Hello everybody,
We are working diligently during these long weeks between Labor Day and Columbus Day. No rest for the weary as they say. I have already seen vast improvement in independence and responsibility from when they began 1st grade, just over a month ago. Thanks again for all your support at home. Here's the latest. Language We are continuing our unit using Curious George books to discuss characters, setting and sequence. We will be tying these story elements to our writing as well. In addition to read alouds/discussions, we will watch several videos to help us understand these important story elements and how we can use these to 'check for understanding'. We began our guided reading groups this week as well, and students have been doing very well working with me in a small group setting while others are off reading to self (or on Raz-kids) during Daily-5. Writer's Workshop This week we will be talking about how to bring your stories to life by making your characters think, feel, move and speak. Additionally, we will discuss how to make stories more exciting by unfolding events slowly. For many students, writing more that a one page story is difficult, but I am pushing students to add more detail, to keep coming back to their unfinished stories to make them better and better. Math We are currently flying through unit 2 in math ( I might even skip a few lessons here and there). We will be working more with addition and subtraction, identifying number partners and creating equations off of those problems. I am also introducing four new math games this week that will challenge students mathematically as well as logically. We will be using IXL all week to help solidify strategies learned during the whole group lessons. Social Studies School helpers are the topic this week, and we will be brainstorming all the things that Principals, Teachers, Secretaries, Nurses, Custodians, and Librarians do to help us at school. We will take a short field trip to see and meet these helpers and try to understand their jobs better. Later this week, we will begin discussing our community outside the classroom and learn more about maps. Miscellaneous - Even though we are still hard at work on our Social Studies curriculum, it's hard not to talk about the amazing science events that have happened in the last week. I was able to carve out some time to discuss Sunday's lunar eclipse, and the news from Monday of NASA's findings of water on Mars. The kids really enjoyed looking at pictures, asking questions about space, and connecting relevant information to the events. Go science! -There is a correction/change to the PTA international night. I posted that it will be held on October 8th. It has been changed to Friday November 6th from 6-8. -I have been notified that I am still missing three yellow students handbook release forms. If by any chance you see this document (it was handed out during the first week of school), please sign it and return it. Thanks. -Thank you for sending in your family photos. I will be collecting these this week, and we will begin sharing them next week. After everyone had a chance to share them, I will display them in our corner classroom library. -Look out for a new Scholastic book order form and letter home tomorrow with details on the Reading Club. If you have any questions, please reach out to me or Kate Lockerby. -Thanks for all the box-tops. Keep them coming! That's it for now. Take care, ~Mr. Layes
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Aaaaand I'm a day late. Sorry about that.
It's hard to imagine with all this beautiful weather we're having, but the first day of autumnal equinox begin on the 23rd. Happy fall everyone. Here's the latest... Language We are reading many Curious George selections this week to everyone's enjoyment. I will be highlighting sequence (beginning, middle, end), characters and setting to the students. We will be working on picking good fit books in our guided reading groups, as well as starting up using Raz-Kids during Daily 5. Writer's Workshop Our writers are really getting into their stories. Some strategies we have learned this week include partner sharing (to brainstorm ideas), writing focused 'seed' stories, instead of big 'watermelon' stories, and how good writers stretch their words to find all the letter sounds. I have been conferencing with kids to help them on an individual basis as well. Math We have finally wrapped up our first unit in math, and we will be assessing on Wednesday. We will begin new lessons on Unit 2 on Friday (look for another letter coming home at the end of the week). As a class, we will also be practicing logging onto and using both IXL and Dreambox this week. Please note, for IXL, please have your kids go to LEVEL C, and work on the highlighted levels. Thanks for all your help at home. Social Studies This week we will spend a day learning about autumn, with an overview on seasons and why we have them. Additionally, we will begin learning more about community, and more specifically about school helpers. We are continuing building our classroom community by playing team building games as well. Miscellaneous -The PTA is holding many events in the near future including October 7th which is 'Walk to School Wednesday', and October 8th which is International Fest. -Meinlise is turning seven on October 1st. Happy Birthday Meinlise! -Reading log: thank you for helping your child complete this homework on a daily basis. Just a reminder, I need these back on the following Monday morning. -Halloween party: It's not even October yet, but parents have already been asking. Yes we will be having a Halloween party in the room, and there is a parade at the end of the day where parents can attend and take pictures of their kids in costume. I will reach out for volunteers for our room party in the coming weeks. -Reading Club: With the help of my room parent Mrs. Lockerby, I am excited to share that we will be starting the Scholastic Reading Club next month. Please be on the lookout for a letter home with details along with a catalog full of great books to purchase for your child. -Thanks to those of you who have started to collect and send in box tops. The more the merrier. That's all for now. Take care everybody! ~Mr. Layes Hello everybody. I've had a few emails about how to purchase NED yo-yo's for your kids, and of course, students are wondering if they will receive one as well. I sent our a sheet last week (I believe it was a yellow paper?) about purchasing. If you are missing it, here are some details:
-The yo-yo's are available at school between 8:25-8:45. They are to be kept in students' backpacks as there are no toys allowing in school. Parents can send cash or check to purchase one. -There are three different models available. Here is a link to see them: http://www.shopned.com/category_s/46.htm They are selling the boomerang, the regular NED version, and either the cosmic spin or the excelerator. -Remember that NED likes kids to earn these by Never giving up, Encouraging others, and Doing your best. This could be a good tool for you as parents to reinforce these core values. -And don't forget, all proceeds go to paying forward an assembly for another school (as ours was paid for from a previous one). It's a good cause! Thanks for the support, ~Mr. Layes Hello everybody! We are back now, and getting into a groove (I actually like a string of 5 day weeks). The kids are getting used to the routines and norms of first grade, and even though there is a ton to remember, they are all doing a fabulous job. I'm excited at their overall independence and sense of responsibility already. Thanks for supporting me with this endeavor.
