Well, the 2016 Halloween is in the books. It was super fun, and all the kids had a great time. I want to thank all the parents who volunteered in the room (Ms. Al-Bazi, Ms. Hall, Ms. Magsino, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Peng, and Ms. Seff) and all the other parents who contributed other items to our party. Thank you so much, and be sure to check out the pics page for more. BTW, the entire first grade team dressed up as characters from the movie Inside Out (I was Anger; I heard it was a good movie, haven't actually seen it yet.) Anyhoo, here's the latest...
Math We took a much needed day off from Math on Halloween, but we're back at it on Tuesday. This week we are getting ready for our end of Module 1 exam early next week. Students will practice solving more subtraction story problems and reviewing both their addition and subtraction facts up to 10. The same standards apply this week as did last week. Science/Social Studies We will be talking more about Earth and seasons this week, but we will also start learning about the patterns in the day/night sky. Be on the lookout for a letter coming home along with some black construction paper for students to begin documenting the night sky. We will also be discussing the upcoming elections and reading books, and watching videos to help us understand what November 8th is all about. Language We will be learning more about Earth, and start reading a folktale about the sun and moon too. We will discuss author's purpose and the differences between fiction and informational text. Word Work We are still looking at beginning and ending digraphs and blends. Spelling scores were higher last week, so thank you for all the help you give your child at home with their spelling list. I did make one error last week. I switched 'out' for 'we' between the two weeks. My apologies. Even with that error the kids did well. Writer's Workshop We have just begun our question and answer books. Students have brainstormed a list of topics and some simple questions about their topic with guidance (what is soccer, vs who is the most famous soccer player in Argentina). We will begin to anwer our questions using more graphic organizers before we delve into transferring those thoughts onto writing paper. We will continue to work in our handwriting journals as well. Miscellaneous -Election day is next Tuesday. Don't forget to vote, and remember that it is an institute day: no kids. So plan accordingly. -Veteran's Day is Friday, November 11 and school will be closed in rememberance of our veterans. If you have a family member who served in our armed forces, please send in a picture with your child anytime next week and we can share with the class. -Two Scholastic Reading Club flyers are going home this week. If you want to purchase any books, please do so electronically using my special code PDTZJ, or send in a check with the order form. Due date is next Thursday, November 10th. -Picture retake day is this Thursday. Contact me if you need to have pictures retaken. -An additional class picture went home that showed every one of our beautiful students' faces. FYI, that is why you received another. Do with either as you will. -Conferences are coming up soon. Contact me if you are having any difficulty navigating the PTC system. -Enrichment end on November 18th, FYI. -Keep sending in those boxtops too. Thanks! Go Cubs, let's win one more tomorrow night. And don't eat too much candy tonight!!! ~Mr. Layes
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I guess late October means playoff baseball, so I am all in on the Cubs. Hold your hats for Friday's game at Wrigley though. There could be some seismic activity if they win at home. Anyhoo, here's the latest...
Math It's all about subtraction these days, mostly wrapped up into story problems. The kids have been using pictures, number bonds, number sentences and statements to express solutions. They are getting the hang of it. Starting tomorrow, we will learn some more decomposition strategies for subtraction. Here are the standards being taught this week: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.C.5 CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.C.6 Science This week we introduced our science unit-Space! But first we debunked what it means or looks like to be a scientist. They aren't old white men wearing lab coats and glasses working in a labratory. They could be anyone, boy or girl, at any age, that has some curiosity and a desire to work hard. We are also finding out more about where we live on our planet too. We will be using Google Maps to zoom in and out of our place (e.g., street, city, state, country, world and back). We will dive into studying the sun next week. Language To go along with our space unit, we will be reading and learning more about communities and how they shape our planet. We will emphasis looking at patterns and retell beginning, middle and end to various books. *Reading Logs--thanks for getting these back to me on Monday. I am seeing many minutes of parent reading happening. In the near future , let's shoot for the child to do the majority of the reading (at least 10 mins/day). Thanks! Word work Beginning and ending digraphs (ch, sh) and blends (tr, sl) are on the docket these days. The students are doing well with their spelling words. However, scores on their spelling quizzes for the word wall words are lacking, to be honest. Words like said and have must be memorized. Please, please study these with your child. If I don't see growth in the coming weeks, I will begin to send spelling homework for those students who are falling behind. Thanks for your support at home. Writer's Workshop We introduced questions and answer books to kids this week. They will brainstorm a list of topics that they are an expert at and use the 5 W's and How to create a list of questions around their topic. We will use various graphic organizers before we begin writing our booklets. We continue to work in our handwriting books too. Miscellaneous -Halloween is coming up next Monday. There was a letter that came home last week. Please read it carefully (no candy, and send costumes in backpacks to wear in afternoon only). The parade will start at 2:20. I have all my parent volunteers already lined up (you know who you are), so if you wanted to come, perhaps you could chaperone one of our field trips in the future. Thanks. -November 3rd is picture retake day. I think all of your children were here that day. I know we're still waiting on individual pictures. Hang tight. -Election day is coming up on November 8. There is no school that day for students. Please go and do your civic duty and vote! That is all for now. ~Mr. Layes Well, it looks like autumn, but feels like summer. I'll take it. Here's the latest.
