Pebbles, Sand, and Silt

Today we conducted our first experiment in the Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Science kit.  Our investigation involved sifting and sorting a river rock mixture using three different size screens.

Students were asked to sift as many different sizes of pebbles, gravel, and sand as they could and to separate them into cups.

 
Next, they had to choose a label for each cup.

There were five categories at the end of the investigation.

The big idea of this lesson is that large rocks break up over time and eventually turn into gravel and then sand.  The saying to remember this is:

Rocks into pebbles,
Pebbles into sand.
I really hold a million,
Rocks in my hand.

The students had a blast during this lesson.  Special thanks to Mr. Dyer for helping us with sifting and sorting.  I was so impressed with the team work the students showed during the clean up of this lesson!  As you can imagine there was sand and gravel all over the room!  But by 3:25 the room was spotless again.  What a great class!  Stay tuned for the Science Notebook portion of this lesson.  Have a great weekend!
Mrs. McAuliffe

Counting With Your Child

Dear parents,
We are working on counting by 1's, 10's, 5's and 2's in math.  Counting by 5's will be especially important as we begin working with nickels and telling time with analog clocks.  Practice counting by 1's,  5's and 10's to 100 and by 2's to 40.  A great place to practice is in the car while driving or while waiting in line at stores. Keep up the great counting at home!   Thank you!
Mrs. McAuliffe

Friday News

Hello everyone!  I hope you have plans to enjoy the warm weather ahead this weekend.  I have just a few tidbits of information I would like to share:
Friday passbacks will resume next Friday.  There was a little confusion with the substitute today but all is well and the papers will be double the amount next Friday.
Mrs. Hart covered our class today while I was at a training in the morning.  In the late morning and afternoon, I was able to work with the students one on one for their Aims Web Early Literacy Testing.  I have four different sets of scores that I will be sharing with you at conference time.  
Next week we will be introducing our first Science kit, "Pebbles, Sand, and Silt".  If anyone is making a last run to the beach this weekend, be sure to collect some interesting rocks and send them in next week to share.
Lastly, thanks to everyone for coming to our open house.  I really appreciate your support and interest in the programs we are implementing this year.  Have a great weekend!
Mrs. McAuliffe

Supplies

Thank you so much for helping us stock the classroom full of supplies.  The students especially love the mechanical pencils!  I have always wanted to try them with first grade and I am so glad I did. They help eliminate the long line at the pencil sharpener.  The small cups have also come in very handy during these hot and humid last weeks of summer.  Everyday after recess when the students come in we use the antibacterial hand wipes for our face, hands, and desk.  I am hoping this helps keep everyone healthy and germ free this year. :)
Mrs. McAuliffe

3 Ways to Read a Book - From The Daily 5

Hello!  Today the students and I discussed the three ways to read a book.  They include:

1.  Read the pictures:  commenting briefly about the pictures in a book 
generates vocabulary associated with the story and activates prior knowledge.  It also allows students to make inferences and ask questions, which aids in comprehension.
2.  Read the words:  students read the words  if the book is at their level or with the help of an adult if it is not.
3.  Retell the story:  Students take a "picture walk" through the book again but this time they comment on each page by rephrasing the story in their own words.

Feel free to practice this strategy at home whenever possible or model if for your child.  "Three ways to read a book" is one way to foster reading confidence and independence. Try covering up the words for fun and make up your own story to go with the pictures.  Then read the story to see if your ideas were the same as the author's .  Happy reading everyone!
Thanks,
Mrs. McAuliffe

First Day

     We had a fantastic start in first grade today!  The students worked hard on generating a list of classroom rules and following them in order to stay on our class bee hive.  We read the story "First Day Jitters" by Julie Danneberg.  Ask your child to tell you about the "surprise ending".  Next, they brainstormed a list of words to describe all of our feelings today.  Some of the words included:  happy, tired, hungry, excited, nervous, sad, and scared.  The students wrote about how they were feeling using the vocabulary we generated and drew a picture to match their text.
     The day was quite long for many, especially those who were used to half day kindergarten.  Many of them kept wondering when they were getting back on the bus!  This is certainly a big adjustment but I must say they did rise to the occasion.    
     The green folders that went  home today are for official school housekeeping.  Tomorrow I will be sending our first grade orange folders that will go back and forth daily (except Friday night).  Have a great night!
Thank you,
Mrs. McAuliffe