Week of 12/9

Social Studies
We spent the week learning about the customs and traditions of a new world holiday - Kwanzaa. Students learned about when, where and how some African-American families celebrate this holiday. At the end of the week, students wove paper Kwanzaa mats with the traditional holiday colors of red, green and black. Ask your child to tell you something they learned about this holiday.

Writing
We read the story Growing Vegetable Soup by Lous Elhert. We made personal connections to the story by sharing some of our own favorite family activities and then writing about them. At the end of the week, we enjoyed an author share. Volunteers took turns reading their stories aloud to the class. Authors had the opportunity to use a clear, loud voice for all to hear. Our audience members practiced respectful listening skills and had the chance to provide specific, positive comments after each story.

Math
Students continued to work with multiple addends during activities like Today's Number and Roll and Record with Three Dice. They used their ability to count on with dice! We also began to work on counting and writing larger numbers. They created counting strips to practice these skills. We also looked at examples of counting strips that had mistakes on them. Students had to identify and fix the mistakes they saw.

Upcoming Dates

• There is no school from December 23rd - January 1st for our winter vacation.

Thank you,

Mrs. Bradstreet

Week of 12/2

Social Studies
We began a new unit on World Holidays. Throughout this unit, students will learn about the ways in which people celebrate three different winter holidays. Our focus was on Diwali this week. Students read a nonfiction passage on Pebble Go, located India on a world map, and then read and colored their own Diwali mini-book. At the end of the week, each child created a paper lantern. We also spent time comparing and contrasting our own holiday celebrations with the Diwali traditions. Ask your child to tell you something interesting they learned about this holiday!

Writing
After reading Daddy Calls Me Man, we brainstormed stories about our own family members. Students took turns telling the class specific details about a family member such as "I have a sister who gives me hugs." Then, we spent a couple of days writing and illustrating our own stories about family members. This was a great opportunity for students to practice writing details about a single topic.

Math
We solved addition story problems that involved multiple addends this week. Students used strategies such as counting on or finding known combinations, and tools such as the number line or drawing pictures to solve these. We reviewed the important concept that numbers can be added in any order and the total will remain the same.

We also tried a new activity called Today's Number. Students were given a target number and challenged to find many different ways to "show" the number. Ideas included showing the number on a ten frame, or as addition or subtraction equations.

21st Century Skills

Students participated in a small group challenge to exercise their problem solving skills! Groups worked together to figure out a way to make a crossword puzzle with all of their first names. It was important to try different strategies, use resources and practice good collaboration skills to accomplish this task. Photos of your child in action are on Seesaw - please check it out!

Upcoming Dates

• There is no school from December 23rd - January 1st for our winter vacation.

Thank you!

Mrs. Bradstreet

Week of 11/18

Kinderkonzert
On Monday morning, we rode a bus to the high school to see a Portland Symphony Orchestra Kinderkonzert. Students enjoyed a percussion performance that highlighted the history of transportation. Three musicians played a variety of percussion instruments including bongos, xylophones, cymbals and Tom Tom drums. Students listened as the musicians played their instruments to sound like trains, airplanes and ships. It was a great experience!

Social Studies
We spent most of this week learning about the First Thanksgiving and sharing our own family traditions. Students thought about the ways in which their celebrations were the same or different from the Pilgrims. Then, they wrote about their own family traditions on Thanksgiving stationery.

Math
We spent lots of time decomposing numbers and practicing the commutative property of addition. Students solved various story problems such as I have 8 pieces of fruit. Some are apples, some are bananas. How many of each could I have? Using cubes, equations, and pictures, students were challenged to find all of the possible combinations. We paid special attention to our "turn around" facts, too. Students understand that numbers can be added in any order and the total will remain the same.
We also played a new game called Dot Addition. In this game, partners took turns making a number using dot cards. Then, they would write an equation to match the cards they used.

Upcoming Dates

• There is an early release on Tuesday, November 26th. Students will be dismissed at 12:35pm.
• There is no school from Wednesday, November 27th-Friday, November 29th for Thanksgiving break.
• There is an early release on Wednesday, December 4th. Students will be dismissed at 12:35pm.

Thank you!

Mrs. Bradstreet

Week of 11/12

Chewonki
First grade enjoyed a special science presentation called "Fur, Feathers and Feet." Miss Colleen from Chewonki visited us on Tuesday and taught us all about two major groups of animals - fish and mammals. Ask your child to tell you what they learned about each group! She also brought in an actual owl and groundhog so we could see their features in real life!

