Winter Program

It has been requested that 1st graders wear a green, white, or red top and dark colored bottoms and no hat for the winter program on Friday.

Sixty-Ninth Day of School

Today we discussed the musical song element of harmony.

Sixty-Eighth Day of School

In Writing today, we wrote closings for our informational pieces.

Sixty-Seventh Day of School

In Writing today, we composed introductions to our informational pieces. In doing so, we attempted to convince our readers why they should read our pieces.

In Health, we discussed playground and bicycle safety.

In Social Science we discussed big businesses and small businesses.

Math Test Results

Of the 22 students taking the test 21 passed with an adjusted score of 14 or better. The high score was 23.

Sixty-Fifth Day of School

In Writing, we have been working on informational pieces. So far, we have brainstormed possible topics of interest and expertise. Next we chose a topic and then planned our writing. Then we drafted our ideas. We have begun to classify our ideas into possible chapters for a book.

To give you an idea of the process, our class writing is organized as follows:

• All About Safety
• School Safety
• Never run inside.
• Don't push others.
• Car Safety
• Always wear a seatbelt.
• Cross the street with an adult.
• Pool Safety
• Never run near a pool.
• Make sure an adult is watching you while you swim.

Math Test Results

Of 20 students taking Chapter 2 Math Test, 18 passed with an adjusted score of 16 or better. Two students achieved a perfect score.

Fifty-Seventh Day of School

We completed filming yesterday for several projects.

We voted today for class president.

We began a new informational unit today in Writing and brainstormed a list of topics we knew a lot about.

In Social Science, we continued our discussion on symbols of the U.S. by learning about the Statue of Liberty.

Reminder

We will make an attempt (barring technical difficulties) to film speeches, interviews, and stories on Monday. Remind your child to not wear any yellow or green.

Fluency Scores

Updated fluency scores have been posted in the classroom. As stated at Back-to-School night; "it's possible." One students made gains of 500%. Most students made appreciable gains. Only one student's fluency decreased. Keep in mind, the difficulty in reading material increases with each test. Comprehension was also assessed both with a written and an oral test.

If you would like your child to take advantage of the school's subscription to RazKids at home, their user name is: rm11mrb. They are also welcome to use all of the Benchmark resources by signing on through Clever.com.

Forty-Seventh Day of School

In Writing today, we revised our procedural pieces adding tips, hints, and reminders.

Forty-Sixth Day of School

In Writing t oday, we began the revision process for our informational pieces. Our revision process for procedural writing is as follows:

1. Reread
2. Act it out: Are the steps clear? Are the steps complete?
3. Add information where necessary.

Forty-Fifth Day of School

Today in writing, a procedural sample was collected from each student. The samples were checked for all necessary elements of an informational piece.

Math Test Results

Of the 20 students taking the math test, 20 students passed with an adjusted score of 10 or better. The high score was 16.

Forty-Fourth Day of School

Students should have their Social Science and Science notes in their homework folders. Please have them review the notes with an adult. Concepts included are: past/present, survival needs, goods/services, rights/responsibilities, golden rule, matter, transformation of matter.

Forty-Third Day of School

In Writing today, we wrote closures for our "how-to's". This concludes the drafting of our procedural writing and we will move into the revision process.

In Health, we discussed school safety.

Forty-Second Day of School

In Writing today, we added introductions to our procedural pieces. The introduction not only should introduce the topic but entice the reader to follow our directions.

We were visited by the Desk Faerie and 10 students found a treat in their desk for having all of their material organized.

At-Home Project #1

Every year Room 11 has the tradition of electing a class president. This supports the government portion of our Social Science standards. Those students interested in running for Room 11 Class President 2018-19 will work on a speech at home to be delivered to the class on November 5, 2018. Speeches will be filmed using chroma key technology and saved to flash drives or hopefully school email accounts

Students who would like to have their videos edited, will make sure they are not wearing any shade of green or yellow in any part of their outfit.

On this day we will also try to film our expert interviews. Those students wanting their interviews to be edited will also need to remember not to wear green or yellow on that Monday. 

Math Test Results

Of the 22 students taking the Math Test, 19 passed with an adjusted score of 7 or better. One student achieved a perfect score.

Forty-First Day of School

The Writing lesson for today was postponed due to the number of students absent.

In Social Science, we discussed how some aspects of life are different for people in different climates.

Later, notes for the November project will be posted.

Fortieth Day of School

We were excited today to have Mr. Brooks stop by to play an oral language game with us.

In Writing, we added transitions to each step of the our procedural piece. If parents were following along with the narrative lessons, they may just be able to guess what the next lessons will be.

In Math, we had our test as well as a speed test on addition facts.

Thirty-Ninth Day of School

In Writing today, we drafted the first sentence of each of our procedural steps beginning with our imperative verb.

In Science, we observed a collection of liquids and generated a list of vocabulary words to use to describe their properties: bubbly, clear, colored, translucent, transparent, opaque, and viscous.

Thirty-Eighth Day of School

In Writing today, we learned the imperative/command form of conjugation and applied it to our informative writing. We simply wrote one one-word command for each step of our 'how-to'. Tomorrow we will begin to draft the sentences to complete each command.

