"My coach said I ran like a girl, and I said if he ran a little faster he could too." - Mia Hamm Manny and Tildyn working on Minute Math which is our warm up for the day. Other than being told I forgot to change out of pajamas this week (I intentionally left those pants on for Back To School Night because I decided to own it.), the page of this book was a favorite first grade moment. This is a great story about a girl who learns there has never been a female president. She decides to run for school office. Her opponent is a boy. It does a great job explaining electoral votes. She wins office and we all cheered and clapped! Then we got to this wordless page and someone said with much glee, "She got married!" So, everyone started cheering and clapping again. I just laughed. Then quickly clarified the inauguration process. :) What a fun job I have! For read aloud, we read about Ruby Bridges. In fiction stories, we also read about an African American girl who wanted to join an all boys baseball team and an African American girl who wasn't accepted at her ballet studio because of how tall she was in comparison to other girls. All stories were great examples of never giving up! I snuck a picture during mindfulness. We come straight from recess to the floor and refocus ourselves. When I asked, "Why do we do mindfulness?" Ter'Rae said, "It keeps us balanced" . Imani said, "To calm our minds and bodies". It has been a great addition to our schedule. Looking forward to seeing how long we can sustain our meditation by the end of the year. We played a fun game in math called "Bugs On A Grid". We talked about columns and rows and how to plot points on a grid. We watched this video, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6vhjpnfd3c&nohtml5=False. Thanks for the GREAT turn out to Back To School Night. Here are some follow-up items: New wish list: www.teacherlists.com/schools/53779-vernon-elementary-school/864784-wish-list/ms-havens-first-grade/wish-list Book Group Opportunity: Are you interested in reading Pushout with me? Here is the link for the book: www.amazon.com/Pushout-Criminalization-Black-Girls-Schools/dp/1620970945/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473643788&sr=8-1&keywords=pushout If you are interested, please fill out this survey: https://goo.gl/forms/F65ihrEe9lsDmBSh2 Feel free to invite others! Just have them fill out the survey, too. Parent Surveys: If you haven't done so, please fill out this parent survey: https://goo.gl/forms/OG5vhur8QrBja9hj1 Homework: Here is the research I referenced at Back To School Night regarding homework: www.edutopia.org/blog/research-trends-is-homework-effective-youki-terada I'm very interested in using this PYP approach to homework (ignore the student agreements and some boxes): Thoughts? Let me know! Finally, a parent offered this article regarding teaching Social Justice in the classroom and it said perfectly why I choose to focus our read aloud books on social justice topics. http://www.raceconscious.org/2016/09/paul-kivels-suggestions-white-racial-justice-parenting/ Everyday this week I will have a substitute in my room for 40 minutes so I can assess kids in reading. I'm so thankful for this time to spend with each individual student. Knowing where each child is at in their reading development is one of the most important pieces of knowledge I can have as a teacher, because I can give each student exactly what they need.
Vernon has been such a supportive community. From administration to parents to the PTA, I've felt the support from the community. It's nice to know you are exactly where you are meant to be. Have a GREAT week! Aimee
1 Comment
Parent
10/6/2016 08:19:54 pm
Will there be an update soon?
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