Letter to Santa

It's not too late to write to Santa! Use your technology skills and shoot him an email! Hope all your wishes come true!
PS. Remember to tap out your words, use proper punctuation, and use capitals where they belong. :-)

Family Reading Night

On Monday we will be sending home a notice about our upcoming K-2 family reading night. It is going to be Thursday, December 2. The doors open at 5:45 and the event will begin promptly at 6. There will be two stations. One will be a "make and take" area where you will make an activity to help your child learn sight words. Knowing sight words automatically is a vital component of successful reading. The other station will be a grade-specific session about our phonics program, Fundations. Babysitting will be available for younger children. After the sessions, there will be snacks. The CHES Literacy Committee hopes to see you there!

To practice reading and spelling sight words, try HANGMAN. :0)

Thanksgiving

In class we have been learning about Thanksgiving. One of the books we read was Thanksgiving is... by Gail Gibbons. Do you remember what kind of text it is? Remember, the question is not asking for you to make a connection (text to text, text to self, or text to world). Think about this...is the book a "character/problem/solution"? Ready for the answer? If you answered expository to the first question, you are RIGHT! :-)

Want to see an interview with Gail Gibbons? Click on her name. You can also visit her official website to learn more about her and find a list of all her books. Try one of these activities:

* In the comment box, tell about your favorite Gail Gibbons book.

* After looking at the list of Gail Gibbons books, tell about one you would like to read.

To learn more about Thanksgiving, check out National Geographic for Kids and try one or all of these activities:

* Read First Thanksgiving by Lyssa Walker. Post your 3-2-1 chart in the comment box (remember: 3 things you learned or discovered/2 things you found interesting/1 question you still have or want to find out).

* Read Thanksgiving Traditions by Sara Zeglin. In the comment box, tell us if you celebrate the holiday. Tell us what your family traditions are on Thanksgiving day.

* Check out the other Thanksgiving activities on the site. In the comment box, tell what you did. Some of those crafts look like a lot of fun! Those mini turkey pies look delicious!

* Look for other sites with Thanksgiving information and share them in the comment box so others can enjoy them.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR NEWER POSTS!

AFRICA

We have been learning about the continent of Africa in preparation for our study of Anansi the Spider. This week we explored this incredible place by helping Anansi find the missing pieces of the calabash on PBS Kids' Africa! After reading about it, we used the 3-2-1 strategy to help us remember what we learned, what we found interesting, and what we still wanted to know. Post YOUR 3-2-1 ideas (remember: 3 things you learned; 2 things you found interesting; 1 question you have). Posting will earn you a prize!!

Ordering Numbers

Numeration skills are essential for building a solid mathematical base for future math learning. Here are some fun games that will practice and/or extend skills we have been working on since the beginning of the year.

Counting Caterpillar asks the student to order five numbers from least to greatest. What is especially nice about this game is that the range of numbers can be set individually. The goal for first graders is to be able to compare and order numbers from 1-99.

Oldsmobile Cars asks students to order four numbers. The directions change throughout this game. Sometimes students are asked to order the numbers from least to greatest, other times they are asked to order the numbers from greatest to least.

Penny Prizes asks students to compare two numbers and choose the one that is either the greater or lesser number for numbers up to 99.

As always, let me know which games you like best and if you find any others that you think are fun. :-)

Word Family Practice

Working with word families allows students to explore spelling patterns so they can discover how English works. Understanding how words "work" leads to a deeper understanding and enables students to read and write well. To practice several of our phonics skills, check out Sadlier-Oxford Phonics. Scroll through the activities on the site. To practice identifying the digraphs we have been studying, use the games under the heading for second grade entitled Beginning Consonant Digraphs and Final Consonant Digraphs. The Word Drop games in both the K and Grade 1 sections will help your child improve their skills with sight words/high frequency words (typically what we refer to as "trick words" in Fundations). Quia also provides word family practice for some of the word families we have studied. Students will read a sentence and spell the word that correctly completes the sentence. Not only will they practice creating words, but they will use context clues to select the correct word. While playing with your child, ask how s/he knew what word was correct. Encourage him/her to tell you the words that helped determine the answer. Have fun learning!

