I hope you've all had a super week. We sure have in 1st grade. We're really getting into the groove of things, and routines feel more solid than ever. It's a good, productive place to be.
Starting next week, we will continue doing reading/writing groups within the classroom, but we will also be starting new differentiated reading/writing groups where we mix all 1st graders within one of the five 1st grade rooms. We'll refer to this time as Branches time. All of the five 1st grade teachers will take a different leveled group and work with them. This is a great way to meet kids' needs who need some gaps filled in or maybe push some learners to be challenged in new ways. Either way you look at it, kids are going to be getting differentiated instruction based on their reading/writing needs. This reading/writing Branches time is 45 minutes every morning and the groups are fluid. What I mean by that is that we will move kids to a different group if we feel like they have some gaps that still need to be filled OR if they've met the goals of the group and need to move up. We will eventually have a similar chunk of time for Branches in math too, but we're working our way up to that point.
In math, we've been working continually on solving addition and subtraction word problems using number bonds, number sentences, drawings, and sentences with words. Please see my example below. Yesterday, we did our first "Math Scoot" where kids rotate around the room in a small group working on these types of problems. Kids worked well together to get all of these components on their papers.
In writing, we've been working on writing an opinion and supporting that opinion with at least 2 details.
I have one last thing to leave you with. It's a poster that's hanging in the Brantner hallway right now and I thought the facts were startling enough to share. Thanks for encouraging your kiddos to read at home! It makes a big difference.
Hope you have a fun, safe weekend!
Amy
