Ninetieth Day of School

We are halfway through our 1st grade year. Our last lesson about ancient civilizations taught us that the Egyptians were similar to the Mesopotamians in that they also a polytheistic society who attributed control of unexplained natural phenomenon to gods. Their gods often took the form of humans with various animal heads like a crocodile or birds. Jumping a few thousands years towards the present, we began our study of ancient cultures of the Americas beginning with the Mayans. We learned that:

• Mayans lived on the Yucatan Peninsula.
• were dependent on fish and maize.
• helped each other within the community in times of need.

We have just about completed our midyear Reading assessments. We will be taking our midyear Math assessments this week. Unsatisfactory notices will be sent home soon. The district requires that a notice be sent out when a student may receive a score of 1 or 2 on the following progress report. At this time, it is not necessary for a student to know they are getting an unsatisfactory notice if that should happen. 

In Science we have been modeling our solar system to learn why and how day turns to night as well as how seasons change.

In Writing we have begun our Opinion unit. Our first step was to generate a list of possible topic. Next was to select a topic and then form an opinion. Today, we planned our arguement which means outlining reasons for our opinion.

Eighty-Third Day of School

We have begun the second part of our Early World Civilizations unit in content knowledge. We are learning about and comparing Egyptian civilation to the Babylonians. We have learned that both civilations relied heavily and were built near great rivers. They each had writing systems for keeping historical records. In the course of our discussion we learned that there are 7 continents and 4 (or 5) oceans.

There is Math homework tonight. Two math reports will be scored and reported to Schoology soon.

Tomorrow (time and circumstance permitting) we will show what we know about opinion/arguement/persuasive writing as we take our writing pretest.

In Science we began a unit on earth science where we examine Earth's relationship to the sun. We learned the term 'perihelion'. And how important the tile of the Earth's axis is in determining our weather patterns.

We have begun our middle-of-the-year Reading battery assessment for mid-year reporting.

Seventy-Second Day of School

Technical issues have caused a number of delays in disseminating information.

We have completed revision and editing lessons for our informational pieces. Growth is clearly evident in several students' work.

There is Math homework tonight. If you are a parent wondering your child's homework may be, at least one set was left in the classroom.

In our content knowledge unit, we learned that people in the Mesopotamian region were plytheistic. When their knowledge (scientific) could not help explain phenomenon, it was attributed to gods and goddesses. 

The 1st grade team has decided that 1st graders will wear festive bright colors for the winter performance next week.

Our next goal in Learning ABC is level I. We are keeping an eye out for x10 and x15 badges as well. Also, the student with the most skills mastered between now and the end of January in IXL, will receive a prize.

Sixty-Seventh Day of School

In our content knowledge unit, we learned how records were kept from at least 5,500 years ago in Mesopotamia:

• Records were kept on clay tablets.
• Wedge-shaped impressions were made in the clay which could then later be read.

There is Math homework tonight.

Sixty-Sixth Day of School

Today we began new units in Math, content knowledge, and word study.

In content knowledge, we learn about and compare our oldest known world civilizations. Our study begins with Mesopotamia, specifically Babylon. We've learned that

• Mesopotamia laid between 2 rivers, Euphrates, Tigris.
• The city constructed a system of canals to divert water to land set back from the rivers.
• The rivers were used for transport to trade between regions.

In Math we discussed and practiced strategies for adding 3 or more addends.

There is Math homework tonight.

In Writing we selected one of our informational pieces for the revising process.

Sixty Second Day of School

 At the end of last week, we discussed the nervous system and how it ties together and controls all of the other systems.

In Writing over the past few days, we have added transitions, openings, and closings. Shortly we will select one of our topics in which to revise.

Math application:

Shanice has 9 pencils for school. She gives 4 of them to her friends. How many pencils does Shanice have left?

Scores for this work have been posted to Schoology.

Fifty-First Day of School

In Writing today, we added our opening. We learned that one way to write an informational opening is to describe the topic without naming it. Another word for opening is "hook," as we are hooking the reader into reading our text (Insects):

    They're creepy. They're crawly. They're everywhere! 

For our content curriculum, we discussed the circulatory system.

• The circulatory system is made up of the heart, veins, arteries, and capillaries.
• Blood moves through the circulatory system bringing nutrients and oxygen to all parts of the body.
• It takes approximately 1 minute for the heart to pump blood around the body and back.
• Bonus to students of parents reading the class notes: There are approximately 60,000 miles of arteries, veins, and capiliaries in the human body.

Forty-Fourth Day of School

In Writing, we touched and talked 2 things we know about our topics. A template will be sent home so that parents may follow along with the lessons.

For our content curriculum unit, we explored the digestive system:

• The digestive system helps to break down our food into nutrients which can be used for processes by the body.
• After being chewed, muscles move the food down the esophagus into the stomach staying there for 2-3 hours until it is turned to liquid.
• It then passes into the small intestine where the nutrients are picked up by the bloodstream.
• The entire process can take 2-3 days.

Math application problem:

    

    Jordan had a set of 6 pencils. His teacher gave him another set with 7 pencils. How many pencils did Jordan have now? (Strategy: think 'doubles plus one').

There is Math homework again tonight.

Room 11 will be open tomorrow night for Family Math Night from 5-6 p.m.

At-Home Project

Every year Room 11 has the tradition of electing a class president. This supports the government strand of our Social Science standards. Those students interested in running for Room 11 Class President 2022-23 will work on a speech at home to be delivered to the class on Monday, November 7, 2022. Speeches will be filmed using chroma key technology.

