Spelling Words For The Week

Here are our spelling words for the week.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

1. own
2. below
3. country
4. plant
5. last
6. under

Weekly Wrap-Up

I don’t think I can remember the last full week of school we had! It was fantastic to have all five days to really delve into some topics before the upcoming mid-winter break. It was a jam-packed week with NAAPID day on Monday, a lockdown drill on Tuesday and a party on Friday! Thank you to everyone who volunteered with the party today. The kids had a blast! Let’s see what we were up to this week…onto the highlights!

Math:

In math this week we spent time exploring two digit number stories. We also spent a lot of time with doubles, near doubles and true/false number sentences. These topics led us to talk about near-doubles on Thursday. We were able to play a few games on Friday as well.

Phonics:

This week in phonics we worked a lot with our spelling words. Contractions and plurals were also a big focus and point of practice.

Science:

We observed and documented our goldfish this week in science. Using the iPads, I was able to video the fish in Ms. Lim’s tank and have the kids watch, pause and rewind the video during centers. The kids really enjoyed this! We also talked about the different body parts of the goldfish. We also took time observing and documenting our snails.

Writing:

In writing this week we invested time in creating a graphic organizer to help with our Kensington stories. We also examined fact vs. opinion with the help of The Story of Ruby Bridges, a terrific story about a brave girl who fought segregation and hatred in 1960’s New Orleans.

Social Studies:

We spent additional time with our unit dealing with groups. The class had opportunities to sort and classify varying groups such as school groups, community groups, religious groups, etc. This unit was perfect for our talks about African American History month.



This was brief snapshot of what occurred in the classroom this week. On Tuesday we talked a lot about the lockdown and what we could do in such a situation. This conversation was age appropriate, but very insightful and helpful to the class. I was really proud of how they performed both during the lockdown and the subsequent discussion. If you have any questions about this please let me know.





Have a wonderful and safe mid-winter break. I look forward to seeing everyone back on the 23rd. Until then…all told.

Valentine's Day

This Friday we will be having a Valentine's Day celebration in the classroom.  Ruth Hamstra has graciously offered to bring in craft centers for the class again and I am really looking forward to it.  If you would like to send in Valentine's that would be great, although the principal has asked us, and I agree, that we refrain from giving out candy.  If you wanted to send in something then pencils, erasers, and stickers are all viable alternatives.  I appreciate your understanding with this.  We have 18 kids in the classroom, however Benjamin will not be returning for some time, so 17 Valentines should be sufficient.

We are also looking for volunteers that Friday afternoon from 1:15-2:30 to help with the the craft centers.  Also a special healthy snack would be great too!

 Please let me know if you have any questions.


Best,

Michael Hagen

NAAPID Tomorrow

I hope to see you tomorrow.  

Weekly Wrap-Up

What a brief week it was here aboard the S.S. First Grade. We had another impromptu vacation, which took away quite a bit of our week. We also had a field trip today, which was chilly, but a lot of fun! Thank you to Megan and Dana for volunteering to come along. We could not have done it without you!

I want to take a brief minute to apologize to all of you who check my blog regularly. It was brought to my attention yesterday (thank you so much, Joe) that I had not updated my blog since January 23rd. Unfortunately I was making my regular posts about spelling words, weekly wrap-ups and permission slips on the WRONG BLOG! I cannot believe this mistake on my part. I took time last night to delete the draft blog I was posting to these past weeks and this problem will definitely not happen again, I assure you. In the event you are not hearing from me on a regular basis please drop me a line. I always try to answer my emails promptly. I apologize again for this mistake on my part. If that mistake wasn't enough I also made the worst possible typo in my Kensington Reminder post yesterday. My deepest apologies for this typo on my part. In my zeal to get that information up that typo slipped through. It has since been corrected.

Enough of Mr Hagen’s goof ups…onto the highlights!

Math:

We began work in our new math journals this week. You may have noticed the old ones being sent home on Wednesday. This week saw us tackle the elusive target of time. We were able to make hour hand clocks to practice telling time. Unfortunately with the snow days and the field trip on Friday this was all we were able to cover this week. I look forward to next week when we will have more time to cover additional concepts before the break.

