Thank You Parents

AwwwWWWwww, thank you to those participating in our first Room 11 2.0 meeting. It was so nice to see everyone.

We will not have class tomorrow because we will be at the school from 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. passing out new work packets. If we are a few minutes late to the gate, don't worry, we will be there. We weren't given a very long window for safety reasons and we will need to collect the materials and bring them to the front. We will try to open as close to 8 a.m. as possible.

Our next class online will be Thursday at 10 a.m. in Zoom.

The class code is: 371-110-005
The password is: 882082. Click here to attend.

We will need the set of tens and ones you have made. If you are unable to collect the math chapter pages, that's ok. Blank paper will be fine. We'll get through it together.

Note: You do not need a camera to join us in Zoom.

Technical Support

The following Zoom meetings are for parents having difficulty with platform access.

Office Hours for Technical Support

Tuesday, March 31 11:00am - 12:00pm

Wednesday, April 1st: 5:00pm-6:00pm

Thursday, April 2nd: 3:00pm-4:00pm

Join Zoom Meeting

https://lausd.zoom.us/j/9832881672

Meeting ID: 983 288 1672

Upcoming Math Lessons

We will need to have plain paper and a tens and ones blocks template for upcoming lessons like the one here.  We won't care about the watermark preview because we won't even notice once they are cut out.

Class Instruction and Office Hours for Parents via Zoom

Class Instruction via Zoom will begin tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

Tomorrow will be an introductory meeting to get used to the platform. The class code is: 371-110-005
the password is: 882082. Click here to attend.

Office hours for parents to help with their concerns will be M-W 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. via Zoom. The code is: 871-495-123. Click here to attend.

Parents may also ask questions any time in questions/comments in blog or through email as well: bplattne@lausd.net

Weekend Notes

On Wednesday morning between the hours of 8 and 9, the first grade teachers will be available in front of the school for you to turn in completed math work and to pick up a new work packet for your child. The packet will include the template for the new writing paper we will need for our new Writer's Workshop lessons. We will practice the social distancing precautions and ask that parents be mindful of keeping a 6 foot distance from all of those present.

On Tuesday at 10am, 1st grade teachers will attempt to meet with their students on Zoom to have an online lesson in Math. It will be a short lesson for Room 11 to try and to get used to the platform and we'll see how many students we can gather. Instructions for joining will follow.

Thank you to those parents who have maintained communication with me and are working diligently with their child to keep them progressing.

Read to Succeed Link

To register for Read to Succeed use registration code: JDR1Q

Upon completing this task, post your child's class number (1-22) (not room number) in the comment section of this entry. Registration dealine in April 17th.

Social Distancing Day 10

Math

Chapter 9 Lesson 10

Just like yesterday's lesson, only we are identifying and making 4 equal parts, or fourths, also called quarters. Check out the Equal Shares and Partitioning activity in ST Math in Clever.

Writing

Today we are editing for periods at the ends of all sentences.

Reading

My Shared Reading (Week 2, Day 5, Friday)

Animal Dentists; Double Trouble, pp 6-9 (Comparing literature)

Upon completion of today's activities, add your child's class number to the comment section below.

Have a good weekend.

Chrome Book

Please use the comment section below to let us know if you would like to receive a Chrome Book for your child to use for instruction in the coming weeks. We will be utilizing a variety of platforms for direct instruction and assignments. Just respond with your child's classroom number or the last 4 digits of their LAUSD student ID. We also need to know if your child will have wifi access.

If you have not done so already, respond in the comment section of lessons you have completed or attempted with your child. Participation and non-participation has to be reported to school administration. Or send a note in Schoology.

This information is due to administration the morning of 26 March.

Accounting

Note: upon completing the activities on any of these entries, indicate completion by posting your child's classroom number or the last 4 digits of their LAUSD student ID in the comments below. You may do that for other Social Distancing days you have completed as well and your child will receive credit or you may send me a note through Schoology, as some parents have, to let me know all at once what you have been able to accomplish. The parents not responding to these messages are required to be contacted by either their child's teacher or office resources. Thank you for your cooperation.

