Reading Every Day!

Check out these fun websites!

Reading Bear

Reading Teacher
username: msplatt
password: msplatt

Happy Holidays!

 

What exciting plans do you have over the winter vacation?

Do you think it is going to snow?

What do you hope will happen in the year 2013?

Do you think it will be a great year?

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

Dinosaurs

This upcoming week we will be discussing a lot about prehistoric times, when dinosaurs were around.
What facts did you learn from this song?

What facts did you learn from this documentary?

Penguins

This week we have been talking a lot about penguins.

Check out this video on penguins!


What did you learn this week about penguins?

Math Test

We will be having a math test on Friday, December 14th!

What do you need to know for the test?

• How to add two numbers together to equal 10, in many different ways.

__ + __ = 10

0 + 10 = 10
1 + 9 = 10
2 + 8 = 10
3 + 7 = 10
4 + 6 = 10
5 + 5 = 10
6 + 4 = 10
7 + 3 = 10
8 + 2 = 10
9 + 1 = 10
10 + 0 = 10

• Frames and Arrows

Subtract by 1
Add by 1
Add by 2
Add by 5

• Counting coins: Dimes, Nickels, Pennies

• Following a two-step pattern

• Telling time to the half hour

Dimes

We can count by 10's!  We can even exchange smaller coins for larger ones!
Coin Counting Song



Let's review:
Pennies Song
Nickels Song

Non-Fiction Books

Nonfiction books teach us so much!  In class, we collect facts that we later tell our book clubs.  

Check out Scholastic's Listen and Read books.

Nonfiction

This month we are spending a lot of time learning about our world by reading and writing nonfiction. 

Check out the sites below to learn cool and interesting facts on:

Animals

Weather

Dinosaurs

Insects

Forests

Plants and Flowers

Oceans

Space

Seasons

Science Websites

Visit The Magic School Bus to play eight interactive science-based games including Monster Bugs, The Great Habitat Match, Space Chase, and more! There are also quizzes and printable coloring pages, as well as science experiments students can do in the classroom or at home.


Check out Dino Directory to view 3D models of five well-known dinosaurs, and learni about the origins of their names, how large they were, what they ate and when and where they lived.


Help make a difference at ESPECIES.  Electronic fact sheets, including photos, protection status, and info on how students can help, for over 50 endangered species.

Fun Websites

Check out some fun websites:

FunBrain has over 100 fun, interactive games that develop skills in math, reading and literacy. Plus, kids can read a variety of popular books and comics on the site, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amelia Writes Again, and Brewster Rocket.

Free Rice reviews English vocabulary and grammar at varying levels of difficulty. For each correct answer, the website will donate one grain of rice. Have your students play Free Rice when they finish early and keep track of how much rice your students have contributed to combat hunger.

National Geographic Young Explorer

Click here to visit National Geographic Young Explorer.  Can you find non-fiction text features?

Library Books

Please return all library books if you have not already done so.

We will be visiting our school library again on Monday, November 26th. 

Ms. Alford can't wait for us to take out new books (but you have to make sure you return your old ones first!)

Field Trip

We will be going on a field trip for...

BOWLING

on Tuesday, November 27th!

Please return permission slip ASAP.


We can't wait to learn all about bowling and experience it for ourselves!

Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for!  What are you thankful for this holiday season?

This week is going to be a quick one.  Thursday and Friday we will be off in honor of Thanksgiving.  Gobble, gobble!

Skip Counting

Connect the dots to practice counting by 2s

Connect the dots to practice counting by 5s

Find the missing number to practice counting by 10s

Decide what comes next to practice counting

Sorting to practice odds and evens

Veteran's Day

There is no school on Monday in honor of Veteran's Day.  Visit VA kids to play some fun games in honor of our heroes, that help to protect our country. 

Picture Day!

Thursday is picture day!  We can't wait to take our class picture.  Come with your biggest and brightest smile to school that day!

Parent Teacher Conferences

This Wednesday is parent teacher conference day!  We look forward to meeting with you and discussing your child's progress and different strategies to work on at home to further develop reading, writing, and math skills. 

Hurricane Sandy

Thank you to everyone for your patience.  Due to Hurricane Sandy our classroom blog has not been updated for a number of days and for that we apologize.  Ms. Platt has been without any electricity for a week now!

We hope you are well.  We miss you!  And we are excited to see you in school on Monday!

