Updates for Aug. 20th-24th

Hello families.  We are now entering our second full week of school.  I know our first graders all looked a little tired on Friday afternoon, trying to get back into the routine of full school weeks.  This week should be a little easier.  At the same time, we will be adding more to our regular daily routines.  This will include homework.  Please read on to learn more.

Math:  The students will be discovering all the ways there are to make 6, 7, 8, and 9 (ex: 6 is 4+2, 3+3, 6+0, etc...) and learning that the inverse answer is the same as the original answer (if 4+2 are parts of 6 so are 2+4).  Students will continue to write number bonds for these problems.  Students will also be making their own rekenek bracelet's to help us start working in groups of 10, and we will generate all expressions that equal 10.  At the end of all this we should be taking our first math test of the year, either on Monday or on Friday.  

ELA:   This week I had a parent ask me what ELA stands for.  This was a great question, and I apologize for not clarifying when I use teacher acronyms at times.  ELA stands for English Language Arts, and covers everything in our reading, writing, and grammar block of the day.  This week we will begin our brand NEW reading program, Nat Geo Reach for Reading.  This means the kids will start reading from our new readers, as well begin our spelling program.  During Daily 5 we will learn how to Read to Self (building stamina so we learn how to read for longer periods of time everyday), Read to Someone (which has very specific roles for each child, and very specific language for them to use), and Word Work (where the students have 6 options to choose from to help learn their weekly spelling words).  Again, if you want to come learn about Daily 5, drop on in, my door is always open.

Social Studies:  In tandem with our ELA, we will begin our social studies unit on our families.  What makes a family, traditions in families, and what our families look likes.

Homework:  The moment we have all been waiting for.  We will begin homework this week.  In order for your child to begin establishing healthy study habits now it is best to start developing some sort of homework routine.  Maybe it is a snack and then homework, or first thing after dinner.  Up to you, but a regular spot to work is a good idea.  Our homework will consist of writing our spelling words daily, writing a sentence daily, and a page or so of math.  The sentence is to be checked for capitalization, spacing, letters formed correctly, and proper punctuation at the end.  The math comes straight from our math program, and will always be a review of a concept we already learned in class.  Sometimes the concepts can be confusing to us grown-ups, or we may not be quite clear on what is being asked of our students.  If you visit my staff page via the Marshall website there is a link titled Eureka math homework help.  I have also attached the link here -             https://www.fusd1.org/Page/10110.  The videos have a lady who explains the lesson both visually and orally, and I would suggest watching these if you need any homework assistance.  Also, if you look at the top of your homework page it will tell you the Module (1-1 means first grade module 1) and the lesson that you need to click on.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

Open House:  Wednesday, August 29th will be Marshall's Open House.  Our first with Principal Reasor. 😀 The plan is to begin in the gym at 5:30 for a welcoming announcement from Mrs. Reasor and then we will head to our classroom from there so your child can show you around.  Hope to see everyone there!

Supplies:  I just wanted to say a huge thank you once again to all my families for everything you donated for our class!  We are very well stocked and should be for a while!  We even have hand sanitizer.  The only thing we do not have is pencil top erasers.  Just FYI, I looked for some this morning while I was at target, and they did not have any. So if you happen to find some at another store and don't mind, please pick up a pack or two.  Thanks again room 9 families!

Checking Backpacks:  Our students are still trying to learn what goes home and what stays at school.  The only type of folder that should be going home is the blue agenda folder, and now the yellow homework folder.  Please check your child's backpack for any other folder they may have taken home by mistake.  Blue to be finished folders, green math folders, composition books, or any other color or type of folder/writing book stays at school.  I mention this because I have several folders missing, so if you would kindly check your child's backpack and return anything that is not an agenda folder, I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you for helping with this!

Save the Date:

• Tuesday, August 28th - 10% Tuesday Marshall Fundraiser @ Fratelli's Downtown Location

• Wednesday, August 29th - Open House - 5:30-7:00 pm

• Monday, September 3rd - School Closed - Labor Day

Hope everyone has had a restful weekend! -Ms. Shaw

First 2 Days of School

Hello Marshall room 9 families.  The first two days of school were a huge success.  There were a few nerves at first, but after a very short while everyone settled down and it was all smiles from there.  I have included a few pictures from our first day of school at the end, but first a preview of what our first full week will look like.

Math:  We are diving right into our math curriculum this upcoming week.  We will be looking at embedded numbers, which means seeing parts inside of whole numbers (ex: inside of 5 we have the parts of 4 and 1, or 3 and 2, etc...).  We will also focus on making number bonds from the whole number and it's embedded parts.  Understanding number bonds now is very important because they will be part of nearly everything we do math for pretty much the rest of the year.