Math Students are learning strategies to use for subtraction story problems. We introduced the number path (line) today, and that seemed to help many students. Where things get tricky, is to see the addition sentence that can help them (e.g. 7-4=3 and 3+4=7). They need to count on from the part, threeeeee, 4, 5, 6, 7. This relationship is tricky to see and understand. We will be working on subtraction word problems the rest of the week. Please be on the lookout for another letter coming home too. Here are the connected standards: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.A.1 CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.B.4 Note: if your child is getting an exit slip that has REDO on the top, that means that they needed more support to fully understand that lesson. Social Studies We are doing some fun activities around seasons and specifically autumn. Additionally, we will be continuing our focus on Bullying Awareness month. Next week we will begin our Space unit in science. So fun!!! Language This week we will be finishing up Matthew and Tilly and begin reading Chrysanthemum. Both of these books allow the kids to make connections to the characters; Matthew and Tilly are friends that have a fight and apologize, and Chrysanthemum has to deal with some bullies at school because of her long, flowery name. We will be reinforcing character and setting story elements and highlighting problems and solutions. Our first reading assessments will be given to guided reading groups at the end of the week. Word Work We started working on our ch, sh, th, and wh digraphs this week. We will be making words that support these types of words too. Writer's Workshop Last week we finished up pattern books, and next week we will begin simple question and answer non-fiction books to coincide with the start of our science unit. So this week, we will focus our energy into our handwriting booklets. Bonus points for good spacing, letter formation and punctuation. Miscellaneous -Hewan Maru is turning 7 on Wednesday. Yay! -We are having an anti-bullying assembly on Friday to cap off our campaign to help end bullying. -Thanks to all those who could make it out to Fall Fest. It was great to see so many of my kids! Although, I think that cake walk was rigged ;( -The Skokie Bookmobile will be coming through this week, and we are scheduled to visit it on Thursday. Kids will be allowed to check out two books. Please return these back to school and we will return them for you. No need to return them back to the library. Thanks. -Box-Tops anyone? Bueller??? I'm a huge basketball fan, and follow football regularly, baseball, meh. Not so much. I'm even from Seattle, so I don't really have a dog in this fight, but go Cubs. Perhaps we can finally put this lunacy behind us. That is all for now. Until next time. ~Mr. Layes Greetings Parents:
We are Michelle & Mickey Sanchez - our son Seth is in Mr. Layes' class too! We just wanted to follow up personally to let you know that you should have just received an email invitation from us to come to our home for a potluck dinner next month, Saturday, November 19. Just in case you need the link again, you can click here for the invitation. We wanted to let you know that we are looking to start a family-run babysitting co-op in our neighborhood and you are invited! We are also partnering with Skokie parents Lissa Levy and Josh Siegal to start this new co-op. A babysitting co-op is a way for parents to trade childcare hours with each other. In the process, we build community among parents and kids build friendship with one another. Please see the evite for more information, and feel free to invite other Skokie families who might be interested. You can follow up with us too with any questions - cell phone # is below. We look forward to connecting soon! Cheers, Michelle & Mickey Sanchez 781-708-3575 A couple of notes:
-Fall Fest is tomorrow. Please come by and say hello. There will be a costume swap, so if you have any old or too-small costumes, please donate them for others to wear. -Individual picture orders have not yet come in. Classroom pictures went home yesterday, all other orders should arrive early next week. -Our Halloween party/parade is coming up soon. Please be on the lookout for a letter coming home next week with details. -Thank you for all you suport with the reading logs!!! Book bags are coming home and back to school more often, but still sporadically for some students. Please remind them to take them to school every day so they can be swapped. If you do not see books come home several days in a row, please contact me. Thanks! That is it! Enjoy the lovely weekend. ~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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