This week will likely culminate with a math test.

Thirty-Seventh Day School

Today in Writing, we began to make our plans for our procedural piece.

Reminder: as discussed at Back-to-School Night and at conferences, the 'How to' template sent home is for parent reference only and not intended for student work at home.

Thirty-Sixth Day of School

Parents should find copy of the paper we are using for our procedural unit in backpacks/folders. In Writing today we touch and talked our 'How to' essay. Tomorrow we will begin the planning process.

In Social Science, we reviewed our observations in comparing the past with the present (tested). We also learned the difference between goods and services (tested).

For study/discussion:

• What is an example of a business which sells goods?
• What is an example of a service?

Thirty-Fifth Day of School

In Writing today, we brainstormed a list of subjects on which we feel knowledgeable enough to teach someone else "how to".

In Music, we explored the musical element of melody and pitch.

Thirty-Fourth Day of School

In Engineering today, we completed our second engineering project. We focused on the engineering process: ask, brainstorm, construct/collaborate. design, evaluate.

Chapter 1 Math Test Results

Of 24 students taking the test, 23 passed with an adjusted score of 15 or better. One student achieved a perfect score.

Thirty-First Day of School

In Social Science, we discussed the meaning of the term tradition (tested).

In Math, we took the test for chapter 1.

Tomorrow we will take our informational writing pretest.

Twenty-Fourth Day of School

In Writing, we editted our work for spelling and learned a variety of spelling strategies.

In Social Science, we began exploring and comparing the past with the present beginning with the school experience of past and present (tested).

Math Test Results

Of 24 students taking the test, 24 students passed with an adjusted score of 11 or better. One student achieved a perfect score.

Twenty-Second Day of School

In Wrinting, each student had a piece reviewed for all necessary elements of a narrative. Parents of those students missing more than one element will be notified by an Unsatisfactory Notice.

In Health, we discussed and reported on good character as an element of good health.

Reminder: As discussed at Back-to-School Night, please make sure your child is wearing shoes with laces or Velcro straps for safety during P.E.

Twenty-First Day of School

Today in Writing, we worked with a checklist to make sure we had all of the necessary standardized elements for a narrative.

In Reading, we continued our work isolating the main idea of a selection and finding supporting details in a non-fiction selection.

In Science, we observed a collection of solids and generated a list of their properties.

Nineteenth Day of School

In Writing today, we reviewed the revision process.

No homework assigned tonight.

When you have your child retell a personal narrative at home, go ahead and have them "touch-and-talk". Meaning, have them retell the story as they would in class, with 3 stapled pages. As they turn the page, listen for their transition and note that "And then" is NOT an acceptable transition as discussed at Back-to-School night.

Eighteenth Day of School

In Writing today, we started the revision process. Revisions are completed in blue ink. Our process for narrative revisions is as follows:

1. Re-read
2. Ask:
• Is the story clear?
• Is it interesting?
• Is it complete?
3. If the the answer to any of these questions is 'no', then make additions/revisions where necessary.

Revisions may include, but may not be limited to, adding descriptions, adding quotations, making clarifications, and adding details.

Seventeenth Day of School

In Writing, we added closure to our narratives. We discussed closing by talking about how we felt about the experience or by using a superlative (which generally expresses an opinion or emotion/feeling about the event).

In Math we took our beginning of the year assessments. There are 2 components of the exam, problem solving and timed calculation.

In Science, we created a chart for our notebooks showing the relationship between the forms of matter.

Sixteenth Day of School

In Writing today, we added transitions to our narratives.

In Music, we explored the tempo.

In Social Science, we had our 4th Violence Prevention lesson.

Fifteenth Day of School

Today in Language Arts we started to become experts on the American hero Roberto Clemente. We generated questions (CCSS ELA-Literacy.RI.1.1) to use in an interview setting:

1. Who was Roberto Clemente?
2. Where was he born?
3. What was he known for?
4. What kind of person was he?
5. What did he want to do?
6. How did he die?
7. How was he honored?

In Writing, we drafted the events in our personal narratives (pps 2-3).

In Science, we began our unit on the forms of matter. We discussed 3 forms of matter and observed and compared how they behave in a container. We also discussed how one form of matter can be transformed into another.

Fourteenth Day of School

In Social Science today, we reviewed the responsibilities of good citizenship and contributing members of a community. We read about a child who became involved in her community by planting and donating vegetables. We took notes on our Scholastic Reader about school rules. We learned how to read our notes which include memorable icons. These notes may be shared at home with a family member.

In Writing, we drafted the first page of our narratives making sure to include at least one element of the setting and the main characters.

Writing Lessons Update

Tuesday, August 28th

We brainstormed a list of happenings which could help provide ideas for personal narrative stories.

Wednesday, August 29th

We touch and talked our stories to the paper. Many volunteered to share their settings (first page) aloud. We did not produce any writing on this day.

Thursday, August 30th

We began our plans for our first personal narrative.

Math Test Results

Of 24 students taking the test, 23 passed with an adjusted score of 9 or better. Two students achieved a perfect score.

