Edible Book Report

Edible Book Festival

As we reach the end of the school year, we will be taking a look back at all the wonderful books we have read this year.  To celebrate our reading, each student will choose one of their favorite books they have read in first grade and complete an edible book review.  

Here is how an edible book review works:

• Students choose a book they would like to reread and write a short summary including their favorite part of the book and why they choose it (forms for the summary will be coming home shortly).  Students will begin their summaries in school and then bring them home to complete.  

• After completing a short review, students will need to make something edible that represents a theme, character, setting, ect. from the book.  For example, if a student reads The Gingerbread Man they may make gingerbread cookies for the class.  

• Follow the link below for some other ideas.  Keep in mind that the books through the link are not first grade books but rather the projects provide wonderful examples of the possibilities.  (http://www.barrow.k12.ga.us/wbms/MediaCenter/html/edible_book_project_4.html) 

• When creating the edible portion please make enough goodies for 13 students in our class as well as any parent visitors that may like a try!  

• Please remember students are the “drivers” of this project.  Help and collaboration is encouraged, however, the ideas should be those of the students. 

• Most importantly, students should have fun with this project! Students have worked very hard this year. This is a way to celebrate our accomplishments this year in reading.  

• All projects will be due on Friday, June 8.  Parents are invited for the festival celebration which will be held at 1:30 that afternoon in our classrooms.  Students will have a chance to share their book reviews and edible projects with parents and classmates!

If you have any questions or concerns as always please feel free to contact me at rfield@rsd6.org, cmcintire@rsd6.org, or (860) 491-6020.    Thank you for your support.  We look forward to seeing everyone on Friday, June 8.

~Miss. Field & Mrs. McIntire

Week of June 4-8

Dear Parents,

June is here!  With only a few weeks left in first grade we are busy completing final projects and starting to reflect back on what we have learned this year.  

A few reminders for the remainder of the year: 

• Friday, June 8^th- Reading Celebration (Edible Projects) at 1:30 p.m. in the classroom
• Saturday, June 9^th- Kids-Marathon
• Tuesday, June 12^th – Enrichment program (Earth Balloon) at 1:30 p.m. in the gym
• Wednesday, June 13^th- Field Day (Half day)
• Thursday, June 14^th- LAST DAY OF SCHOOL (Half day), 9:15 Awards Assembly, Report Cards come home

Here is a look at the weeks left in school:

Reading: Students have enjoyed rereading books we have read together this year.  For the next two weeks we will complete our Edible Book Reviews, reflect on how we have grown as readers, and look ahead to make plans for summer reading.  Students will have a chance to work on their edible summaries inside and outside of school.  We will also take time to reread old class favorites to see if they bring back any memories from this year!

Word Work/Handwriting: In Buddy Study, students are participating in the routines independently.  Students create their own spelling lists and are learning their words through a variety of activities.  Students also have been bringing home their list of words to share and practice at home.  Next week, students will continue the Buddy Study with their final list of works ending in –ed and works with long vowel sounds like ‘-oa’ and ‘oi’.  After our spelling test on Thursday we will take the remaining days to review what we have learned this year.  We will revisit vowel sounds (long and short), adjectives, nouns, and even synonyms and antonyms.  Games, activities, and re-instruction will occur.  We will also take time to review handwriting.  

Writing: Students have published their digitals stories and they will be reading to share shortly.  Stay tuned to our classroom websites, emails, and blogs for further information.  For the final weeks in first grade we will be exploring poetry.  Students will have a chance to read poetry of others and experiment to write their own.  Samples from famous authors, like Shel Siverstein, will be introduced for students to use as a guide to their own creations.  We will begin by discussing different kinds of poems and their components before beginning to create our own.  

Math: Our final unit, Unit 9, focusing on 3-D Shapes, has been a great success!  Students are very engaged and motivated to explore and build with geo-blocks.   Students are using vocabulary, attributes, and compare shapes, sizes, and orientations of 3D shapes.   For the next two weeks, as we inch towards the last day of school, we will spend time reviewing what we have learned with spiraling lessons.  We will discuss how to get ready for second grade math and revisit concepts of money and time telling.  

Social Studies/Science:  A final “Thank You!” goes out to all of our special guests that have come in to talk with our classes about their careers!  Students have learned about many jobs and are beginning to express interest in certain occupations.  Over the next two weeks, we will discuss the final Science unit for this year, Life Cycles.  Students will learn about what a life cycle is and the different creatures that transition through life cycles.  By the last week of school, we will be ready to review what we have learned in first grade in Science and Social Studies as well as give students a glimpse at second grade Social Studies and Science topics.  

Have a wonderful week and we hope to see you all on June 8^th for our reading celebration!  

~Your first grade teachers: Miss Field and Mrs. McIntire

Week of May 29- June 1

Dear Parents,

May is coming to a close and we are getting ready to wrap up the school year with fun events and lessons!

                                   

A few reminders for the month of May:

·         No school May 28 in honor of Memorial Day.

           

Here is a look at next week:

Reading: Students really enjoyed taking a look back at some of their favorite books from their year in first grade.  We are beginning to discuss how to recommend different books to different people.  Next week, we will highlight our favorite books and practice creating book reviews and recommendations.  We will discuss how to describe characters and events in a way that entices others to read the story.  We will learn how to gear our book recommendations towards certain audiences.  For example, “This book would be great for someone who loves…..”  Students will be able to reflect back on their favorite books and get others to read the same books through recommendations.    

Word Work/Handwriting: In Buddy Study, students are participating in the routines independently.  Students create their own spelling lists and are learning their words through a variety of activities.  Students also have been bringing home their list of words to share and practice at home.  Students did a great job selecting their –ing words while experimenting with how to add an –ing ending; simply add –ing, drop the “e” and add –ing, or double the consonant at the end and add –ing.  Next week, we will continue to work on –ing endings and we will have our spelling test later on in the week.  By Friday, we will be ready to start another round of spelling lists with a focus on –ed inflectional endings.

Writing: Our writing unit is going very well and students are enjoying being able to collaborate.  Students have explored their topics with their partners on the net-books and experimented with different technology tools.  Next week, students will begin to publish their pieces through a form of digital media of their choosing.  The digital storytelling tools that can be used include blogs, Wiki’s, VoiceThreads, LittleBird Tales, Voki’s, comics, and StoryBird.  Ask your child to share some of the tools they are exploring! 

Math: Our final unit, Unit 9, focusing on 3-D Shapes, has been a great success!  Students are very engaged and motivated to explore and build with geo-blocks.   Students are using vocabulary, attributes, and compare shapes, sizes, and orientations of 3D shapes.   Next week, we will review important vocabulary and lessons from Unit 9 before taking our end-of-unit assessment.  As we inch towards the last day of school, we will spend time reviewing what we have learned with spiraling lessons and we will discuss how to get ready for second grade math!

Social Studies/Science:  A huge “Thank You!” goes out of all of our special guests that have come in to talk with our classes about different careers!  Students have been very excited to learn about different jobs and the skills and tools that are needed for each one.  We will be wrapping up our unit on careers next week by comparing and contrasting careers and making notes of how each one can help different people within our community.  After that, we will transition to science to explore the life cycles of different creatures such as insects and amphibians. 

Have a wonderful week!

~Your first grade teachers: Miss Field and Mrs. McIntire

Field Trip to White Memorial