Also, if you use the resources on the At-Home Resources page in Clever, have your child access the resources through Clever by logging on with their account as this page is monitored throughout the day and your child will be given credit for using this page each day. In other words, access through Clever as opposed to accessing the pages directly.

Some students were absent and did not receive their QR code or even if you lost or misplaced it, send an email to bplattne@lausd.net and I will resnd a copy to you.

Social Distancing Day 9

Math

Chapter 9 Lesson 9

This lesson is abou the vocabulary word halves. Students should know that 2 equal parts of a whole are called halves. They will identify and make halves. Relatedly, it is noted that halves of different wholes are usually not equal to each other. In other words, one half of a medium pizza should not be equal to on half of a large pizza.

If you do not have the work pages, you can draw shapes and have your child divide them into equal parts and then color one of the halves. Although potentially challenging at first, the 3rd grade page of Math Playground (Clever) has good games utilizing fraction concepts, the easiest of which may be the game Identify Fractions. This game actually reinforces the concepts for tomorrow's lesson while not entirely the same concept.

Writing

Another concept we will target in editing this unit is capitalization of proper nouns which is for this particular writing as we are writing about places with proper names. For example, if we were writing about John's Incredible pizza, we would have to make sure to circle the 'p' in pizza as it is part of its name. Alternatively you can teach the correct editor's mark to underline the 'p' 3 times to indicate that it needs to be capitalized.

Reading

Shared Reading (Week 2, Day 4, Thursday)

Double Trouble pp. 8-9 (Comprehension, using illustrations)

Note: upon completing the activities on this page, indicate completion by posting your child's classroom number in the comments below. You may do that as well for other Social Distancing days you have completed as well and your child will receive credit or you may send me a note through Schoology, as some parents have, to let me know all at once what you have been able to accomplish.  The parents not responding to these messages are required to be contacted by either their child's teacher or office resources. Thank you for your cooperation.

Accounting

The district is asking teachers to keep a log of interactions with students and parents. A log has been started for students and parents in room 11. In the coming days, live lessons will be scheduled and assignments posted to various platforms. Participation will be monitored. If you are one of the ones reading this message, would you please post a comment below with your child's classroom number (1-21) or the last 4 digits of their LAUSD student number to let me know you read this. You may also comment on how instruction is going at home, any successes, issues, needs you experience or foresee would be helpful as well.

Twelve people have viewed this entry but I only have 8 students recorded as responding. Please respond in the comments below with your child's class number so I can submit an accurate roster to the principal.

For example:

Parent of #25 participating.

Social Distancing Day 8

Math

Chapter 9 Lesson 8

The final 2 lessons are arguably the most important lessons of the chapter. They will introduce the idea of fractions. Lesson 9 is about identifying and quantifying equal parts. Check out the Equal Shares and Partitioning activity in ST Math in Clever.

Writing

Yesterday, we circled words we thought may have been spelled incorrectly. Today we will apply some of our spelling strategies to see if we can figure out a readible or more accurate spelling of the words we've circled. You may try the spelling strategy of write it 3 different ways (pick the one which looks the best), clap and spell each syllable (for longer multi-syllabic words), stretch out the word (out loud) and listen for each sound, look for word in print somewhere else.

Reading

My Shared Reading (Week 2, Day 3, Wednesday)

Double Trouble pp. 8-9 (phonemic awareness)

Social Distancing Day 7

Math

Chapter 9 Lesson 7

Use the clues to solve the logic problems.

If you do not have the packet, you can try using construction paper squares, triangles, and trapezoids, or the tangrams you made for the last lesson to make composite shapes or patterns, then remove some of the shapes and let your child replace them. Alternatively, you can print a sheet of pattern blocks and have your child color them the correct colors in order to practice, using a template from the internet. Or us this site to find virtual math manipulatives for free. You'll find pattern blocks in the third row of choices.

Writing

Moving into the editing phase, we switch from blue to red ink/pencil. For the first editing step, circle any words you think you have misspelled while drafting or revising your opinion.

