The Madeleine First Grade Blog

January 21st, 2012

madeleinefirstgrade — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:25:56 +0000

We continued looking at shapes this week in math. The students used solid shape blocks to identify, describe and compare solid shapes. The First Graders learned the attributes of solid shapes. The students noticed that the faces of solid shapes are plane shapes.

Each week in First Grade, the students are learning specific skills to develop their social and emotional well being. The Madeleine School (K-5) uses the curriculum The Second Step to help students think about, develop and practice positive social skills. In this program, students learn how to understand and manage their feelings, how to make friends and be a friend, and how to solve social problems. The Second Step program is divided into 3 units: Empathy Training, Impulse Control and Problem Solving, and Anger Management. We have finished the Empathy unit where the children have practiced identifying and understanding their own and others’ feelings in order to better get along. In general, simply listening and talking about feelings helps children be more understanding of others. We began the Impulse Control unit this week. Here is the link to The Second Step program for more information

http://www.cfchildren.org/programs/ssp/elem/

Thank you for coming to Mass this past Thursday and supporting the First Graders as they led the school in celebrating Mass! The students were amazing. Leading Mass requires a keen sense of awareness of the structure of Mass. We spent time practicing in the church last week paying close attention to how Mass is organizes. I was so proud of their serious dedication to leading Mass!

In religion, the First Graders have been learning one of the Seven Sacraments, Baptism. Baptism is our welcome into the Church. Next Tuesday, the First Grade Class is in charge of bringing in lunches for the less fortunate who are served by St. Michael’s church downtown. I hope you can pick up some extra lunch supplies at the market this weekend and bring in an extra lunch or two!

Coming up:

Tuesday, January 24^th – First Grade in charge of St. Michael’s lunches

Thursday, January 27 – All School Mass and Subway hot lunch

January 8th, 2012

madeleinefirstgrade — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:30:31 +0000

Happy New Year!

It is so great to be back together after a relaxing break. The First Graders were smiling and ready to come get back to business! I heard from the First Graders about the wonderful family time they had over the break.

In science, the students have a spent the week exploring the stages of the water cycle and how it relates to our weather. We sang and danced to the Water Cycle song, created a poster and traveled down to the science lab to visit Ms. Yuhas. On Friday afternoon, Ms. Yuhas had prepared a condensation lab for the student to observe all the stages of the water cycle. The First Graders first observed a beaker full of water and determined this was representative of accumulation of water, such as an ocean or a puddle. Next the beaker was set on a hot plate which caused water vapor or steam to rise from the surface of the water. One excited First Grader shouted “Evaporation!” Then Ms. Yuhas placed a plate of ice over the beaker to represent the cold temperature at higher altitudes. The students were able to observe what happens when warm water vapor meets cold air; it condenses and forms clouds (condensation). As the clouds get heavier with more and more water, it begins to rain or cause precipitation. The cycle begins again! These “tion” words are hard to remember and keep straight so we practiced using hand motions to try to make the ideas stick. Ask your First Grader to sing the Water Cycle song and show you the hand motions!

Math time this week was dedicated to geometry. Geometry is the study of shapes in space and of spatial relationships. Research shows that the study of geometry and developing spatial ability is related to problem-solving ability. Developing a student’s geometric concepts and spatial sense makes it more likely that they will benefit from the use of models and diagrams in their future studies in math. This week, our focus was on plane (flat) shapes. The students noticed the properties of shapes such as number of sides, the number of corners, whether the shape has a straight side or a curve and so on. We spent time sorting by attribute and drawing the shapes as a way of internalizing and constructing new concepts. Next week, we will explore solid shape and the concept of symmetry.

The difference between a verb and a noun is by far the most important thing a child will learn in the first grade. This basic grammar lesson will be the basis of each First Grader’s writing. Since verbs are words describing actions, they are the backbone of every story you’ve ever heard. We practiced creating verb lists because varying verbs helps drive each students narrative and makes it more fun to listen to what they are writing. Think about how many words there are for “go.” One can crawl, walk, skip, strut, etc. By promoting students to think about interesting verbs, the result will create master story-tellers. In the first grade, children are primed to learn about language. They love to talk and sing and do all the things that language empowers them to do. We are going to add adjectives to our grammar lesson this coming week to really spice up writing time!

With the New Year, we will start some new procedures in First Grade. Each Monday, I will send home a list of 10 spelling words we will be working on in class. The students will be tested on the spelling words each Friday. Next week we will have our first spelling test. Each week, we will focus on one phonogram (word family) at a time, such for example the –all family would include ball, fall small ect. Please look an informational letter and our first spelling list on Monday.