Phonics:

In phonics this week we talked a lot of suffixes. The kids practiced putting -s and -ing onto words to help a sentence make sense. We also did some brief work with contractions, long vowels and finally their, there and they’re distinctions. I love explaining that concept to first graders. They give me this inquisitive look that says, “You have GOT to be kidding me, Mr. Hagen?”

Science:

We were finally able to catch-up with our weather recordings this week in science. Our goldfish and snails arrived as well. These wonderful creatures are staying in a tank in Ms. Lim’s room. We will plan on using some of our fabulous technology to help observe and document these living things.

Writing:

We are continuing our work on our February writing goals. We took time this afternoon to write about our experiences at Kensington. It was fantastic.


It was a short week that was filled with adventures (Kensington), mistakes (Mr. Hagen) and a whole lot of fun. Until next week….all told.

Weekly Wrap-Up (Posted by mistake on different blog)

What a great week it was here in first grade! We were able to get outside a bit more often, we were able to use our new iPads, and we were able to write some new goals for February. I mean great, great stuff! Also, we had a fabulous parent volunteer for centers today, so thank you again Dana! We loved having you in the classroom. Everyone is always welcome in my room, so if you would like to volunteer please let me know. Just a quick reminder that we have our Kensington field trip a week from today, so please make sure to send in those permission slips. I am also still looking for some chaperones if you are interested. I have been assured that this is a fantastic field trip. Before we get to the highlights I also wanted to let you know we will be having a Valentine’s Day party on February 13th. Ruth Hamstra is going to be setting up some fantastic centers and we will of course put an academic spin on everything! Thank you again Ruth for your help!!! That takes care of the housekeeping issues, so ONTO THE HIGHLIGHTS!!!


Math:

In math this week we tackled our weekly progress check for unit five. I was quite pleased to see the progress the class has made with unit five concepts. We also got to play several games on Friday which was great. What is next on the docket? Why that would be a journey into the fabulous world of unit six… Ahh, you can just taste the excitement and anticipation!!!


Writing:

We spent some time this week editing our work. I also tied this to a goal writing exercise for February. I had the class look over their writing and decide on a goal for themselves to accomplish over the month of February. I will be sending home writing and copies of these goals for our upcoming mid-winter break. It is my plan to write monthly goals for writing throughout the remainder of the year. Writing is an area I would like to see the entire class take a step forward with, so I am excited to see how these goals work. If you have any questions about this process please let me know.

Phonics:

In phonics this week we focused on several concepts. The kids got to work more with contractions, which went well. We also practiced our long and short vowel as well. These concepts were complemented by our continuing work with consonant clusters.


Science:

In science this week we continued our endeavor to record weather. We received our snails for an upcoming unit as well. These snails will be going into a shared tank in Ms. Lim’s classroom. I cannot wait to see the science we can get into with these snails.


Thus ends the highlight portion of this post. Until next week….all told.

No Spelling Test This Week (posted earlier in the week on wrong blog)

Due to the snow days this week we will NOT have a spelling test this coming Friday.  My apologies for this change, but I do not want the kids to have to worry about cramming for a spelling test, especially with a field trip on Friday.  Please let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Best,

Michael Hagen

****Kensington Reminders*****

This is a full day trip (9:30-2:30). We will spend most of the trip outside and as you know...it is VERY snowy out.  Dress in layers including TWO PAIRS of socks and long underwear if possible.  Otherwise, several layers of t-shirts with sweatshirts and heavy pants, plus all regular outerwear including snow pants and boots.

Also, remember to pack a lunch and drink and make it as easy as possible since we will eat on the bus. If you have any questions please let me know immediately and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you,

Michael Hagen

Blog Issues

I am terribly sorry but looks like I have made an error with my blog these past weeks.  Unfortunately I have been posting items to a draft blog that I created early in the year, which was tied to my personal email address and not my work email address.  I am incredibly sorry about this misstep on my part.  Joe Myers pointed this out to me today.  I have been making regular posts on the blog, but not the blog you all go to see.  Again, my deepest apologies for this oversight on my part.  I am in the process of correcting this error.