Read, Read, Read!

Take a look... it's in a book... a Reading Rainbow!

Things To Do Over Winter Vacation

Fun Family Activities (see below)

WNET Holiday Happenings in NYC

www.nyc-arts.org/collections/117762

Kid Fun in Grown Up Museums

www.nyc-arts.org/collections/37742

The Grinch’s Holiday Workshop at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan

through December 31

Rockefeller Center Tree

through January 7

City Harvest Gingerbread Extravaganza at Le Parker Meridien

through January 6

New York City Transit Museum Holiday Train Show (Grand Central Terminal)

through February 23

Super Sabado Super Holidays at El Museo del Barrio

through December 21

Powerhouse on 8 Kids Readings 2013

(8th Avenue & 12th Street)

until June 

Fractured Fables Puppet Theatre (Bank St. Bookstore)

through February 23

Visit any of these places?  Take a picture to show your classmates when you return back to school on January 5th!  Write ALL ABOUT it for your writing homework... We wish you a wonderful holiday vacation!

Need more ideas of fun things to do over the vacation?  
Visit here! 

Shiro's of Japan

We will be attending our FIRST field trip as FIRST GRADERS on Thursday (one week from today)!

We will get to learn about Japanese culture, watch how food is made, and try some delicious food.  We will form opinions about the restaurant, environment, and food.

Please make sure ALL permission slips and money are handed in by tomorrow, Friday December 12, 2014 to attend the trip.

We had A LOT of parents interested in attending.  Unfortunately, because other classes will be attending the field trip as well, and the restaurant limits our number due to seating availability we are only able to have 2 to 3 parents attend.  We took the parent names that were interested, placed them in a hat, closed our eyes and selected 3 names.

Danna's dad will be coming!

Michael's mom will be coming!

Ashley P's mom will be coming!

If you were interested in attending this field trip, you will be given first priority for our next trips.  We are planning to go to Sprinkle of Fun in January and Paper Bag Player sing-a-long show in February.  Thank you so much for your support and for volunteering -- we are so happy that you want to be a part of these experiences and look forward to having you participate in our future trips.

Writing ALL ABOUT

We are experts at so many things.  We know a lot about many different topics.  To support your child with their writing we have been assigning different nonfiction text features to practice at home.

Your child should be explaining to you the topic that they are writing about in class.  At home or the library, on the computer and taking out books your child should learn even more about their topic.

When reading, we have been learning about arctic animals such as polar bears and penguins.  Ask your child what facts they learned about these animals through our read alouds.

During reader's workshop we have been learning about the difference between nonfiction (real) and fiction (pretend) books.  We have been studying nonfiction text features in the books we are reading and collecting facts on our tables topics (plants, animals, crops)

GO Math Online

We received a few letters regarding difficulties logging on to GO Math.  This is a very helpful tool and we will look closely to see what is causing trouble logging in at home.  Please be patient and we will send a follow up letter shortly.

We hope to see you on Tuesday for first grade visitation day!

Molly Lou Melon

Shared Reading

 

Did you hear?  We learned how to read a Level K book this week during shared reading!

It is so much fun to read high levels.  It's important that we practice our letter sounds, word recognition, and fluency so that we can get to higher levels.

Right now, Level E is on-grade level.  If your child is reading below this level, please make sure you are working with them EVERY day, they need your support, encouragement, and motivation, and can't do it alone.  First grade is a big year for growth, let's put in the work!

GO Math

Have you been having trouble with the GO Math homework?

Do you notice your child is having difficulty understanding specific concepts?

Check your child's PS 89 folder on Monday for log in information.  We will be assigning work online.  It can be accessed by computer or cell phone.  If you do not have access to the internet, please visit the library.

Reading Strategies

Doubles! Doubles! I Can Add Doubles!

Tricky Words Don't Scare Me!

Do You Know Your Letter Sounds?

Do You Know These Digraphs / Vowel Team / Diphthongs Sounds?

Do You Know These Vowels?

No School Monday

Scholastic Books

Scholastic books are in from September's order.
Your books will be sent home on Tuesday.
Hip, hip HOORAY!

If you are interested in books for the month of October please return book form and money by October 30th.

Phonics Sounds

Get Ready to be Reading Detectives!

Letter Sounds

Counting to 100

Digraphs

Scholastic Books

Scholastic Book order is due September 30 (next Wednesday).  Various book orders will be sent home monthly.  We hope you find these discounted books to be a wonderful tool for building your child's library at home.

Highlights for Kids

If you submitted your child's Highlights for Kids, their magazine order will be arriving in 4-6 weeks.

Hip, hip hooray!