Math
Our focus was composing numbers using different combinations. In activities such as Seven Peas & Carrots, Counters in a Cup, and How Many Am I Hiding? students practiced composing target numbers such as 7, 8 and 10 using different combinations. For example, students were able to make 7 using the combinations 1+6, 6+1, 2+5, 5+2, etc. They also realized an important concept - numbers can be added in any order! This is called the commutative property of addition and is an important learning target in first grade.

Social Studies
Students listened to a couple of nonfiction stories about Pilgrim children to learn about their clothing, food, chores and games. Then, students compared themselves to Pilgrim children. They wrote two ways in which they were similar to Pilgrim children and two ways in which they were different.

Upcoming Dates

• K-3 students will see a Kinderkonzert at the high school on Monday, November 18th. We will board the bus right at 9:10 so please make sure your child is on time and ready to go!
• There is an early release on Tuesday, November 26th. Students will be dismissed at 12:35pm.
• There is no school from Wednesday, November 27th-Friday, November 29th for Thanksgiving break.

Thank you,
Mrs. Bradstreet

Week of 11/4

Social Studies
We began our first social studies unit of the year this week. Students will learn about the first Thanksgiving celebrated by the Pilgrims and Wampanoags. They will learn to compare and contrast the beliefs and customs of these different groups of people. They will also learn how to use and create maps as a visual representation of a place. Students spent time comparing and contrasting themselves with another classmate to begin to think about similarities and differences. They also spent time drawing maps of the classroom and a favorite room in their house. We talked about creating the map with a "bird's eye view."

Math
Unit 3 started this week! Children will get lots of practice fine-tuning their addition and subtraction strategies such as counting on and counting back. We revisited familiar games including Roll and Record and Five in a Row which have both addition and subtraction versions. We also spent time working on our place value understanding by building teen numbers with ten frames. Students understand that a ten number is composed of ten and "some more."

Upcoming Dates

• There is no school on Monday, November 11th for Veterans Day.
• Chewonki visits first grade on Tuesday with a "Fur, Feathers & Feet" science presentation.
• K-3 students will see a Kinderkonzert at the high school on Monday, November 18th.
• There is an early release on Tuesday, November 26th. Students will be dismissed at 12:35pm.
• There is no school from Wednesday, November 27th-Friday, November 29th for Thanksgiving break.

Thank you,
Mrs. Bradstreet

Week of 10/28

Reading
We reviewed our short and long vowel sounds and learned more about why vowels are such an important group of letters. Students learned that vowels make two (or more) sounds, can be found in every word in our language and are "open mouth" sounds. We learned a vowel song to the tune of BINGO. Ask your child to sing the song to you.

Writing
After reading Chinatown by William Low, we brainstormed a class list of places that were special to our families. Children took turns sharing their ideas and giving reasons why their places were so important. Authors engaged in sustained writing time in which they were able to write multiple sentences about their places.  These stories will be shared with you during conferences.

Math
We wrapped up Unit 2 on two-dimensional shapes this week. Students spent time sorting sets of shapes based on attributes such as number of sides or vertices (corners). We then spent the remaining few days working in fun math centers. Students used geometry apps on the iPads, created a scarecrow glyph and used toothpicks and play doh to make shapes. We will begin Unit 3 on Monday, which is all about addition and subtraction. You'll get the family letter in red totes next week.


Upcoming Dates

• There is no school on Monday, November 11th for Veteran's Day.
• There is an early release on Tuesday, November 26th. Students will be dismissed at 12:35pm.
• There is no school from Wednesday, November 27th-Friday, November 29th for Thanksgiving break.
• Parent-teacher conferences have been scheduled! You received a green confirmation notice in red totes this week. I'll send home another reminder note the week of your child's conference.

Thank you,

Mrs. Bradstreet

Weeks of Oct. 15 and Oct. 21

Skillin first graders enjoyed a fun-filled trip to Alewives Brook Farm last week! We could not have asked for better weather, either. Students enjoyed learning about many different vegetables and how to properly pick them. Students picked kale, beets, peppers, potatoes and carrots. At the end, we walked through the pumpkin patch to pick our very own pumpkins. Thank you so much to Caitlin Jordan for all of her efforts in planning this trip for us, as well as Jaedra Rideout and her Memorial Middle School students for creating personalized veggie buckets for all 66 first graders!