Per Archdiocesan rules, at this point in the year if you have not completed all of the Call to Protect training, you will not be able to help out in the classroom. I have received a short list of volunteers who have completed the necessary training to come work in the classroom from the office. I can let you know if you are on the list or not. Please see Angela in the office to find out what you need to do to complete your training. Thank you so much for understanding!

God Bless,

Jenn

Coming up:

Thursday, January 12^th – All school Mass and Pizza hot lunch

Monday, January 16^th – MLK day No School

Thursday, January 19^th – First Grade leads All school Mass- Please come!

December 12, 2011

madeleinefirstgrade — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:11:00 +0000

This week in First Grade, the students have been learning about weather. We began this unit with an inquiry session in which the First Graders came up with questions they had about weather. This is a curious group! Feel free to poke your head in the classroom, and check out their list posted on our science board. The students learned that weather is the condition of the air outside. The students also learned there are many ways to measure weather including a rain gauge, weather vane, windsocks and thermometer. The students were able to measure weather with a thermometer. First, they used measured how warm the air was in the classroom. Then we went outside and watched the temperature drop. We made windsocks to learn which way and how strong the wind blows. We sang songs, read books and poems about weather.

This week in math, the First Graders practiced the inverse relationship of addition and subtraction. The students practiced using addition to solve subtraction problems. Each subtraction sentence has a related addition sentence. We really practiced seeing this relationship this past week. This information can be shown in different ways; you can draw a picture or you can write a number sentence.

Coming up

Tuesday, December 13^th – Christmas Program students to classroom by 6:45
Friday, December 16^th – Christmas party at 2:15 Everyone is invited! Christmas vacation begins

December 4th, 2011

madeleinefirstgrade — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:33:20 +0000

The First Graders have been building on their knowledge of eating health this week. This June, the USDA introduced a new approach to encourage healthy eating called My Plate. You can check it out at myplate.gov. The students are able to identify the 5 food groups and classify food into each group. The students have learned that the key to a healthy diet is to vary their food choices and to include foods from each food group. Each table group worked collaboratively to sort food into the correct food group.

Our liturgical new year officially began this past Sunday with the first week of Advent. Each day this week, we have gathered together by the prayer table and lit the first purple Advent candle. The First Graders have learned that during Advent we are preparing our hearts to welcome Jesus. We discussed ways in which we could show Jesus we are ready and came up with some great ideas to focus on during this time of waiting such as prayer, sharing with others, caring for others and helping others.

Student Government has planned the school’s next Friendship Family Activity on Friday, December 9^th- assembling Life Packs. A Life Pack is a kit consisting of a variety of foods that can be carried in a car and given to a person in need who is panhandling along a roadway. After assembling Life Packs, each student will bring one home to give to a person in need. Students will need to bring in 6 to 8 items of the following: 1^st- peanut butter crackers or other snack item

Coming up:

Thursday, December 8^th – All School Mass and Pizza Hot Lunch

November 20, 2011

madeleinefirstgrade — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:05:02 +0000

This week, the First Graders explored the idea of animal adaptation. The students learned that birds and all other animals adapt to the environment they live in to survive. Adaptations help animals to eat, move and stay safe. The First Graders were able to identify adaptations of the birds they studied for their bird reports. Ms. Galash lead the First Graders in painting their beautiful paper mache birds in art class this week. The paper mache birds will be “flying” to your home for keeps just in time for Thanksgiving! On Thursday, we traveled down to the science lab to see Ms. Yuhas who presented some interesting photos and diagrams about birds. The First Graders then were able to observe and record with words and drawings authentic bird nests and feathers.

In math, the First Graders continue to work with fact families and how addition sentence and subtraction sentences have an inverse relationship. This inverse relationship can be used to find subtraction facts; every subtraction fact has a related addition fact. I explained to the First Graders that this is one more way to think about numbers and solve problems.

Our religion time this week focused on praising God for all His wonderful creations. The First Graders learned that praise is a form of prayer celebrating God’s goodness. Prayer is when we listen and talk to God. It warmed my heart hear the First Graders give examples of when they listen to God in their heads and in their hearts. During religion time, we also talked about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and thought about what we are all thankful for. The students thoughtful reflections are displayed on our religion bulletin board right above the prayer table if you would like to come in and check them out.

Thank you for all your support with our first big homework project in First Grade; the bird reports! I can see the hard work that went in to each one.

Tuesday is our trip to the Audubon Society of Portland. Please dress your child for the weather. Rain or shine or snow, we will be hiking in the woods behind the Audubon on a guided tour so a change of shoes in a plastic bag would be helpful as well. Please pack a sack lunch and a drink for your First Grader as we will be eating at the Audubon Society.

