I can't believe that we are starting our 4th week already! It is going fast. We have gotten ourselves into somewhat of a routine (I think). First grade is totally different from Kindergarten so there is a lot of new routines for them to learn. They are quick learners though and we are off and running!!
I didn't know if you noticed or not, but every Monday I give a spelling pretest with a test on Friday.
Because this is new to all of them, I will be making adjustments over the next few weeks as far as how many words your child will have. The range is from 5-10. If your child continues to do well, his/her spelling list may be adjusted to different words or more words. For their very first test I was very pleased with the outcome.
We also took our very first reading test on our iPads on Friday. We read through and answered them all together as a whole group and will continue to do this every week for the next few weeks until they get the hang of taking a multiple choice test. The test has a short story with 5 comprehension questions that go with that story. It also has phonics skills as well as some grammar skills that we work on through the week. These are always done online so you won't see a copy of them coming home. I will send a progress report with report cards that will show you how your child has done on his/her test. We don't take grades in first grade so we look at the scores and ask ourselves where is it that your child needs help. I don't freak out at a failing grade but look at it more in depth and see what it is that your child is struggling with so that I may better help him/her.
Wee will be having our first student of the week this week! We will take an opportunity throughout the year to honor your child for an entire week! Every student will get to be the student of the week. It will coincide with their birthdays or half-birthdays. An All About Me Poster will come home on the Friday before your child's week to be there and will have a paper attached that says what each day is for your child. Monday, your child will share the All About Me poster with the class and then it will hang in the hallway. Tuesday, your child will bring in something for show and tell to share with us. On Wednesday, your child will eat lunch with me. Thursday, your child will bring in a favorite book. Your child can choose to read it, or I will read it for him/her. On Friday, we will be making a book for the student of the week and everyone will make a page for the book for your child to bring home.
Here are some new apps that we learned this week:
We have been reviewing and learning the beanie baby strategies that help us remember what to do when we see a word that we don't know and how to help us remember our stories. We have been adding them to our CAFE wall. CAFE is an acronym. The C stands for comprehension - I understand what I read. The A stands for accuracy - I can figure out tricky words. The F stands for fluency - I can read not too slow and not too fast, but just right. The E stands for expanded vocabulary - I can tune in to interesting words in the story. We have added quite a few strategies under comprehension and accuracy. Here are the ones that we have learned so far:
Remember that we have a math test coming up on Tuesday!! Have a great week!!
