books. We have centers that work on reading fluency, nonfiction vocabulary, using a website to find research and information, filling out a fact sheet on an animal, recording the main idea and supporting details of a nonfiction book.
Math:
Mrs. Johns' Math: Today we worked on Tile Math at students individual levels. We also did a fast fact pre-assessment to see what facts each student still needs to work on. On Tuesday, we will be working on building different shaped arrays to show different ways to make a number by multiplying. We will be working in small groups in centers on Thursday and Friday to meet individual needs of students.
Mrs. Aguilar's Math: In math this week we are reviewing the strategy of counting on and counting back. We will continue to practice telling time.
Monday: No school
Tuesday: Math stations
Wednesday: Time lesson with Ms. Kelly
Thursday: Continue math stations. Or Galileo
Friday: Math stations continued or Galileo
Mrs. Sullivan's Math: In math this week our 3 focus skills are adding double digit numbers, subtracting double digit numbers with and without regrouping using manipulatives, and using different ways to represent a number with place value (342 means 300 + 40 + 2 or 3 hundreds, 4 tens and 2 ones or students will draw the number using flats, skinnies and bits).
We will be putting all updates of what we are doing during the week on the main, home section. Hopefully this helps you all out!
This Week...
Writer's Workshop:
This week we will be learning how to do research. We will take the habitat the kids learned about last week and will do some whole group research, organization of ideas, and then each student will write a non-fiction piece about the habitat.
Project Group:
Each class is learning about a different habitat this week, taught by one of our teacher candidates.
Reading:
Mrs. Johns' Reading: We are reviewing all word wall words and working in small reading groups.
Mrs. Aguilar's Reading:
Story of the Week: Click Clack Moo by Doreen Cronin
Comprehension Skill: Story elements (beginning, middle, end, characters, setting, problem solution)
Word Wall Words: use, tell, mail, thank, caught, little
Reading Learning Stations (Students have a literacy menu they will need to complete by the end of the two week cycle. The will do two stations on Tues/Thurs.):
1. Buddy Reading: Students will read a book with a buddy in their group. Then they will tell about it using a comprehension wheel.
2. Research Station: Students will read an animal book and tell about the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
3.Computer Station: Students will read a book at their level on raz-kids.com. Then they will take a short quiz online to check their comprehension.
4. Word Work: On the smartboard students will practice writing their word wall words.
5. Writing: Students will write a winter story.
6. Reader's Theater: Students will read Click Clack Moo to practice fluency and retell the story by acting it out
Mrs. Sullivan's Reading:
We are starting a two week unit on reading nonfiction books. We have centers that work on reading fluency, nonfiction vocabulary, using a website to find research and information, filling out a fact sheet on an animal, recording the main idea and supporting details of a nonfiction book.
Math:
Mrs. Johns' Math: Today we worked on Tile Math at students individual levels. We also did a fast fact pre-assessment to see what facts each student still needs to work on. On Tuesday, we will be working on building different shaped arrays to show different ways to make a number by multiplying. We will be working in small groups in centers on Thursday and Friday to meet individual needs of students.
Mrs. Aguilar's Math: In math this week we are reviewing the strategy of counting on and counting back. We will continue to practice telling time.
Monday: No school
Tuesday: Math stations
Wednesday: Time lesson with Ms. Kelly
Thursday: Continue math stations. Or Galileo
Friday: Math stations continued or Galileo
Mrs. Sullivan's Math: In math this week our 3 focus skills are adding double digit numbers, subtracting double digit numbers with and without regrouping using manipulatives, and using different ways to represent a number with place value (342 means 300 + 40 + 2 or 3 hundreds, 4 tens and 2 ones or students will draw the number using flats, skinnies and bits).
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Coming Up...
Writing:
This week in Writer's Workshop, the kids are finishing their writing about their Winter Breaks. When they have completed the writing process (prewriting, drafting, editing, and final drafts) on their Winter Break piece, they will dialogue journal with a classmate.
Project Group:
We have begun our study of Habitats and Animals. This week, Ms. Aguilar's class will learn about the Arctic. Mrs. Johns' class will learn about the desert and Mrs. Sullivan's class will learn about underwater. Last week, we opened up the unit by sharing about our own habitats, learning about adapting to changes, exploring how animals are dependent on their habitats, and learning vocabulary like predator and prey.
Our teacher candidates will each be teaching the students about a habitat and the life cycle of an animal within that habitat. During this unit we are planning two field trips. Our first field trip we are planning to go to the zoo the week of February 20th. Towards the end of the quarter we would like to go to the Desert Botanical Gardens. When the dates have been confirmed we will let you know. We will close off our unit by creating habitat backdrops and animal reports.
This week in Writer's Workshop, the kids are finishing their writing about their Winter Breaks. When they have completed the writing process (prewriting, drafting, editing, and final drafts) on their Winter Break piece, they will dialogue journal with a classmate.
Project Group:
We have begun our study of Habitats and Animals. This week, Ms. Aguilar's class will learn about the Arctic. Mrs. Johns' class will learn about the desert and Mrs. Sullivan's class will learn about underwater. Last week, we opened up the unit by sharing about our own habitats, learning about adapting to changes, exploring how animals are dependent on their habitats, and learning vocabulary like predator and prey.
Our teacher candidates will each be teaching the students about a habitat and the life cycle of an animal within that habitat. During this unit we are planning two field trips. Our first field trip we are planning to go to the zoo the week of February 20th. Towards the end of the quarter we would like to go to the Desert Botanical Gardens. When the dates have been confirmed we will let you know. We will close off our unit by creating habitat backdrops and animal reports.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Thank You!
Our cluster wants to say a big thank you to the families that gave donations to the Snowflake Drive, as well as to the Parent Organization for putting on the drive for our staff. We truly appreciate your generosity!
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