As I hope you saw on our class newsletter, this week we are working on fact families. As you are working with your child on fact families, I thought a quick tutorial and explanation of how we do them may be beneficial and help YOU help your child! This is a fact family house. Just as we say we are RELATED to our family, the addition and subtraction facts in a given fact family are RELATED FACTS.
To help students understand fact families I tell students a little story about the Fact Family that helps them remember how to write out the 2 addition facts and 2 subtraction facts. The story goes something like this: There once was a fact family and they lived in a fact family house. There was BIG BOSS DADDY 9, Older Brother 6, and Little Baby Sister 3. Older Brother 6 and Little Baby Sister 3 decided to play a game. Older Brother got bossy and said "I want to go first!" So...... 6 + 3 = 9. Well, Little Baby Sister 3 did NOT like that at all. She said "That's not fair! I want to go first!" So....3 + 6 = 9. Well BIG BOSS DADDY 9 doesn't like all of that fussing and fighting from the kids. So he says he is going to start TAKING THINGS AWAY! He says "Older Brother 6, you should have known better! You're setting a bad example." So Older Brother 6 gets in trouble. 9 - 6 = 3. Little Baby Sister 3 snickers and says, "haha..yooooou got in troooouble." And Older Brother 6 says, "Thats not fair! She was fighting too!!" So Little Baby Sister 3 gets in trouble too. 9 - 3 = 6. And they all lived happily ever after. I know it sounds silly....but it helps kids identify which numbers are which.....and the order they go in. Most importantly they should know that in the 2 addition facts the BOSS (or greatest number) will go last. In a subtraction fact, the BOSS will be first. Try this at home! Try giving your student three numbers that belong in a fact family such as 6, 4, and 10. See if they can tell you which one is the BOSS and which one is "Little Baby Sister". See if they can write the 2 addition facts and 2 subtraction facts for the fact family. Here's the anchor chart we created as a class for Fact Families.
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Our classroom library is one of the most special areas in our classroom. A large portion of our classroom is designated to this space because of the importance of reading, especially in first grade. I believe that students who LOVE to read turn into students who LOVE to learn. I want to create and foster a love of learning that extends into adulthood. This week your child has been allowed to explore our classroom library for the first time. After discussing the rules and expectations of our library, the proper care of our books, and the ways our library is organized, your child was able to select 3 books to keep in their book tub. As we begin centers and small groups your child will have an opportunity each week to visit our classroom library for "Read to Self" time. Our library is organized by subject/topic, rather than by reading level. This is by design. Each day your child will meet with me in a small group to read books specifically chosen based on their tested reading level. They will work on decoding strategies, fluency, and comprehension skills. This is a rigorous time of learning to read and your child will gain confidence and skills to be a more fluent reader. In contrast, our library is meant to be a place where students can enjoy reading without limitations. I want students to find books that interest them and dive head-first into them! If that book is a little too easy for them, it will help build their fluency with repeated practice. If that book is a little too difficult for them, they will have an opportunity to practice the decoding skills and strategies we will be learning in our small group. It is OK if a book isn't a "perfect fit" during this time of our day because I want students to just ENJOY reading a book! If they love dinosaurs, grab a dinosaur book! If you're interested in reading a Clifford book, jump right in! So much of our day is structured and demanding...but this part of our day is simply for the LOVE of reading! Our classroom library is STOCKED with books on a variety of topics, and I am constantly curating it based on the needs and interests of my students. If I find your child has a special interest I will always try to point them to books that they would enjoy. If I don't have them, I work hard to get them.
This is where Scholastic Book Orders come in! They are so much more than just supplying your child with books to read at home. Our class earns "points" for each dollar spent on a book order. I am able to log on and spend these points on specific books for our classroom. This makes it possible for me to select specific books for our library that are catered to your child's likes/interests. Another great way to help build our classroom library is through our Amazon wishlist. I will continue to edit and add to this wishlist throughout the year and often will include books that I think will benefit our students. No books listed? Feel free to send a gift card with a note specified to be used for books. I will always honor your request on how to spend gift cards for our classroom! :) I truly see our classroom as the Holy Ground that God allows me to walk on each day...and I view our classroom library as extra sacred. This is a place where students' imaginations are ignited in ways that nothing else can do. My prayer is that your child grows in their abilities, but moreso, in their love of reading this year! Ever wonder how you can help our classroom? I keep an updated Amazon Wishlist running throughout the year of items that would benefit our class. Items range from small to extravagant dream items. You can access this list at the link below. ANY of these items would be a huge help to our class! :) Thank you for your generosity in making our classroom even better. https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/ref=cm_reg_rd-upd?ie=UTF8&id=2NFMGBBP15NIA&type=wishlist Here are a few items currently on our list... Next week we will be beginning our spelling program. The spelling program that I use in my classroom is a bit different than any other I have ever seen. I love this program and truly believe it is the BEST way to teach students spelling patterns, rather than simply memorizing sight words. I’d like totell you a little bit about the spelling program so that we can iron out any questions or concerns you may have and to make sure you are comfortable with the expectations before we begin next week.
