Students reading Time for Kids with their 6th grade Literacy HelpersDear families, It was wonderful to connect with all of you last week during our student-led conferences. This is our second year of having all students at Friends Academy lead their own conferences and discuss their work, strengths, and goals. I noticed that students seemed more confident this year and more able to talk about their learning and the contributions they make to the classroom. This ownership of learning and willingness to discuss ways they would like to grow is invaluable. First graders are working on understanding that learning is a path and that it takes many steps to reach the destination, but that growth can be noted along the way. When I envision them as 8th graders having gone through this process close to 20 times, it deepens the value I see in the process. As they progress through Friends, they will become ever more attuned to their learning styles, needs as learners, and advocates for those needs. I feel so fortunate to be one of the first steps on their journey. I hope you enjoyed hearing your children share as much as I did. Please let me know if you have any lingering questions or concerns - I am always willing to keep the dialogue open to best meet your child's needs. Curricular HighlightsMath - Worked on chapter 3, addition to 10 - Discussed vocabulary for plus sign, equal sign, addition sentence, and addends - Reviewed concept of more than - Solved addition story problems and real-world problems - Used number bonds to show missing addends - Introduced the math program Matholia on the computers; students have logins and can explore the lessons, games, and tools. Check the green folder I gave out at parent's night for the login information if your child wants to login at home. Reading - Read a big book and discussed reading strategies we can use when we come to a word we don't know (look at the picture, look at the first letter, and thinking what would make sense) - Read the weekly poem Being Someone Else and found rhymes and illustrated - Did our third 10-minute stamina read - we will try for 15 this week! - Met in book clubs to work on reading strategies - Connected reading to writing by writing reflections and doing comprehension work - Unscrambled sentences with sight words - Time for Kids in the whole group and then another copy with Literacy Helpers Writing - Looked closely at the plants in our classroom and wrote with the intention of adding lots of details. Students blew me away with their awesome writing and observation skills! - Weekend news - asking kids to stretch their writing to at least three sentences - Reflection for learning portfolio to lead conferences - Text-to-self connections in book clubs - Comprehension writing connected to texts read in book clubs - Book making during free choice times Spelling and Handwriting - Lowercase c and o - Introduced FLSZ rule (doubling those letters at the end of a short vowel word - pass, buzz, spill, puff) - Introduced consonant blends at the beginning of words (skip, flash, play, gloss, etc.) - Played BUZZ with sight words - Stand-man (kind of like hangman, but without the death :) ) with Halloween words Social Studies - Read The Tooth by Avi Slodovnick and discussed the quality of empathy and added it to our CARES sign - Made cards for a boy named Brock from Maine who is very ill; his family said Halloween is his favorite holiday and he wanted to receive lots of cards. We mailed a big package to him! - Conference preparation and discussion about strengths, goals, and learning styles - Growth mindset conversations Halloween Cards for Brock with Literacy HelpersHave a wonderful evening! Looking forward to seeing some of you for Halloween on Tuesday.
Best, Katie
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Troy De Roche, a Native American flute maker and storyteller who visited FA a couple of years ago Dear families, This past Wednesday we had a beautiful All School Meeting in celebration and recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day (which was observed on Monday). In the spirit of Troy De Roche (pictured above), Jonathan Felix and Putnam Murdock told us a Native American story. Troy visited our campus a couple of years ago to do workshops with students about Native culture and left a lasting impression, especially his peaceful flute playing. Jonathan played a wooden flute and there was even a 3D-printed flute with a bear totem that was played and sounded amazing as well. Kim Tavares led us all in an animal spirit dance to get all members of our community moving. It was a lovely way to celebrate a culture that is so central to our area and to teach students that learning and teaching happens in a variety of ways. I hope they shared with you about their experiences! Curricular HighlightsMath - Began chapter 3, addition to 10 - Discussed vocabulary for plus sign, equal sign, addition sentence, and addends - Added to our math brainstorm chart - Linked addition to number bonds Reading - Worked on Lexia and Raz-Kids - Heard the read aloud When I was Little again and practiced recalling facts and making text-to-self connections - Read the weekly poem Two Little Apples and found rhymes and illustrated - Met in book clubs to work on reading strategies - Read phonics=controlled readers Writing - Continued writing All About Me books (trying to be done in time for conferences!) - Reviewed writing strategies we already use - Introduced COPS writing check system (Capitalization, Organized and neat, Punctuation, Spelling) - Wrote responses to our reading - Halloween cards Spelling & Handwriting - All numbers have been reviewed in handwriting - Introduced the digraphs qu and wh in spelling - Spent time on question words (who, what, where, when, why, which) - Added sight words do, I, said - Did pyramid writing word work - All previously learned sight words have been practiced Social Studies
- Learned about asserting ourselves and being allies for others (read One by Katherine Otoshi and Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell) - Brainstormed language to use when standing up for a friend
- Time has also been spent preparing our learning portfolios for student-led conferences as well as discussing what we will need to do during the conference. Students are excited! Have a great evening, Katie First graders kick-off Book Buzz at All School MeetingDear families, It was awesome to see two first graders share their love of books at All School Meeting this past Wednesday. It speaks to the culture of our school that some of the younger students are so excited to stand before their community and speak. I hope to encourage more first graders, especially those who are more fearful of public speaking, to contribute to our weekly school meeting in some way this year. Academically, we have been busy learning new routines, building upon the old ones, and working each day to strengthen self-control and the ability to make good choices with more independence. We are also working on our social skills - how to be an ally to a friend, how to assert ourselves when something is not okay, and how to make our own choices even when a friend may not be. Curricular HighlightsIn math, we have been working on different ways to show combinations of numbers. We have been using number bonds to show the relationships between numbers. Here, students showed ways to make 7: 7 and 0 3 and 4 2 and 5 6 and 1 Plus, all of their opposites! This encourages flexibility when working with numbers as more difficult skills are practiced. Math: - Completed chapter 2 about number bonds - Made real examples of number bonds using objects and whiteboards - Explored many ways to create different numbers - Took chapter 2 assessment independently Reading: - Began meeting in book clubs where we all read a shared book and discuss it - Began working in rotations through word work, Lexia, Raz-Kids, Explode the Code, and more - Students began seeing Ms. Caynon - Read the story When I Was Little by Jamie Lee Curtis and learned how to use our reading response journals - Enjoyed the funny story Do Not Open This Book! by Michaela Muntean about writing stories - Introduced the weekly poem, October's Colorful Friends Writing: - Continued writing pages for our All About Me books - Shared our work from All About Me books to get inspiration from classmates - Wrote in reading response journals Spelling: - Introduced digraphs (two letters that make one sound) ch, sh, and th - Added sight words was, a, of - Reviewed all older sounds - Cut and paste digraph sort; digraph sort with cards and writing words - Roll, read, and write sight words Some fun experimenting from our week!
Have a restful long weekend, Katie |
AuthorKatie Nelson Archives
January 2018
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