HOMEWORK 4-30-12 and 5-1-12

Do XtraMath. 
Do AAAMath for 2 minutes.  You need to scroll to the blue section for regular practice or you can scroll to the yellow section for a game.

HOMEWORK 4-26-12

This week we have been learning about long a spelled with the vowel team ay.  Go to the Spellzone and play at least two of the games to practice reading and building words with ay.  If a word list is given, make sure you read the entire list to an adult.  Remember that the long a sound gets a one-finger tap when you are tapping out the words.

COMMENT BOX:  What games did you play?  Think of as many ay words as you can.  Write a sentence using as many ay words as possible and post it in the comment box.  Remember to post your first name.

HOMEWORK 4-25-12

Calling all first grade poets!  We have been learning about acrostic poems and writing them to celebrate Poetry Month.  Tonight, you get a chance to create an acrostic poem on any topic you choose.  After composing the poem using the acrostic poem maker, you can either post it in the COMMENT BOX or print it out and bring it to school.  We will share the poems in class.

Do you want to enjoy some other student-authored poems?  Check out poems written by students that are presently in sixth grade at CHSSCS!  Can you guess the topic of these acrostic poems?

Remember:  Cool Cats Poetry Reading is Thursday night from 5:30-6:30.  Come to do some poetry activities, share your own poems, listen to original poetry, and enjoy light refreshments!  Open mic poetry night ROCKS!

HOMEWORK 4-19-12

This week we are focusing on the long a sound using the 'ai' spelling.  Play the Hangman-like game to practice 'ai'. 

COMMENT BOX:  Read the list of words.  Write one sentence using as many of the words as possible and put it in the comment box.  Remember to put your name in the box.

train, hail, bait, mail, plain, snail, aim, stain, braid, drain, pail, trail

HOMEWORK 4-18-12

Please do one session on XtraMath.
Go to AAAMath and practice subtraction facts for two minutes.  Remember to scroll down to the blue box.  You can also scroll down further and play the games.
No COMMENT BOX assignment.

Kindergarten Registration

Visit the school website for information regarding this year's Kindergarten Registration this Thursday evening.

Special "SHOUT OUT"

I was just checking out the XtraMath data that was emailed to me and wanted to recognize Eathen for working on his fast facts during Spring Break!  Way to go, Eathen!!!  I know both 1st grades follow this blog.  I have no way of accessing Mrs. Kee's XtraMath account.  If you are in her class and have worked on XtraMath during break, we are proud of you, too!

School resumes Monday.  Remember to have your moon logs up to date.  I hope you looked at the sky last night.  I could not see the moon, but the stars were utterly amazing!  Does anyone know why I didn't see the moon?  Post your predictions in the COMMENT BOX for discussion when we get back to school. 
HINT:  There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Poetry

April is Poetry Month!  After break we will be learning about and writing different types of poems.  Poetry is a wonderful way to express oneself without having to worry about the traditional use of punctuation and sentence structure typically required when writing.  To experiment with composing some poetry, check out Fridge Poetry.  This link will take you to a site where you can play some trick word games.  To get to the Fridge Poetry section, click on Frig Magnet Poetry.  Post some of your creations in the COMMENT BOX.  Be sure to include your name.  :D

Greater Than/Less Than/Equal To

I hope you are keeping up with your moon calendar AND enjoying your break.  The full moon was absolutely incredible the other night!  So, if the moon was full the other night, is it waxing or waning right now? 

In case you want to practice during break, here is a Greater Than/Less Than/Equal To game. 

Take some time to enjoy the weather and have fun.  I did a bit of both yesterday.  I read a book while in my hammock.  :)

HOMEWORK 4-5-12

Practice your facts on XtraMath.
Go to AAAMath and practice subtraction (the game in the blue box...scroll down) for 2 minutes.

No assignment for the COMMENT BOX.