Reading

My Shared Reading (Week 2, Day 2, Tuesday)

Animal Dentists pp. 6-7 Ask questions for comprehension and oral language development.

Social Distancing Day 6

Math

Chapter 9 Lesson 6

This lesson is a really a free exploration for students to experiment with making larger shapes (composite) from smaller ones to discover their relationships. While you may not have patterns blocks at home, a similar exercise can be done by making your own tangram shapes out of paper using these simple instructions here.

Writing

This lesson revising lesson can be optional. If you consider an opinion to be much like a review that someone might post to social media, it follows that you could develop a rating system to go along with your reviews. This can have the added bonus of enticing a reader to read your opinion. Consider which reviews you are more likely to read, the one star or the 5 star? Some things to consider when choosing a rating system. They can be as simple as a thumb up or down, to 10 points or more. You'll notice that rating systems using an even number of points as opposed to an odd number forces a reviewer to commit to either a negative or positive stance on an issue, there being no neutral or middle ground.

Reading

My Shared Reading (Week 2, Day 1, Monday)

Animal Dentists pp. 6-7 (phonemic awareness/spelling activities)

Social Distancing Day 5

Math

Chapter 9 Lesson 5

This lesson simply shows students that some shapes can be made from combining other shapes (composite shapes) which is a precursor to teaching equal parts.

If you do not possess the math pages, you can show your child how a regular hexagon can be made from two trapezoids and trapezoids can be made using 3 equilateral triangles. Note: the lesson does not talk about a square being made from 2 trangles as the shapes in our pattern blocks are only equilateral and not right triangles. But, 2 equilateral triangles can together form a rhombus.

Writing

If we chose to revise for a second day, we might chose to enrich our writing with an anecdote. We do this by adding a narrative about our own experience going to the location which we are writing about.

Reading

My Shared Reading (Week 1, Day 5, Friday)

Almond Milk; A Farmer's Boy (pp. 2-5)

Which selection do you prefer reading? Why?
Which selection is more informative? Why?
Which selection is more entertaining? Why?

New Resource: Free Audible Stories

Here is a link to free audible stories.

If you think of anything we can do to make the learning process easier please add a comment/suggestion below.

Social Distancing Day Four

Math

Chapter 9 Lesson 4

This lesson is about comparing two-dimensional shapes based on number of sides and/or vertices. For example a student can be asked to sort a set of cut-out two-dimensional shapes into 2 groups: those having 4 (or more) vertices and those having fewer, etc.

Writing

Now that our writing has all required elements in order to receive a rubric score of 3, it is time for the next step which students will realize is revising. For the revising portion of the writing process, which can actually go on for a number of days, it is our custom to change from using a black ink pen as we have been using to a blue ink pen. For today, we can focus on adding details to our reasons for our opinion. For example, if we gave as a reason that John's Incredible Pizza is the best because of the food, we will now describe the food. If another reason was the rides, we write about the rides. This is why we leave spaces between our sentences when we draft. You may notice that in developing ideas in this way, we are setting the stage for the development of ideas into paragraphs for writing in later grades. This is one reason revising could push our paper from being a 3 scored paper to a 4. Expounding and organizing ideas shows advanced writing ability.

Reading

My Shared Reading (Week 1, Day 4, Thursday)

A Farmer's Boy pp. 4-5 (Spelling) In addition to the activities listed on the calendar, compare with your child the genre differences of each selection read so far. At this point in the year, a first grader should be able to indentify the difference between a poem and a non-fiction article. An advanced first grader will tell the author's purpose (assessed) of both, to entertain or to teach about a subject, which is not to say that a poem can't teach or a non-fiction article can't be entertaining.

New Resource: Fun Keyboarding App

Typing Club application has been added to Room 11's Clever library page.

KCET At-Home Learning Link

The following link is for PBS/KCET daily At-Home Learning Programming

Social Distancing Day Three

Math

Chapter 9 Lesson 3

This lesson is to introduce the characteristics of circles, namely that they are closed and no sides or vertices.

