What's New in Ms. Polit's Classroom?

2009-04-20T07:44:00.002-07:00

Ms. Polit’s Classroom News
LOOK AT WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
-Working with Words--“-er”, “-ir”, -“ur”-All of these combinations have the same sound. After children write a word with one of these combinations, they could look at it and ask if it “looks correct”. The more exposure to words through reading will help children with this skill.
-Reading-We read A Fruit is a Suitcase for Seeds and continued to work on questioning in addition to classifying and categorizing skills. The children and I cut open different types of fruits such as pomegranate, banana, pear, kiwi, etc. to see the seeds we were reading about “up close and personal” to help us understand the story.
-Math-Fractions-Some children tend to subtract when figuring out what a fraction of a given picture is. This is normal and part of their math development. I emphasize the shape/picture is cut or sliced to make equal pieces and that it is no longer “whole”. With subtraction, the children are taking away “whole” pictures.
-Science/Social Studies-Taking care of the earth

A PEEK AT NEXT WEEK
Working with Words-“ou” & “ow”
Reading-We will read Dot and Jabber and the Big Bug Mystery.
Math- Addition/Subtraction Facts to 18
Science/Social Studies-Taking care of the earth/Plants

REMINDERS
· Friday, Apr. 24-Play Field Trip

2009-04-20T07:44:00.001-07:00

Ms. Polit’s Classroom News
LOOK AT WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
Working with Words-“-or” as in “report”
Reading-We read Whistle for Willie and worked on questioning and inferencing skills. The children learned there are 4 types of questions a reader could ask when reading: clarifying (What does ____ mean?), predicting (Will ____ happen next?), inferencing (Did the author mean…?), and pondering (I wonder…). They did a great job developing questions for each. Then we reviewed the inferencing questions and found the clues in the text that encouraged us to ask those questions.
Math-Fractions
Science/Social Studies-Taking care of the earth

A PEEK AT NEXT WEEK
Working with Words-“-er”, “-ir”, -“ur”
Reading-We will read A Fruit is a Suitcase for Seeds and continue to work on questioning in addition to classifying and categorizing skills.
Math- Continue with fractions
Science/Social Studies-Taking care of the earth

***I wanted to give you and your families advance notice about the First Grade Farewell so you have the time to make any work schedule arrangements. The Farewell will take place on Friday, May 22nd at 10:00 in our All-Purpose Room and last for approximately an hour. If there are any changes, I will let you know as soon as possible.

I wish everyone celebrating Easter on Sunday a very happy one!

REMINDERS
Friday & Monday, Apr. 10 & 13-NO SCHOOL
Thursday, Apr. 16-Popcorn Day
Friday, Apr. 24-Play Field Trip

***Please don’t forget to send a snack with your child everyday even if they are ordering a lunch from school.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 233-7870.

2009-02-20T13:42:00.000-08:00

LOOK AT WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
Working with Words: We continued to work with long vowel sounds, specifically the vowel combinations of “ai” and “ay”.
Reading: We read the nonfiction article, Stormy Weather. The children reviewed compare/contrast skills.
Math: We continued working with money. The children are now working with pennies, nickels, and dimes. One way to help your child with money is to give them a group of coins (less than 50 cents) and have them count the amount. Again, I have the children put the coins in order of value from greatest to least before counting.
Science: Three States of Matter
Social Studies: Presidents’ Day

This week, we began preparing for the Terra Nova assessment that will be given when the children return from Spring Break in March. The Terra Nova assesses reading and math skills. We are working on the types of language used in the directions and the format. A practice packet will be sent home to be completed over Spring Break to help prepare your children for the Terra Nova when they return.

A PEEK AT NEXT WEEK
Working with Words: Review long vowels.
Reading: We will read Stormy Weather. Our skills will be summarizing and compare/contrast.
Math: Money-Quarters We plan to have our “Toy Sale” on Friday. We can’t wait!
Science: Three States of Matter

**Thank you again to everyone who donated toys for our sale!

REMINDERS
Mon., Mar. 2nd: NO SCHOOL-Casmir Pulaski Day

***Please don’t forget to send a snack with your child everyday even if they are ordering a lunch from school. They look forward to having their snacks and get very hungry if they don’t have one.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 233-7870.

2009-01-23T07:44:00.000-08:00

LOOK AT WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
Working with Words: We started to learn about how “silent ‘e’ at the end of the word makes a vowel ‘long and strong’ to say its name”. The children and I focused long “i”. *On the back of this newsletter are some lists of word families and the phonics skills they follow.
Reading: We read a play in our text, Smile, Mike!. The children reviewed prediction skills and began to develop questions regarding what they read.
Math: We began learning about place value. The children made groups of 10 and organized them in different ways. For example, the children glued 10 beans on a craft stick to represent 1 ten. As the week progressed, we used these along with other manipulatives to show various numbers.
Science: Penguins
Social Studies: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our 100th Day of School is going to be on Thursday, Jan. 29th. The children are so excited. I have many fun 100th Day activities planned. Please don’t forget to have your child turn in their 100 poster on Monday. For your child’s snack on the 100th day, if possible, please count 100 pieces of their snack food. Your child could help you with this.

