Collect 25 Cents

This week we learned how to play a new game called Collect 25 cents. This is a fabulous game that combines adding numbers with counting money, two seperate skills that we are working on. To play this game you and a partner will need a collectin of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. You will also need one dice. To play the game one person will roll the dice and count out the amount of money that matches the roll. For example if you rolled a 4, the only way to make 4 cents is by counting out 4 pennies. Next the other person will roll the dice. That person will add their money to the previous roll. For example if the 2nd person rolled a 6, they would add 6 cents to the 4 cents. When adding the 6 cents the partners will need to decide if they want to add 6 pennies or 1 nickle and 1 penny. Next they will count all the money (10 cents). The game will continue until they reach 25 cents. This game can be adjusted to the level of the players. All pennies can be used if they are just learning how to count money. The players can also continue to exchange the coins so they have the fewest possible, for example if I had 17 cents I could have 1 dime, 1 nickle and 2 pennies. That would be the smallest amount of coins I could use compared to 17 pennies. If your child has no problem counting up to 25 cents, continue to raise the amount of money they are trying to reach. Another variation would be to roll two dice together to make the total of 1 dollar.

Owen: From English to Japanese

A. has amazed us again with her knowledge of both the Japanese and English language. Our class has been studying Kevin Henkes as an author and illustrator. This morning A came in and showed us the book of Owen. Owen was one of the first books we read as a class of Mr. Henkes. The students loved the story of a boy who wanted to take his blanket to school with him in Kindergarten. At first glance it looked the same as our book, then we noticed it was written in Japanese. Of course A said she could read the book and would be willing to read it to the class. We were so excited. A did an outstanding job. She used intonation and read with fluency. The other students were spell-bound by her knowledge of both languages. We are so fortunate to be able to share both books with our class. Thank you A for making this possible.


Please stay tuned for an audio peak of A reading Owen.

Total of 10, Tens Go Fish

This past week we have been playing a math game that focuses on finding combinations of ten. All you need is a deck of cards. You will need to take out the face cards or you can treat the face cards like a wild card. With a partner pass out 7 cards each. Each player will look at the cards in their hand. They will look for two cards that add up to ten. For example: 5+5, 7+3, etc. They will set these cards aside. Next they will continue to play the game just like Go Fish. Each player asks the other if they have a number that would help them make a combination of 10. If the other player does not have that card, the person asking would take one from the left over deck of cards. Continue to play until all cards are gone. If one person runs out of cards, they will draw 7 more from the deck.

If your child can not hold the cards in their hand, another variation would be for you to place 5 rows of 4 cards facing up on the ground. Have your child look at the cards to make combinations of ten. They can use multiple cards to make the combination. As the child takes cards from the rows, replace them with new cards from the deck.

Repeated Reading Builds Fluency!

By the end of the year, we expect first-grade students to be able to independently read aloud from Level I books using intonation, pauses and emphasis that signal the structure of a sentence and the meaning of a text. They should use the cues of punctuation -- including commas, periods, question marks and quotation marks to guide them in getting meaning and fluently reading aloud. Repeated Reading has been shown to improve students' reading fluency and general reading. Recording students while they read aloud is a great strategy to use. As they listen to themselves they can hear when their reading does not sound fluent and along with teacher guidance they can begin to make corrections to improve fluency.

Using your own recording device at home, record your child reading their Book in a Bag. Your child should listen to their recording. Discuss strengths and areas that need improvement. Then, have them read their book again as you record. Have your child listen to the second recording and discuss their areas of improvement. Repeated Reading is sure to make a positive impact :)

Listen to Amanda read Ribbon Rescue. Notice the changes she makes from the first time she reads the story.

Science Mystery Beads?!

Science was a hit this week! We took a look at some mystery beads in our science lab and used lab sheets to record our data. The beads looked like regular white beads when we were inside the classroom.

To our surprise, the beads changed color once we walked outside!! Our class determined (after testing different factors such as wind, heat, and moisture) that these mystery beads changed color because of the UV rays in the sun! Our discussion then led to different ways the sun can help the earth and how to protect our bodies from the harmful UV rays. Our friends had some wonderful questions, connections, and just plain fun!

So many friends are wondering where they can get some of these UV Beads... Check out the link below :)

http://www.teachersource.com/LightAndColor/Ultraviolet/UltravioletDetectingBeads.aspx

Starry, Starry Family Night

Throughout our study of the Solar System, we have been learning some pretty amazing things about the stars and planets. This year, first grade has been shooting for the stars and incorporated unforgettable learning activities for the students. On Tuesday night, we celebrated our Starry, Starry Family Night with a dinner, some space snacks, and a movie under the stars!

We were so fortunate to have Mr. Ted and Miss Letty (who are real Astronomers!!) come to our school and share their knowledge and give us a front row view of the moon through a giant telescope! Our class made a book for Mr. Ted and Miss Letty thanking them for a family night we will never forget! :)

Polygons

During Math Workshop, we have been looking at shapes and determining whether a shape was a polygon or nonpolygon. We learned that two-dimensional shapes are split into those two major groups. All simple closed shapes with straight sides are polygons. Simple shapes are shapes with sides that don't cross each other. The students also encountered closed shapes that are not polygons. These shapes have all or some curved sides, such as a circle, ovals, or semicircles.

The students looked at different shapes and sorted them either by the number of sides or angles a shape had, or the type of sides. Have your child look at these pictures and tell you if they are polygons or nonpolygons.