Hello Families!

Hello Room 16 Families!  As hard as it is to leave my little ones, I am glad to be back with the students and back at PVN!  Thank you to Nikki Clark for doing a great job while I was gone!  When I returned last week, the kids were so excited to 'teach me' what they have learned!  They are continuing to make great progress and are becoming such great readers and writers! 

Recently, a student brought in some tadpoles to observe!  We have had to do some research to learn about caring for tadpoles and the life cycle of a frog.  We also had a neighborhood meeting when a bookbag was discovered near an empty garden box!  We found field guides about plants and animals inside and learned that the bookbag belonged to Mrs. Paice, a naturalist from Grant Nature.  We wrote a letter to her asking her for help--as we now want to plant in the garden box to try to attract insects and animals.  Since we are doing all of this research, we are starting to learn more about nonfiction as readers and writers!

We read several books last week about Earth Day and learned about how we can each do our part to care for the Earth!  This is part of being a good citizen, which is one of the words 'Ollie the Otter' taught us early in the school year.  Since 100% of PVN earned a ribbon from Ollie, we are having a celebration tomorrow (Thursday) at 1:00!  We are asking children to please wear their Respect, Responsibility, or Citizenship ribbon to school on Thursday.  Children can also wear yellow, blue, or red if they don't have their ribbon. 

Finally, we hope you can join us Friday for the Volunteer Tea!  We have had such wonderful parent volunteers this year!  Thank you for all you do for us!

Learning together,

Sarah Jacobs

Room 16 Welcomes New Friends!

As you know, Friday was my last day until April.   Mrs. Nikki Clark will be my long-term substitute while I am gone.  We are very lucky to have Mrs. Clark with us...she has 10 years of teaching experience, four of which she taught at Cline Elementary.  Mrs. Clark has taught first, second, and third grade.  Although she has enjoyed being home with her little girls who are four and five, she is excited to be back in the classroom teaching!  The kids were excited to have Mrs. Clark in our classroom all day Thursday and Friday this week! This was great for her to learn our classroom routines, get to know the children, and help with the transition of me leaving. Of course, Mrs. Young will continue to be in our classroom each day, whom the kids love! Mrs. Clark will be using my e-mail address while I am gone. Feel free to contact her with questions or concerns. She will also be meeting with you at the end of March for conferences. 

We had alot of excitement this week as we also welcomed two new students!  We are happy to have James and Tyler (and their families) as a part of Room 16! We now have 22 students in our class!

 

I have to share a cute story...last week when we looked at the calendar one of the kids with a January birthday asked if I would be back for her birthday...she said that would be a great birthday present!  I had to explain that babies take a lot of care so I would not be back in January.  They also wanted to know if I would bring the baby in on Tuesday after I had her?   I assured them that I would bring her to visit, but not until she was a little bigger!  :)  I will send you an e-mail with the baby's picture and birth information Tuesday or shortly after.

 

Mrs. Clark
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A Trip Around the World!

Room 16 will soon be taking a field trip...an imaginary trip around the world!  As we shared our Thanksgiving traditions, we began talking about other holiday traditions.  This made us wonder about celebrations in other places, such as Israel.  This year the Raspberry and Purple neighborhood will be teaching other classes about these celebrations in a 'World Fair'.  Each class will research a country and celebration...our class is learning about Hanukkah!  Our students chose small research teams to be able to learn more about this celebration.  The topics we are researching are: Food, Light, Clothing, Homes, Music, and Art.  Some of the groups will meet with Ms. Johnson (music), Mrs. Martin (art), and Mrs. Frysinger (IMC) to learn about Hanukkah.  During our 'World Fair' other students will visit our booths to learn from us! 

After we share about Israel, we will be packing our suitcases, getting our passports ready, and using a map to travel to Italy, Russia, Sweden, China, and India.  Hopefully you'll hear more about these travels from your first grader soon! 


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Working on 'Fact Power'!

As you know, it's important for students to learn their addition and subtraction facts.  The Everyday Math program has several games that allow us to work on gaining 'fact power'.  This means that we know our addition and subtraction facts quickly without having to count on our fingers or use another manipulative.  I find that it's helpful to work on gaining this 'fact power' by separating the facts into groups (ex. easy facts, doubles facts, make ten, etc.).  During the next two weeks, we will be taking a break from our Everyday Math workbooks to work on 'fact power' games and activities. Although your child may not be bringing home their Math Homelinks, we are continuing to work on Math at school.  I will soon be sending games and activities you can play at home to help with this 'fact power'.  A great stocking stuffer would be a set of addition and subtraction cards!  I would recommend pulling out 5-10 facts at a time to learn and then add in a few at a time.  Thanks for all you do at home to support Math! 