Math

We continued to work with two-dimensional shapes in our geometry unit. Students had lots of practice composing 2D shapes out of other 2D shapes. For example, they could come up with 5 or more ways to make a hexagon! We also began to look at the attributes of shapes. Students sorted a set of shapes based on certain attributes, such as the number of sides or whether it had curved or straight lines. They are beginning to understand that there are defining and non-defining attributes of shapes. For example, a triangle must have three sides and three vertices to be a triangle, but it can be any color, size or orientation.

Upcoming Date

• There is no school on Monday, November 11th for Veteran's Day
• K-3 students will go to the high school for a "Kinderkonzert" on Monday, November 18th. The bus will leave right at 9:15 so please make sure your child is on time and ready to go!
• Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, November 14th and Wednesday, November 20th. Sign up forms were sent home in red totes. Please return your form as soon as possible. I will confirm your day and time next week.

Thank you,

Mrs. Bradstreet

Week of 10/7

Reading
We read two very similar stories this week - We're Going to Grandma's, Hurray! and Over the River and Through the Wood. Both of these are based on the same classic song. Students enjoyed listening to the stories and making text-to-text connections. We also enjoyed listening to the song that inspired both stories!

Writing
I read aloud a story titled When I Was Five by Arthur Howard. We used this story to think about things we enjoy doing with friends. We spent three days working on these stories, starting with brainstorming and followed by independent writing time. Students practiced adding more details to their illustrations and stories.

In handwriting, we reviewed the "magic c" letters - a, d, g, o. All of these letters begin with a "c" and then are turned into their own letter by following specific strokes. Students were careful to make their letters the proper sizes on the provided lines.

Math
We began a new math unit about geometry. In first grade, geometry focuses on two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. This unit focuses on two-dimensional shapes only, while unit 8 at the end of the year will focus on 3D shapes. Students first learned how to name and describe several 2D ("flat") shapes including squares, rectangles, circles and triangles. They used pattern blocks to fill in a variety of outlines. Students are learning that you can put 2D shapes together to make other 2D shapes. They also realized that there are many different ways to fill the same outline!

Guidance
Mrs. Holt visited us on Tuesday to teach another Second Step lesson. Students practiced identifying and describing emotions (such as curious and frustrated) by listening to different scenarios and observing photographs of students showing certain facial expressions and body language. They discussed strategies they could use if they were feeling one of these strong emotions.

Upcoming dates

• There is no school on Friday, October 11th or Monday, October 14th.
• Our first grade field trip to Alewives Brook Farm is on Tuesday, October 15th. Please check the weather forecast and help your child dress appropriately for a day at the farm. Layered clothing and boots or sneakers are a must!

Thank you,
Mrs. Bradstreet

Week of 9/30

Reading
We began first grade reading groups this week. Each first grader has been matched with a reading teacher and reading group of about 3-4 readers. Each day, students will receive guided reading instruction at their instructional reading levels. Groups will also get daily opportunities to engage in word work, guided writing and independent reading stations. All four classrooms focused on introducing routines and expectations this first week. Students had time to practice rotating through the different stations, cleaning up, using new materials and working independently. Ask your child to tell you about his or her reading teacher!

Writing
I read When I Grow Up  to the class and we brainstormed ideas of jobs we wanted to have when we were older. Students took one idea to write a story about. They practiced sounding out words slowly as they were writing. They were sure to draw a detailed picture to match their sentences.

Students worked on the letters Dd and Gg in their Handwriting Without Tears printing books. We reviewed the proper formation of each letter, then practiced writing them in isolation, in words, and in sentences.

Math
We wrapped up our first Investigations unit! Students used many different strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems. Drawing pictures, counting forward or backward on a number line, and using fingers were all appropriate strategies. Students practiced showing their work and writing an equation to match each problem. On Monday, we will begin unit two, which focuses on geometry and understanding the attributes of two-dimensional shapes. Look for the family letter in red totes next week!

Upcoming Dates

• There is no school on Friday, October 11th or Monday, October 14th.
• All first graders will go on a field trip to Alewives Brook Farm on Tuesday, October 15th. A note was sent home in red totes this week!

Thank you,

Mrs. Bradstreet

Week of 9/23

Literacy
We used shared reading to practice doing an in-depth picture walk. In first grade, students understand that illustrations help support the text. We can gather clues about the story from the details in the pictures as well as use the illustrations to figure out unknown words. Students looked at two different wordless picture books. They carefully examined each picture to predict the characters, setting and major events. Then, we read the stories with the text included and compared our predictions to the actual story. Their predictions were pretty accurate!

