Weekly Wrap-Up

It was another short week here in first grade, but we were still able to get to a lot.  I am pleased to report the NWEA went a lot smoother on Tuesday with almost no slowdowns.  The class did great.  Our iPads were delivered on Thursday and we are really looking forward to using them when we return on Tuesday.  I cannot wait to utilize such fabulous pieces of technology with the kids.  I know they will love it.  Also, just a quick reminder that there is no school for students on Monday, January 26^th. 

I wanted to let you all know that I was out of the classroom today. Unfortunately, this year I am on a specific building-team that requires me to be out of the classroom from time to time. In addition to that I am in a clinical phase for my masters work, which will take me out of the classroom for job shadowing with Ms. Heyward, along with conferences and meetings. I apologize for my absences from the classroom. It is never something I take lightly and I wish that I could be in two places at once because I never like to be away from the kids. I am happy to report that the class does fantastic in my absence. The reason we have spent so much time on routine and expectations is for precisely this reason: the class performing at the same level whether I am in the classroom or out of the classroom.

If you are concerned or have questions about this please do not hesitate to send me an email. I am always available to talk about any concerns you may have regarding me, or your child. I appreciate your understanding. Now that we are done with the housekeeping issues…onto the highlights!

Math:

In math this week we spent more time talking about greater than and less than stories. Introducing animal cards into this concept furthered the class’s knowledge. We spent time to create comparison stories that utilized an animal’s height or length. It was a lot of fun. We also practiced adding and subtracting two-digit numbers. Finally, we tackled an open-response problem that had the kids devising ways to add two-digit numbers. The class had a lot of fun with this. I look forward to revisiting the open-response problem next week.

Science:

In science we continued our weather records for the month of January. We also took time to investigate the role of snow. The class built various snowflake representations using pattern blocks and then traced them into their science journals. We also looked more at the concept of friction and how it is a force that occurs when two objects come into contact with one another. The class had a lot of fun with this.

Phonics:

In phonics this week we worked with contractions more. This is a concept that has come up a lot in our Daily Oral Language review (morning job) and I was very pleased with how the class took to the concept. We also had our spelling test today, which went great. In addition to those items we also practiced consonant clusters and continued work on long vs. short vowels; all in all a big week in phonics.






Well this was not the entirety of our week, it is a mere snapshot of what took place. As always please let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns and until next week….all told.

Spelling Test This Friday

I am sorry there has been confusion regarding the spelling test date.  Unfortunately with the holiday break, coupled with the snow days, and MLK day I have had trouble getting back into a good routine with the spelling words.  However, I am planning on having the spelling test this coming Friday morning.  I am hopeful this system will be a bit easier to maintain.  If you have any questions please let me know.

Here are the spelling words for Friday's test:

- set
- because
- want
- around
- three
- small

Weekly Wrap-up

What a brief two-week spell we have had here on planet First Grade. We had a mini-vacation last week, which threw a bit of a wrench into our NWEA plans. However, the class did a great job when they returned on Monday. Wednesday saw us take the math portion of the NWEA exam and there were quite a few issues on the server side of the equation. We had a lot of long… load times for kids’ questions and Ms. Heyward and myself were playing an interesting game of “whack-a-mole” in trying to triage and fix the problems as the kids took the test. Needless to say, the kids did a great job with this confusion. I will say that the results from this math portion may be a bit skewed though because of these technical difficulties. I can speak to this more when the results are posted. On Friday we had our fantastic MLK celebration with Mrs. Krohn’s direction. The classes that participated did a great, great job. A very special shout out to Mrs. Krohn for everything she did to put that assembly together. Now that the housekeeping issues are off the table, onto the highlights!!!




Math:

We have been able to get to a lot in math these past few weeks. A big focus of our time has been greater than and less than stories. We have practiced this concept in several different ways and the kids particularly enjoyed more than/less than stories that involved animals’ weights. We also spent a lot of time with compliments of ten. The reason for this is it really helps the kids in a number of different areas, specifically adding three number problems. We also practiced measuring crooked paths and adding sums of three numbers. Finally, on Friday we spent some time to explore several different concepts, which included base ten exchanges, measurement, and place value. Oh what fun!


Phonics:

In addition to our weekly practice with spelling words, which I recently cut down from eight words to six words, we have worked exclusively on long and short vowels. This is a concept that still gives the class trouble, so I have spent additional time with it.


Science:

In science we were able to compile and graph our December weather data. We also spent a lot of time with our motion unit. This included exploring the effect of collisions. We also designed different collisions and recorded the results. Finally, we spent time exploring the concept of friction.


Social Studies:

We spent a lot of time over the past few weeks looking at the concepts of maps. The class got to create their own map of a classroom in their student journals. They had a lot of fun with this concept.












While this was just a snapshot of what took place over the few weeks, there was also several other happenings and learning opportunities.

NWEA Practice

Parents,

Here is a link to a brief informational video about the NWEA exam.  There is also a link for some practice questions.  Please use these resources to talk with your child about the NWEA exam.  If these links do not work please let me know ASAP.


Thanks,

Michael

Student Warm-up Video

Short Warm-up Test for MAP

Short Warm-Up Test for MAP for Primary Grades

NWEA Make Up

Well, we had an impromptu vacation this past week.  We missed our scheduled NWEA time on Thursday.  I wanted to give you an updated schedule of when we will take the NWEA.

Math:
Wednesday, January 14th 9:00-10:00

Reading:
Tuesday, January 20th 10:10-11:10

Low on Kleenex and Very Low on Snack

We are running VERY low on both snack and kleenex in the classroom.  If you are able to send in either of these items we would greatly appreciate it.

NWEA Test Tomorrow and Next Wednesday

We will be taking the NWEA test over the next two weeks.  We are slated to take the reading section tomorrow morning from 10:10-11:10.  We will then take the math portion on Wednesday, January 14th.  Please emphasize to your kids that this is an important test and they should take their time and try their best.  This test will provide valuable insight into how your child is learning and what targeted work will need to take place over the coming weeks and months.  If you have any questions about this test please get in touch with me.


Thanks,

Michael

Kleenex Needed

Our kleenex stores are precariously low.  If you would like to send in some boxes of kleenex that would be terriric.  Something tells me we are going to need them this week...

New Year

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had a fabulous break.  Time seemed to move very slowly for me on break and it feels like we were gone a month!  I am excited about what the New Year will bring this fabulous group of first graders.  I wanted to let you know that we will begin taking the NWEA test next week.  I will send out more information on this in the weekly wrap up on Friday.

Also, if you would like to contact me to set up a meeting that is no problem. I am ALWAYS available to meet with you to discuss your child's progress in the classroom.  If you have any questions, comments or concerns please let me know immediately and we can set up a time to talk.  My door is always open.

I look forward to hearing from you and please bundle up this week.  It is cold outside.


Best,

Michael Hagen