Moon Phase Calendar

We are beginning a study of the moon and sky.  One of the objectives is to recognize patterns of observable changes in the Moon’s appearance from day to day.   Since we rarely see the moon during the day, students will need to observe and record the daily appearance of the moon each night on the moon chart that has been placed in the homework folder.  Please shade in the dark part of the moon using pencil. The chart should be kept in the homework folder and return to school completed each day.  It must also be done on the weekend and throughout Spring Break.  If there is a cloudy night, you may document that and refer to the online Current Moon Phase site. 

WAY TO GO!

We are so proud of our first graders for all their hard work in Accelerated Reader!  We are the only grade level that had 100% participation this month!  Your necklaces look AWESOME with all of those book worms!!!  Mrs. Kee and I are thrilled that you are so into reading!  Keep up the incredible work!

HOMEWORK 3-28-12

We have learned that number sentences must be balanced.  The part on the left side of the equals sign must have the same value on the right side of the equals sign.  The students have a tendency to add the numbers given and put the sum in the empty box.  Please help them see that this does not create the same value on each side of the equals sign.

Practice this skill by playing Complete the Addition Sentence on IXL.  Remember that IXL only allows a certain amount of practice, so plan accordingly.

HOMEWORK 3-27-12

Practice your facts on XtraMath.
Go to AAAMath and practice subtraction (the game in the blue box...scroll down) for 2 minutes.

COMMENT BOX:  Find the missing number in each number sentence/equation.  Write the complete number sentence in the comment box.

7 + 3 = 4 + ____

5 + ____ = 10 + 4

2 + 3 + 5 = 7 + _____

Going Fishing

Today in my class we read What Makes a Magnet?  One activity the book suggested was to have students gather a group of magnetic and non-magnetic items and let them go "fishing" in a box to see what is and what isn't magnetic.  We thought this would be fun to do in class.  So, for a caught being good coupon, students are asked to bring in a collection of items for classmates to test.  Please send in your items in a gallon plastic sealable bag.  We will write your child's name on the baggie and allow students to test the items to see which items in the collection are magnetic and which items are not.  Thanks!

HOMEWORK 3-22-12

Our focus continues to be on geometric solids. We count the edges, vertices, and faces.  You can watch a 3D shape video with your child.  It is the 2nd video from the top (do not count the ad for IXL).  First graders only need to know the cube, rectangular prism, cone, sphere, and cylinder.  Other shapes are presented, but those are not requirements in the first grade curriculum.  However, this is a great opportunity to extend learning.  If your child is having trouble naming the shapes, the top video presents a song that gives many examples of 3D shapes. 

We have also built them in class using 'nets'.  Nets are flat, but when folded, form a geometric solid.  You can do this at home by clicking on the link, printing out the net, and folding it into the shape.  Before folding, have your child look at the shapes that make up the net and guess what shape it is going to be.  Ask why s/he thinks that way, then fold.
cube
rectangular prism
cone
cylinder

For homework, play Count Edges, Vertices, and Faces on IXL.  Remember that time on IXL is limited.  Even if your child is presented with an unknown shape, s/he should be able to identify edges, vertices, and faces.

COMMENT BOX:   Find a cylinder in your home.  Tell how many faces, edges, and vertices.

HOMEWORK 3-21-12

Homework tonight is the same as the Homework from 3-14-12.  Click the link and follow the directions.  :)

For a Caught Being Good Coupon, find a number that could complete the following Fact Family and write the 4 number sentences that are part of the family.  For a second Caught Being Good Coupon, find another number that could complete the Fact Family and write those 4 number sentences.  Write your response in the COMMENT BOX or bring it on a piece of paper.

5, 6, ___

Brown Bag Book Party!

Unfortunately we forgot to take pictures!  But, yesterday was our first (of hopefully many) brown bag book parties.  We got the idea from Pinterest, but changed it to reduce the amount of paper we would need to have many parties and to accompany literature we were reading.