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 attempt to film our expert interviews if we are ready. This portion requires no at-home preparation and supports Speaking and Listening as well as Social Studies standards. Those students wanting their interviews to be edited will also need to remember not to wear green or yellow on that Monday. 

Thirty-Fifth Day of School

In our content knowledge unit we discussed the muscular system.

• There are voluntary and involuntary muscles
• There are 650 muscles in the body.
• Muscles expand and contract.
• Muscles are attched to bones by tendons in order to help them move.

Math application problem (20):

Laura had 5 fish. Her mother gave her 1 more. Laura’s brother, Franklin, had 1 fish. Their mother gave him 5 more. “That’s not fair! He has more fish than I do!”

Grades for 19 and 20 have been posted to Schoology.

Note: It should have been mentioned at Back-to-School that we do not celebrate individual birthdays in class. We will take time out to celebrate 3 events in the year: the last day before winter break, the 100th day of school, and the last day of instruction.

Thirtieth Day of School

In Writing today, we shared their editing and spelling strategies. Then some writers read their stories aloud to the class.

Math application problem:

    There are 10 swings on the playground, and 7 students are using them. How many swings        are empty?

So far, all of the application problems which have been turned in as homework have all been completed to the level of a score of 4.

Score for this application problem have been recorded to Schoology.

For our content knowledge unit, we discussed how the body is make up of organs which work together to complete a task, such as digestion, as part of a system. In the body, systems network togther. These are key concepts for the unit as well as key vocabulary.

For Visual Art, we practiced whole figure gesture sketching to show bodies in action. This will come in handy for future planning as part of the writing process.

Twenty-Eighth Day of School

Today in Writing, many students were ready to move on to the editing process with red pens. The first step was to make sure proper nouns and personal pronoun 'I' were capitalized. The next step was to circle any words which look like they may be misspelled. The third step was to apply spelling strategies to see if it was possible to come closer to the standard spelling of the misspelled words. Our spelling strategies are:

• Say the word slowly. Listen carefully for all sounds.
• Look for where you think the word might be.
• Clap the syllables. Spell each syllable.
• Check the Sound Spelling Cards for other spellings of sounds.
• Write the word 3 different ways. Pick the one which looks best.
• Recall a spelling rule or hint. (i before e...)

Today we opened our new content knowledge unit on the human body. We charted what we thought we knew about the body and then what we wondered. There were many wonderings about things that could go wrong, such as illnesses.

Nineteenth Day of School

In Writing on Friday, we carefully gave voice to our selected story through the process of touch-and-talk. We touch the planning area of the first page with our finger and tell the setting and characters in one sentence (when, where, and who: Last Friday, my family and I went to Target.). On the next page, we touch the planning area and tell what happened first (generally only one sentence). On the last page, we tell what happened next (generally only one sentence.)

Today in Writing, we planned our writing through the process of quick-sketching and labeling. It is emphasized that this is in no way an illustration to the story. We are simply making notes in the box as to what will be written on the page. We might use symbols or icons to outline our ideas. We do this for each of the 3 pages.

The rubric scores for our Math fluency quiz on Friday has been posted to Schoology. There is Math homework tonight.

In Social Science, we began our examination of the changes of things over time by comparing old photos to the present while listening to descriptions. We then made notes of differences we noticed.

For discussion at home:

• How has school changed from the past to the present?
• How has transportation changed over time?

Eleventh Day of School

 We listened to the fable A wolf in Sheeps Clothing. Moral: Things aren't always as they appear. Don't pretend to be something you're not; you may end up losing in the end.

In Science, we discussed the difference between human and animal survival needs.

There is Math homework tonight.

Don't forget, when homework is light, have your child retell one of the stories from their Memorable Moments list.

Ninth Day of School

 We got a lot done today.

Please find flyer for LAUSD interent and devices available. Pre-register at device.lausd.net.

A parent asked about qr codes. Those will soon be made and distributed.

We have been taking our reading foundations battery of tests and are almost completed. Your child's progress will be reported as a rubric score on several measures to Schoology.

We listened to the story the Dog in the Manger, from which we learned about personification as a literary device.

We began our Life Science unit. We will be studying plant and animal defenses and learning how to generate questions as scientists. Our unit focus question: How do plants and animals survive?

We worked independently on a Math report. A rubric score is posted to Schoology to show our independent work progress. The two most common errors were not providing an answer to the question and/or showing math work unrelated to the question.

Math Workshop question:

    There were 7 horses on a carousel. Five of the horses had a child riding on it. How many     horses did not have a child riding it?

There is Math homework for tonight.

Seventh Day of School

Special 'thank you' to the parents who took time out of their day to come to our Back-to-School Night. I'm hoping this is the start of a great year. I aim to make it as stress free and as fun as possible.

One thing I forgot to talk about in Unsatisfactory Notices. What I mention to parents' about these is that they are required communications by the district to inform parents that there may be a chance your child could be getting a 1 or 2 on their next progress report in the subject indicated on the communication and there is still time to focus on that area before final grades for the period are posted, albeit not a great amount of time. It is not necessary to communicate the contents of the 'Unsat. Notices' with a 1st grade child. The information is primarily for the parent.

Today we listened to the story, The Goose that Layed the Golden Egg. Moral: People who are greedy risk losing everything.