Upcoming Dates to Remember:
Monday, January 16th – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day–no school
Friday, January 27th – Lunar New Year Celebration
Monday, February 6th – Friday, February 10th – Peace Week @ Friends Seminary
Monday, February 20th – Presidents Day – no school
Tuesday, February 21st – Faculty & Staff Development Day – no school
Sight Words: as, has, to, into, the, of, a, and, is, his, we, he, she, be, me, you, your
Reading
Super Summarizer
Kids learned about what a summary is and how to retell a story by including the most important parts from the beginning, middle and end. Kids read a story in a small group and then wrote a summary about the story. Kids did a great job including the main characters, setting and the main events from the beginning middle and end.
Bonus Letter Rule
Kids learned an important rule that will help them in their reading and spelling. The bonus letter rule means that if a word has one syllable , and a short vowel and ends in l,s or f, it usually has a bonus letter, meaning you double the ending consonant letter but you only make the sound once. Two common exceptions to the rule are the words yes and bus.
Partner Reading Habit
Kids have learned so many habits of good readers, and this week we learned good habits that readers have when they are reading with a partner. Two kids demonstrated for that the class that when one partner gets stuck on a work, the other partner should not just tell them the word, but could give them a clue or suggest a tip for figuring out the word.
Writing
Dictionaries
Kids in 1JK were super excited to each receive their own personal dictionary that they have already used during journal writing and other writing assignments. The journal has lots of words that kids in 1st grade might need to know how to spell, but also has lots of blank spaces to that kids can have a teacher fill in words that they would like to have the dictionary spelling of. This is done in an effort to encourage kids to begin using the dictionary spelling of words in their writing.
Prompt about FS
We asked the kids if there was any community helper or staff member at Friends Seminary that they are curious about and would like to learn more about. Kids were curious about people like Luis, the lower school Spanish teacher, and places like the tech office. Kids wrote a journal entry about the person or place they are curious about, and included questions they would ask that person or would like to find out about that place.
Finishing up handwriting letters
This week, kids finished learning the entire lower case D’Nelian alphabet! We celebrated by having each kid make an extra long alphabet strip that they could either take home or keep in the back of their chair to help them remember the letter formations.
Math
1JK has been working on their doubles facts and they recently learned the strategies of doubles above (If I know that 5+5=10 then the sum of 5+6 will be just one more).
You can help your child practice these strategies by playing the games linked below at home!
Social Studies
Martin Luther King Jr.
We had a class discussion about Martin Luther King Jr. and what he fought for, which was framed around the idea of being an up-stander and speaking out for what is right and fair, even when other people may not agree with you. We also discussed how this relates to our school, Friends Seminary, and as as a Quaker school, how we value justice for all people. We read the kids, “Happy Birthday Martin Luther King” by Jean Marzollo and then, each kid wrote down three facts they know about Martin Luther King Jr.
Social Emotional Learning
Reviewing I messages and Reflective Listening
Kids have been learning how to manage conflict independently, and a really helpful tool for doing that is the I-Message, which kids have become experts at. The I message is: “I feel _______, because you_______, and I need you to ________.” This week, we taught kids about reflective listening, which is what the person receiving the I-message can say. Reflective listening is, “I hear you feel______, because I ________.” Kids thought of conflicts that have occurred at school, and roll played conflict resolution using I-message and reflective listening.
Growth Mindset lesson
We read the kids the book, “The Magical Yet” by Angela DiTerlizzi. We talked about the importance of adding yet when saying we can’t do something. We also reviewed growth mindset phrases we can say to ourselves when something is hard, like “mistakes help us grow, “it will take some time but you can do this,” or “if I keep practicing I will get it.” Then, kids wrote themselves a letter about something they can’t do yet, and added encourages phrases to themselves. The kids are keeping the letters in the back of their chairs and can read them whenever they need a little boost of confidence!
Community Connections
Project with Upper School
1JK is continuing their project with the upper school architecture class. The upper schoolers came to 1JK to meet with the kids and present their design of a special space to the kids they are working with. Because the kids in 1JK are the clients, they were able to give feedback to the upper schoolers about their design. The kids in 1JK are having such a fun time working with upper schoolers!