Have you child describe a circle using the words: round, closed, sides, and vertices.

I have added the ST Math badge to Room 11's page in Clever. This way I will be able to keep track of each child's progress online.


Writing

At this point, we have all of the necessary elements in our paper in order to get a rubric score of 3 with the exception of the title. Sometimes it better to save this for the last step to see how the tone of the paper develops. A more serious opinion paper should demand a more serious title which doesn't mean it can't still be creative. A title can also serve the purpose in getting the reader's attention, much like the introduction. Go ahead and experiment with your child offering a few options with your work and see what they think.

Reading

My Shared Reading (Week 1, Day 3, Wednesday)

Read A Farmer's Boy pp. 4-5. Follow the activities as suggested in the calendar (phonemic awareness) These activites are very similar to the comparative literature/text assessment questions.

Link to Supplemental Homework Materials

If you are accessing this blog without the homework packet sent home with your child, Local District South (our area) has provided a link where you can download the supplemental materials they provided. You may access it here.

Social Distancing Day Two

Hopefully these notes are helpful.

Math

Chp 9, lesson 2, p. 641

This lesson continues the exploration of sides and vertices with 2 more two-dimensional shapes, triangles and trapezoides (quadrilaterals with only one pair of parallel sides). If you go into detail, it may be necessary to explain parallel (in this case, when 2 lines have a continuously equal distance between themselves).

If you do not have the chapter pages, continue as yesterday and share this question: Ty has 3 different 2-dimensional shapes. The shapes have 11 sides and 11 vertices in all. What shapes can he have?

Writing

When you ask your child what step is next, they may already have a good indication that adding closure (closing) is the next. So, we have chosen a topic, stated our opinion, touched and talked our supporting reasons, drafted our reasons, grabbed our reader's attention, and now the closing. Ideally, the closing should be related somehow to the introduction (where you grabbed the reader's attention) but not entirely necessary. An easy way to close an opinion (thinking aloud italics) is by asking a question: So what's your favorite amusement park? Another more sophisticated way to close is to present a counter-arguement. (Presenting a counter-arguement or counterclaim may seem counter-intuitive but can actually serve to strengthen your arguement and also demonstrate the ability to discern multiple perspectives. That may not necessarily be what happens here, but it's nice to start a good habit, because recall, after all, your child will be writing opinions for the foreseeable future.) For example: Some people think that Knott's Berry Farm is the superior theme park, but I still think Disneyland is the best.

Reading

My Shared Reading (Week 1, Day 2, Tuesday)

Read Almond Milk pp. 2-3. Follow the suggested activity outline (phonemic awareness).

Social Distancing Day One

Hope this post finds everyone well.

Math

Do not worry about completing everything in your packet. But note that the contents of the Chapter 9 Math packet would constitute 50% of a student's grade for the geometry standards.

Chapter 9 Lesson 1 (page 635)

This Chapter is about two-dimensional shapes which are shapes having only 2 dimensions such as width and height. Rectangles have 4 sides and vertices (plural of vertex). A square is a special rectangle with all 4 of it's sides being equal, whereas a rectangle need only have opposite sides equal in length. Additionally, (and apart from this chapter) rectangles and squares have 4 right angles. The point of the lesson is to distinguish between open and closed shapes and to be able to identify and quantify sides and vertices.

For those parents without the packet, draw, trace or find a picture of two-dimensional shapes and have your child count the sides and vertices. Have them use the words closed, sides, and vertices to describe a square.

Writing

Our next step in writing would be to get our reader's attention. In other words, attempt to entice them to read our opinions. An easy way for first graders to grab a reader's attention is to start with a question. For example: Are you in the mood for some excitement? might preface an opinion of an amusement park. Another way to get a reader's attention is to start with some more subtle clues: Home of the world's most famous mouse and now creatures from far flung galaxies, this park has something for everyone in the family.

