November 18-22

***This is the last week before Thanksgiving break.  Friday will be our last day and we will return on Monday, December 1st.

     This week, we will be doing Thanksgiving activities that relate to our content in class.  As always, when your child brings home work from class, no matter the subject, ask him/her what it is and what they learned.  This not only keeps you up to speed with what your child is learning, but it also forces that to revisit those skills in memory and they will be better accountable for their learning and what we are doing in class.

Spelling: We will be learning the /th/ sound in words this week.  Words beginning with and ending with the /th/ sound.   (chip, chin, inch, itch, catch, match, wish, shop, how, many)

Reading: Our story this week is "I Am a Butterfly."  We will be reading the story however we have a Thanksgiving theme for all of our subjects.

Math:  We are beginning to understand subtraction this week and will continue when we return from Thanksgiving Break.

Social Studies: We will discuss important facts about Thanksgiving as well as similarities and differences and the relevance of the holiday.

Science: We will be talking about Thanksgiving in terms of solid, liquids, and gasses.  As we talk about the holiday through the week, we will discuss the properties from that time period as well as discuss simple machines in motion.  This ties in with our ongoing activity for our marble runs.

 

November 12-15

We will be learning the /sh/ sound in words this week.  Words beginning with and ending with the /sh/ sound.  

Our story this week is "Fun With Fish."  We will learn about nonfiction fish and fish characteristics as well as refer to fictitious movies or stories we may have read of seen.  

We are finishing up addition in math and preceding onto subtraction at the end of the week.

In social studies we are discussing Veterans Day and the concept of holidays.

In science we will begining solids, liquids, and gasses.  Our activities will lead into a wall track for marbles.  Please begin collecting toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, cardboard boxes for using the corners, or anything else we may be able to use in our constructions.

Spelling words include:  

Ship, shop, shot, wish, dish, dash, ring, rang, be, try

You may always reference the following school website for Harcourt Reading information for the week!

Www.vrml.k12.la.us/1st/homework/trophy1/1st_gradetrophy.htm

Children's Museum Pittsburgh

     Today was our Field Trip to the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh!  All of the children had a great time exploring and discovering!  I have downloaded our pictures and am in the process of creating our field trip slideshow.  Stay posted on our website for either the embedded slide show or the slideshow file to download and view! 

Children's Museum of Pittsburgh Website

Back to School

As summer draws to a close I hope all of my students and families are ready to go back to school!  It seems as if my summer has flown by as I'm sure yours did.  I can't wait to hear about all of the fun things you did!  Students return to school Monday, August 19th for a full day and a first full week of school.  See you soon!

Above & Beyond

    Today I was reminded of a fabulous video cartoon that I first saw at TLI (WVa Teacher Leadership Institute for the Common Core) in the summer of 2011.  It demonstrates the new mindset and problem solving strategies we are gearing our young learners toward.  As you view this clip, try to think about your own life and how we approach tasks like robots and with a "one way" mindset.  If we think Above & Beyond, amazing things can happen!!

Is your child reading skill appropriate books?

    As we have a wide range of reading abilities in every classroom, we as teachers use a tool that you as parents can also use at home.  There are a few scales to rate books on in terms of reading level and age appropriate.  The App "Book Retriever" allows you to scan or type the title of any children's book to see what its rating is.  Upon knowing your child's levels, you can make sure how difficult or easy your children's books are.

 

Book Retriever App

Leveled Reading Systems

What Are the Differences Between Leveled Reading Systems?

Grade Level Equivalent
The Grade Level Equivalent indicates the readability of the text by grade. It is a reflection of the grade level at which a student reading on grade could read the book independently. For instance, a student who is in the first month of fourth grade and reading on-grade would be well matched to a book with a Reading Level of 4.1. Each grade level has a range of .1 to .9.

Guided Reading Level
This detailed, alphabetic system has several levels within each grade level. For example, grade 2 is equivalent to guided reading levels J through M.  Each book is carefully evaluated prior to being leveled, and teacher input is taken into consideration in the leveling process.

The Lexile Framework® for Reading
The Lexile Framework, an even finer numerical filter, assesses a book’s difficulty and helps match reader ability and text difficulty based on the numeric Lexile scale. This system from educational measurement company MetaMetrics targets books on the right reading level for the child’s ability. It is based on an algorithm that simultaneously measures vocabulary and sentence length.  If a book is best shared as a read-aloud, it is in the Adult Directed, or AD, category. A book is a Nonconforming Text, or NC, if its vocabulary and sentence length are complex compared to the subject matter. An NC book is one that is suitable for advanced readers who need age-appropriate material. Beginning Readers, or BR, are those books at a Lexile measure of zero or below.  There is a free database at Lexile.com.

DRA
Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) is a reading assessment tool intended to identify the independent reading level for students in grades K–8.

 (Leveled Reading Systems, Explained:  Understanding the differences between leveled reading systems and choosing a system to use, plus how to make a leveled book list and what to do if a book isn't leveled,  By  Ruth Manna, Website:  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/leveled-reading-systems-explained )

Common Core for Parents

 

     In West Virginia, we have named our state's documents with Next Generation Common Core Standards (NxG CSOs).  These new objectives allow teachers to require students to learn more age appropriate skills and get a deep understanding of the required skills.  This should, hopefully keep all of our students on the same playing field nationally and eventually globally.

    

 

3 Minute Video Explaining the Common Core State Standards 

Summer Vacation

     The last day of school has come and gone.  Summer sports and family vacations are in full swing. 
     As the weather has started out to be pretty rainy and stormy, I am sure it will clear up with sun and heat very soon. 
     Enjoy the summer as I post videos and activities for you to continue learning at home so you are in ship shape when school resumes! Have a safe, fun summer!!!