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A VERY BUSY WEEK!

4/24/2015

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On top of being a crazy busy week, our schedule was also different because of state testing in third and fourth grade. This changed things up a little in our room and made our week seem to go by even quicker than usual (if that's possible!) In Room 203 we continued to write realistic fiction stories this week. Students published one of their favorite books from their own series. Next week, they will share one of their books and then we will start writing our very own chapter books!!! I always love this point of the year because the students are feeling more confident in their writing and they LOVE sharing their stories! It is very bittersweet at the same time because I only have four more weeks with my kiddos! I am just letting you know now, I will probably cry on the last day of school! 
In reading, were still focusing on book in a series so we let the students pick which series they would like to focus on. Ms. Smith was using books from the Frog and Toad series, Ms. Wilks read books from the Henry and Mudge collection, and I read books from .... can you guess???? The Piggie and Gerald series by my absolute favorite, Mo Willems. Students signed up for which series they wanted to read from and switched classes for our whole-group reading lessons. This was a lot of fun!!! 
We also started a new math unit on fractions and equal parts this week. My students are doing excellent with this concept!

Weekly News

Spring Picture Orders
Your child’s spring picture proofs came home this week. If you would like to order, please send in your money and order form by April 27th.  

WALKING FIELD TRIP
We will be walking to Zott’s on Friday, May 8th. You are welcome to join us if you would like! We will leave the school at 2:00, enjoy our ice cream outside, and then return to the school. The cost will be $1 per child. An order form and permission slip will come home next week! 

READING ASSESSMENT
Every first grader will take our reading assessment (DRA) the week of May 4th.  Your student has taken this in kindergarten and also in first grade. There are several things that you can do at home to help your child prepare for their assessment:

  •  Have your student retell books in sequence, using detail (names, places, etc)
  • Have your child identify their favorite part and provide a reason
  •  Identify the author’s purpose and moral of the story— or what the author is trying to teach the reader
 
HELPER SCHEDULE
Mon.– Ethan
Tues.–  Jacob
Wed.– Jarrett
Thurs.– Jessa
Fri.–  Karlie


 

 

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Genius Hour Days 2 and 3

4/10/2015

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We had a SUPER busy week! This week we were focusing on writing realistic fiction series books in first grade. We started this process by reading books with fictional characters that we could connect with. Then the class spent some time developing their own fictional characters. They drew a picture of what they imagine that their character would look like and made a list of adjectives to describe them. Next, they started brainstorming adventures that their character could encounter. The students took all of this and wrote a couple of books about their new friends. They did a FANTASTIC job with this. I have some incredibly creative kiddos and this type of writing really showcases what they are capable of doing! Last, the students took some time to share their stories with each other. During this time they asked each other some great questions, offered some suggestions, and helped each other make their stories even better. 

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Genius Hour Updates!

I would like to welcome not only one guest student blogger this week but TWO! Cozette wrote about day 2 of Genius Hour and Cassidy will be sharing about our third day. We are LOVING it. I wish you could hear the class cheer when I tell them that it is Genius Hour day during our morning meeting time. Even students that are not always the most motivated are excited about their projects and learning more. Why did I not start this sooner?!?! 

Day 2 - by Cozette


On the 2 day of genius hour our we started writing questions about our questions. People pick how to take  care  of pet’s  ,  how do tornadoes  start ,  how to take care of the rain forest  . Mine is how to take care of  a pet.  I picked a horse because I’m good at drawing them and because  I like them a lot.   They make me feel brit. We are starting to write about Genius Hour on the computer. I’m writing this right now.  That’s what happened on the 2 day of Genius Hour!

Day 3 - by Cassidy

On day three in Genius Hour  with Mrs. Hillenburg we  looked for books and then we read some of the books that we got. Then we put facts that we learned on pieces of paper. Some were about sports.  We got to change are books out and pick other ones so we had different facts from different books.  You got 2 or 3 or 5 books.  We didn't get to color because we didn't have time.  We got to color on the other ones.  On the other ones we did we got to make what we thought our poster was going to look like. Mine is about sports and we colored those. Torah did sports, Rigby did inventions, Ethan did football Roman did guns.  So in Genius Hour if  you could get 5 books and turn in 2 books  because you  can’t  get 5 books  to  look at.  She wanted us to get  2 books .  I  didn't  get as many  facts  done because  we didn't  have much  time.  So for Genius Hour  that is what we did on day three in the library.  

This Week's News...

