ISB Grade 1

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.

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

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.

Dear Parents,

It is already November and your child has grown as a writer. Grade One is currently concentrating on writing small moments that are focused and easier for others to read.

This unit, Writing for Readers, encourages children to write their stories so that they are easy to read. They are taught to believe they are authentic writers and therefore their stories are valuable to a real audience. In this unit they will think or learn about whether or not:
• their writing is easy to read, this means their writing is neat, there are enough sounds written for the reader to read an intended word, and the writer takes the time to write high frequency words correctly by using the tools available to them.
• the writing is focused with lots of detail. Students will reread stories to see if it zooms in on the most important parts.

In the next unit, The Craft of Revision, students learn how to revise their stories. In part, this is a continuation of the previous unit in that they are asked to reread their writing to see if it makes sense. In addition, they learn that:
• a writer understands a story is usually not finished in one try. Writers constantly reread their stories to see how they can make them better.
• a writer has a story they want to convey and it takes multiple tries to get the story just right with concrete details, feelings, and a strong beginning, middle, and end.

Many times a child in first grade will write a story and believe it is finished. This unit begins to teach children that stories are revised, usually with another person who is called the editor.

The skills and strategies taught in both units can be applied to writing in other subjects such as reading, math, and science. The children begin to really think about the audience who is eager to read their stories and observations.

We have started an earth science unit. We are studying rock, one of the most important earth materials. Our investigations will center on the properties and uses of rock in many of its particle sizes-pebbles, gravel, sand, silt, and clay. They children will be working extensively with materials, observing, comparing, and communicating what they learn through their first hand experiences with earth materials.

The first grade classes will be going on a field trip to Ko Kret at the end of November. It has not been finalized which days the classes will be going, but the two dates to remember are November the 30th and December the 1st. Three classes will be going one day and the other 2 classes the other day. We will be asking for volunteers!

Some inquiry questions you could ask your students:
How can rocks be sorted? What rocks can we find around us? How can rocks be sorted by size? What is the smallest rock material?

Thanks for continuing to support your child in observing and wondering about rocks!

The science unit covers many concepts, which are listed below.

The first Investigation on rocks covers the following concepts:

• Rocks are the solid material of the earth.
• Rocks have a variety of properties, including color, hardness, shape and size.
• Rocks can be sorted by their properties.
• Rocks are all around us.

The second Investigation on rocks covers the following concepts:

• Rocks can be categorized by size.
• Screens and water can be used to sort the sizes of earth materials.
• Rock sizes include clay, silt, sand, gravel and pebbles.

The third Investigation on rocks covers the following concepts:

• Earth materials are natural materials.
• The properties if different earth materials make each suitable for specific uses.
• Earth materials are commonly used in the construction of buildings and streets.
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The fourth Investigation on rocks covers the following concepts:

• Soil is admixture of earth materials\Hummus is decayed material from plants and animals.
• Mixing soil with water, and letting it settle can observe the ingredients of soil.
• Soils vary from place to place.
• Soils have properties of color and texture.
• Soils differ in their ability to support plants.

The First Grade Team