Writing With Elaborative Detail

The first graders had a blast writing with elaborative detail with Mrs. Carolyn! They created scarecrows with all sorts of scraps and doodads, described them in a graphic organizer, and then created descriptive sentences about their creations! Excellent work!

Go Fish

Practice the word families we have studied (-at, -an, -ack, -in, -ug, -ad, -ap) or trick words using the game Go Fish!

We have been studying about animals in science and have been learning about expository text (ask your child to tell you that expository text is non-fiction text that is designed to teach/inform) during writing. The students have been creating their own expository writing after reading about various animals. Check out the National Wildlife Federation with your child and read about a variety of animals. What is your favorite thing about this site? Share your ideas in the comments section. :)

Coins for Cancer

The Hatteras Island Cancer Foundation is presently sponsoring its Coins for Cancer fundraiser. Our class set an all-time 1st day record by collecting $241!!!! Way to go! Keep up your generous spirit and earn the ice cream buffet!! Special thanks to Emily for organizing her lemonade stand over the weekend to earn donations for this worthy cause.

Addition Game

This week we will be learning how to write addition number sentences. While looking for some math activities, I found this cute addition game called Farmer Fred's Pumpkin Patch. You may need to explain number sentences to your child (what the + sign and = sign mean), but once they get the hang of it, I think they will enjoy growing pumpkins. Have you found any online games your child enjoys? If so, share them in the comments so others can benefit. :0)

Animals

During the 1st quarter of the school year we study animals. We learn about living vs. non-living (ask your child about the experiment we did with the rock and the goldfish). We then learn about what animals need to live (food, shelter, water, air, and sometimes care from humans). We have learned that a habitat is a place where something lives. Soon we will be exploring what lives in our local habitat. National Geographic has some really wonderful articles about animals and excellent photos. Share these with your child, discussing each animal's needs and its habitat. Post something that you and your child learn about the animals you read about. Be looking for upcoming information about our field trip to Wildfest on October 29 (after linking to this site, scroll down to read the info on Wildfest). So exciting!!

Math Game

We have begun rudimentary addition. Next week we will actually begin writing number sentences to match adding one group to another. If you want to get a "jump start", check out ABCya! You will need to show your child how to make a group to represent the first addend and then another group to represent the other addend to find the sum. I like this one since there are manipulatives for the students to use. Let me know what you think!

First 1st Grade Blog!

Now that I am "settled in", it's time to start making this blog part of my weekly routine! This year's first graders are FABULOUS! We have already studied quite a few word families, met with reading groups, been to literacy workstations, ordered numbers, created and written about scarecrows using elaborative detail (be sure to check out the display case as you enter the school as well as the displays outside each classroom), learned about families, and are now beginning to learn about animals. We are very busy each day! I will use this blog to keep you up to date on what we are doing. This will not take the place of the weekly letter (which is posted on the CHES site each week). This is merely a supplement to the information you receive in the homework folder. I will provide links to online activities for you and your child. I will also share student work on here. I hope you will take part in this blog by leaving feedback. You do not have to have an account to do so. You can write a comment, sign it, and submit it using "anonymous". Please remember that this is a public forum and that it is designed to be a positive place for us all to share and support the students. Any negative comments will be deleted. I invite you to share any nifty links you find as well. Thanks for supporting our class!

We have already studied the following word families: -an, -at, -ap, -ug, -in (and are introducing -ad this week). To practice these families, try The Word Family Game. After your child has come up with the sentence, write the sentence down. Cut apart each word (make the period in the sentence separate from the words). Have your child read each word. Give your child the words in the sentence making sure they are not in order. Have him/her put the sentence back together in order and read it to you. You may want to do this on index cards and write each sentence with a different color so you can tell which words go with each sentence. You may also want to keep track of what each sentence says on a "master" list or by writing the sentence on the back of one of the cards so the activity can be used again later (you can store the cards in a baggie for safe keeping). Let your child choose his/her favorite sentence to share as a comment on this blog entry. When you check this site again, see if there are any comments and have your child read the sentences for practice.

August

Can you believe it is already August? I certainly cannot! I hope all of you have been working on your summer packets. They are due the first day back to school. If you are ready to begin buying school supplies, go to the school website. For those of you who want to compete in the Fiction Diggers competition, you can find the list of books that you will need to read this year. Enjoy your last weeks of summer! Remember school begins on August 25.

