Author Visit and other First Grade Fun

Thursday we had the privilege to meet author Tedd Arnold.  He taught us all about being an author and illustrator.  The most important thing we all took away from it was to practice, practice, practice and you will get better.

A little blurry, but it says "WOODVIEW KIDS KNOW THAT READING IS A SUPER POWER!"

Tedd Arnold & his drawing of Green Wilma.

Pure joy!

She just had to read a Tedd Arnold book after his visit!

During writer's workshop this week, the children spent time looking at the pieces in their writing folders and using a picture rubric that asked "Did I do it like a first grader?"  Each individual discovered that they were doing many wonderful things with their writing and is now able to articulate what part of writing they are working on.  Some of the statements they were looking at include "I wrote about when I did something." "I put my pages in order.  I used words like and, then, and so."  "I wrote my story across three or more pages." and "I put the picture from my mind onto the page.  I have details in pictures and words."  During conferences, I will be sharing a little bit of what your first grader has been writing with you.

Our science topic is All About the 5 Senses.  We had a day all about hearing.  We made some homemade musical instruments out of glass vases and jars filled with water.  We listened to the tones change as we added more water and dumped water out.  The first graders also noticed that some of the containers produced a louder or quieter sound.  We will continue to explore our 5 senses next week.

           

We have just started the third module of learning in math.  This unit will focus on understanding the base 10 system, doing a lot of work with tens and ones.  We will also begin to learn to tell time on both analog and digital clocks.  Look for a more detailed note to come home on Monday about this module.

Next week will be a short one, so there will be no spelling test.  However, we will continue learning new word wall words and spelling patterns this week.  Here is the word study home link for week 8:

Click HERE to make a copy.

Weekly Reminders:

All Week:  Book Fair on stage.  

10/22:  Hearing Screening

10/23:  Picture Re-take Day

10/23:  Student Council Popcorn Sale during lunch

10/23:  Parent - Teacher Conferences 5:00 - 8:00 pm

10/24:  NO SCHOOL - teacher inservice day

10/24:  Parent - Teacher Conferences  4:00 - 7:00 pm
10/25   NO SCHOOL - conferences

10/25:  Parent - Teacher Conferences 8:00 - 10:00 am

*I make every effort to keep my parent teacher conferences on schedule.  If we need to speak further, we can make an appointment for some time in the future.  I look forward to meeting with each of you to share with and learn more about your first grader.