Room 16 Reading Coaches

Recently, our class has learned to be reading coaches!  Just as a team coach helps their players to become better at a sport, our reading coaches help to encourage their partner to become better readers.  We began keeping a 'Reading Playbook' with important reminders for 'What Readers Do". 

Our first lessons practiced being a reading coach.  A reading coach...encourages their partner, gives a hint-not the answer, and reminds their partner of the rules (during Read to Someone). 

Next, we practiced giving reading strategy hints to our partners when they are stuck on a word.  Some of the helpful strategies are...Look at the picture, Get your mouth ready for the first sound, Try the short and long vowel sound, Skip the word-read on-go back and reread, Look for chunks, and ask "Does it look right? Does it sound right?  Does it make sense?"

Recently we have been working on sounding like readers.  We read a book called Wolf, where a wolf worked hard to become a reader with 'style'.  Our students have also been working on reading with 'style'!  This means we...read smooth, not choppy, make our voice loud and soft, read at a good speed, read the ending marks (. ! ?), and read like characters talking.

We will soon be reading some 'Reader's Theater' books during Guided Reading groups to practice 'reading with style'! 

Town Hall Visits PVN!

As we were preparing to perform our opera, Town Hall Theater came to visit and teach us a little about the theater. They shared with us what is needed to do a play.  We learned about...

set - anything on stage that is not a person

lights - light the stage

costumes - what the people wear to become the character

choreography - making up dances

The visitors showed us a model of Town Hall and we were able to use colorful flashlights to light it up. We also began learning about actors movements on stage, as we pretended to be animals. 

Town Hall Theater will be doing a production of "Honk!" based upon The Ugly Duckling. They asked for our help with this production!  Each neighborhood at PVN will be working with Town Hall to help with the production.  The Raspberry Neighborhood will be in charge of lights!  Stay tuned for more information soon!  


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Set from the Pumpkinhead Adventure

Here are some of the set pictures from our Pumpkinhead Adventure! 


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'Pumpkin Adventures!'

As you know, the students in Room 16 have been writing 'How To' books!  First we wrote steps for 'How to Carve a Pumpkin'!  Next, we read the book Pumpkin Heads which gave us many ideas for carving our pumpkin.  All of the kids drew which pumpkin face we should carve and then we used a tally chart to vote.  Our 'Pumpkinhead' (as we called it) inspired us to write a class story called 'The Pumpkinhead Adventure'!  This story was much different than the list books and how to books we had written.  This story had characters, setting, problem, and solution.  We brainstormed and worked together to write a story with a beginning, middle, and end.  

Here is our Pumpkinhead Adventure:

Once upon a time there was a pumpkin that came to life.
“My name is Pumpkinhead.” he said.
He set off into the forest. Pumpkinhead hopped into a boat and went across a river.
When he walked into the forest he met a badger.
“Come closer so I can see you!” said Badger. Badger opened his mouth to eat Pumpkinhead.
All of a sudden, Ollie the Otter appeared. Ollie said, “I know where you can be safe. Follow, follow, follow me—I'll take you where it's safe to be.”
Next Ollie and Pumpinhead met a bear. “Come closer so I can play with you!” said Bear.
“NO!” said Ollie. “No! Follow, follow follow me—I'll take you to a safer place to be.”
Next Ollie and Pumpkinhead met a squirrel. “Come closer so I can share some nuts with you.” said Squirrel.
“NO!” shouted Ollie. “Follow, follow, follow me—I'll take you to the safest place to be! I'll take you to PVN!”
Ollie and Pumpkinhead walked back to PVN. They walked in and met Mrs. Cline. “Thank you for bringing back Pumpkinhead!” said Mrs. Cline. “I'll walk you out to recess to meet your friends.”
Ollie, Pumpkinhead, and Mrs. Cline walked to the playground to meet their friends. When they got to the playground they met Mrs. Jacobs' class. Mrs. Jacobs' class said, “Hi Pumpkinhead! Come play with us!”
After recess the kids said, “Let's put you back where you belong. The kids brought Pumpkinhead into the school to a scarecrow body. “Oh thank you friends!” said Pumpkinhead.
The kids worked together to put Pumpkinhead on the scarecrow body. “Home sweet home!” said Pumpkinhead.