Check Out Some Great Websites

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Reading:

www.starfall.com

http://www.abcya.com/

Literacy Studies:

http://www.spellingcity.com/

http://www.kidport.com/Grade1/LanguageArts/LanguageArts.htm

Fun Interactive Websites:

http://pbskids.org/

http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/activities/shapesonact.asp

http://disney.go.com/disneyjunior/games

http://www.seussville.com/

Social Studies:

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/k-2/neighborhood/index.html

http://www.americangirl.com/play/historical-character/

Mathematics:

http://www.primarygames.com/add_up/start.htm

http://www.primarygames.com/takeaway/start.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game8.htm

http://www.primarygames.com/time/start.htm

http://www.aaamath.com/B/grade1.htm

http://www.abcya.com/addition.htm

Reader's Workshop

We are working on reading long and strong!  Good readers are able to read, without distraction for 10-15 minutes.  They read, think about what they are reading, and use strategies to solve tricky words, such as looking at the picture and using their letter sounds.  This school year we will be learning a lot of strategies so that we can move from Level D to Level J (grade level expectations).  That is a lot of levels, so make sure you are reading every night at home for at least 15 minutes. 

1 just right reading book should be coming home every day in your child's red folder.  Please return that book each day and a new one will be sent home.  If things are not coming home right away, please allow time, your child is learning new routines and this takes time.  We are understanding on this matter this first full week of school.  Next week we expect that your child will be more familiar with our routines.

Don't forget to visit Raz Kids.  We check every week to see how your child is performing and progressing.  Raz Kids

Word Study Homework notebook

How do I make rainbow words?

Select 5 crayons.  Write the word on top of each word, 5 times to create a rainbow.  Look below for an example.

Writing

We are learning all about narrative writing.  We are focusing on small moment stories where we write about something we have experienced.  We zoom into a moment in time and tell what happens first, next, and last.  Today we shared the pen to learn how we can hook our reader to start our narrative piece.  We even learned how we can talk about the setting to get started.

Addition

This chapter we are learning all about addition.  We will be learning different methods to solve addition problems.  Which way works best for you?

Addition Math Games

Homework Books

These two books are to be kept at home.  When homework is assigned, please tear the pages out carefully and place inside of your child's folder.  This way your child is not carrying heavy books back and forth every day.  

We are waiting for PS 89 folders.  In the meantime, continue to use the red folder.  Please bring back the red folder every day.

Homework

We will be spending this week learning new routines, classroom rules, and expectations for first grade.  Please bring in school supplies as soon as possible, but remember, your child has to carry their own things.  There was some confusion today with name tags.  We are located in room 212.  You will be receiving new tags soon!

Today many papers went home:
-Welcome letter
-Supply list (some students brought in supplies, including money in envelopes, we are keeping track of who brought in what - please try to get in notebooks right away, folders, pencils, and copy paper)
-Homework sheet (math books will be brought home tomorrow)
-Sight words, small moments handout - please return
-Raz kids information
-GO money envelope
-PTA money envelope
-3 Blue cards for emergency contacts - must fill out all 3 cards and return immediately
-Academy times -- please note that although we are Britton Academy, we follow a Gleane schedule lunch, that is why your child needs a snack every day.
-Snack policy

Welcome 1-212

Welcome to First Grade!

We are looking forward to a wonderful school year, filled with learning, friendships, and lots of success.

Winding Down

The school year is almost complete!

I would love to hear from you to learn about how this school year experience was for your child.  If you would like, you may send in a letter or short note to let me know how you felt the learning lab benefited your child this year.  Also, if you would like any support, resources, or tools for over the summer to continue to help your child please let me know.

Have a wonderful summer!
Keep reading, learning, and exploring!

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing you have a wonderful weekend!  Hope you enjoy your "Dad's Gazette!"

Letter Sounds

Check out the videos below to help with decoding skills

Consonant Blends

Diphthongs

Digraphs

Answering Questions

Answering Questions

 It is important when we speak, read, and write that we provide evidence to explain our thinking.  Often teachers ask students "Tell me more... What makes you say that..."  It is important to ask questions and for students to be able to provide examples to support their thinking.  Often times it may be assumed that students are not providing the "correct" answers, when in fact they have examples.  In other instances, students are giving answers or remarks they think is correct but have no information to back up their ideas.  This week in reading and writing we will be discussing how to answer questions with evidence, referring explicitly to the text.

Check out this thinking mat to help us organize our sticky notes.

Memorial Day

What does Memorial Day mean to you?

Do You Know These Letter Sounds?

Have you seen puppets being sent home?

Continue to use these characters to help your child identify letters and sounds in the alphabet.

Be sure to:

• discuss capital and lowercase letters
• point to the words
• retell the poem using the puppet
• identify the sound that the puppet, and repetitive words make

Our favorite song that is incorporated with movement is Alphardy by Dr. Jean
Visit youtube to sing along with the video!

Also check out this website for sound reinforcement Alphabet Sound Correspondence

Researchers!

Have you heard the exciting news?

Our Second and Third graders are going to be doing research using the iPad mini's and computers in our learning lab.  We brainstormed ideas of a topic we would like to learn more about.  We brainstormed a variety of ideas from people, places, and things.  We came up with things like President Barack Obama, how to design our own room, and bunnies!

Ms. Rappaport decided to learn all about platypuses.  Stay tuned to find out more information on our topics and how we will be presenting them.

Some students selected books, songs, movies, posters, and brochures.  I can't wait to learn more about these topics!

Stay tuned...

