Monday, April 23, 2012
This week in First grade {April 23-27}...
Word Work: (Bossy R)= ar, or, er, ir
Red: forget, quarter, sport, short, sparkle, scar, sister, first, vampire, tiger
Blue: farm, bark, yard, smart, star, fork, corn, sort, short, horse
Green: fort, port, sort, for, horn, cart, tar, bar, park, hard
*Bossy R words are R controlled vowels. The r make the vowel (vowel+R) say a different sound
Language Arts:
This week in writing workshop, we will review small moments and introduce “Tiny Moments”. Your child will continue to share published papers on Friday in our Author’s Chair and take them home in the Tuesday folder. Please remember that each child will complete the process at different levels and speed so there may be some weeks you won’t see a completed piece of writing in your child’s Tuesday folder and other weeks you may see more than one. For reading workshop we will focus on the comprehension skills of inferring and visualizing as we read poetry. My goals for this week are for your child to understand what is means to infer, infer the meaning of poems by merging their background knowledge with clues from the text, and grow to cherish the sound of words and the rhythm of language in poetry.
Silkworms:
It looks like we may have silkworms who are bums! We are still in need of Mulberry leaves for our little guys. We started with about 40 worms and I believe we are down to 7-9. We don't have any that have spun their cocoon yet so we'll go observe other classes to see the change.
MATH:
We are continuing our unit on subtraction strategies. This unit introduces the “THINK ADDITION” strategy for the Count On Subtraction facts. The facts covered in this strategy are related to their partner facts covered in the Count On Addition strategy. Each Count On Subtraction fact and its Turnaround subtraction fact form a fact family with their addition partner fact. This unit also reinforces the Addition Count On strategy and the Addition Use Doubles strategies that the children have already learned. For example: Addition has turnaround facts such as 2+6=8 and 6+2=8, subtraction has partner facts such as 8-6=2 and 8-2=6. Addition facts and subtraction facts that involve the same parts in total form fact families. This unit will continue for several more weeks as we dive into more complex thinking strategies and problem solving associated with subtraction strategies.
SCIENCE:
This week we will study birds, mammals, reptiles and fish. We will discuss their body parts, what they eat, how they move, their life cycles, and how they are dependent on their environment. All work will be recorded in their science notebooks in class.
IMPORTANT DATES AND REMINDERS:
Tuesday: Library day. Please remind your child to return their library books so your child can check out a new book.*
· April 26th – Field Trip (please bring an all disposable lunch to school)
· April 24th – 26th – STAAR Testing – No visitors allowed in the building
· April 27th - 6-7pm Family Fun Night
· May 2nd - Early Release Day 12:45pm
· May 7-11th - National Teacher Appreciation Week
· May 9th - Natl. Walk & Bike to School Day
· May 11th - Field Day
Have a great week!
Mrs. Caballero
Friday, April 20, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
This week in First grade...
April 16-20
Word Work:
them, then, there, these, they, this, to two, up, us, very, was, we, went, were, what, when, which, who, will, with, would, you, your
*This is our last week for High Frequency words.
Language Arts:
This week in writing workshop, we will continue The Writing Process with personal narrative writing. All the students are on different levels of The Writing Process and as they complete the publishing stage, each child will have the opportunity to sit in the Author’s Chair and read their personal narrative. For reading workshop we will continue to build on some of the reading strategies already taught such as: talk to a partner that has already read the book, make a sketch (for mental pictures), and using clues from the book (relationships and characters)
Hatching Chicks and Silkworms:
It was very exciting to watch the chicks hatch from their eggs last week! We had 26 baby chicks hatch in all the first grade classes. Friday night, after our class left one more chick started hatching. Most of the baby chicks were picked up Friday by Farmer Jackson, Mrs. Hadden's Father, who took them to his ranch. He will send us pictures periodically and we will continue to monitor their growth until the end of school. We have enjoyed watching the various molting stages the silkworms have experienced and we are looking forward to observing the next stage in the life cycle, making the silk cocoons! Mrs. Christofferson’s class has already had one silkworm make its cocoon, so we are hopeful to see more cocoons this week.