One of the students in the class had the idea to perform this story in the drama center.  We met with Ms. Johnson to ask for her help!  Now we are not only writers, but we are rhymers and composers!  We turned our 'Pumpkinhead Adventure' into a song and we hope to perform it soon!  Stay tuned for more information! 


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Help! I'm stuck on a word!

Do you ever hear your child say 'Help!  I'm stuck on a word!"  When you do, it's hard to know what to say to help them without telling them the word.  We have been learning that there are lots of things you can try when you're stuck on a word!  As your child is reading, use these prompts to help them figure out the word. 

• Look at the picture.
• Get your mouth ready to make the 1st sound.
• Read, skip, go on, reread.
• Look for chunks.
• Try the short and long vowel sound.
And always ask…
• Does it look right?
• Does it sound right?
• Does it make sense?
 

Can your child tie their shoes?

Tying shoes can be difficult for kids, but it is a very important skill to learn.  Here is a song that may help your child tie their shoes.

(To the tune of Splish Splash I Was Taking a Bath)

Criss cross and go under the bridge, then you've got to pull it tight. 

Make a loop but keep a long tail, that is how to do it right. 

Then you take the other string, and you wrap it 'round the loop. 

Pull it through the hole, and now you've got the scoop!

 

Our Voyage with Columbus!

On Columbus Day, the students in Room 16 got to travel back in time to meet Christopher Columbus (whom they thought resembled Mrs. Jacobs alot)!  They learned about his life, saw artifacts from his journey, and got to ask him questions!  Ask your child what they learned about Columbus and why we celebrate Columbus Day! 

The students in Room 16 are also experimenting this week to see which items will float (like Columbus' ships) or sink to the bottom.  They already have some ideas about why things float like...the shape, the weight, or the size of the items.  After they all experiment at the science center we will look for connections between the objects to see what characteristics items that float have. 

 

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella with Columbus
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Columbus shows a boat with a sail
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The class asks Columbus some questions
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Indian corn was one of the items Columbus and his crew traded with the people he named 'Indians'
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The kids listen and learn from Columbus
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Our Treasure Hunt

You may have heard your child talking recently about a book called The Treasure Tree!  This picture book (chapter book) is about four friends who work together to find a treasure tree using clues on a map.  The characters (ance the Lion, Giggles the Otter, Chewy the Beaver, and Honey the Golden Retriever) all have very distinct personality traits, which the kids picked up on right away.  After they solve the riddles and find the treasure tree, they realize the real treasure was their friendship and how much they need each other.  Our class really liked this message and we connected that to our classroom of learners!  We are all very different, but we can work together and lean on each other to get things done. 

Today we went on our own treasure hunt which led us all around PVN!  We found 6 keys that led us to a treasure chest in our own classroom!  The kids each got to choose a treasure to take home.  Although they were excited about the treasure, they also learned some important lessons.  To solve the riddles they had to...be a listener, be a thinker, work together, and share together.  Ask your child about the book and which character they are most like! 

 

 

A clue in the cafe!
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A clue by the front doors!
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Putting the keys together to solve the riddle!
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The treasure chest!
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What is in the treasure chest?
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Our Authors and Illustrators

Room 16 has been reading and studying author and illustrator Todd Parr.  We have noticed his books are brightly colored, have simple illustrations, use patterned text, and are sometimes silly!  His books inspired us to write some of our own that we can't wait to share with you at Curriculum Night! 

We also noticed that Todd Parr doesn't put any periods at the end of his sentences in his books.  We have been working on putting periods at the end of our sentences in our books.  We decided to write him  an e-mail to see if he could tell us why.  Below is the e-mail we wrote as a class:

Dear Todd,
We love your books! We are in Mrs. Jacobs first grade class at Primary Village North in Centerville, Ohio. Why do you not put periods at the end of your sentences? We noticed you put periods at the end of your sentences in your letter.
Love,
Mrs. Jacobs class
 

We were so excited when he e-mailed us back...the same day!  Here is what Todd Parr wrote:

Hi everyone!

Thanks a lot for the nice email. I'm happy you like my books.