Thanks To Our Generous Donors

This Friday we will be mailing out our thank you cards to our generous donors that helped to get us two more iPad minis.  Now we have FOUR and we are having so much fun learning through games.  Next week we are going to begin doing research projects using the iPad mini's to meet our writing goals. 

We are so grateful for the compassion that so many people from around New York have shown our learning lab. 

What should our next Donor's Choose project be?  

What would you like to see in the learning lab?

In Summer

We have been using graphic organizers to write in a clear, detailed manner what we are looking forward to doing over the summer!  Tomorrow it will be time to publish and turn our writing into another class book. 

What Time Is It?

Practice telling time on the clock with this fun game, "Stop the Clock"

Robert Munsch

Today we listened to a story called More Pies! by Robert Munsch.  We took notes on a clipboard, like we often see Ms. Rappaport and other teachers do. 

Check out Robert Munsch's website.  He reads his stories aloud, for free.  Want to listen to More Pies! again? or hear how Robert Munsch reads his own books? 

 Visit here!

Tomorrow we are going to be reporters where we ask our classmates questions about the story.  Some questions the teacher will give us, and some we will come up with ourselves... stay tuned!

Read Along / Read To

For beginner and emergent readers

Check out this website for some great books you can read yourself, or along with the narrator.  Click on "English" for each page to be read to you. 

Parents: the books can be spoken in other languages too!

Why Does My Kid Spell Like That?

Why is my kid allowed to make spelling mistakes when drafting?

Article

Spring Recess

Hope you are having a wonderful spring recess!

 

Remember to read every day over the vacation!

Critical Readers

Extra, Extra, Read All About It!

 
This just in... we are getting 2 more iPad mini's!

Our current iPads reached their maximum space for apps.  There was just one thing left to do -- write a proposal for some more. Luckily, the project was funded.  Over $900 was donated for the iPads and protection plan... and they should be arriving after our spring break.

Good Luck!

Good luck to all ELA test takers.

Get a good night rest and eat a healthy breakfast in the morning.

Relax... You've prepared long and hard for this... Try your best, always, and remember you can do anything you set your mind to.

Fun Find

Check out this website for a wonderful list of resources and explanations as to how it can be beneficial.  What can you benefit from to be a better learner?

Learning to Learn

Check out: cognitive games, writing and language games, social studies and science games, spelling and reading games, digital storytelling, math games, grammar games, typing games, and social skills games!


Enjoy!

What Does the Fox Say?

Literactive

Check out this website to read stories (for early readers and to better develop fluency for advanced readers)

Literactive

Username: ps89reader
Password: hokessuf

Have fun!

Early Readers

Check out so many fabulous nursery rhymes, here.

Which one was your favorite?

Letter Reversals

Sounds Video

Sounds

‘AU /AW’

have a huge crush on each other,
and whenever they have to stand ‘side-by-side’ in a word,
they get so embarrassed,
they always look down and say-

“ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…”

Examples: August, awful, awesome, autumn

‘EU / EW’

These letters are very “prim and proper” little girls who are deathly afraid of mice! If they ever see one, they will jump up-high, in complete disgust, screaming —

“eeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

and that’s the sound they make!

Examples: few, chew, neutral, neuron 

‘ER /IR /UR’

They LOVE to go driving in cars,
but they are terrible, awful, horrible, ‘no-good’ drivers-
so they always have to slam on the brakes!

“ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!”

Examples: bird, turn, corner

‘TH’

These two letters should never be together- EVER!
And yet, pick up any book, and look at any page,
And there they are, side-by-side!

And whenever they are together in a word,
They always do exactly the same thing-
They ‘stick their tongues out at each other’ and say-

“Thhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Examples: this, that, those, them, they

‘OUS’

Whenever three friends play together,
one always seems to get ‘left-out.’

And when these three play-
it’s always ‘poor little o’ that never gets to join in the fun!

That’s why, when ‘o, u & s’ get together…

“It’s just…………… “US!”

Examples: ridiculous, strenuous, joyous

Graphics by: www.TheSecretStories.com

Prepositions of Location

Suffixes

Check out these fun games for prefixes, suffixes, root words, and base words.  We will be talking about them all week long!

Click here to visit Book Unit Teacher!

Solving Word Problems

Math Word Problems can be tricky.  We are learning clues to solve them.  Circle the numbers you are dealing with.  Find the key word that tells you what you need to do (add, subtract, multiply, or divide).  Solve the problem.  Check to see if you need to do this more than once.

Math Hoops

Select Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division Word Problems with Monster Crossing

Word Problem Resources

Bubble Fun Word Problems

We're Getting More Stuff!

I'm so excited about some new writing tools we will be getting soon in our learning lab.  Check them out below!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent teacher conferences will take place Tuesday, March 11.

Questions you may have

Math Games Galore!

I love learning and reviewing math skills and concepts by playing games.  What better way to learn then by having fun!

Early Math Skills

Basic Operations

Mixed Operations

Telling Time

Place Value

Money

Measuring

Fractions

Decimals

Algebra

Geometry

Subtracting

Cool Math Subtraction and Addition Games

Many Subtraction Games

Subtraction Games

Beginner Subtraction Game