Your Own Blog

In addition to this blog, I have maintained a personal blog documenting my life in a journal-like way. I make sure I change people's names to respect their identity. To practice your writing skills and to keep a digital journal, begin your own blog using this site. In addition to writing, you can personalize it by adding cool backgrounds and changing the fonts. Let me know when you have made one so I can check it out. :0)

More Online Fun

It is very hot outside! If you are inside escaping the heat, practice addition fast facts by playing Math Line. Pair up numbered balls before the line of balls starts falling through the hole! Also, brush up on your Spanish! :0)

Digital Drama Station

Students loved expressing themselves in the Drama Station this year! Students put their 21st century skills to use, collaborating to write scripts retelling stories and then creating puppets and backgrounds (using Power Point), to perform their dramatic creations. This article, Make Your Own Animation, will give you and your child ideas for using technology to create your own digital presentations. Most of the students are already familiar with Pivot (one of the suggested FREE programs available for a project like this). Pair this program with some script writing and you will have a fantastic and educational rainy day (or any day) activity!

More Sites....

These two sites should keep the children academically entertained for quite a bit!

Gamequarium Language Arts lets the children practice spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary! Lots of links to a wide array of games. You can also go to a more general area of Gamequarium for links to other educational activities.

Another fabulous site is Mr. Nussbaum. WOW! LOTS of links to an amazing number of games! I can't wait to share this one with my children! It has activities for students in grades K-8!

As always, have fun and let me know what you think!!

Summer Packet

I have noticed that the summer packet for rising 3rd graders asks the students to use Education City. CHES did not renew the "at home" portion of this site. The 3rd grade teachers created the packet and most certainly did not realize that Education City would no longer be available. I will look for sites that would be helpful to maintain skills and post them on this blog throughout the summer. Focus on finishing the paperwork and use whatever educational sites you find to supplement. As the parent of a rising 3rd grader, I plan to document my child's use of the computer although it will not necessarily be Education City. I haven't checked it out recently, but I know at one time there was a free trial available to Education City. You also may want to check out Study Island and take advantage of the "Try Us Out" section. Study Island is what the students in grades 3-5 use (and even what they use at the secondary school).

Having recommended those sites, I have found one called Carrot Sticks. It is a math program that provides practice with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division (all are free until the end of June - addition is free all the time). Students create an avatar and can compete with other students to quickly solve math problems. If competition is not your child's style, there is PLENTY of practice. The program assesses skill and moves your child to different levels based upon his/her ability and is for students in grades 1-5. Check it out!

If you find any cool sites, let me know so we can all take advantage. :0)

Olympics 2010

We have had a super time keeping track of our medals, writing poems about Winter Olympic sports, and finding participating countries on the globe! We have also read Hour of the Olympics by Mary Pope Osbourne to find out about ancient Greece and the first Olympic games. Wow! Have they changed since then!

To find out about the latest Olympic news you can visit the NBC Olympics site. This is the one we have used to chart the medals. What's new today? Post any information you find in the comment section. You can learn about the mascots for the Vancouver Olympics and play games with them. This page will take you to many places so you can find out more about the Olympics, both the modern games and the ancient games.

Are you interested in learning more about where countries are located? If so, check out Geography Games. Have fun learning more about our world! Let me know what you think by leaving a comment. :0)

Finally, you can check out all of the Magic Tree House books by visiting the official site. I've ordered you a surprise that is arriving when our book order comes. :0)

New Math Activities

Hey, guys and gals! These are the activities I showed you during class today! At the IXL site you can count models of numbers and write them in standard form; write the value of the underlined digit in a number written in standard form; write a number in standard form; and identify the digit in the ones, tens, hundreds place. You can also guess the number being described using clues. If you want to practice counting money, there are lots of coin activities. Just choose from the topics in the green box on the left side of the screen. The one about shapes looks cool, too! Remember that the site will only let you play for a little bit before they want you to pay to join. I believe you can play a few games each day. Have fun learning! Leave me a comment to let me know what games you try and which ones you really like. If you find something else that you think a classmate might like, let me know! :0)