We started preparing for our party earlier in the week by reading St. Patrick's Day in the Morning.  The story is about a little boy named Jamie who is not allowed to march in the town's St. Patrick's Day parade because everyone thinks he is too little.  Before his family wakes up, Jamie and his dog, Nell, march the parade route by themselves.  After discussing the story elements (setting, characters, problem, solution), the students completed their 'party ticket' (a graphic organizer where they had to write down the story elements - they could refer to the book for reminders).  The party ticket had to be finished to attend the party.  Once complete, the party ticket was glued to a brown bag.

On Friday afternoon, students were given Lucky Charms cereal to sort.  The students made a tally chart to show how many of each kind of marshmallow they had.  After completing a personal tally table, students mingled with other students and found out how many of each they had together.  They also found out what type of marshmallow each had the most and least of.  All the cereal went into the brown bag for the book party.

When it was party time, the students sat at their neighborhoods (tables).  Each table was given a cup with 6 craft sticks.  Each craft stick had a colored dot on the bottom.  The cup was passed around the table.  Each student had an opportunity to select a stick when it was his/her turn.  The dot color on the stick corresponded to a discussion task displayed on the board.  When all six sticks were selected it was time to snack on the cereal.  The kids had a great time and there was incredible conversation abounding!  We are already planning our next party!

In case you wanted to discuss the questions with your child, here is a list of the discussion tasks the students discussed in groups:
*   Think about a new ending to the story and share.
*  What do you think would have happened if Jamie's parents had woken up?
*  Tell about a time you were told you were too small to do something.  Share it with the group.
*  Make a text-to-text connection.
*  How are you like Jamie?  How are you different from Jamie?
*  What was your favorite part?  Why?

These are tasks that you can alter to accommodate any book your child is reading.

HOMEWORK 3-15-12

Tonight we will work on geometric solids some more.  Although it may seem easy, some of the children are still having difficulty naming the shapes, often calling a "cube" a "square" and a "rectangular prism" a "rectangle".  We are working on this skill daily and often play Shape Hunt in the classroom during calendar time.  When asked to find a rectangle, some students are bringing boxes or similar items.  Part of our study of geometry focuses on students knowing the difference between "plane figures" (flat shapes) and "geometric solids" (3D shapes).  You can play Shape Hunt at home by asking your child to bring you everyday examples of squares, triangles, rectangles, circles, cubes, rectangular prisms, cones, and spheres.  For a refresher, go to the Harcourt Math site and check out their online glossary (see instructions from last week's geometry homework).

For tonight, your child should play the IXL game entitled Relate Planar and Solid Figures.  Please have your child name each shape that is shown (not just the correct answer).  Ask questions about how they know that is the correct shape (students should name the number of sides, vertices/corners, faces, etc.).   Remember that IXL only allows a certain amount of practice time each day.

COMMENT BOX ASSIGNMENT:  In your home, find an example of a rectangular prism.  Have your child count the faces (6 flat sides), edges (12 "lines" where the faces meet), and vertices (8 corners where the edges meet).  Then, have your child trace each face of the rectangular prism on a sheet of paper.  Have him/her name each shape that was traced (there should be a combination of squares/rectangles or rectangles only).  In the COMMENT BOX, have your child do the following:

What object did you choose?
How many faces does it have?
How many edges does it have?
How many corners does it have?
When you traced your object, what shapes did you trace? (eg. I traced 2 squares and 4 rectangles)

To earn an extra marble or paper clip for your neighborhood, bring in examples of shapes.  PLEASE make these objects that we can keep for class activities and that we do not need to return.  Please do not bring large items (nothing larger than a shoe box).  Objects are due by Monday.  You may bring in more than one object, BUT EACH OBJECT MUST REPRESENT A DIFFERENT SHAPE (ie.  ONE square, ONE circle, etc.).

SHAPES TO BRING:  square, circle, triangle, rectangle, hexagon, cube, rectangular prism, cylinder, sphere

HOMEWORK 3-14-12

FAST FACTS NIGHT! 

First, go to XtraMath and practice your addition facts.
Next, go to AAAMath and practice subtractions facts.  To get to the practice activity, scroll down until you get to the blue section.  Play for 2 minutes or longer. 

You're done!  :-)