ISB Grade 1

November 30 – December 4

November 30, 2009

Dear Parents,

It is amazing how fast time has gone by. Soon it will be Christmas and all of us will be so busy with travel and family. School is also becoming more and more busy as we get ready for end of the year activities. Please look on the Upcoming Events/News to see what is in store for you and your child at school.

On Tuesday we will be going on our first field trip! I’m so excited about this trip since it is so closely tied into our science unit on Pebble, Sand, and Silt. Please remind your child that it is important they follow directions, use good judgment, always aware of where adults are, and that they listen. This is for their safety.

Couple of things about homework:
• Ask your child to write down the titles they read in their reading log
• Word sorts should be done each night. They are pasted into a book on Friday; on Friday your child is given a new sort. The new sorts stay at school on Friday and are sent home on Monday.

Upcoming Events/News:

Tuesday, December 1: Koh Kret Field Trip and Early Dismissal at 1:00
Wednesday, December 2: Parent Education Workshop 7:30 am
Thursday, December 17: Grade One ES Games and End of Semester Party
Friday, December 18: Last day of school before Winter Break

Monday, November 30

-Book to read to you
-Math:
-Word Sort: Have your child show you how to sort their pictures or words

Talking Point:

Tuesday, December 1: Early Release Day: Koh Kret Field Trip

-Book to read to you
-Math:
-Word Sort: Try a Tricky Sort: This is an activity where your child will sort the pictures or words, then turn their back and you mix the sort up and try to “trick” them. Your child will then sort again. The kids really enjoy this and think it’s fun.

Talking Point:

Wednesday, December 2

-Book to read to you
-Math:
-Word Sort: Try a Speed Sort: You time your child sorting and see if they get faster each time.

Talking Point:

Thursday, December 3
-Book to read to you
-Math:
-Word Sort: Word Search: Look for words with the parts/sounds that your child is studying this week

Talking Point:

Friday, December 4

-Book to read to you
-Math:

Talking Point:

Have a wonderful weekend!

During Reading Workshop the students have been learning how to notice when they get a feeling or an idea while reading. We are encouraging and nurturing their thinking and talking skills through demonstrations, read aloud books, and big book shared reading time. Rather than just reading the book cover to cover we are exploring ways they can make their reading come alive by having the students stop and share their thoughts and feelings. In addition, we are encouraging the children to begin a conversation about the book by listening to their partner and responding by agreeing or disagreeing (in a kind way) to their partner’s ideas.

You can model this kind of thinking at home. Below – you will find ideas that will help initiate conversation about what your child is reading- or what you are reading together. This is not meant to be a question and answer session but an authentic conversation about the story.

• Before reading, look at the front cover and talk about the title and the illustrations. Make some predictions or ask some questions that you might be thinking. “I wonder if..”

• When reading a non-fiction book- try and think about what you might already know on the topic.

• During reading, notice when you get a strong feeling. For example you might say, “I think I know what will happen next”, or laugh out loud, or “Wow, I did not know that!”

• Talk about the characters. How is the character feeling? What would you do if you were that character?

• After reading look through the pages again. Talk about and retell parts of the story that were your child’s favorite and ask them, why they liked that part. Make connections to other stories you have read that are similar or situations that might remind you of your own life. A more advanced skill might be to talk about the most important part or the message the author might be trying to tell.

For ESL students who are reading English books talk about the story in your home language. If your child is having difficult time talking about the book, model your own thinking. You will be amazed at how your child can begin to think and talk about what they are reading.

November 16 - 20

November 16, 2009

Dear Parents,

This weekend I had the privilege of helping out with the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Work Project for Habitat for Humanity. They are in the process of building 82 homes in Chiang Mai to commemorate the King’s 82nd birthday. Unfortunately, the build starts today, so I was not able to help in the actual building of the homes, but was able to offer assistance by working the registration desk. It was wonderful to see thousands of people, many for the US, Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, Philippines and more give of their time and money to help a great cause. I was even able to see Jimmy Carter!

As we, the school and home, teach our children how to be responsible and respectful, I believe we raise individuals who later become adults sensitive to the needs of those around them and the earth. It is going to be amazing to watch the kids in our classroom 15 years later because they will grow up as caring global citizens.

