Welcome to the first edition of Room 102 News :) We had a busy 4 days this past week, getting to know one another and the routines. Each day we start by checking our backpacks for our Yellow Home Notes folders (thanks to those of you that have already completed your paperwork and sent it back!!) and place them in the Home Notes Bin. Then, we do some quiet reading and chatting with friends on the carpet to get settled. Once we're all ready, we go through our blue pocket chart and schedule for the day, so students can know what to expect as the day goes on.
For the next few weeks, we'll be doing a V.I.P. program for some "Very Important People"! Each student will get the chance to be a V.I.P. for the day, which means we'll interview them and get to know them a little bit better. This integrates the Oral Language part of the curriculum, as students are expected to ask questions and listen carefully on the carpet. Once the interview is done, each student creates a V.I.P. page to contribute to the V.I.P.'s 'all about me' book. We learn how to print the Very Important Person's name and practice using the proper upper case and lower case letters (this is a chance for students to practice their printing before we move into using our daily writing journals). **Please practice printing at home with your son and daughter by visiting this website: http://handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/manuscript/alphabets/index.htm In the afternoons, we've been counting the days at school as an introduction to Number Sense. Each day we track the # of days at school on a blank hundreds chart and we then illustrate the # in our Class Number Sense Book. For example, on Day #1, we drew 1 heart, 1 sun, 1 me; on Day #2 we drew 2 shoes, 2 hands, 2 eyes. As our numbers grow, we'll talk about using neat, organized illustrations, that group objects in stacks or lines (e.g., on Day #4, some chose to draw 4 squares, 2 stacked on top of another 2, like on a die). Once students have seen examples through our modelled writing, they go to illustrate the Day's # in their own Number Sense Book. We'll work all the way up to Day # 20, as the Grade 1 Curriculum requires students to compose and decompose #s up to 20 in various ways (grade 2s will continue to work on #s up to 99 throughout the year). We finish the day with cooperative centre time and students are already eager to visit some of their favourites! Ask your son or daughter about the centres that have been open for group play time. It's a great way for the students to get to know one another and encourages them to practice the Character Education Trait of the month: respect. Kendra and I rotate through the centres as students play to reinforce the routines and the expectations. Social Studies - Rosh Hashanah: On Wednesday we learned about the Jewish Celebration Rosh Hashanah. We learned about some of the traditions like sharing apples and honey to symbolize the “sweet new year”, reflecting on past choices and making promises to have a ‘better’ and good new year. La Shana Tova! Read Alouds: I love to end our day with a Community Circle and a Read Aloud. Some of the books we've shared so far are: The Night Before the First Grade, I Love School!, The Teacher from the Black Lagoon.
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In our Room 108 Classroom Community, we foster an engaging, respectful and caring environment. I aim to balance a consistent program with flexible responsiveness to students' individual needs. Archives
November 2017
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