MATH:
We are starting a new unit on subtraction and fact families. This unit introduces the “THINK ADDITION” strategy for the Count On Subtraction facts. The facts covered in this strategy are related to their partner facts covered in the Count On Addition strategy. Each Count On Subtraction fact and its Turnaround subtraction fact form a fact family with their addition partner fact. This unit also reinforces the Addition Count On strategy and the Addition Use Doubles strategies that the children have already learned. For example: Addition has turnaround facts such as 2+6=8 and 6+2=8, subtraction has partner facts such as 8-6=2 and 8-2=6. Addition facts and subtraction facts that involve the same parts in total form fact families.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:
This week in science we will be studying living and non-living things. Important questions: Does it have basic needs? Does it have offspring? How do animals depend on other living things to survive? How are animal body parts related to where it lives? How it eats and how it moves?
IMPORTANT DATES AND REMINDERS:
Tuesday. Please return the library books so your child can check out a new book.*
April 19 6-8pm Family Skate Night, Playland Skate Center
April 27 6-7pm Family Fun Night
May 2 Early Release Day 12:45pm
May 7-11 National Teacher Appreciation Week
May 9 Natl. Walk & Bike to School Day
May 11 Field Day
Thank you!
Tuesday Folders: The Score Family
Have a great week!
Mrs. C
Word Work:
them, then, there, these, they, this, to two, up, us, very, was, we, went, were, what, when, which, who, will, with, would, you, your
*This is our last week for High Frequency words.
Language Arts:
This week in writing workshop, we will continue The Writing Process with personal narrative writing. All the students are on different levels of The Writing Process and as they complete the publishing stage, each child will have the opportunity to sit in the Author’s Chair and read their personal narrative. For reading workshop we will continue to build on some of the reading strategies already taught such as: talk to a partner that has already read the book, make a sketch (for mental pictures), and using clues from the book (relationships and characters)
Hatching Chicks and Silkworms:
It was very exciting to watch the chicks hatch from their eggs last week! We had 26 baby chicks hatch in all the first grade classes. Friday night, after our class left one more chick started hatching. Most of the baby chicks were picked up Friday by Farmer Jackson, Mrs. Hadden's Father, who took them to his ranch. He will send us pictures periodically and we will continue to monitor their growth until the end of school. We have enjoyed watching the various molting stages the silkworms have experienced and we are looking forward to observing the next stage in the life cycle, making the silk cocoons! Mrs. Christofferson’s class has already had one silkworm make its cocoon, so we are hopeful to see more cocoons this week.
MATH:
We are starting a new unit on subtraction and fact families. This unit introduces the “THINK ADDITION” strategy for the Count On Subtraction facts. The facts covered in this strategy are related to their partner facts covered in the Count On Addition strategy. Each Count On Subtraction fact and its Turnaround subtraction fact form a fact family with their addition partner fact. This unit also reinforces the Addition Count On strategy and the Addition Use Doubles strategies that the children have already learned. For example: Addition has turnaround facts such as 2+6=8 and 6+2=8, subtraction has partner facts such as 8-6=2 and 8-2=6. Addition facts and subtraction facts that involve the same parts in total form fact families.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:
This week in science we will be studying living and non-living things. Important questions: Does it have basic needs? Does it have offspring? How do animals depend on other living things to survive? How are animal body parts related to where it lives? How it eats and how it moves?
IMPORTANT DATES AND REMINDERS:
Tuesday. Please return the library books so your child can check out a new book.*
April 19 6-8pm Family Skate Night, Playland Skate Center
April 27 6-7pm Family Fun Night
May 2 Early Release Day 12:45pm
May 7-11 National Teacher Appreciation Week
May 9 Natl. Walk & Bike to School Day
May 11 Field Day
Thank you!