We began spelling groups this week. Students have been grouped according to their developmental spelling stages, which were assessed through a spelling inventory. Some groups are working on short vowel sounds, while other groups are working on digraphs, or beginning sounds. Each week, students will work through four different spelling tasks to go with one specific spelling pattern. They will bring home their completed spelling work each week so you can see exactly what your child is working on.

Students practiced saying words in parts this week, too. Given two parts (such as st-ar), students practiced blending the parts together to say the whole word. Just like isolating and blending sounds in words, isolating and blending parts is an important reading skill. We read a poem titled "Three Elephants" and used words from the poem to practice this skill in context.


Math
Our focus in math this week was subtraction. Students learned how to take one number away from a larger number using strategies like counting backward along a number line or drawing and crossing off pictures. They played several games to practice such as 1 or 2 Less, Five in a Row Subtraction and Start With/Get To: Counting Backward.

21st Century Skills
Students began to learn about 21st century skills this week. Please follow this link to learn more about these. Our focus was problem solving. We watched a short video, read Rose Revere, Engineer and then completed a whole group challenge. Students worked together to create a crossword puzzle on the Promethean board using all of their first names. First, students shared ideas of how we could get started. Some students modeled trial and error and perseverance when their initial idea didn't work. They were proud of themselves once they got all 15 names up on the crossword puzzle!

Upcoming Dates

• Picture Day is Tuesday, October 1st. Order forms were sent home this week in red totes.
• There is no school on Friday, October 11th or Monday, October 14th.
• All first grade classes have a field trip scheduled for Tuesday, October 15th. More info to come!

Thank you,

Mrs. Bradstreet

Week of 9/16

Literacy
We spent a lot of time reviewing our letter sounds and playing with sounds in words. We practiced "tapping" the sounds in consonant-vowel-consonant words (such as cat or mop).  Tapping  sounds helps students isolate beginning, middle and ending sounds. We also practiced blending the sounds together to say the whole word. Students used two variations of Elkonin boxes to practice segmenting and blending sounds. This photo shows one example we used.

Our writing focused on stories about helping. I read Farmer Duck and The Little Red Hen. Both stories were about an animal who worked too hard on a farm with little help. Students brainstormed, wrote and illustrated their own "I help" stories. Our writing goals were to put a period at the end of each sentence and draw a detailed picture to show the meaning of our sentences.

Habits of Work
I introduced Habits of Work this week. Each week, students will be scored on these important work habits. They are Be Prepared for Learning, Engagement with Learning and Interactions with Peers and Adults. Students are scored on a 1-3 scale. 3 means the student consistently demonstrates the habit over the course of the week, 2 means that habit is demonstrated some of the time and a 1 means the habit is rarely demonstrated over the week. These scores will be included in each trimester progress report, and will be discussed during parent teacher conferences.

Math
We continued to practice strategies to solve addition story problems. Our story problem routine is to listen to the problem with our eyes closed and attempt to visualize the action. Then, students figure out if there will be more or less at the end of the story. After, students use a strategy to solve the problem and write an equation to match. Our focus strategies were drawing pictures and counting on to find the total.
Students also played addition games including Roll & Record and Five in a Row. Ask your child to demonstrate how they can add two numbers together by counting on. Dice or playing cards work well for practicing this skill!

Guidance
We enjoyed our first guidance lesson with Mrs. Holt this week. Students will visit Mrs. Holt every three weeks for lessons in social-emotional learning through the Second Step program. This week, they talked about feelings. You can learn more about this wonderful program here.

Upcoming Dates

• There is an early release on Wednesday, September 25th. Students will be dismissed at 12:35pm. Please let me know if your child's dismissal plan will be different on this day.
• Skillin's Open House is Thursday, September 26th. Please stop by the classroom between 5:00-6:00 to look learn more about first grade learning goals and activities. There will be an ice cream social in the cafeteria afterward. (Thank you, PTA!)
• Picture Day is Tuesday, October 1st. Forms were sent home in red totes this week.