Tenth Day of School

In Language Arts today we we read and created rhymes.

In Writing, we brainstormed lists of places we have been. These will be used to provide ideas later for personal narratives.

In Social Science, we had our 3rd lesson in violence prevention.

Our lesson today in P.E. was cooperation/teamwork.

Reminder: tonight is Back-to-School Night for parents.

Tomorrow will be our first Math test.

Ninth Day of School

Tonight's (weekend) homework is optional.

Reminder: Back-to-School meeting for parents is this Monday, August 27th. Please be in Room 11 at 5:30 p.m. Especially if you have never had a child in my classroom before.

Eighth Day of School

In Language Arts today, we reviewed the parts of  a narrative we will need to know in order to read and write stories in the classroom.

• The Beginning of the story includes:
• the setting (where and when)
• the characters (who)
• The Middle of the story tells the events or plot (what).
• The Ending explains the resolution.

When you have your child tell their stories at home, listen for these story elements. At Back-to-School Night I will explain our process for turning our oral stories into written text and what is needed to pass the writing standard.

Sixth Day of School

If your child had their homework returned, it needs to be completed and returned to school for credit.

In Music today, we had our first lesson on music notation learning a bit about measures, quarter notes, and quarter rests.

Fifth Day of School

We have nearly completed our initial Reading battery. There are 2 measures remaining.

We took our initial spelling inventory today. Tomorrow we will take our baseline assessment for narrative writing.

In folders, you will find tonight's Math homework and a reading log for the remainder of August.

In Social Science, we discussed our role as citizens of our country and the concepts of rights and responsibilities. We also had our second Second Step Violence Prevention Lesson.

Thank you to those parents who have returned all information forms and to those who have completed and returned Writing lists and folders.

At-Home Assignment #2

Please find the yellow folder sent home with your child today. Your task:

With your child's input, decorate all surfaces of your child's folder (inside and out) with some or all of the following items:

• Pictures of memorable events from your child's life
• Pictures or advertisements of your child's interests
• Pictures of topics which particularly interest your child (your child may have an interest in machines, space, dinosaurs, soccer, etc.)

Before placing something on the folder consider: how with this lend itself to a dicussion between your child and their teacher, or how will this help your child to brainstorm topics for writing?

 Return the decorated folder to school with your child by Monday, August 20, 2018.

You might notice that the folders are not very substantial in quality. After the folder is decorated you may want to consider adding a bit of clear packing tape over the items which you have attached. We will be using these folder the entire year.

Please post any questions you may have in the comment section below.

Important Scheduling Change

In order to avoid scheduling conflict with CHS Back-to-School Night, our Back-to-School Night has been changed to:

Monday, August 27, 2018

5:00-7:00

At-Home Assigment #1

Parent Assignment #1

The Memorable Moment

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be working on the genre of personal narratives.

Your Task:

With input from your child, over the course of the next few days, construct a list of memorable events. These individual events should be about moments which occurred across a time span of approximately 20 minutes maximum in length. Each event should have an identifiable emotion (or two) attached to it (fear, happiness, surprise).


Examples of events which will not work:
My Day at Disneyland
Christmas Morning
My Birthday Party
The Winning Game

Examples of events which will work:
Meeting Cinderella
Opening My Favorite Gift
Breaking the Pinata
Scoring the Winning Goal

Try to make a list of at least 10 memorable moments. Make a copy of the list for you to keep at home. Send one copy of the list to school with your child by Tuesday August 21st (sooner than that is fine if not better). We will refer to this list as our list of Memorable Moments. Hopefully your child will be able to construct at least 3 narratives from events in the list. They will eventually be choosing from among those narratives one or two which they focus on for elaboration, revising, and editing for publication.

For your child's homework over the next few weeks, choose one event from the list each day and have your child tell the story to you orally. Listen for the following characteristics/items in their speech:

Complete sentences (not run-on sentences or phrases)
A beginning, middle, and closure to the story
Details or examples of dialogue


 Again, if you have any questions regarding this important assignment feel free to post in the comment section. If you would like to post an example for comment I will be glad to review with my thoughts.

First Day of School

Today in Language Arts, we discussed 2 subsets of the English alphabet called vowels and consonants. It was surprising to note that no one knew the word consonants. We discussed how to answer questions in a complete sentence. We began our initial Reading battery of tests. We began our review of proper letter formation and began to learn the ASL alphabet.

In Math, we reviewed proper procedures for mini lesson discussions.

Welcome

This blog has been created to keep parents and guardians of the students in Room 11 at Caroldale Learning Community informed about daily activities in our classroom and school. Please discuss what you read here with your children when appropriate. Ask them clarifying questions. They don't necessarily need to know how you know what happened during their day, they should simply know that you are informed.

Feel free to  respond to what you read by posting a comment or question. Avoid including students' names when responding to posts. General comments and questions are best in this arena.

Please remember the most efficient way to communicate with me on timely issues is to write a note on or attached to your child's homework. For convenience, you might consider linking to this page through an rss feed or through the google reader application.

I am also available for conferences after school most days except Tuesdays. It is okay to drop by without an appointment with questions and concerns.