Coming up:

Tuesday, November 22^nd – Audubon Field Trip

Wednesday, November 23^rd- Early dismissal 11:30 for Thanksgiving!

God Bless,

Jenn

November 12, 2011

madeleinefirstgrade — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 18:04:22 +0000

In First Grade this week, the bird theme has taken over all subjects! We created a list of amazing questions the students had about birds, poke your head in to see them on the science board. Our studies of the migration of birds provide an opportunity for the students to observe the globe and understand that our Earth is cold at the poles and warmer near the equator. We played migration tag on the field in the beautiful autumn sun! We have read fiction and non-fiction books about birds. The students listened to different bird calls and visited bird sites in the computer lab supporting our studies in the classroom. I have many parents to thank for making the paper mache bird project a success. Special thank you to Anne Gaber for organizing volunteers and providing material for the paper mache project . Thanks to Donna Prosser and Katherine Wilson who helped the students form and shape their birds. Thank you to Lisa Luna, Laurie Merlino, Meg Sharle, Karoline Ashley, Kattah Coe, and Lisa Baldwin for helping the First Graders with the sticky gluey bird making, then cleaned the entire science lab! You guys rock!

The students continued to work with subtraction concepts this week in math. Subtraction can be interpreted in different ways; separating parts from a whole or by comparing two quantities to find out how much more/less one quantity is than the other. We discussed how in a fact family the facts relate to each other, such as when we know that 7 + 5 =12 then we also know that 5 + 7 =12, 12 – 7 = 5 and 12 – 5 = 7. Please keep working on math facts up to 12 at home. It is our goal to have each First Grader know these facts as quick as a snap. These students love math!

The purchasers of the fabulous First Grade auction project have generously allowed prints to be made of the art and sold to continue to raise money for The Madeleine School. I hope you will consider purchasing a print.

Coming up:

Thursday, November 17^th – All school Mass and Hot dog lunch

Friday, November 18^th – First Grade Spiritual gathering at Gehred home

God Bless,

Jenn

November 6, 2011

madeleinefirstgrade — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:27:35 +0000

In Science this week, the First Graders learned about what animals need to survive and how scientists categorize animals by traits such as mammals, reptiles, fish and birds. In the coming week, we will be exploring the fascinating lives of birds in depth. The sounds of different bird calls inspired journal writing this week. The students spent thoughtful time pouring over hundreds of bird pamphlets deciding on a bird for their bird report. The First Graders seemed very enthusiastic to receive the Bird Report Project. I am so looking forward to seeing the finished product! Next week, we will continue our bird studies learning about migration, adaptation, and habitat.

On November 22^nd, the First Graders will travel to the Audubon Society of Portland. Pease fill out the field trip form found in the Friday Folder and send back ASAP. Thank you!

Earlier this week, I send out information regarding math enrichment for you to check out to see if your First Grader would like to participate. If you sent back a completed Sunshine Math page or emailed me that you would like to participate, I will be sending a page home once a week for your child to work on at his/her own pace throughout the week. Each week I will be sending a new sheet home as a completed sheet is turned in. Remember this is a voluntary program so if your First Grader would like to stop at anytime just let me know.

Conferences were a success! I enjoyed speaking with each of you and look forward to our continued communication throughout this year regarding the education of your child. Thank you.

A special thank you to the families who have donated books from the book fair! The best gift the First Grade Classroom could receive are books!

Reminders and Requests:

If your child is going to be picked up by someone not on your emergency list, please write me a quick note.
The days are getting chilly; please send coats to school with your First Grader.
Your First Grader needs a snack! Please remember a snack on Hot Lunch days.

Coming up:

Thursday, November 10^th – All School Mass 8:40am and Pizza hot lunch
Friday, November 11^th – Veteran’s Day, No School
Wednesday, November 16^th – Bird Reports due

October 23, 2011

madeleinefirstgrade — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:10:53 +0000

The First Graders continued studying our five senses this week. Ask your First Grader what she/he knows about how our body sees, hears, smells, touches and tastes. We read Hello Ocean by Pam Munoz Ryan in which a girl tells of her trip to the beach through her five senses. We used a graphic organizer to organize what we see, hear, smell, touch and taste in the fall. I hope you can take a moment to read our observations outside the classroom!

Thanks for your support in our daily math homework. We have moved on to counting up to sums of 12. Our goal is to know the math facts up to 12 as quick as a snap of your fingers. The only way to get there is a lot of practice. Please practice math facts with your First Grader and talk about how to solve them. We have talked about many addition strategies in class. Be sure to ask your First Grader which strategy they are using.

