Mrs. Cross' Class Blog

Monday, August 29, 2011

Reminders

School pictures are TOMORROW (Tuesday)!!!!
Be sure to return money if you want to purchase your child's photo. We will also be taking our class picture, so everyone please dress nicely! This stays in my office forever! :)

On Friday, we learned about using a number line. We are still comparing numbers.

Mrs. Cross: "3 is to the right of 2 and the left of 4, so 3 is between..."
Students: "McDonald's?" :)

Maverick lead the class

The students straightened this area so nicely! :) I found their decorating handiwork later and it made me smile.

Birthday time!

We studied about characters this week. We created a character web about The Cat in the Hat.

If you are looking for new ways to study spelling words, be sure to check out SPELLING CITY. Click here to play games with this week's words!

Reading:	Realism vs. Fantasy Summarize
Writing:	Naming parts of sentences
Phonics:	Short i; Final x /ks/ (another short I game)
Math:	We will finish up Topic 2: Comparing & Ordering Numbers and start on Topic 3: Addition!
Social Studies	Careers
Science:	How animals survive in their environments

Target skills for the week & some game links provided by Mrs. Parker's Pandas.

Password for August 29-September 2: FIX

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Math: Least, Between, & Greatest

Bree helped us record our answers

We took turns acting out the math

Khloe pointed out that not only were the cube trains in order from least to greatest, but so was the students' height! :) My class is so smart!

J.C.'s train had the greatest number of cubes. The volunteers got to pick the number of cubes in their "cube train". The class was AMAZED that J.C.'s had 10 whole cubes! It was huge! 1st graders are the best.

But we had to count just to make sure.

A few of our lovely volunteers! We had many more students volunteering, but this was the only time I had my camera right there. We also acted the problems out with students moving around on the fish number line on our floor.

I'm also throwing in an extra pic of reading from today:

We love our new book boxes!

Please be sure to read "Sam Come Back!" tonight and sign the inside of your student's reading book.

Password for August 22-26: SAM

The "blog password" is a fun way for students to remind parents to check out the blog and what they have been learning at school. The class blog allows for the student to share with their parents and family what they have learned in 1st grade that week. At the end of each blog post there will be a "blog password," when the student tells me the password at school (remember to whisper, it's top secret :D ) they will receive a special prize.

*Blog password concept & graphic are from Ms. Marzoni's amazing blog from when I worked with her in Mississippi!

Scholastic book orders are due Friday!

Click "Comments" to leave some feedback! :) I love blog visitors!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Growing Readers

This week the students are learning all sorts of new things about reading!
We will be using The Daily 5 as our centers everyday. This means that everyday all students will: read to self, buddy read, listen to reading, do word work and writing activities. The students are learning to build stamina reading longer and longer each day! We also learn the proper way to select a buddy and read with a buddy.
In other exciting classroom news, our library will be unveiled this week! Check out our new library in the pictures.
Reading on PhotoPeach

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Using Math Counters

Students get hands-on as we explore numbers this week. We learned about number patterns, 10 frames, and spatial reasoning.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Vote for Mrs. Cross' Blog!

Mrs. Cross' Blog Has Been Nominated!

Please vote for Teaching Happily Ever After in the 2011 Really Good Classroom Blog Context from July 1st- July 7th. The winner receives $75 of free products from Really Good Stuff Teacher Supply Company.

Thanks for your vote!

Summer Learning Activities To Do With Your Child

Here are some ways that you can keep your child engaged at while at home this summer:

Reading

Please make sure that your child reads for at least 20-30 minutes daily (can be broken down into smaller amounts). It is also important that you include time to: read to your child, read with your child, and have your child read to you. They can also read to pets or stuffed animals too! In addition, they can spend some time listening to reading (internet sites or audio books) which helps them to become better readers as well. I will blog at another time with some great websites for this.
Check out your local library! Although rereading books is very important for students developing fluency, being engaged in reading is very important as well. Before you go, have your child make a list: topics that they want to learn about, favorite authors, and any books that have been on their wishlist.

Writing

Some children naturally love writing, and others...not so much. You can help engage them however! Sometimes buying a special journal will help make them want to spend time writing in it.
Stationary can be an excellent way for children to see a purpose, and to practice writing to family and friends who live anywhere. They can practice their writing skills electronically too by e-mailing.
Stickers and stamps can also be great incentives. Many teachers (including myself) use them in the classroom. You can have your child choose a few to make a picture about, and then have them write about their picture.
Going grovery shopping? Have your child help to make the grocery list, and then mark items off after you find them in the store.

Word Study

Most districts in this area have similar expectations when it comes to being able to spell words. Most districts expect that students leaving kindergarten know the first 25-30 words on the "Fry List," first 100 by the end of 1st grade, first 200 by the end of 2nd grade, and the first 300 by the end of 3rd grade. I will include more ways to practice at home on a later blog.
There are a lot of fun ways that children can practice these words at home! Talking paintbrushes and "painting" water words onto the sidewalk is one way. They can also take sidewalk chalk and write them out as well.
If your child likes technology, Spelling City is a great website where their are pre-programmed list, or you can customize a list with the words that your child needs to practice.
This site also offers a variety of ideas to practice those words at home over the summer.

Math

Xtramath is a fantastic website which pre-tests your child on their +,-,x, and / skills (it starts with addition and then goes from their as needed). This site keeps track of which facts your child knows, and then in small amounts, teaches them new facts until they master them. One session take about 10 minutes a day, but you can do it more often than that. I know that it really helped my 1st graders this year to develop their fact fluency!
Review shapes and go on a shape hunt around your community with a camera. You can then make the pictures into a "all about shapes" book integrating literacy.
Practice counting...you can print off/copy multiple sheets and have your child set a goal for how high they will be able to count by the end of summer. It is important that they can do it both orally, and in writing.

Science

This is a great time to try out some science experiments while at home! This site has somegreat ideas!

Social Studies

Explore your community!
Discuss the different goods and services that are provided around the community.
If you travel at all, compare and contrast your community with the community that you visit. Some children enjoy making scrapbooks about their travels as well which integrates writing.

Additional Summer Learning Resources