Please be advised that I will be out from Wednesday to Friday this week. Khun Annee will be substituting for me during my absence. If you have any emails to send then please send it to anneep@isb.ac.th.

Thanks,

Jen

Upcoming Events/News:

Wednesday, November 18 - 20: Jennifer Yoo out for a literacy conference in Hong Kong
Tuesday, December 1: Early Dismissal and Field Trip to Koh Kret for our class!
Wednesday, December 2: ES Parent Education Workshop 7:30 am
Thursday, December 3: Thai Food Fair
Monday, December 7: No School, King’s 82nd Birthday

Monday, November 16

-Book to read to you
-Math:
-Word Sort: Have your child show you how to sort their pictures or words

Talking Point:

Tuesday, November 17

-Book to read to you
-Math:
-Word Sort: Try a Tricky Sort: This is an activity where your child will sort the pictures or words, then turn their back and you mix the sort up and try to “trick” them. Your child will then sort again. The kids really enjoy this and think it’s fun.

Talking Point:

Wednesday, November 18

-Book to read to you
-Math:
-Word Sort: Try a Speed Sort: You time your child sorting and see if they get faster each time.

Talking Point:

Thursday, November 19
-Book to read to you
-Math:
-Word Sort: Word Search: Look for words with the parts/sounds that your child is studying this week

Talking Point:

Friday, November 20

-Book to read to you
-Math:

Talking Point:

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dear Parents,

I stumbled upon a wonderful website called ReadWriteThink.
It has some great links to some wonderful ideas for reading at home with your child.

You might be interested in:

What Should I Read Aloud

Reading A Picture Book with A Child

Observing and Discussing with A Child

Making Words

A list of tools and tips for activities at home

Happy Reading!

Vu

Here are some recent pictures of our Mystery Readers, math and science work and our 5th grade buddies.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

We return to Number Sense in our third unit: Solving Story Problems.
Students will learn how to:
Find at least 5combinations of 2 addends for a number up to 15.
Combine two small quantities.
Interpret (retell the action and sequence) and solve addition and subtraction story problems.
Subtract one small quantity from another.
Represent numbers by using equivalent expressions.
Count a set of 40–50 objects.
Rote count, read, and write numbers to 65, with correct formation.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Sorting Rocks
Students were equipped with various geologists tools as they began to sort rocks of different sizes. They are investigating how rocks can be sorted by size and learning to record their observations in their science notebooks.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Room 104 was lucky to have some fun loving parents put together some activities for our students to celebrate Halloween together. We listened to some Halloween stories; did some geometry with pumpkins and shapes; and decorated some yummy cookies.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Last week, we celebrated a Thai holiday called Loy Kratong. Loy Kratong is a festival of light where people make floats and set them adrift on waterways. It is celebrated each year on the 24th month according to the lunar calendar. With the help of some wonderful parents and our Grade 4 buddies, our class got to make their own floats. We used banana tree stem, banana leaves, nails, candles, incense, carnations and orchids. Our students’ creations were beautiful! It was a lot of fun and very special as we celebrated the culture of our host country, Thailand.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Retelling and Readers Have Thoughts While Reading

Your children are working hard at word solving and building their stamina for reading! It is always so rewarding as a teacher to see the kids reading and getting excitied about books. Our next step is to nurture the children’s natural excitement into conversations about books. This unit will build the foundation for children to read, understand, and begin to have conversations about what they are reading.

The first phase of the unit works on retelling a story. For some, this task can seem quite dull and rote but if students are not holding on to the story, how can we expect them to talk about it and go further? Retelling not only shows if students understand what they are reading but it also helps build a foundation for students as readers, writers (recounting/retelling stories from their lives) and thinkers.

The characteristics of a good retelling are as follows:
• Uses characters names (Character)
• Tells where/when the story takes place (Setting)
• Includes all the important parts of the story (Plot)
• Retold in sequence (Beginning, Middle, End)
• Told in an interesting voice (Fluency)
• Check in the book to see if you missed anything (Using text evidence to support your thinking)

As students begin to read more sophisticated texts they will be summarizing rather than retelling every detail in the book. For ESL students this can be a difficult but very worthwhile task. So encourage your child to retell you the story after they have finished. Then review the book to see if anything was missed.