The First Graders have been enthusiastic about starting homework! Homework checkers begin this week. Thank you to all who have helped and are scheduled to help. Let me know if you would like to be added to the December/January schedule.

I am looking forward to meeting with you at our scheduled conference!

We will be having a Breakfast Halloween party on Monday, October 31 in the morning at 9am right after Monday Morning Assembly. Costumes may be worn to school on Halloween morning but please keep in mind that we have to climb up and down the stairs to get to and from assembly so long skirts, dresses, or pants should be pinned up for safety. Please bring your First Graders uniform to school so that he/she can change after our party. All parents are welcome to attend!

Coming up:

No school Wednesday, Thursday or Friday this week for conferences

Monday, October 31 – Halloween Breakfast party at 9am – wear your costume!

Tuesday, November 1^st – All school Mass at 8:45 for All Saints Day

Saturday, November 5^th – The Madeleine School Auction – See you there!

God Bless,

Jenn

October 16, 2011

madeleinefirstgrade — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:30:49 +0000

The First Graders have begun talking about how we experience our world through our five senses. The First Graders have learned how the senses seeing, hearing and smelling gives our brain information to keep us healthy and safe. We will continue explore our five senses next week through art, science, reading, writing and poetry.

We got our literacy centers off and running. The students are still learning how this time works, but I see an eagerness to learn that will make this time meaningful. I told the students that they are all readers, and I am going to help them be better readers. A great way to become a good reader is to practice, practice, and practice some more. Please make time every night to read with your first grader. If you make reading a priority, then they will too!

Please check your First Graders homework folder on Monday for your confirmation for your child’s conference in a couple of weeks. Attached to the confirmation is a preconference form I would greatly appreciate you filling out and getting back to me asap. Thanks for your prompt attention to this item.

Coming up:

Thursday, October 20th – All School Mass & Hot Dog Lunch

October 26-28 – Conferences – No School

October 9, 2011

madeleinefirstgrade — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:12:39 +0000

This week in First Grade, the students practiced writing super sentences! The students learned that each sentence has a noun and a verb but what makes a sentence special are the extra details such as describing words (adjectives) and also the “where” and the “when”. The students also had the opportunity to do some creative writing in their journals. As beginner writers, I explained to the students that it is important that their writing is legible. We practiced and will continue to practice breaking words into individual sounds and writing a letter for each sound in a word. During the month of October, the First Graders will be exploring the writing trait of organization. We have talked about organization in writing in terms of a piece having a beginning, middle and end and using sequencing words such as first, then, next and finally. The First Graders have listened to stories and then practiced using the language of organization to retell in their own words. There is some hard work going on in our classroom!

On Monday, the First Graders took their first field trip of the year to the apple orchards at Oregon Heritage Farm. The weather was perfect! The students did get to see the apple orchard’s trees heavy with fresh fruit, sample fresh apple cider and taste apples right off the tree. It was quite picturesque. Thank you to all the parents who came along and joined in the fun! On Tuesday, the First Graders spent time investigating the apples the farmers sent home with us. They used their scientific skills of observation and investigation to describe how the apple looked, felt, smelled and tasted. Hands-on learning is such fun!

Next week, we will begin working in our reading groups and dive into leveled readers specifically chosen for your first grader’s learning level. We call this time Literacy Centers. It is a time for direct instruction as well as an opportunity for student choice while practicing reading and writing skills. This coincides with the daily reading homework and recording log. Please take the time to read nightly with your first grader and fill out the log to let me know how it’s going!

In preparation for the Blessing of the Animals on Tuesday, the students listened to the life story of St. Francis and compared how different authors and illustrators depict Francis’ life. The First Graders learned that St. Francis truly valued all of God’s creations including the many animals that inhabit the Earth. The students enjoyed making animal masks and then acting out St. Francis’ life!

In math, the First Graders have been developing their math vocabulary and using mathematical language to describe their thinking in terms of addition. The base concept taught this week is that numbers can be thought of as being made up of two parts. We used connecting cubes to show the whole number such as 8 and then explored how many ways we can break 8 into parts (for example 1+7=8 and 2+6=8 ect.). Then the students worked with the connecting cubes to create addition sentences. The students learned that in addition sentences, you can add in any order. When you switch the addends, the sum is the same (such as 3+5=8, 5+3=8).

Coming up:

Thursday, October 13^th – All school Mass and Pizza hot lunch

Friday, October 14^th – No School – State Inservice Day