Counting by 5's
at- word family
an- word family
Counting money
Writing sentences

Message from NYC DOE.

Tell Me More!

Describe what you see in this photograph of a dolphin.

To leave a comment click on "Comment" at the end of the post.
Click on the box that says "enter your comment" and begin typing.
Click on the drop box next to "Comment as".  Click on Name/URL 
Under "Name" type your name. FIRST NAME only.
Click "Continue"
Click "Publish"

Literacy Skills

At Word Family video

B vs. D video - let's not confuse those letters!

This Week's Homework 10/22-10/26

National Geographic Young Explorer

I love reading nonfiction stories, especially about animals!

Check out National Geographic Young Explorers stories!

There are some fun videos at Animal Channel!

And games too!

Enjoy!

Books Online

Here is a fun website, sillybooks, with stories read aloud.  They are pretty funny!

This Week's Homework 10/15 to 10/19

Time to the Hour

Visit the Basallo Brainery to practice telling time to the hour.

Scholastic Books

Scholastic Book order forms are due: Friday October 19.  All orders will be placed at the end of the school day. Please hand in order form and cash in an envelope with your child's name.

If you prefer to order online with a credit card, please visit: Scholastic Book Club

Click on "Parent".  Our class activation code is: LKCQD

Homework

Rainbow words:

--Select 5 crayons or colored pencils
--Write the word on top of it, 5 times -- it will look like a rainbow!


Example of sailboat word:

see

s
se
see


Sentences:

-- Begin with a capital letter
-- End with a punctuation mark

Donors Choose

I have a very special announcement to make...

Over the course of 2 days, Ms. Platt posted a project to help enhance our learning in the classroom --- purchasing a special CD/cassette player and recorder that allows many students to participate in an activity at one time.

...Well I am very happy to announce that our project has just been funded $183.91, and we will be receiving our listening center soon!

HIP HIP HOORAY!

We were so successful with this project that another one will be created soon! 

Homework for the Week

Every week you will be receiving a homework sheet.  This is a guide.  Homework is checked on the due date by Ms. Platt and Ms. Freehill.  This allows you the time to complete your homework at a pace that works best for you and your child's busy schedules.  Also, this also allows your teachers time to carefully check that your child has completed their homework.  Check marks, smiley faces, and at times stickers are placed on homework.  Also, at times comments are provided.  Please be sure to look back at the teacher's comments and see that it has been completed correctly.   Homework is very important for your child's success in first grade, especially READING EVERY DAY (including Saturdays and Sundays!!)

Columbus Day

Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492...

Check out the Video of the Week on BrainPop

Reminder: There is no school on Monday.

Sight Words

In first grade we spend a lot of time getting familiar with sight words.  Knowing sight words in a snap* the moment you see the word you know it, makes reading easier.

Practice sight word recognition with a fun matching game at cookie.  Turn your volume on!

If a username or password is needed type in: msplatt for both.

Good Readers...

Dem Bones

Dem Bones video.

Raz Kids

Please find your name and begin reading on Raz kids, first graders!  Your updated reading level is ready.  Please visit: Raz Kids and click on the icon above your name.

To my class last year, do not worry your second grade teacher is adding you to her raz kid account.

Don't forget, your teachers check to see that you are visiting and all the wonderful work you are doing on Raz Kids.  We like to give out extra points if we see you are working hard!

Happy reading to all!

Reading

See if you can find all the rhyming words in the story Sack on the Yak at cookie!

Let's Count!

Here is a fun site to practice counting.  See if you can put numbers in order from 1 all the way to 120 at Learning Planet.

Scholastic Books

Scholastic books are discounted and help our classroom earn points!  Please submit all Scholastic book orders no later than Friday, September 28.  All orders will be placed on that date.

Check your PS 89 folder for flyers.  They will be sent home monthly, and sometimes a few flyers are sent home.  These are an excellent resource for your child to look through, even if you are not planning to purchasing books.

Welcome 1-103

We are so excited to have you in our classroom this school year!

We are going to have so much fun learning.  Visit weekly for updates. 

2-4-6-8 First Graders are Really Great!

Reading Strategies

Summer reading! 

What Kind of Reader Are You?

For some time now, educators have observed similar literacy characteristics demonstrated by children as they learn to read. Are you an Early Reader? Developing Reader? or Fluent Reader? 