A PEEK AT NEXT WEEK
Working with Words: Continue with long vowel skills
Reading: We will read Gram & Me. Our skills will be story elements (character/setting) and questioning.
Math: Continue with place value
Science: Three States of Matter
Social Studies: Chinese New Year and Families

REMINDERS
· Wed., Jan., 28: 12:00 Dismissal-Afternoon Parent/Teacher Conferences
· Thurs., Jan., 29: Evening Parent/Teacher Conferences
6:00-7:00-Portfolio Show-Off Night
· Fri., Jan. 30: 12:00 Dismissal

***Please don’t forget to send a snack with your child everyday even if they are ordering a lunch from school. They look forward to having their snacks and get very hungry if they don’t have one.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 233-7870.

Did You Know?
The following are long and short vowel phonics skills that we use everyday, but don’t realize we use them. These mainly apply to 1 syllable words. Word families are a group of letters consisting of a vowel and 1-2 consonants that are used to complete a word. Word families are also called “rimes”. The beginning sound of a word is called an “onset”. Of course, when an onset is added to a rime, we create a word. Words having the same word families rhyme.

· One consonant after the vowel will give the vowel a short sound.
Some short vowel word families:
-ad as in “mad” -ed as in “fed” -ig as in “pig”
-ag as in “bag” -en as in “hen” -in as in “win”
-et as in “jet” -ob as in “job” -ug as in “hug”

· Two consonants after the vowel will give the vowel a short sound.
Some short vowel word families:
-and as in “land” -ell as in “bell” -ill as in “will”
-ond as in “pond” -uck as in “stuck”

· Silent ‘e’ at the end of the word makes the vowel “long and strong”, so it says its name.
Some long vowel word families:
-ame as in “name”
-ike as in “like”
-ute as in “cute”
-one as in “bone”
(There aren’t very many long vowel word families for “e” that are examples of this skill.)

· When 2 vowels are next to each other, the first vowel is long. The second vowel is silent.
**The key to learning this particular skill is to do as much reading as possible to become exposed to many types of words, so that when one is writing they can look at the word and ask oneself, “Does it look right?”. There are some word families that follow this skill:
-eat as in “neat”
-oat as in “boat”

Of course, with every type of rule, there are exceptions. This is because many of our words come from other languages which have their own rules.

I hope this information helps you as you are helping your child with their homework!

2009-01-16T06:43:00.000-08:00

LOOK AT WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
Working with Words: We worked with all of the blends we learned.
Reading: We read the non-fiction text, Short Shapes, Long Shapes. The children began to identify supporting details for a main idea.
Math: Identified 3-D shapes (cube, cylinder, rectangular prism, cone, sphere, and pyramid)
Science: Winter Animals
Social Studies: Martin Luther King, Jr.

The 100th Day of School is quickly approaching! Your child has brought home a “100” poster. Please collect 100 small objects such as paper clips, cereal, stickers, etc to be glued to the inside of the number 100 and return to school by Monday, Jan. 26th.

A PEEK AT NEXT WEEK
Working with Words: FINALLY-Short and Long Vowel skills (My personal favorite!). A note describing these skills will be sent home.
Reading: We will be reading a play from our text titled, “Smile, Mike!”. Our skills will be predicting and questioning.
Math: Place Value
Science: Continue learning about Penguins.
Social Studies: Continue learning about Martin Luther King, Jr.

REMINDERS
· Wed., Jan., 28: 12:00 Dismissal-Afternoon Parent/Teacher Conferences
· Thurs., Jan., 29: Evening Parent/Teacher Conferences
· Fri., Jan. 30: 12:00 Dismissal
Throughout the year, I have been collecting your child’s work to put into a portfolio box as a keepsake of your child’s year in first grade. On Thursday, Jan. 29th from 7:00-8:00 pm., you and your family are invited to your child’s classroom to see this work and do various activities your child has been participating in this school year. This is our “Portfolio Show-Off Night”. No conferences will be scheduled during this hour. Your child will act as your tour guide in our classroom. A reminder note will be sent home closer to the date.

***Please don’t forget to send a snack with your child everyday even if they are ordering a lunch from school. They look forward to having their snacks and get very hungry if they don’t have one.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 233-7870.

2008-08-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

If you are reading my blog before Aug. 18 that means you are most likely getting anxious for the school year to start. I truly admire those who take the time to check out the district web page and teachers' blogs to see what is in store for next year. So, "kudos to you!"