BOX TOPS
Don’t forget to send in your Box Tops for our school-wide collection. There is a special bonus this month!!! Each Box Top that is cut out / trimmed counts as TWO points in our Box Top total!!! 

Ask your students about oviparous animals, addition WITH regrouping (they are doing a super job with this), writing realistic fiction stories, our special visitor on Thursday, and spring pictures! It was a great week!!! 

HELPER SCHEDULE

Mon.– Torah
Tues.–  Travis
Wed.– Grace Happy Birthday!
Thurs.– Tylor
Fri.–  Xavier

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A GENIUS IDEA

4/2/2015

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Genius Hour has taken off in our room and the students could not be more excited! One night this week, I was trying to fall asleep but my mind just kept going back to Genius Hour and how hard the students are working. Another school contacted us to see if we would be willing to share our Genius Hour experience with them. While that is super exciting, it is also a little nerve wracking! I am new to this. I have never done it before. What if I have nothing valuable to share? What if I cannot answer their questions? And then it hit me... I don't have to! Genius Hour is all about the kids. They are in control here (and honestly, that has been the most challenging part for me!) They get to be the decision makers, the planners, the researchers - the masterminds. So.... why don't THEY share THEIR experiences?!?! Thursday night I made the decision to let my students take over my blog and write guest posts about Genius Hour. So... here we go!!! Please welcome my first guest blogger... Mr. Keegan C!

Getting Started 

First, we got put in a group of 6 or less. Then, we went to computer lab and drew a picture of our subject. Each group went to a different place. Next, we got 5 minutes to look up our subject. Be for we got to look up our subject we had to have 3 things written down about what we knew. Then, after 30 minutes we go back to our class room. We do this 2 times a week for 30 minutes every Tuesday and Thursday each week. Next time all of our time we will look up our subjects for another 30 minutes. Sometimes we will only do it 1 time a week. I think it is going to be FUN!

WOW! Great job, Keegan! 
Stayed tuned for another guest blogger next week! I hope we can help keep you in the loop by sharing a little about our work time each week. As Keegan mentioned, next week we will only get to meet with our groups once due to our Spring Concert practice schedule. 

Weekly News

This week we were very busy learning all about life cycles! We talked about the life cycle of a chicken, butterfly and frog. We also learned about different types of poetry. We even wrote our own Haiku, Cinquain, and Bio Poems! We started working on two-digit addition without regrouping but next week we will move to regrouping! This can be very tricky and is a good skill to practice at home!!! 
NO SCHOOL
Don’t forget… school will not be in session tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend!

 SPRING CONCERT
The first graders have been working very hard on their songs for the Willard East Spring Concert! Join us on Tuesday, April 7th as we show you what we have been working so hard on! Please make sure that your child is at the high school gymnasium at 6:45. We will have an assigned area to meet. We will be practicing in the high school gym during school on Tuesday—so your child will know exactly where to go! Each student needs to wear his or her Friday shirt OR a plain back shirt if needed. After singing, your child will return to our assigned area to watch the remainder of the concert. You will pick up your student from me after the concert is over.
 
SPRING PICTURE DAY
Our spring pictures will be on Thursday, April 9th.
 
GENIUS HOUR
We dove in and got busy with Genius Hour this week! Each student went to their group on Tuesday and Thursday and started working on their project. Ask your student what they will be researching and what type of project they will be making! 
We do have a few Genius Hour needs.
 If you feel led to donate, we are in need of white model magic, washable markers, and white poster board.
THANK YOU!

HELPER SCHEDULE
Mon.– Kaylee
Tues.–  Keegan
Wed.– Noah
Thurs.– Nora
Fri.–  Rigby

 

 

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A Special Day for the Kramers

4/2/2015

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One of my absolute favorite parts about my job is building relationships with my students and their families. I hear all kinds of stories about your families (don't worry... I don't believe them all) and I am sure you hear lots of things about Mrs. Kramer at school (don't believe those all either) .... but very rarely do I get to share pieces of my home with you. 
April 3 marks one of the most important days in my life. It was on April 3, 2014 that Libby officially became a Kramer. I mean, we considered her a Kramer from day one (about 8 months prior) and we became "mom" and "dad" after just a few days- but April 3 it all became official according to the legal system! Matt and I had been praying for Libby long before we knew her name or her story. She is an absolute amazing person and a HUGE blessing to those around her. I know this has nothing to do with school, our classroom, or common core standards - but I wanted to just take a minute to share and count my blessings. 
If you ever have questions about fostering or adoption, please let me know! It has changed our lives for the best and I consider it to be one of the absolute best decisions that Matt and I have made.  
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