Tuesday Folders: The Score Family
Have a great week!
Mrs. C
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
I heard cheeping...
I just can't believe it! After I came back in from afternoon duty I walked in the classroom and thought it heard the babies cheeping! I thought I was going crazy! I looked in the incubator and sure enought, a crack!!! {posting a picture very soon!}
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Hatching Day!!!
Our babies were right on time. Yesterday when I left school, after picking my daughter up, there were no cracks! This morning when Lyla and I walked in there was a wet baby chick! When the bell rang and the kids came in they were so excited! Right away they decided the first chick's name should be Lucky! 
We noticed a couple more eggs that had cracks after that!
Egg #5 
Egg #5 
Egg #3 
Egg #3 Around 9:15am when we were beginning Writer's Workshop the egg with the biggest crack started cracking even more. We sat and watched Fluffy come out of his egg! The students were so excited! 
Watching and Waiting! 
Go, go, go!! 
Fluffy! 
Fluffy is almost out! 
Fluffy Cracking! 
Newborn Fluffy!
After we got back from lunch we had the document camera set up so we could watch the incubator on the "big screen". On of my students noticed another chick was about to hatch. I had another student hurry down to get Mrs. Christofferson's class so they could watch. My students sat at their desks and watched on the big screen and Mrs. Christofferson's class sat by the incubator! Mrs. Christofferson's incubator quit working about halfway through our chick's cycle so they probably won't have their own chicks. We let them name the chick they saw hatch. Cuddles will go and live in their classroom tomorrow before they go live on the farm.
We noticed a couple more eggs that had cracks after that!
Egg #5 
Egg #5 
Egg #3 
Egg #3 Around 9:15am when we were beginning Writer's Workshop the egg with the biggest crack started cracking even more. We sat and watched Fluffy come out of his egg! The students were so excited! 
Watching and Waiting! 
Go, go, go!! 
Fluffy! 
Fluffy is almost out! 
Fluffy Cracking! 
Newborn Fluffy!After we got back from lunch we had the document camera set up so we could watch the incubator on the "big screen". On of my students noticed another chick was about to hatch. I had another student hurry down to get Mrs. Christofferson's class so they could watch. My students sat at their desks and watched on the big screen and Mrs. Christofferson's class sat by the incubator! Mrs. Christofferson's incubator quit working about halfway through our chick's cycle so they probably won't have their own chicks. We let them name the chick they saw hatch. Cuddles will go and live in their classroom tomorrow before they go live on the farm.
Monday, April 9, 2012
This week in First grade...
April 9th - 13th
Words Their Way:
Words 51-75
may, me, mom, my, no, not, now, of, off, on, one, other, our, out, over, put, said, saw, see, so, some, than, that, the, their
Language Arts:
This week during language arts, we will be revisiting the personal narrative. We will complete the full writing process from planning and writing our rough drafts through publishing. Personal narrative writing is an important skill that gets better and better with time. Each child will go through this process at different rates of speed. As your child completes his or her writing, it will be sent home in the Tuesday Folder.
Hatching Chicks and Silkworms:
My oh my! We have so many living creatures in our classroom during this time of year!! Thanks to Helena’s family in Mrs. Hadden's room, we have now added silkworms to our collection! The children are so excited and we have already started reading books and searching the Internet to learn all the facts about silkworms. We will continue to search for the answers to the questions that they have about silkworms, as well as adding new questions as we continue watching and reading about the exciting stages of metamorphosis. If you have access to a mulberry tree, would you please be so kind and share mulberry leaves with our silkworms, as that is their only source of nourishment?
We've been checking on our eggs and taking good care of them. Keep scrolling down to see a blog entry with a pictures!!!
MATH:
Problem solving is the focus during our math unit this week. Students will use mathematical language to help answer questions and solve problems during this mixed review of skills that have been taught throughout the year. We will be choosing strategies, solving problems, and explaining our thinking process with written words (focusing on mathematical language).