I'll be reading with each student this week to find their individual reading level. I will then form guided reading groups together to support and enrich each group as needed during our Daily 5 block in the morning. I will also be giving more math and spelling pre-assessments as well. Language This week we will be reading a great book written by Jamie Lee Curtis called "When I Was Little". I will be prompting students to make connections to the story and model good partner sharing as well. During Daily 5, the students are working on their reading stamina, sitting and reading quietly while I assess others at the kidney table. We will be discussing how to pick a "goldilocks" book (just right) as well. On Friday, we will be visiting the school library where Mrs. Hrbek will read a story to the kids. Afterwards, they will learn the ins and outs of choosing and checking out two books to take home for the week. Kids can keep these books until the following Friday. If they forget to bring books back, then they cannot check out two more. Writer's Workshop Our narrative writing continues this week with lessons about revision, planning and details. The mantra at this time of year is "Once your done, you've just begun". I try to show them how important it is to reread their writing, find mistakes, and ask good questions to add detail to their stories. I will be introducing a graphic organizer this week for those who are struggling with finding a topic or keeping focused while writing. Math We will be continuing our study on partners for whole numbers up to 10. We have been learning new games as well to strengthen our number sense. Additionally, I will be introducing IXL and Dreambox this week. These websites will be used extensively this year. Please be on the lookout for letters home about how to log on and passwords. Please contact me if you have any questions. Social Studies This week we will be focusing on fire prevention by reading books, watching videos and creating informative booklets. Middleton will be having several drills in the coming days, and this is a good intro on how we can be safe when there is danger. Miscellaneous -Malia's 7th birthday is on Thursday the 17th. -Enrichment begins next Monday the 21st. -Picture day is this Friday. Please send in any envelopes to me before then or order online. Wear your Sunday best! -At Middleton, classrooms collect box tops in order to help pay for supplies and equipment. The classroom that collects the most box tops during the school year wins a pizza party at the end of the year. If you could begin collecting and sending these in, that would be much appreciated. -There is a PTA meeting on Tuesday night at Curragh in Skokie starting at 7pm. Please help support this important organization. -Thank you for helping your child complete their homework each night. Don't forget that the reading log is equally as important as the nightly math homework. Please remind your kids to have these completed and handed in on Monday morning. FYI, there is no math homework sent on the weekend. That about covers it. It's not fall yet, but there is football on and I'm from Seattle, so go Seahawks! Take care everybody. If there is more, I'll post another. Take care, ~Mr. Layes I hope everybody had a nice and relaxing three day weekend. Put those white pants and loafers away people! This week we will be very busy with some testing, learning the ropes with our homework routines, and we celebrated a birthday already. Here's the latest...
Language We started our English Language Arts curriculum this week. We will read several books this week and hold discussions as a group and with partners about parts of the story. I will prompt students to try and make connections to the stories and ask them what the important parts of a story are (character, setting, plot). For word work, we will be reviewing short vowel sounds all week. We will also have our first spelling quiz on Friday. Please review the 10 words for the week with your kids to help them prepare. Writer's Workshop We will begin our Lucy Calkin's Writer's Workshop curriculum this week as well. The first unit is on narrative writing and specifically on writing small moment stories (honing in on a special moment with lots of details). Writing can be difficult for some students at this age, but I find that they take to writing if they write about themselves. Please encourage writing at home too. Additionally we began writing about our weekends in our 1st grade news folders. These will be written in the morning after a weekend. Over the course of a year, these stories will grow and we will have a very full folder with accounts of all weekends from 1st grade. Math We are continuing our first unit this week. Students are learning all about partners (which two numbers add up to another, i.e. 2+4=6). We're working with different strategies to help out including math mountains, circle drawings, math stairs and counting cards. My hope is to get IXL and Dreambox up and running on the iPads by next week to enrich the mathematical learning in the classroom. Social Studies Last week we finished up our Hopes and Dreams quilt. All the students brainstormed something that they want to accomplish over the course of their 1st grade tenure. Additionally, we created a classroom constitution with rules to adhere to based around the three R's at Middleton (be ready, respectful and responsible). Check the pics to see how they came out. Both will be posted in the room for the entire year. This week we will be doing more team building exercises using puzzles. Miscellaneous -Picture Day is next Friday, September 18th. I have only a few envelopes so far, so keep those coming in if you would like to order photos. -We had a great Pride Paw assembly last Friday. The kids got to meet Champ the bulldog (Middleton's mascot), and learn ways in which to be ready, respectful, and responsible. We have another assembly planned for this Friday afternoon hosted by the NED Show. For more information check out the brochure going home today and this link: http://www.thenedshow.com/kidz.html -Book bags; again, my apologies for getting these out late this week. They should be coming home today. I will be formally testing students and learning more about their level of reading next week. Afterwards, I will start sending books appropriate for their specific reading levels. -Malia Kaihatsu will be turning 7 next week on the 17th of September. Happy birthday Malia! That's all for now, I'll post more later I'm sure. Take care, ~Mr. Layes |
AuthorMr. Layes hails from the Pacific NW, cut his teeth on the streets of NYC, and now calls the Midwest... home. Archives
September 2017
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