Setting the Foundation: Read - To - Self

One of our foundational pieces this year is the Daily 4. It is based off of the books by The 2 Sisters and it is a defined structure that helps me provide meaningful and authentic learning time during our reading block. 

The first of the Daily 4 is Read-to-Self. It is exactly what it sounds like. The students are reading to themselves.

Here is the anchor chart that the students came up with to guide us through our first few days of practice:

We discussed that Read-to-Self was practicing our reading.

I could talk to them for hours about the rules of basketball. I could show them what a basketball is. We could even watch videos on basketball. However, if we never get to hold a basketball and practice with it, will we ever be a great basketball player? No way!

Same goes for reading. I am going to give them all they need to become a great reader. We will practices our phonics skills. We will learn new comprehension strategies and all about fluency. 

But most importantly, we will always have time to practice these new skills.

Here is what Read-to-Self looks and feels like:

I hope you enjoyed your trip through Read-to-Self. It is the most important part of our academic day.

Fun and Team Work in P.E.

I was invited to stop in and visit with Miss Stark's class today. She had an exciting new activity for the students to try. The objective was to lead their buddy through the obstacle course and give them simple directions to avoid hazards.  Wow! They showed amazing teamwork and trust in their peers.

Just Look:

Thanks for the invite Miss Stark!

Great job Room 222!

The Tale of Two Blogs

What do you do when one class blog isn't enough to help you communicate and share your learning?

You create a second one, of course!

Here is a breakdown of our two blogs:

The Class Blog: mrsbrightsclass.blogspot.com

This blog is to be used as a reference and for us to show off a bit. I will be sharing curricular posts and academic updates as the year goes on. The students will also be guest posting on this blog. Think of this blog as your newspaper.

There are two ways to follow our updates: 1. Follow us by email 2. Subscribe using Google Friend Connect

The top menu also has important info like our daily schedule. Use it as you see fit.


Our Kid Blog: kidblog.org/room222-5

This is the welcome page that you will see when you visit this page:

You will click on the posts you are interested in learning more about.

This blog is designed to be a place where we create and educational timeline or portfolio. We can file our learning here and update our academic thoughts as the year goes on. This is our learning tool. Right now, the Kid Blog is just a class page. Soon, the kids will have their own Blogs to help chronicle their own learning.

Here is an example of our first "Monday Wonder Day" project:

There will be more on this at the end of the week. However, visit it throughout the week to see our learning grow.

In addition to the blogs, we are on Twitter. Please follow us on Twitter to stay connected as the day goes on. @mrsbrightmcdole (class page) @lbrightedu (professional page)

Please, Please, Please help make the learning of our students valid and meaningful. Stay connected with us.

With social media comes restrictions, guidelines and safety rules. I will be explicitly detailing our social media and internet safety rules and expectations in an upcoming blog. 

Anytime we do something new with one of our blogs, you will be fully informed. I hope this post is helpful as we move on. 

Have a great night!

First Few Days

Our first few days were filled with fun and excitement. Here is a glimpse at some of our highlights:

Mrs. K. helping students with the "Friend Finding" Activity:

Working with numbers as words - this pictures shows me understanding of the number 1 - part of our Today's Number Routine:

Reading our new books with new friends:

Our first day faces... Guess Who?!?

Exploring our math manipulatives:

photo taken by student photographer

photo taken by student photographer

It was a great first few days. Next week we will start the "meat and potatoes" of 1st grade. Look for many more curriculum posts starting next week. 

Please stay connected with us. Our class is on twitter and we will be telling you about our learning and asking you questions. 

Follow us at: @mrsbrightmcdole

Upcoming Posts: Behavior Chart, Reading "Our Way", "Prove it!"

This is our time!

This is what inspired me. This is the video that was shared with the staff at our Welcome Breakfast on Monday. Thank you for the inspiration Dr. Schuler.

Get Connected!

Welcome!

Welcome Parents and Students!

I am so excited for our new year to begin together. I have so many fun learning activities planned and can't wait to learn from you as well! I will see you all very soon at Curriculum Night but I wanted to tell you a bit about myself first. 

This is my 10th year of teaching in the Kaneland School District and I have loved every second of it. I live in Sycamore, Illinois with my husband, 3 dogs and 2 cats. I really like living in our old house and spending time with my neighbors. 
This year is going to be very exciting. I have so many new ideas to share and projects to start. 

Most of our contact with be through email and this blog. I will send out blasts with important reminders and exciting announcements. Please check out the ways you can stay connected with us:

Help us stay connected:
Email: laura.bright@kaneland.org
Blog: mrsbrightsclass.blogspot.com
Twitter: @mrsbrightmcdole

Parents,
To confirm that you have seen this and to get your name and email address to me, please send me an email with the following information:
Name of Parents:
Phone Numbers:
Name of Student:
Tell me a bit about your new 1st grader.
Any other important information.

Can't wait to hear from you!

Mrs. Bright