Thank you,

Mrs. Bradstreet

Week of 9/9

Responsive Classroom
We continued to build our classroom community in a few different ways this week. I introduced the greeting component of our morning meeting. We will start each day this way. Daily greetings help us get to know one another's names, practice using an appropriate voice volume and making eye contact...all while building teacher and peer relationships. We practiced a new greeting each day this week - ask your child to describe their favorite one to you!
We worked on our Quiet Time routine, too. At the end of each day, students participate in quiet time to help wind down from a busy day of learning. Choices during this time include drawing, reading or using iPads. The expectations are to use a Level 0 voice and stick with whichever choice they have made for the entire time.
We also built a set of classroom expectations this week. Students brainstormed ways to be safe, responsible, respectful and kind in our classroom. After creating our rules, they took turns demonstrating what each rule looks and sounds like. We also read a couple of stories to help reinforce the importance of following rules - Do Unto Otters and What If Everybody Did That?

Literacy
We kicked off the week with our first formal Writing Workshop. Our workshop time will always include listening to a story, brainstorming ideas for writing, participating in shared writing and independent writing time. At the end of the week, we will usually have time for an Author Share so students can hear one another's work. Eventually, students will learn how to give appropriate feedback on each other's writing. This week, we wrote "I like" stories. Students were reminded to begin each sentence with an uppercase letter, end each sentence with a period and to write the sounds they could hear in each word.

Math
Our focus in math was on counting and addition. Students played Build It - a game in which partners took turns turning over a number card and building the number on ten frames. It was important for them to understand that a teen number was "10 and some more." They learned how to play an addition game called One or Two More. Again, partners took turns turning over a card and deciding to add one or two to that number. Then, they had to cover the sum on a BINGO-style game board. We also practiced counting by ones with our Start With... Get To routine and an activity called Draw 20 (please see the photo).

Upcoming Dates

• Our first early release is Wednesday, September 25th. Students will be dismissed at 12:35pm. If your child will have a different dismissal routine on this day, please let me know in advance. For families that send their children to Rec, please let me know if they have signed up for the special Rec program for that day.
• Skillin's Academic Open House is Thursday, September 26th. Look for more information in red totes next week!

Thank you,

Mrs. Bradstreet

First Week of School!

Hooray! We made it through our first week as first graders at Skillin! Our focus was learning all about the procedures and routines to be successful first graders. Students practiced the following:

• Lining up in lunch order
• "Give Me 5" (used for respectful listening while on the rug)
• Attention signals such as the chime and a backward countdown
• Voice level chart
• Playground, cafeteria and hallway expectations
• Morning and dismissal routines

Ask your child to explain what they remember about these procedures.

Literacy

Students enjoyed listening to many stories about the first day of school. I read Chrysanthemum and Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes, First Day Jitters by Julie Danneburg and First Grade, Here I Come! by Nancy Carlson. We spent time practicing reading and writing our first names. We created a class chart of first names using index cards. Each child's name was written on an index card with an uppercase letter at the beginning, followed by lowercase letters. Students took turns reading their own name card to the class, placing it in a pocket chart and then they helped read though ALL the names together. After, they used small white boards to practice writing their first and last names, using their tabletop name tags as a guide. They also counted the vowels, consonants and total number of letters in their names.

Math

Students enjoyed exploring several math manipulatives this week including pattern blocks, power polygons, geoblocks and connecting cubes. Students generated ideas on how to use the tools, as well as ways the tools were similar and different. In a warm-up routine called "Start With, Get To," we counted forward by ones beginning and ending with different numbers. In "Mystery Bags," students counted a set of objects in a bag and recorded their findings on a recording sheet. Students discussed and modeled good counting strategies such as keeping objects organized in a neat pile or straight line and making sure to count each object only once. A few children thought it was helpful to find the number on a number line before recording it on the sheet. These counting skills will be especially helpful when we are ready to dive into addition and subtraction!

Specials

We enjoyed our first library, art, and music classes this week. Each student checked out one library book to bring home. Please help your child remember to return his or her book next Wednesday so they can check out a new one.

Here is a reminder of our specials schedule:

• Monday - gym (please wear sneakers)
• Tuesday - guidance (every 3 weeks)
• Wednesday - integrated library/technology 
• Thursday - art
• Friday - music

Reminders

• Our classroom is a nut-free room. Please make sure you carefully read all of the labels on your child's snack. Anything containing nuts, traces of nuts or that has been processed in a facility with nuts cannot be eaten in class. Thank you for your help in keeping all of our children safe.

Thank you for a wonderful first week!

Mrs. Bradstreet