Because it is just before the beginning of the school year and you may have just found out your child is in my class, I would like to give you a little info about me to ease any beginning of the year jitters:

Experience: This will be my 11th year teaching. I have been teaching for NPD 117 for 7 years. I started at Quin and was there for 4 years prior to teaching 1st grade at Dorn.
Certification: Type 03 (K-9), Type 04 (Birth to Grade 3), and Type 75 (Administration).
Education: Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from U.I.C., Master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Dominican University, and a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from University of St. Francis.
Other: Dominican University Adjunct faculty member for the Early Childhood Education Department
Hobbies/Likes: Reading, walking, watching sports (Go Sox! Go Hawks!). When I have time, I try to cook. I'm a huge music lover (Anything 80's, especially Bon Jovi!) I also love spending time with my family and friends.
Philosophy: I believe all children are capable of learning and do so at their own pace. Also, I believe a strong home-school relationship is a true indicator of children's success. In my classroom, I have high expectations and work hard in order for my students to meet those expectations because they are very capable.

I look forward to this school year for multiple reasons:

-Brand new reading series

-Air conditioning throughout Dorn (Our classroom already has air conditioning.)

-Our new classroom reading incentive program

-Our new home-school classroom file folder game program

-And of course, your children!!!!

Ideally, I hope to post my classroom handbook on this site when completed. Of course, you will receive a copy with your child on the first day of school. If you have any questions (even before school starts) or just want to contact me, please e-mail me at bpolit@npd117.net or call 708-233-7870 (Classroom phone). I check both regularly. Have a wonderful "rest of summer"!

Your partner in education,

Beverly Polit

P.S.-Please don't forget to label all of your child's supplies and make sure your child's pencils are sharpened. Please buy only the supplies on the supply list. Any additional supplies will be sent home due to lack of storage.

2008-02-07T12:03:00.001-08:00

The beginning of the third quarter started a couple of weeks ago. We are getting closer and closer to entering second grade. By now your child should be able to:
-Read a story to you.
-Use multiple strategies (Look at the picture. Sound out the letters. Go back-read it again. Look for smaller chunks they could read in words.) to figure out unknown words. Ask themselves if their guess makes sense.
-Make predictions about what the story is about after reading the first two or three pages by looking at what they see and using what they know about the things they see.
-Give the main idea for the story they have read.
-Make connections between what they have read to themselves and another story/book they have read.
-Identify the characters, setting, problem and solution in a story.
-Complete homework independently after being given the directions.
-Sit for a prolonged amount of time to listen to a story.
-Easily sound out words while writing. The words may not be written correctly, but you are able to get the idea of what they are writing.
-Use an uppercase letter to start the first word of the sentence and a period/question mark at the end.
-Identify solid and plane shapes.
-Add and subtract without using manipulatives.
-Identify the places of digits in a two digit number, i.e.-"12".

We have been doing a lot of work with long and short vowels as well.

Music is a very important tool I use to teach the above concepts. I'm sure you may have heard your child sing some of our songs to themselves and wondered, "Where can I get that song?" Many of the songs I use are written by Dr. Jean Feldman. She is well-known to many early childhood educators. Recently, she started a music store on her website, www.drjean.org. Her songs are available for purchase with a 3 song minimum. Her songs are $0.99 each with her CD's running about $10.99. You will probably want to read her download/purchase instructions first since they are different than iTunes' procedure.

Reminders
Thursday, Feb. 14-2:00 Valentine's Day Party
Monday, Feb. 18-Presidents' Day-NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, Feb. 20-2:00 Dismissal-TEAM Day
Thursday, Feb. 21-Popcorn Day

Mon., Mar. 3-Casmir Pulaski Day-NO SCHOOL
Fri., Mar. 7-Dr. Seuss Day
Wed., Mar. 19-2:00 Dismissal -TEAM Day
Fri., Mar. 21-NO SCHOOL
****Spring Break begins Mar. 24. School Resumes Mon. Mar. 31st

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at 233-7870.
Thank you for your cooperation!

2007-11-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

Happy November!!!

I can't believe we are already in the second quarter of first grade! Time is flying. The children are taking a great interest in reading. I think it is because they feel very grown up. After all, reading is something grown ups can do. By now, your child has the skills to identify many words by sight and to use "the tools of good readers". (Ask your child to sing the song.) Therefore, take turns reading pages in a book. You could read the left page and your child could read the right page. This will take time, but as many experts say one way to become a great reader is to "READ. READ. READ". Some questions to ask after reading a book are:
-Do you think this story is real or make-believe?
-Why do you think the author wrote this story/book?
-Do you like how the story ended?
-Would you recommend this story to a
friend/family member? If so, who? Why?
Asking questions like these help your child interact with the story and lets them know they are a valued reader.

IMPORTANT NOVEMBER DATES
Thursday, November 8: Parent-Teacher Conferences-NO SCHOOL
Friday, November 9: Veterans' Day-NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, November 13: Picture Retake Day
Wednesday, November 14: TEAM Day-2:00 Dismissal
Thursday, November 15: Popcorn Day
Tuesday, November: 20: 1st Grade Thanksgiving Feast-Time to be determined
Wednesday, Nov. 21-23: Thanksgiving Holiday Break-NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, November 27: Holiday Shop Begins

This first blog is short, but sweet! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 233-7870.

Thank you, as always, for your cooperation!