Marvelous Monday

Marvelous Monday is well on it's way out!


I added a tab at the top of the blog for the spelling list.  The list is for the entire year.  We will keep adding words each week.


A highlight today was the work on editing sentences along with the distribution of the editor visors.  They are sharp looking colorful visors with the child's name after the word Editor.  For example, Editor Willy appears on his visor.  The boys and girls will wear the visors while editing sentences and stories.  At this point they are editing sentences for capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.


In Math we worked on finding the missing addend which can be a challenging concept for the boys and girls at this stage of first grade.  They did well, though.  The apple sheet that your child brought home is an example of this skill.


Another first for this year is the use of emails for communication in addition to the blog.  I sent an email out to everyone with an email address.  For those parents who prefer or need paper copies I will send those home with your child.


Please contact me if you have questions!  I am a happy first grade blogger!!

Estimation Activity

Today we did our first estimation activity in math by estimating how many Tootsie Rolls were in the jar.  I told the boys and girls that everyone would get a Tootsie Roll when we were done.  It was enlightening to listen to their thought process when making the estimations.  We talked about how an estimation is a "good guess."  I asked if one million would be an estimation.  Of course, they giggled and said that was way too many so that it would not be a good guess.  Some students estimated 17 since that is the number of first graders.  Others estimated 18 since that is the number of first graders plus the teacher.  They already know me well and figured I would plan a Tootsie Roll  for myself also. :)  The estimations were written on post-its.  Then the class put them in numerical order on the white board to form a graph from which data could be collected.  It was a great introduction to the world of estimation.  A tasty one too, I might add!


It was a rewarding week!  I am looking forward to the return of the First Graders on Monday!


Your partner in education,
Ms. Loetscher


P.S. The number of Tootsie Rolls was 19.

Another busy day!

This morning the class learned about how vowels have more than one sound.  The vowels change sounds just like chameleons change colors.  They learned about the short and long vowel sounds. 


They also wrote in their Writers' Notebooks about something they have.  They checked the sentences for capital letters and correct punctuation.  A fun activity included standing up if I said a sentence.


Willy Worm was also on hand to help us play the Rhyme Time Name Game.  Today's consonant for rhyming was b so each student said their first name and then substituted the consonant b sound.  For example our class puppet Willy Worm said, "My name is Willy, now it is Billy."  It is a lively game that helps reinforce rhyming which is an important reading skill.  I told the boys and girls to play the game with their families tonight using the consonant b. 


In math we counted to 100 by doing the wave in a large circle.  We also reviewed number formations and counting.  Each morning the boys and girls help me calculate the lunch count. 


Please remember that library day is Thursday.  Some of the kiddos forgot today but I know it takes some time to get into the routine.


I am looking forward to a FANTASTIC FRIDAY!!


Your partner in education,
Ms. Loetscher

Welcome to Winside First Grade!

I am so excited since this is my first experience with my own blog! Special thanks to Mrs. Kollath, our Winside Elementary Computer/Title teacher, for helping me set up this blog! 


The first week of first grade has been awesome!  My students and I are busy learning the new routines and getting to know each other.  Grades K-6 have a new reading series this year that we are enjoying.  The first couple weeks of first grade will be spent reviewing Kindergarten words, all the letters, and sounds. Today we talked about how reading is like making movies in your mind. 


Yesterday the boys and girls performed the Vowel Cheer .  Please remind your child to teach you the cheer! 
In case they need a little help getting started here are the words:

Jump high,

Jump low,

Come on vowels

To work we go,

A, E, I, O, U    A, E, I, O, U    A, E, I, O, U

VOWELS, VOWELS, VOWELS!

We also learned about folktales today and how long ago stories were passed down orally from generation to generation. To simulate what happens when ideas are passed orally versus written form, the class played Telephone.  (A favorite activity of mine from country school days.)  The class formed one long line.  I whispered a sentence in the first student's ear.  He whispered in the second child's ear and so on until all 17 students had heard the sentence. I then asked the last student to tell the entire class what the sentence was.  The sentence I whispered in the first student's ear was:  "Ms. Loetscher rode an elephant to school."  The last child heard:  "Someone is in trouble."  We  discussed how the sentence could have changed so much.  Some students did not hear it correctly, couldn't remember it, or maybe were not paying attention.  It is believed that the well known folktale I read to the students today titled The Three Little Pigs was really about three little goats since young pigs do not  have hair on their chins; young goats do.  Due to errors in the story being passed down orally, it could have been about goats rather than pigs.  :)

More to come tomorrow!

Your partner in education,

Ms. Loetscher