First of all, we will begin the week with 8 spelling words (6 will follow a spelling pattern, 2 will be sight words). As the year progresses we will add more words (10 and then 12). There are three parts to our spelling test which help me assess who has mastered the spelling skill that has been taught and whether or not they can extend that learning to new situations. Part 1: Spelling Word Dictation This part is the “traditional” portion of the test. I will dictate to the students the words they have studied and they will write them correctly on the lines. Each week’s words will follow a specific spelling patter (For example: short “a” sounds). This portion will also include two STAR words. These two STAR words will be words that follow the same spelling pattern but were not on the original list to study. These words will assess whether or not your child can apply the spelling pattern when trying to decode an unknown word. So for instance, if your child’s spelling list for the week included words that were in the -at family, a STAR word could be pat or sat. If your child has learned and understands the -at family, they should be able to apply that learning to those new words even if they didn’t explicitly study them. By including words that follow the same spelling pattern, it encourages your child to move beyond simply memorizing weekly words and requires them to apply meaning to the spelling patterns. This has helped my students in the past see significant growth in their writing and reading as they are better able to decode unfamiliar words using the spelling patterns. Part 2: Sentence Correction For this part of the test, students will circle 3 mistakes in a given sentence and correctly write a sentence. Mistakes will include common issues like capitalization, punctuation, etc. This is something we practice quite a bit in first grade and your child should be able to spot mistakes and correct them with minimal difficulty. As the school year progresses, skills will become increasingly harder with errors including misspelled words that have previously been spelling words. This will not only help your child understand sentence mechanics and punctuation, but will also teach your child how to edit writing, which makes will help them as they learn to edit and publish their own writing pieces. Part 3: Comprehension Just as it is essential that your child begins to apply the spelling patterns to new situations, this should also have an impact on their reading. For the last portion of the weekly spelling test, your child will read a sentence independently and draw a picture to show their comprehension. For example, if your child is studying short “a” words, the sentence may say”A cat is on a mat.” Your child would draw a picture of a cat on a mat. This, of course, is not an assessment of their drawing or artistic abilities, but rather an opportunity for students to demonstrate that they are applying their spelling patterns to reading situations and are able to decode the words in a sentence and understand their meaning. Application to the Curriculum My hope is that through these explanations you are able to see that this spelling program is not typical but provides your child with the necessary exposure and practice to not only learning but APPLYING their learning. The tests your child will take and the skills they will acquire meet the following standards for first grade: RF:1.3—Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. L.1.1—Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard english grammar and usage when writing or speaking. L.1.1a—Print all upper- and lowercase letters. L.1.2—Demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard english capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. So—-as you can see, there is a method to what may seem a bit like madness for a while until you get used to it. I hope you will enjoy spelling this year and will be able to see dramatic growth in your child’s reading and writing abilities as a result. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about anything doing hesitate to email. I can’t wait to see your child’s progress this year. Chances are that your child has already told you about the exciting seating options in our first grade class. If not, let me tell you a little bit about our flexible seating and the benefits for your child. Research shows what we already know about kids...too much sitting in one position is hard on their bodies and definitely hard on their minds. Attention spans lessen for each additional minute kids sit at a desk. Yuck! This year I ditched the typical student chairs and instead I purchased beautiful new stools! These stools are not only colorful and add a bright pop to our room, but research shows that students sitting in stools are 10 times more attentive and able to focus! As students use their core muscles to maintain better postures on stools, it is also better for their bodies! Multiple times during the day when we are working on independent or group activities, students are given a CHOICE of where they sit. We have multiple fun seating options in our room: *Scoop Rocker Chairs *Crate Seats *Comfy Pillows and Rugs *Traditional Desks & Stools *Floor *In our Reading TeePee *The Big Blue Comfy Chair (as we call it) I'm hoping (as my husband allows-haha) to continue to add awesome seating choices to our class so your child has MORE and MORE options to learn in their own way! |
Mrs. Shannon1st Grade Teacher at Tipton-Rosemark Academy Archives
October 2016
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