When I first started writing children's books, I was incorporating a lot of my original art that I had done on canvases, which didn’t include periods. I looked at my books as more of a translation of art and not a storybook but then I realized, Hey! Not everyone knows this so I better start using periods.

Keep reading!

Love,
Todd and Bully the dog.


Todd and his dog Bully
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One of our favorite Todd Parr books
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Read, Read, Read

Research shows that the more kids read, the better readers they become!  This week I started sending books home with the students.  Since I am still individually assessing them to get to know their strengths, they are currently choosing books that they are interested in reading.  Please help them get in a routine to read their book(s) for 20 minutes each night.  Also, use the paper in their Take-Home folder to discuss the book or do another activity with it.  Thank you for your support of reading at home!

We are also spending alot of time reading in the classroom!  We have started a favorite time of the day--'Read to Self' time.  This is a time when students choose a good-fit book from our class library and read to themselves.  Before sending them off to read, I teach a minilesson to give them strategies to use in their reading.  So far we have worked on how to...choose a quiet reading spot and choose a book they are interested in, can understand, can read most of the words.  We are learning to pick books that are a good-fit for us (just as our shoes have to be a good-fit for each of us).  Use the following chart as your child chooses books at home or at the library:

 

Too Hard	Good-Fit	Too Easy
-Are there more than 5 words on a page that you don’t know? - Are you confused about what is happening in the story? - When you read, does it sound choppy?	- Do you understand a lot of the book? - Are there just a few words (2-3) on a page you don’t know? - When you read, are there some places smooth and some choppy?	- Have you read it lots before? - Do you understand the story very well? - Do you know almost every word? - Can you read it smoothly?

 Check out the PVN Literacy Corner website for more infomation on literacy!

 

The first week...

We have had a wonderful start to the school year! I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know your children, as I will continue to do throughout the year. They are a fabulous group of kids and bring a smile to my face each day! Thank you for supporting your child at home and making sure they are prepared for school each day!  It is a long day for them, but they have transitioned well!  Some of their favorite activities this week have been...

• - Recess and lunch in the Cafe (of course) :)
• - Getting to know each other through a Classroom Bingo game
• - Singing the Name Game with each of their names (Hey there _____, you're a real cool cat...) 
• - Exploring books from our class library
• - Receving a special delivery from Mrs. Cline and Mrs. Ott

I hope your children are able to tell you a little about our day!  As we build routines, we will start to get into a more normal daily schedule. 

A box arrived from Mrs. Cline
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Mrs. Nugent with a name activity
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A letter from Mrs. Cline and Mrs. Ott
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All About Mrs. Jacobs and Mrs. Young

Hello!  I am Mrs. Jacobs and I LOVE teaching first grade at PVN!  Many of you may know me, but if you don't here's a little about me!  This is my 9th year of teaching first grade!  I graduated from Muskingum College and got my Master's in Literacy from University of Dayton.  My favorite thing about first grade is seeing the excitement and wonder in the childrens' faces as we discover something new!  At home I like to spend time with my husband Andy, my son Luke, and my dog Macie!  We are excited to be expecting another baby in January 2011!  When I have time I like to read, scrapbook, and bargain shop!  I know that 2010-2011 will be a great year in first grade!  I am looking forward to learning new things and having fun together! 

 

Hi! I am Mrs. Young and this is my first year at PVN. I am very excited to return to the place where my two boys attended when the building was known as Kindergarten Village. I received my Master's degree in Special Education from Antioch University McGregor and my bachelors degree from Wright State. I am excited to be spending time in Mrs. Jacobs ' room, the students are so much fun. The first graders are eager to work and explore possibilties.  

 

We are also lucky to have an educational aide in our classroom this year!  Mrs. Moore is an experienced aide who loves working with first graders!  We also have an Early Childhood Education helper from the high school.  Miss Rachael Mirrow is a Junior at Centerville High School and is with us most mornings. 

 

 

Mrs. Jacobs
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Mrs. Young
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Planting a Flower Garden

Our Fall Party

Our Fall Party was a huge success!  Thank you to Mrs. Watercutter for her organization and planning!  The kids had a great time making crafts, eating treats, and playing games.  Here are some pictures from the party! 

A Trip to the Fire Station

A visit to our 'outdoor classroom' to go on a listening walk

We love first grade!

Here are some pictures of students in Room 16 during the first weeks of school!  We've had fun getting to know each other, learning routines, and learning new things!