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:
Our research projects were a big hit! I was so impressed with the various research, presentations, and creativity that were shared in the classroom this week through our study of weather and objects in the sky unit! The children shared and learned so much from each other. This was a fantastic opportunity for each child to be the expert! We will be learning more about needs vs.wants while identifying examples of people wanting more than they can have, and learning how to make wise choices when buying goods and services. We will also be learning more about how technology changes the ways families live today.
IMPORTANT DATES AND REMINDERS:
Tuesday: Library day.
*April 12 6-8pm PTA hosts Science Night for Families
*April 19 6-8pm Family Skate Night, Playland Skate Center
*April 22 Earth Day
*April 27 6-7pm Family Fun Night
*May 2 Early Release Day 12:45pm
Thank you!
All my families for helping your child research their project, they were fantastic!
The Score Family for offering to do Tuesday folders in April and May!
Just a note: I will be out at a workshop to assist in revising and updating the district's 1st grade curriculum. I will be gone on Wednesday, April 11 and Monday, April 16th. Ms. Nunez will be here to educate your children! They will love having her here!!
Have a great week!!
Mrs. Caballero
Words Their Way:
Words 51-75
may, me, mom, my, no, not, now, of, off, on, one, other, our, out, over, put, said, saw, see, so, some, than, that, the, their
Language Arts:
This week during language arts, we will be revisiting the personal narrative. We will complete the full writing process from planning and writing our rough drafts through publishing. Personal narrative writing is an important skill that gets better and better with time. Each child will go through this process at different rates of speed. As your child completes his or her writing, it will be sent home in the Tuesday Folder.
Hatching Chicks and Silkworms:
My oh my! We have so many living creatures in our classroom during this time of year!! Thanks to Helena’s family in Mrs. Hadden's room, we have now added silkworms to our collection! The children are so excited and we have already started reading books and searching the Internet to learn all the facts about silkworms. We will continue to search for the answers to the questions that they have about silkworms, as well as adding new questions as we continue watching and reading about the exciting stages of metamorphosis. If you have access to a mulberry tree, would you please be so kind and share mulberry leaves with our silkworms, as that is their only source of nourishment?
We've been checking on our eggs and taking good care of them. Keep scrolling down to see a blog entry with a pictures!!!
MATH:
Problem solving is the focus during our math unit this week. Students will use mathematical language to help answer questions and solve problems during this mixed review of skills that have been taught throughout the year. We will be choosing strategies, solving problems, and explaining our thinking process with written words (focusing on mathematical language).
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:
Our research projects were a big hit! I was so impressed with the various research, presentations, and creativity that were shared in the classroom this week through our study of weather and objects in the sky unit! The children shared and learned so much from each other. This was a fantastic opportunity for each child to be the expert! We will be learning more about needs vs.wants while identifying examples of people wanting more than they can have, and learning how to make wise choices when buying goods and services. We will also be learning more about how technology changes the ways families live today.
IMPORTANT DATES AND REMINDERS:
Tuesday: Library day.
*April 12 6-8pm PTA hosts Science Night for Families
*April 19 6-8pm Family Skate Night, Playland Skate Center
*April 22 Earth Day
*April 27 6-7pm Family Fun Night
*May 2 Early Release Day 12:45pm
Thank you!
All my families for helping your child research their project, they were fantastic!
The Score Family for offering to do Tuesday folders in April and May!
Just a note: I will be out at a workshop to assist in revising and updating the district's 1st grade curriculum. I will be gone on Wednesday, April 11 and Monday, April 16th. Ms. Nunez will be here to educate your children! They will love having her here!!
Have a great week!!
Mrs. Caballero
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
This week in First grade...
April 2nd - 6th
Word Work: We will begin our High Frequency Word assessment this week. Today I gave a pretest and focused on the Kindergarten word list. I will track your child's progress each week and send home a master list to show your child's progress. Please remember that the focus is to help your child learn to spell words they use in the WRITING frequently. I assess your child's use of the High Frequency Words during Writer's Workshop.
