Lock Down Drill Today

We had our last lock down drill of the year today.  I know I said it was supposed to be on Friday, but looks like I got that confused with a fire drill.

The lock down went well and the class did a great job.  Today we practiced what we would do if we needed to leave the building.  This included us running out the back door and all the way up to the large field adjacent to the building.  We talked about how this would allow us to see if anyone was coming and possibly move towards a business on Ellsworth road if necessary.  After we came back to the classroom for a debrief I got a lot of "what if" questions from the kids.  I summarized these by basically stating that a lock down drill is all about putting as many barriers between the "bad person" and us as possible.  This may include desks and chairs in front of the door, or us running to the field.  I explained that the more barriers we have between us and the "bad person" allows additional time for the authorities to arrive and solve the problem.  I think the class did well, but please talk with them about this event and the need for it in the building.  If you have any questions, comments or concerns please let me know.

Spelling Words for the Week

Here are our spelling words for the week:

- told
- almost
- idea
- didn't
- south
- ground


Bonus:

- morning
- hundred

Weekly Wrap Up

It was a great week back here in first grade. I missed these kids so much and I was thrilled to get back into the classroom. I loved hearing the multitude of stories that the kids recited to me as they returned. I was again hit with that sinking feeling that my time with this fabulous group is quickly coming to a close. However, we are not done yet and we had a whole lot to get through this week. We had an Harambee on Wednesday that covered South Korea. I gave the presentation to the building and I was thrilled with how well my class set the example for the rest of the building. They did great. We have a field trip next Tuesday to the Hands on Museum, so if you have not sent in your permission slip please do so, or let me know if you need another one. I have two chaperones all set, but I will need at least one more, so if you are interested please let me know. This is a terrific field trip and one that I remember from my elementary days back at Abbot. I look forward to hearing from you. In addition to the field trip next week, we also have our Day of Service on Wednesday. To those who are unfamiliar with this event, this Day of Service is a time where we celebrate Earth Day by going and cleaning up a section of the school grounds. It is always a lot of fun. If you are interested in joining us we would love to have you. We will be going out at 1:45-2:15. If a field trip and Day of Service were not enough, we also have the International Festival on Thursday! Wow, it is a really big week coming up. Finally, Friday we will have a lockdown drill, so please talk with your children about the need for this procedure. If you have any questions, please let me know. Now that was a whole lot of catching up, but let’s see what we were up to this week…on to the HIGHLIGHTS!!!!


Math:

In math this week we tackled an open response problem. This went very well and I was thrilled at the learning I saw the kids exhibit during the two-day lesson. We also worked a bit more with the What’s My Rule? routine. We then moved on and tackled digital and analog time. This was a fun and engaging lesson, however the kids kept dropping their demonstration clocks. I mean seriously, they must have dropped them 20+ times during the lesson. I did not get it. Anyway, back on track….we took some time for some assessment toward the end of the week.

Writing:

We took a lot of time writing our facts about South Korea and tigers this week. We then transitioned these facts into paragraph form for next week.

Science:

We caught up with our April weather data in science this week. We also had a fun lesson involving wind towards the tail end of the week. It was a lot of fun and terrific to be able to get outside for the lesson.

Phonics:

In phonics this week we took time to review the –ed suffix. We went over how these two letters at the end of the word can mean three possible sounds (c’mon English language, help me out here). The kids had a bit of trouble with this, but we will practice it over the coming weeks. We also reviewed the long and short vowels sounds a bit more.


This was a quick snapshot of what we were up to this week. If you have any questions please let me know and until next week...all told.

Spelling Words for the Week

Here are the words the week:

- took
- above
- those
- usually
- order
- measure


Bonus words:

- describe
- probably

Weekly Wrap-Up

It was a short week on the eve of this Spring Break, however that does not mean we did not get a whole lot done. I want to say how far this class has come in these past 130 days. This is truly a special group of kids that I have enjoyed immensely as we have all experienced this first grade adventure. When we return from Spring Break that will mark the final push to the end of the year. I have very mixed emotions about this and am honestly choosing not to think too much about it for fear of my emotions getting the better of me. I will say that I cannot wait to tackle those remaining 50 days. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

Now let us see what we were up to this shortened week…

ON. TO. THE. HIGHLIGHTS!!!



Math:

In math this week we tackled more attribute work. In addition we also spent a lot of time with the What’s My Rule? routine. You may remember this from kindergarten, but we are taking it a bit further in first grade. The kids worked on this Wednesday and Thursday. While I was hoping to tackle an open response problem this week, the two-day nature of the lesson relegated it to when we return from break.



Writing:

We spent a bit of time with revision this week, but the bulk of our writing time was spent recording facts about either South Korea or tigers. We will be working on these two subjects leading up to the International Festival in late April. Our research included our weekly time in the computer lab. The kids accessed World Book and recorded several facts about South Korea. I was thrilled with how well they did in reading and identifying pertinent facts. The tiger research is because that animal happens to be the national animal of South Korea. I thought it would be a nice addition to the work we are already undertaking about South Korea. If you would like to help with these research topics please drop me a line.



Social Studies:

n social studies this week we started a new unit dealing with family traditions. This will dovetail nicely into our International Festival work as well. I sent home some homework for you this week asking for details about some of the family traditions you celebrate at home. Thank you to everyone who sent that homework back and if you need another copy please do not hesitate to let me know.



This week also saw us tackle a lot of phonics practice, spelling practice and a lot of work on research projects. All in all it was a great week. Have a fabulous and safe break everyone and I look forward to seeing you all back next Monday….until next time….all told.