The basic structure of the writing lesson, if you will recall from the brief overview at Back-toSchool Night is the teacher (at this point in the year) ask student writers what they think the next step will be after naming the steps we have completed so far. So far, we have selected a topic for our opinion, stated our opinion, touched and talked our reasons, planned our reasons (quick-sketched), and drafted our reasons. What's our next step?

I Do

The teacher thinks aloud the different ways to grab a reader's attention, voices two alternatives, selects one, then writes it in the top of the paper. (3-5 min)

We Do

The class and teacher work together performing the same step on a class paper. Room 11 has been writing an opinion piece on John's Incredible Pizza. (3-5 min)

You Do

The student performs the step on their own work. (10-20 min)

Shared Reading

My Shared Reading (Week 1 Day 1, Monday)

Read Almond Milk pp. 2-3 follow the suggested activity outline (phonemic awareness)

If you do not have the homework packet, you may find these resources in your child's Benchmark account. Benchmark is accessed through the portal called Clever.

Note that you will also be able to find digital selections targeted to your child's TRC reading level. Otherwise, practice reading with your child according to the suggestions discussed at Parent Conferences.

One Hundred Twenty-Second Day of School

The important pieces of the emergency at-home study packets are ready for pick-up for the parents whose children are absent today. Students attending school today will be taking their packets home with them. If you find yourself unable to get a packet before 3:00 today, study questions and information will be left on this blog which will be important for future assessments.

One Hundred Twenty-Third Day of School

In Writing, we drafted our arguments for our opinions which is writing the sentences for the 2 or 3 reasons for our opinions.

In Science/Engineering, when useed some common household items to show how to propel a mock zipline-type craft using air pressure. Later, time permitting, we will engineer a craft to hold a payload using the same zipline and air pressure setup to further answer the question: what can air do?

We have been asked by administration to work with our grade level to produce a home-based learning resource package in the event that officials decide it is in the best interest of the community to close the school in light of the current health situation. We are pushing to have the packets ready for the children to take home tommorrow. The packet is for you and your child to keep at home and use at such a time that the children are unable to attend class or the school is temporarily closed. In addition, this blog will be maintained with some notes on suggestions for study as well as lessons to keep the children's writing process going.

One Hundred Twenty-Second Day of School

In Writing, we planned our reasons for our opinion. At least 2 reasons are suggested. The open box on the left of the template will hold the plan for our reasons and can be divided as needed.

In Social Science, we became familiar with cardinal or relative directions and the compass rose on a map (tested).

Open House has been cancelled for tomorrow night.

One Hundred Twenty-First Day of School

In Writing today, we expressed a simple opinion about a favorite place. In 1st grade terms, a simple opinion likely incorporates the word best, although it could just as easily contain the word worst.
For example: Veteran's park is the best park. In subsequent lessons, we will be learning how to develop an arguement to support our opinion. Please find in your child's paperwork, the template we use for opinion writing sent home today to follow along with our unit.

Math Test

Of 18 students taking the test, 11 students passed with an adjusted score of 10 or better. The high score was 19 achieved by 3 students.

Math Test

Of 19 students taking the test, 9 students passed with an adjusted
Score of 14 or better. One student achieved a perfect score.

One Hundred Fifteenth Day of School

In Writing, we have looked at opinion anchor texts and started examining their structure. Yesterday we began brainstorming by making a list of places we've been which may inspire some opinion. Later, on those places will need to be labeled or rather categorized in order to facilitate an opinion statement. For example:

• Veteran's Park
• Disneyland
• Movie Theater

• Veteran's Park-park
• Disneyland-amusement park
• Movie Theater-place/activity

In this way, an opinion may easily be stated as: The movie theater is my favorite place to visit with my family; or, Disneyland is my favorite amusement park.

It has been a pleasure so far to meet with all of the parents so far for parent conferences. Do not worry if you will miss Open House next week as we will not be displaying projects like in years past due to the early scheduling of the event this year.

For Math, make sure to review with your child the skills they missed on the Math test this week as we will take the chapter test on Friday. Tests will be returned tomorrow. Some students struggled with ten more and ten less and some had difficulty with the less than and greater than symbols.