*This week everyone will have the same words for the spelling test on Friday.*
Words 26-50:
going, got, had, has, have, he, her, him, his, house, how, I, if, in, into, is, it its, just, like, little, look, make, man, many
Language Arts:
We will continue investigating media literacy this week. Our focus will be on digital and print media. We will explore the techniques used to grab the readers’ attention and influence them. We will examine how pictures, graphics, words, fonts, sounds, and movement are used in media literacy, and understand the purpose for each.
HATCHING CHICKS:
This week we will continue to read literature about chickens and study the development of the baby chicks. The development of the chicks are far enough along now that we are able to “candle” (put a strong light source behind the egg) and see the development inside the egg. This is always exciting to see in real life what is happening inside the egg. We are expecting our chicks to hatch around April 11th!
MATH:
We will compare weight/mass and capacity of objects as well as use mathematical language to help answer questions and solve problems. There will be two days of activities planned in the science lab for us to compare and order two or more objects according to capacity (greatest to least) and weight (heaviest to lightest).
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:
For the first two days, the children will be presenting their research projects completed from home. Next, we will begin our unit in Social Studies on economics focusing on goods and services in the home, school, community, and reviewing wants and needs.
IMPORTANT DATES AND REMINDERS:
Tuesday: Library day. Please return the library books.
* April 2 Research Project Due
*April 2-3 Research Presentations
*April 6 No School (Holiday)
*April 12 6-8pm PTA hosts Science Night for Families
*April 19 6-8pm Family Skate Night, Playland Skate Center
*April 27 6-7pm Family Fun Night
*May 2 Early Release Day 12:45pm
If you would like to volunteer for Tuesday folders please let me know. I need someone for April and another volunteer for May!
Word Work: We will begin our High Frequency Word assessment this week. Today I gave a pretest and focused on the Kindergarten word list. I will track your child's progress each week and send home a master list to show your child's progress. Please remember that the focus is to help your child learn to spell words they use in the WRITING frequently. I assess your child's use of the High Frequency Words during Writer's Workshop.
*This week everyone will have the same words for the spelling test on Friday.*
Words 26-50:
going, got, had, has, have, he, her, him, his, house, how, I, if, in, into, is, it its, just, like, little, look, make, man, many
Language Arts:
We will continue investigating media literacy this week. Our focus will be on digital and print media. We will explore the techniques used to grab the readers’ attention and influence them. We will examine how pictures, graphics, words, fonts, sounds, and movement are used in media literacy, and understand the purpose for each.
HATCHING CHICKS:
This week we will continue to read literature about chickens and study the development of the baby chicks. The development of the chicks are far enough along now that we are able to “candle” (put a strong light source behind the egg) and see the development inside the egg. This is always exciting to see in real life what is happening inside the egg. We are expecting our chicks to hatch around April 11th!
MATH:
We will compare weight/mass and capacity of objects as well as use mathematical language to help answer questions and solve problems. There will be two days of activities planned in the science lab for us to compare and order two or more objects according to capacity (greatest to least) and weight (heaviest to lightest).
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:
For the first two days, the children will be presenting their research projects completed from home. Next, we will begin our unit in Social Studies on economics focusing on goods and services in the home, school, community, and reviewing wants and needs.
IMPORTANT DATES AND REMINDERS:
Tuesday: Library day. Please return the library books.
* April 2 Research Project Due
*April 2-3 Research Presentations
*April 6 No School (Holiday)
*April 12 6-8pm PTA hosts Science Night for Families
*April 19 6-8pm Family Skate Night, Playland Skate Center
*April 27 6-7pm Family Fun Night
*May 2 Early Release Day 12:45pm
If you would like to volunteer for Tuesday folders please let me know. I need someone for April and another volunteer for May!
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