Jan 25-29

This week we used as a review week and a catch up week since we did not have school on Friday. We worked on our Journeys test on Tuesday. Typically I like to correct the test together, as a class. This way we can talk about the incorrect answer choices and discuss why they may have chosen that answer. It helps me to understand the students’ thinking. We did start a new spelling pattern this week, long o. We are learning a lot about the silent -e that makes the vowel say it’s name. I love when when we get into the long vowel patterns for phonics because it opens up a new skill for them to use while reading! I always notice that they seem to easily start reading those long vowel patterns when they’re doing their independent reading.

We also started our animal reports this week. Last week students chose their animals and I showed them how to first ask questions about the animal will be researching. Generating questions is a great way to start their research. It provides a baseline for them to focus on while doing their research. The kids BLEW ME AWAY while doing their research. They were SO into it and were excited about what they were learning. I would hear things like “Ms. Jadyn, did you know that giraffes have black toungues?!” or “Ms. Jadyn, did you know that a Kodiak Bear is the biggest bear in the world?” They are taking this so seriously and are really loving it. Even though this is a pretty hard concept for first graders since they’re required to do a lot of reading and writing, they have accepted the challenge and have surpassed my expectations! I’ve included a few pictures of our research.

I want to congratulate Lilly Ross and Ryan Cohen. They were our two 1st grade class representatives these past two months. Lilly did December and Ryan was for January. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a picture of Lilly at the meeting but I did catch Ryan yesterday. 🙂

Have a great weekend. Shabbat Shalom!