ELA:  The students will begin learning the Daily 5 process this week.  Along with our newly adopted curriculum (which we will start next week) I will use a variety of methods to teach your child how to read this year.  One of the methods that I have found to be proven most effective is Daily 5/CAFE.  Daily 5 is a series of 5 choices your child will make everyday during part of our ELA time.  CAFE is the methods I will teach them to implement while they are reading during Daily 5.  It may sound like a lot, but I will explain each part here in the blog as we come to it.  You may also feel free to stop by the classroom any day before or after class and I will be happy to explain it in detail.  This week during Daily 5 the students will learn how to read to self, which is broken into 3 parts - read the words, read the pictures, and retell the story.  During our ELA we will also begin working on grammar, focusing on learning about verbs, verbs in their infinitive form, and nouns.  These are just concept lessons, and we will come back and revisit them again throughout the year.

• Please note that since we are just beginning math and because we will not begin our regular ELA curriculum until next week there will NOT be homework until next week.  Again, homework will not begin until next week.  

Science:  We will be combining a fun science lesson with our growth mindset studies this week.  Growth mindset is a belief that your basic abilities come from dedication and hard work.  In first grade we start talking to ourselves about how you can train your brain by learning, how mistakes are proof that you are trying.  Last week we started a book called, "My Fantastic, Elastic Brain."  We learned about the different parts of the brain, and what those parts are in charge of and how they make us, well...us.  We will finish the book this week and learn about how we can help our brains grow through learning and with hard work.  We will learn how mistakes are the best ways to help our brains grow, and how every time we make a mistake it's ok because we learn what not to do and our brains are growing!  I love this so much!  Then we will do a fun science experiment of growing crystals (just like we grow our knowledge, and our brains).  Growth mindset will be a concept we will work on throughout the year, focusing on more ideas such as the power of yet, one of my favorites, and incorporating it with as much curriculum as possible (such as STEM challenges and ELA).  Again, I will keep posted here in the blog of these activities.  

Supplies:  Thank you to everyone who donated supplies from the extra supplies list.  We are very well stocked on everything from snacks to paper towels and everything in between!  I really appreciate your generosity.  If/when we should run out of something I will post it here.  There are 3 things that I did forget to put on the original mailed out list.  Only one will you need to worry about getting for your child.  The other two are needed but optional.  

• Earbuds - needed for each child during Daily 5.  Please bring in ASAP.
• Hand Sanitizer - Optional 
• Pencil Top Erasers - Optional

If you already purchased a ton of items, please do not worry about purchasing either of the optional items.  Let's spread the love!  Also, speaking of mailed supply lists, some of you stated that you did not receive a letter/info in the mail and asked for a copy.  I was not able to get to this before the end of the school week, but there are copies in your child's cubbies now.  If for any reason you need one and one still does not make it home to you, write me a note in the agenda and I will put a copy in there for you. 

Paperwork:  A set of paperwork went home in your child's agenda, attached to a letter explaining the agenda folder.  Please fill out and return those forms ASAP!  Also, as soon as you fill out the free and reduced lunch form on line, write me a note in the agenda so I can check it on my list that you did this.  Here is the link to the online form,   http://www.heartlandapps.com. This is one of the most important forms, because the more families that qualify for free and reduced lunch, the more Title 1 funds Marshall school receives.  These monies are used for so many things that directly impact your child's education here at Marshall.  These funds are used for our Magnet programs, including Suzuki Violin, which each K-2 student participates in for free twice a week, among a myriad of other programs and people that benefit all students here at Marshall.  Even if you do not think you will qualify, please take a minute to fill out the form anyway.  I did not think I would qualify when my son attended, and it turned out he was eligible for reduced pricing.  Although he ate home lunch, I was happy knowing that our completed form was helping Marshall earn funding.  Again, thank you for your time in doing this.  

Save the Date:

• Wednesday, August 29th - Open House 5:30-7:00 PM 

• Monday, September 3rd - School Closed - Labor Day 

First Day Jitters:  On the first day of school we read a book called, "First Day Jitters."  At the end it turns out it is the teacher who is nervous about the first day of school, which the kids thought was pretty funny.  Then we talked about who had first day jitters, who was excited, etc.  We graphed our feeling about the first day of school and made and tasted Jitter Juice, to help get rid of any left over jitters from the morning.  What do you know, jitter juice magically worked and made us all feel calmer and happier about school.  Check out the pictures from some of our first day jitter activities below...

One more thing I would like to mention is how well these students are doing with the flexible seating.  We went over how the seating will work, and my expectations for choosing and keeping a seat.  The students have done an amazing job sitting and listening respectfully in their spots and caring for their supplies.  I have truly enjoyed the start of this school year and that is because of these students.  They are good listeners, kind and respectful, and so very sweet!  I cannot wait for our year together! -Ms. Shaw