Here is a description of each stage:

Early Reader
uses picture for clues
retells a simple story which is read to them
recalls some details
knows names of letters
identifies consonant sounds at beginning and end of words
uses configuration as clue to identify words
reads by rote
reads one word at a time-choppy
selects simple repetitious books
reads favorite books over and over
silent sustained reading 5-10 minutes
has the desire to be a fluent reader
enjoys retelling stories


Developing Reader sequences events in story
tells main idea
makes predictions
identifies main characters
identifies setting
differentiates between fact and fiction
identifies high frequency words
some awareness of medial vowel sounds
uses context clues
begins to self correct
understands the meaning of . ? !
pauses and uses appropriate inflection for punctuation
reads phrases
selects a variety of books
silent sustained reading 10-15 minutes
begins to feel confident when reading silently or orally

Fluent Reader recognizes plot of story
recognizes problem and solution in a story
evaluates character's actions or behaviors
uses a variety of clues to decode unfamiliar words
identifies blends, digraphs, dipthongs
applies vowel rules to sound out words
understands affixes
uses punctuation correctly
reads with expression
reads smoothly
selects a wide variety of books
may select chapter books
silent sustained reading at least 20 minutes
confident
enjoys sharing favorite books
enjoys challenges
selects reading during free time

We can Make Change Happen

A long time ago Ms. Platt went was in first grade.  A little boy that was in her class is now working at NASA where there are a lot of engineers that make things like space ships that go to outer space.  He was a part of the most recent adventure, helping to create and build "Curiosity".  Click here to learn more about what is happening in the news now!



President Obama said,

"Tonight, on the planet Mars, the United States of America made history.

The successful landing of Curiosity – the most sophisticated roving laboratory ever to land on another planet – marks an unprecedented feat of technology that will stand as a point of national pride far into the future. It proves that even the longest of odds are no match for our unique blend of ingenuity and determination.

Tonight’s success, delivered by NASA, parallels our major steps forward towards a vision for a new partnership with American companies to send American astronauts into space on American spacecraft. That partnership will save taxpayer dollars while allowing NASA to do what it has always done best – push the very boundaries of human knowledge. And tonight’s success reminds us that our preeminence – not just in space, but here on Earth – depends on continuing to invest wisely in the innovation, technology, and basic research that has always made our economy the envy of the world.

I congratulate and thank all the men and women of NASA who made this remarkable accomplishment a reality – and I eagerly await what Curiosity has yet to discover."

When they waited for "Curiosity" to take off, they ordered a 3 foot pizza, WOW!  That's a giant pizza.

For Parents

The Reading Rainbow, excerpt from "The Talk" on the importance of reading to your child

Visit by clicking on the picture to the left.

Fun Things to Do!

Ms. Platt misses you all!

I came across a link online and thought of you.  Here are lots of things to do over the summer vacation that are free.

Hope you are having a fun, restful summer -- filled with lots of reading, writing, and sunshine!

Memories of First Grade 2011-2012

School's out for Summer!

Bookworms,

I miss you already!  I hope you are enjoying your summer vacation!  Come back and visit our classroom blog anytime, and leave a comment if you would like.  Also, always feel free to send me an e-mail, I would love to hear from you!

Don't forget to read over the summer, write in your summer journal (and even your new sunflower one!), and have lots and lots of fun! 

Second grade, here we come!

Countdown... 3

We are in our final week of school.  Three more days until we are officially second graders!



This week you will be meeting your second grade teacher, preparing for summer reading and writing projects, and celebrating a fabulous year of learning!

This Week's Homework 6/18

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing you a wonderful day with your family.  Happy Father's Day!

Ms. Platt dancing with her father.

International Day!

Thank you to everyone that participated by bringing in food.  What an exciting day it was to talk about our cultures, dress up, and eat food we may otherwise not have tried before.

This free slideshow design personalized with Smilebox

Flag Day

We created our own version of the American flag, which we decided to turn into a kite to honor the special anniversary of our flag!



We are so excited to celebrate International Day tomorrow.  We will be celebrating with our food tasting at 11:10-12:00.

Dream Big!

Click the link below to listen and watch Will.i.am sing "What I Am" with some familiar friends.
Dream Big!

Next Week's Homework 6/11

Poetry

Get some inspiration! Listen to, and read along to some poetry on Poetry Player at Highlights for Kids

Comprehension Skills

Good readers use 

comprehension strategies and skills 

to make sure they understand what they are reading.

PIE = Persuade, Inform, Entertain